Our Team
Brent Cameron Ph.D.
Founder and Director of Research & Development
(Co-founder Wondertree, Virtual High and SelfDesign Learning Community and author of the SelfDesign book)
Brent was inspired by his daughter's natural ability to learn from the day of her birth in 1977. In 1983 when she walked out of school after two weeks, Brent and Ilana began an experiment that became Wondertree. For the next 13 years they worked together, including many other people as Brent developed a number of programs and a body of work to describe a methodology of SelfDesign.
Brent has been working with Wondertree and SelfDesign for more than 25 years to legitimize the rights of children in their desires to design their own learning path. Brent has created many workshops and presentations that feature multimedia presentations of the SelfDesign experience. His focus is on understanding who we really are and on how we naturally learn as an enthusiastic process. His current passion is working with communities who are planning sustainable learning communities and developing interactive web courses to share the SelfDesign methodology with the world.
Parker Cook B.Comm.
Executive Director
Parker has been involved with the SelfDesign Learning Foundation (the parent organization to British Columbia's SelfDesign Learning Community) as a volunteer, consultant and Board Member since 1994, and currently consults to both organizations. He brings a diverse background in business development, sales, marketing, market research, project management and financial services from Molson Breweries Canada, BC Lottery Corporation and National Bank Financial including many years helping smaller organizations develop key business practices, grow their business, and become sustainable and successful ventures. From a passion for self-directed learning, Parker's personal mission is to help lead the SelfDesign Global Team to provide SelfDesign Learning Programs to any family in the world with access to the internet. He resides in Vancouver, BC, with his partner, Amalia and their two SelfDesigning children, Ethan and Sofia.
River (Barbara) Meyer M.A.
Director of Communications & Director of Foundations Program
(SelfDesign book co-author)
River has worked with children and families for 30 years in a variety of capacities including family support services for special needs infants and toddlers and for alternative learning programs, guardian ad litem for minors, counseling and mediation, and currently as Family Liaison for the SelfDesign Learning Community and writer for SelfDesign. She is co-author of Brent's book SelfDesign: Nurturing Genius through Natural Learning. Her current passions include expanding SelfDesign concepts throughout North America and internationally, exploring the interface between environmental languaging and the development of self, and deepening her understanding and use of SelfDesign by creating an emergent-learning home atmosphere with daughter Lia.
Darrell Letourneau M.Ed.
Director of Global Operations
Through nearly two decades of learning experiences with his four children - some of his most influential mentors - who have always stayed at home to learn, Darrell has been actively exploring natural learning in a variety of real and virtual world settings. As a teacher with experience from kindergarten to college, Darrell has enjoyed working at the busy crossroads where technology and best practice intersect. He works as a consultant to business and education for organizations hoping to maximize their potential through eLearning opportunities. As one of the initiators of the SelfDesign Learning Community, a dream come true is SelfDesign's "Go Global" launch.
Monica Cochran M.A. (Spec. Ed.)
Director of Global Learning Programs & Learning Circles
Monica has worked with children and adults of all ages in a variety of educational and business settings for over 30 years. She home educated two of her own children and worked with other home educating families at Clonlara School of Ann Arbor, Michigan for more than 10 years. She loves to help people learn how they learn best and consults with learners who have special needs, to help them make the transition into adult learning settings. She has vast experience in helping learners of all ages enjoy learning.
Monica earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh in child development and early childhood education, a Master's Degree from Eastern Michigan University in special education, and Montessori Certification from the American Montessori Society. Since 1997, following her youngest son's auto accident, she has also been active in working with survivors of traumatic brain injuries redesign their lives.
Barbarah Nicoll M.A.
Director of Teen Program
The joys of my life include my family - both blood and chosen, music, dance, improv drama ala Spolin, and creating things with my hands, heart and head. I love to learn, to move, to express and to be in nature. Relationships are very important to me; I value clear and open communication.
The research for my Master of Arts of Integrated Study was focused on the connection of the heart to learning. I have training and experience in youth and family counseling, Waldorf Education - both administration and teaching, and have helped birth and nurture many cooperative ventures, including building and living in a rural self-sufficient community just outside of Nelson B.C, Canada. I believe in humanity. If I was ruler of the world everyone would be given a red nose.
Caprice Pitcher MBA
Director of Strategic Planning
Caprice Pitcher is an entrepreneur with a passion for developing and implementing clear and meaningful visions for organizations. Caprice has spent over 20 years consulting and coaching for Fortune 50 and start-up companies to help them connect people and profits. Caprice has an MBA from Carnegie Mellon, a BA in anthropology from the University of Virginia, and received her Personal and Professional Coaching Certification from the Newfield Network. Caprice SelfDesigns with her husband and two daughters in Ojai, California.
Terry Cochran MBA
Director of Information Technology
Terry brings a variety of IT and business skills to SelfDesign. As a website designer, his sites include one of the earliest and longest-lasting ones on the world wide web. A life-long learner, he enjoys mastering new technology capabililties and helping his clients make the best use of them. After earning a bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan and an MBA at Eastern Michigan University, Terry worked for many years as a financial executive with a large non-profit health care data research firm. He has also been a small business owner, a financial consultant, and a sales rep. In addition, he has served on the board of directors or advisory board of three different alternative schools over the years. He learned recently, in fact, that one of them is still using the business systems that he implemented 25 years ago. He hopes to help SelfDesign build both a web presence and back-office systems that are used for 25 years into the future.
Learning Consultants
This is a recent photo of our Learning Consultant Community. SelfDesign now has over 100 Learning Consultants, including those ready to work with you and your family in our SelfDesign Global programs.
