Category: CoCreators

Bruce Christianson

bruce_christianson_1Bruce Christianson is an award-winning commercial photographer equally accomplished in his studio and on location. His University of Minnesota and Minneapolis College of Art and Design education and training, along with 30 years of professional experience enable Bruce to surpass his clients’ expectations with striking, exceptionally illuminated and composed shots of commercial products and facilities, architecture, jewelry, food, people, virtual reality, and RC Aerial Photography. Bruce ably balances his artistic talent and congenial nature with solid business judgment gained through his work for high-profile companies. That means the client can count on receiving outstanding photographic results that powerfully convey the desired image, without having to over-direct the photographer or break the budget. Mastery of rapidly changing technology is essential for today’s best photographers, and Bruce Christianson has this covered as well. His work as a corporate consultant on digital photography and multimedia ensures that he brings the ideal approach, skills, and tools to any visual challenge your business might face. Check out Bruce’s webpage!

Jerry Belich

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Jerry Belich, or @j3rrytron, is a game designer, inventor, and storyteller based in Minneapolis. He is continuing work on his successfully kickstarted, and award-winning, Choosatron project; along with creating other hardware games exploring alternate controllers and mediums for play (more info at jerrytron.com/press). He also does consulting work for digital games as a writer and coder, as well as design installations and interactive experiences for clients. From leading a mobile development team, to integrating technology into live theatre, Jerry has built a strong foundation of creative experience across hardware and software. Plus, who else do you know of that plays a mean theremin?

David Gundale

gundale_1 For four years, David Gundale has been a leader at Open World Learning (OWL) Community, previously as the school’s program coordinator and assistant principal. He’ll continue that leadership in the fall as the school’s new principal.

Gundale plans to keep working toward making OWL a topExpeditionary Learning school. His top priorities include adding more emphasis on the expeditionary model, as well as a focusing on literacy, writing, math and high-quality student work.

“I am inspired daily by the immense effort and dedication of our staff and students and I’m grateful to continue the work that we have begun together as a community,” he said.

Explaining the Expeditionary Learning model to people outside the OWL school community is a constant challenge, Gundale says. For example, many think the Expeditionary Learning model is about outdoor adventure trips, he explains.

Although Expeditionary Learning emerged out of Outward Bound in the early 1980s, it is much more focused on individual character and community development through academics across school subjects and a focus on students to demonstrate what they’ve learned.

“I am most excited to be able to spend more time working closely with our teaching staff around expedition planning, instructional protocols and examining student work,” Gundale said.

OWL will also have a new home this fall in the former Humboldt Middle School building on the West Side of Saint Paul. The new site will be designed with Expeditionary Learning’s size and growth in mind.

“The physical environment will enhance our program and bring richness to our culture,” Gundale said. “I am really excited to see how students and staff will interact and make the spaces come alive.”

Gundale plans to encourage a collaborative learning environment for staff and students − a place where taking risks and failing are a part of finding successes.

Gundale is even more excited to begin the new year after traveling to Colorado and bonding with other Expeditionary Learning leaders from across the country.

“I left the trip renewed and highly motivated to dig deeper in the Expeditionary Learning work we have begun at Open World Learning Community,” Gundale said. “I can’t wait to share this experience with my colleagues when they return in the fall.”