Jennifer Stanchfield

In her 27 years as an educator Jennifer Stanchfield has worked as a clinician in treatment centers for children, adults and adolescents, as a teacher, and in the professional training setting. Through these experiences she has developed an extensive repertoire of experiential activities, tools and strategies she brings to her workshops, publications and professional development training sessions. Jen is known for her work helping schools and community programs throughout the world use experiential methods to develop a positive learning environment, increase student engagement, enhance learning outcomes and develop positive assets and social emotional skills.

Along with her work in schools, Jen provides team-building and staff development programs for community organizations, college staff and faculty as well as open enrollment and customized training for counselors, trainers, classroom teachers, college programs, coaches and human resource professionals. She is an instructor at the Southeast Vermont Learning Collaborative, and offers open enrollment and custom trainings on teaching and group facilitation internationally.

Jennifer is author of Inspired Educator, Inspired Learner: Experiential, Brain-Based Approaches to Engage, Build Community and Create Lasting Lessons and Tips & Tools for The Art of Experiential Group Facilitation. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of New Hampshire in recreational therapy and outdoor education and a Masters of Science in Experiential Education and Educational Leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Consulting Services:

Jennifer offers a holistic approach to training and consulting. Rather than providing a prescriptive curriculum or program, her style as a consultant involves ongoing collaboration with educators and program administrators to develop curriculum and methods that meet the specific needs and goals of their school or program. Providing a combination of staff team-building and professional development along with direct service classroom mentoring and coaching sessions leads to the development of sustainable ongoing experiential learning programs and practices that will be part of the school or organization for years to come. For more information visit jenniferstanchfield.com.

Facilitation and Teaching Tools:

A passion and focus of Jen's work has been promoting methods to engage learners in meaningful reflection and group dialogue. At the request of the teachers, facilitators and counselors she now offers some of these tools as products.

Jen carefully hand selects the items that make up her facilitation tools focusing on usability, quality and aesthetic appeal. She "field tests" the products regularly in her own work as a facilitator with students and adults. She seeks out locally made sustainable green products such as the lead free pewter charms found in her miniature metaphors kits and the hand made in Vermont hemp bags that hold the "conversation starters". For more information visit experientialtools.com.