Name: Michelle Thibault
Professional Experience:
Current: Natural Maker Specialist, Brilliant Labs (5 Years), and doctoral student (Université de Moncton).
Previous: Teacher at the Conseil des écoles catholique du Centre-Est, Ottawa, Ontario (13 years)
Originally from NB, Michelle’s career as an educator began in Ottawa where she taught while earning a Masters in Educational Administration and completed the Forest and Nature School practitioner certification with Child and Nature Alliance. She lived in Knowlesville, NB where her daughter spent her first years of schooling in a small Forest and Nature school while Michelle was developing the Natural Maker continuum and philosophy being inspired by the wonderful environment and community surrounding them. She is now living between Chisasibi, a Cree community north of James Bay, and NB with her daughter, dog and cat. Michelle is also currently a doctoral student at Université de Moncton in NB where she will have the chance to document the effect of the implantation of the Natural Maker Continuum by teachers in a public-school setting in NB and in a Cree community.
Special interests in the Natural Maker Continuum: Teacher empowerment and wellness, pedagogy of proximity (educational opportunities at walking distance of a building or school), decommercialization and decolonization of education, natural making philosophy (rethinking our material resources needs to prioritize natural and-or sustainable material and human resources).