Our Team

Brad has been teaching in traditional and non-traditional classrooms for the past 25 years. He is an OCT qualified educator who specializes in citizenship and character education, including co-operative skills, social studies, phys-ed, communication, behaviour management and self-esteem development.  Combining his outdoor educational background with his experience as a teacher & leader, he has been designing and facilitating inquiry based education - utilizing creative, hands-on learning in an outdoor setting for academic success and personal growth. 

Becki’s experience as an educator is very diverse with experience teaching abroad, facilitating interactive science & animal presentations, and teaching art, music & drama. She is an RYT 200 Yoga instructor and is certified in Rainbow Kids yoga instruction, providing play-based learning, focusing on movement, creativity, mindfulness and experiential education.  Becki is also a Wilderness First Aid instructor with the Red Cross of Canada, training our staff and keeping everyone safe at Great Moose Adventures. 

Deanna is a multi talented educator and leader. An Ontario Certified Teacher,  she specializes in early literacy, outdoor inquiry and child directed play & learning. For the past 20 years Deanna has been teaching children from the ages of 3 upwards in several different countries and educational systems, giving her an insight into different teaching & learning approaches from around the globe. Using this experience, she developed our Kindergarten & Early Learners Program at GMA Academy.

​Sonny has been teaching and leading in  indoor and outdoor education for the past 20 years. Originally from the UK and France he has had the opportunity to teach children of all ages from 3 different continents and is an OCT certified educator.  Utilizing his experience in a wide variety of educational settings, he designed the learning approach and curriculum of  GMA Academy, centered on blending traditional academic studies with experiential, hands-on outdoor play and learning. He is the GMA Academy Principal and whole school French Teacher.

Meaghan is an OCT certified teacher with specialties in mathematics and science, and holding her additional qualifications in Special Education and Reading.

She has been teaching children of all ages in various indoor and outdoor classrooms for the last 10 years, including teaching an outdoor based secondary school leadership program, team building programming in camp settings, leading wilderness canoe trips, and developing children’s programming for camps. 

At GMA Academy, she teaches our Senior Class (grades 3-5) and develops curriculum for our STREAM class that integrates Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics with inquiry-based rich-tasks.

Lori has been educating young children for many years. After running a home-based childcare centre, she furthered her education to become a Registered Early Childhood Educator. 

She has worked in many different childcare settings and schools boards over the years. As an educator, she is creative, resourceful, and enthusiastic with a deep interest in stimulating children's cognitive and social growth. 

Lori strongly believes that connecting with nature helps foster patience, growth, resilience, mindfulness and joy in children and adults. At GMA Lori teaches in the Kindergarten class, facilitating an inquiry-based, creative curriculum.

Kristen is is an outdoor enthusiast always looking for opportunities to share and spread the love and excitement of the outdoors with students.  She is a qualified OCT and has taught internationally in many diverse countries and educational systems as both a Physical Education and Outdoor Education specialist.  She is a trained yoga instructor, sea kayak instructor and guide, Wilderness First Aid Responder, and is currently completing the Forest School Practitioners program with the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada. Her goal is to provide opportunities to develop a love for learning, a safe environment for allowing kids to take risks and develop a positive self-esteem and self-worth and she can't think of a better place to do it other than in the forest!  

Samantha is an OCT-certified teacher who first joined Great Moose Adventures while completing her final practicum for teacher's college with the Intermediate class in 2022.  She completed her special education Additional Qualification and worked as the Inclusion Coordinator for the Orillia Sportplex last summer. She is also a certified Life Guard, having taught swimming for many years.

More recently, Sam has been involved with a research study as a graduate student in a remote Northern Indigenous community school investigating the connection between self-regulation and literacy.  She is excited to continue professional development in the field of outdoor education,  connecting the curriculum to the outdoor environment.

Garrett is a former GMA Academy student currently heading into grade 11.  He is an active leader in his community participating in the PEAC program (Partners in Education, Adventures & Community). Through this program he initiated the 'Friends of 3 Mile Lake' program with a goal to conserve and protect one of our local lakes - with yearly clean-up sessions.  He also worked at our summer camp last summer as a volunteer, teaching canoe lessons and helping out with the Senior group.

Garrett is an avid canoe tripper, having completed a wide variety of multiday trips with Great Moose Adventures and his family - and most recently acquired his Bronze Cross & Standard First Aid. He is looking forward to sharing many of the lessons he learned at our school with our summer campers and Academy students.

Jenna, a seasoned educator and nature advocate, brings years of outdoor education expertise from her time at a local YMCA summer camp. This invaluable experience enriches her teaching style, combining her OCT certification, environmental science degree, and prior work with kindergarten and elementary students. She has spent the last four years teaching in Nova Scotia and immersing herself in the province's lakes and hiking trails alongside her adventurous husband and dog. Returning to her Ontario roots at GMA Academy, Jenna aims to cultivate a love for the environment in her students.