Sean Blenkinsop s background is in philosophy of education. He is especially interested in imagination in teaching and learning; ecology; relational epistemologies; theories of place; existentialism; continental philosophy; educational theory and practice; experiential and outdoor education; care; gender theory; social/ecological justice; international issues; science education; drama education. He received his doctoral degree from Harvard University

Mark Fettes s theoretical work is focused on understanding the dynamics, or "ecology", of language, imagination and community, and its implications for educational policy and practice. This is interlinked with collaborative action research in various contexts, including First Nation communities and the Esperanto language community. He currently hold grants from the President's Research fund, SSHRC, and the Esperantic Studies Foundation. He received his doctoral degree from the University of Toronto.

Gillian Judson completed her Ph.D. at SFU in 2009. She worked as a Research Assistant to IERG during much of her degree program, and has been a post-doctoral fellow since Jan. 2009, and was asked to take on a Director position in 2010. She has made significant contributions of both a theoretical and practical nature to our work. She has regularly taught in our M.Ed. programs, she has been responsible for revising and developing our planning frameworks, and she is much in demand as an impressive speaker and workshop leader. 

Gadi Alexander completed his PhD in curriculum development at UCLA at 1976 as a Fulbright graduate exchange student. Since then he has been a member of the department of education at Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva, Israel. He served as the head of the teacher education program at BGU and was twice the head of the graduate program in curriculum and instruction. He has specialized in the cultivation of creative thinking and in educational technology. In the last ten years he co-headed an intervention project called  School 2000 - building magnet schools for mindful integration of technology in Israeli high schools, and initiated and collaborated on a nine program TV series on creative thinking called Flights of Fancy. At SFU Gadi collaborated in 2005/6 with Prof. David Kaufman at the Learning and Instructional Development Centre and with Prof. Kieran Egan and his research group at IERG.

 Dr Laurie Anderson is the Executive Director of SFU Vancouver, an Associate Member of the Faculty of Education, and an Associate with SFU's Centre for Dialogue Program.  Laurie has been a elementary teacher, principal, District Principal, Director of Curriculum, Associate Superintendent and Interim Superintendent of Schools for the Vancouver Board of Education. He has also been a consultant on education reform for the Ministry of Education, an Adjunct Professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC, a curriculum developer and instructor for Vancouver Community College, a mediation consultant for schools throughout BC, a facilitator of the VSB's Leadership Development Program, and developer and instructor of the Instructor Training Program, a course taken by over 2,000 aspiring teachers of adults over the last 22 years. Laurie has presented at conferences in Canada and the US, taught leadership courses in Hong Kong, Bangkok and various cities in China, provided education reform consultation to educational authorities in Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Hong Kong, and facilitated planning and visioning sessions with various public and private sector organizations in Vancouver. Laurie obtained his BEd, MA and PhD at SFU, served as a Director on the Canadian Bureau of International Education for six years and completed the Certificate Program in Conflict Resolution at the Justice Institute. Laurie's academic interests include the nature, meaning and intractability of educational reform, program implementation, leadership in general and archetypal leadership in particular, and contemplative education. 

Annabella Cant is a preschool instructor who has studied the art of education in her home country of Romania, as well as in Holland, Hungary, and Canada. Between 1997 and 1998, she completed her Masters of Education at SFU, during which time she worked as a research assistant for Kieran Egan. Since returning to Romania in 1999, she has been realizing her dream of opening a preschool in Romania. Annabella is the founder of Foundation Wonderland, a humanitarian and educational organization. Beginning with 2008 Foudation Wonderland, led by Joeri Cant, has started a new educational project called Open Eyes through which new educational ideas from all over the world are brought into Romania and shared with kindergarten and primary teachers from all over the country. Through Open Eyes, the foundation organizes international conferences and workshops. These courses offer relevant information meant to help implement Imaginative Education in Romania. Cant Annabella published a book in March 2010 intended to improve preschool education in Romania: “A New Outlook on Preschool Education, The Annabella Method  - An alternative way of teaching meant to bring back the pleasure of being a kindergarten teacher and to help implement the curriculum”.

Sheri Dunton is the Assistant Director and co-founder of Corbett Charter School in Corbett, Oregon.  She is first and always an exemplary practitioner of Imaginative Education and teaches full-time in a primary classroom.  Outside the classroom, Sheri is a strong advocate for IE, most recently at the National Charter School Conference in Minneapolis.  In addition to her general classroom expertise, Sheri is licensed and experienced as an administrator, special education teacher and reading specialist.  Her understanding of the regulatory web in which public schools operate has been instrumental in preserving a quality educational experience for students who qualify for federal program assistance.  Sheri's interests include the impact of IE on students as they move through the grades and the faithful dissemination of Imaginative Education.

Yannis Hadzigeorgiou is a professor of education in the School of Education at the University of the Aegean, in Rhodes, Greece. He teaches curriculum theory, and science methods and activities. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the Aristotelian University in Greece (1981), a master’s degree in biomechanics/physical education (1986) and a master’s degree in education/applied didactics (1987) from Leeds University, and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction (1994) from the University of Northern Iowa, USA. His research interests as well as his published work are in the area of science concept development, curriculum reform, imaginative learning and ecological education. He is author of 6 books, in the area of curriculum and instruction, one of which has been a standard textbook for undergraduate courses on curriculum at several universities in Greece. In 2003 he developed a theoretical framework for a holistic/ecological curriculum, while in 2005, as a Fulbright scholar, he did work on Inclusive Practices in Science Education. Since that time he has been involved, as a collaborator, in a major project on Inclusive Practices, at the university of N. Iowa. He has been also actively involved in empirical research in the context of imaginative education, and as member of the IERG. 

Dr. Qing-yu Pan received BA, MA and PhD in Pedagogy at Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong Province, PR China. He is now an Associate Professor at that institution. He spent six months as a Visiting Scholar with the IERG, and had a remarkably productive time. He has recently published a book called Imaginative Teaching that synthesizes his knowledge of IE with his own ideas about pedagogy. He also prepared the Chinese language section of our website.

Max Wyman, O.C. Max Wyman is one of Canada s leading cultural commentators. He is the author of a number of books on the arts, the latest of which, The Defiant Imagination: Why Culture Matters, is a passionate manifesto asserting the central importance of the arts and culture to modern society. He was for six years a member of the board of the Canada Council for the Arts, and in 2006 completed four years as President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCU).  For his services to the arts, he was in 2001 made an Officer of the Order of Canada, Canada s highest civilian honour, and in 2003 Simon Fraser University made him an honorary Doctor of Letters.

 Dan Birch has experienced twenty-five years of university leadership experience, half of that as Vice President (Academic) and Provost at the University of British Columbia, prior to which he was Dean of Education at UBC. At Simon Fraser University, he served as Dean of Education, Associate Vice President (Academic), Acting Vice President (Academic) and Acting President. He also has twelve years of experience on the boards of three teaching hospitals, including three years as a Board Chair. He has provided leadership in international development, in multi-cultural agencies, and the United Way.

 Ronna Chisholm is co-founder and president of dossiercreative inc., an award-winning branding and design innovation studio. [www.dossiercreative.com] Founded nearly two decades ago, dossiercreative has established itself as a leading innovative design firm serving a North American clientele including Coca-Cola Canada, Vincor International and AG Hair Cosmetics. dossiercreative is known for creating groundbreaking, internationally successful brands such as Mike‘s Hard Lemonade. dossiercreative's work covers branding and design including brand naming, identities, packaging design and 3D design. In addition, the company is a trailblazer in the area of creative intelligence. Accolades from prestigious organizations, and features in prominent publications such as Communications Arts, Applied Arts and Packaging World, attest to the quality of the work of the dossier team. Ronna is a spirited entrepreneur with impressive financial training and a keen nose for emerging, leading-edge ideas. She is passionate about exploring and embracing differences in thinking styles, personalities, beliefs and cultures

Mark Frein is the Chief Executive Officer for The Refinery Leadership Partners, a leadership development consulting firm.  Mark joined The Refinery seven years ago, taking responsibility for building the firm’s consulting practice.  Over those seven years the firm has grown from a small local firm to an international enterprise, with personnel in four different countries serving a range of world-leading client organizations in three languages.  Mark has held the positions of Consulting Practice Leader, Managing Director, and now CEO. He continues to practice in the field with clients, with a focus on creative program design and senior executive development.  At The Refinery, Mark is committed to unlocking human potential in the firm and with clients.  Similarly, he is committed to raising the bar on education in general and has held Board positions and provided volunteer service for community education organizations for years.  He lives in Austin, Texas and works out of The Refinery’s office in Austin.  Mark completed his PhD in Education at the University of British Columbia in 1997 and his thesis explored the concept of imagination in the history of educational thought.  He first met Professor Egan while taking course-work for his Master’s degree.  Kieran’s philosophy of education has had a profound impact on the educational design methods used by Mark’s firm.

 Linda Kaser is a co-leader of the Network of Performance Based Schools and the Aboriginal Education School Network in British Columbia, Canada. She has served as an elementary and secondary principal, and a district leader. She has worked in senior policy roles with two provincial governments with special responsibilities for literacy, student achievement, and rural education.  As a faculty member at two BC universities and an advisor at a third, Linda is committed to creating stronger links between the academy and practitioners.

 Larry Kuehn is Director of Research and Technologyat the BC Teachers’ Federation. He has particular interests in education policy, technology, and social issues. His responsibilities include the BCTF International Solidarity Program. He has taught English in Kitimat, Kettle Valley, and Kamloops, and was president of the BCTF, 1981-84. He is the co-author of the book, Pandora’s Box: Free trade, corporate power, and Canadian education. He has written extensively on issues related to education and globalization, and trade agreements, and on the social impact of information technology in education. He has recently completed a Doctor of Education degree at UBC.