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Our Instructors

Fred Brown is a certified special education director, principal, teacher and special education case manager with thirty-five years experience in education in both the public and private sectors. He holds a masters degree in Educational Leadership and is currently working as an educational evaluator and consulting special education director. Fred brings a great deal of experience and depth to his classes. Being both an experienced teacher and an administrator enriches his teaching a great deal.

Melody Christensen, Director of AICE, was a classroom teacher for many years, has taught at all grade levels. Her experience includes working with students with exceptionalities both in the United States and England. As Director of the American Institute for Creative Education, Melody instructs classes in exceptionalities, literature, writing and assessment.

Betty Duff, Ph.D., brings to the AICE classroom a vigorous curiosity and a deep love for teaching and learning. Betty earned her B.A. in English, Magna Cum Laude, from Widener University (Chester, PA), her M.A. in English and Ph.D. in American History from the University of Maine at Orono. For her Master's degree thesis, Betty wrote a novel, The Down the River Girl and her doctoral dissertation was, "Class and Gender Roles in the Company Towns of Millinocket and East Millinocket, Maine, and Benham and Lynch, Kentucky: A Comparative History." Dr. Duff is the recipient of numerous awards and has taught at Husson University and the University of Maine at Orono. In recent years, Betty has facilitated conferences in teaching Maine History sponsored by the University of Maine and the Maine Humanities Council. She is a writer and a radio host of the Writers' Forum which features local authors reading their own compositions on WERU Community Radio 89.9 in East Orland, Maine.

Crystal Found graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Finance. After working in the business world, Crystal returned to Eastern Connecticut State University, where she focused in the dynamic studies of educational philosophy, learning theories, and elementary education. Upon earning her Master’s degree in Education at the University, Crystal taught in Connecticut, and subsequently moved to Maine. She currently teaches science to fourth graders, and offers science, math, and reading educational courses to AICE students.

Donna Packard earned a Master’s degree in Education from Lesley University and a B.A. in counseling and human services from Vermont College. She teaches several courses for AICE, presents workshops on a variety of educational topics nationally, and has taught elsewhere at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The author of three publications and numerous articles, Donna also works as a personal and professional development coach, consultant, facilitator, and musician. With a teaching style that is experiential and progressive, Donna views education as an opportunity to inspire and empower students to transform themselves and the world around them.

Stephen York, Dean of Instruction at AICE, earned his B.A. degree from Norwich University (Vermont College) with a focus on education and liberal studies, and was awarded the M.Div. from the Starr King School, a consortium member of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. His 90 semester hours of graduate work focused on an interdisciplinary study of education and the humanities. He has done additional studies in special education. An experienced teacher in public and private school classrooms in New England, Mr. York also serves as Graduate Adjunct Faculty in Education at the Plymouth State University in New Hampshire.