Welcome to this exciting venture in tackling 21st century challenges in education, parenting, ecology, economics and social issues by using creativity and community. I’d love to hear your story of beating the odds.  Please send them to laurie@BeatingTheOddsNow.com.

For thirty years, I’ve helped underserved young people, their families and their schools beat the odds in rural, urban and suburban settings – unleashing self-confidence, a love of learning and a collaborative spirit. I’ve taught social studies, history, writing, math, reading, drama and art to children, ages 5 to 18 in public, private and alternative schools. My work has included teaching at the community college and university level, as well as training over 5000 teachers in visual literacy for the Polaroid Foundation. In addition, I’ve used visual art and storytelling in consensus building, leadership training, conflict prevention and values clarification (all useful in beating the odds) with government organizations (NASA, Department of Interior, Army Corps of Engineers) and social service agencies (Hospitals, Hospices and Foster Homes). You can see those murals and dramas, along with my artwork at http://www.soulemporium.com. There’s lots of cool books and dvd’s there, too.

All of my work comes under the umbrella of Unity Through Creativity, a non-profit 501 C3 corporation whose mission is to help build a flourishing world through creativity and community – no matter what the odds.

Now I’m coaching teachers in project-based learning and helping to write curriculum for the Instutite of Noetic Sciences, the Create Peace Project and the One World Global Youth Project   I’m an artist-in-residence for the Create Peace Project and Youth in Arts.