Jen VanDragt began her journey as an educator with the National Park Service in Yosemite in 2005. Jen spent 11 years in Yosemite as a Wilderness Ranger, teaching visitors from ages 1 to 100 about Earth science, wilderness ethics, and Leave No Trace principles.
In Yosemite, Jen realized her deep interest in equitable learning experiences, and obtained a teaching credential to reach local elementary students. Jen taught in a small rural school in the Eastern Sierra Nevada with 90 students TK-8. During this time, she adventured in the local mountains with her students, giving them meaningful learning experiences in their backyard. Her passion for science instruction in particular led her to PhD Science at Great Minds PBC, a curriculum non-profit. Jen spent 3 years supporting educators nationwide implement hands-on science learning for their students.
After a friendly argument with a friend regarding which field can inspire the most change in the world – public education or health care – she applied for a position as Learning Experience Designer with Health Plan of San Mateo. Jen’s work focuses on designing learning experiences that help HPSM grow into a learning-centered organization. Her favorite parts of her job include wearing a detective hat to conduct needs assessments both big and small, fine-tuning learning objectives, collaborating with her L&D team to create engaging learning activities, and tackling the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve.
Jen has an unwavering commitment to mission-driven work, an obsession with helping people learn and grow through learning-centered design principles, and an incurable curiosity for how to solve big problems with meaningful, respectful, and inclusive learning experiences.