J. Derek Larson - Board Chairman and Founder of TAO Education

Email: jdlars@sbcglobal.net

   I have been coordinating Outdoor Education programs at three different schools since 1989. At San Francisco's University High School, I inherited a modest outdoor program and built it up to attract nearly 1/3 of the student body each year. I worked hard to attract the students from less privileged backgrounds, and many of them found a place for themselves through "Outdoor Ed", a sense of community that eluded them elsewhere in high school.

   In 1998, I moved to the Lake Tahoe area and worked as a founding faculty member at The Sage Ridge school in Reno, where I started their outdoor program from scratch.

   In 1999, I started a guide service called Tahoe Adventure Outfitters. While a rewarding endeavor, it brought me away from the youth work and field teaching that I love so much. This set the stage for TAO Education, Inc. I wanted to build a collaborative of the very best teachers and outdoor guides and to be able to offer our services at low cost. You are invited to help us build this public service!

To read Derek's Teaching Resume, click here.

To read Testimonials about Derek, click here.

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