Our organization
InSTEP is an incorporated non-profit 501(c)(3) organization
administered by a volunteer board of community members and teachers dedicated to assuring that student international travel opportunities
are accessible to all who meet trip requirements.
For support of other extra-curricular activities, please contact our friends at L.I.E.F., lopezislandeducationfoundation.org
administered by a volunteer board of community members and teachers dedicated to assuring that student international travel opportunities
are accessible to all who meet trip requirements.
For support of other extra-curricular activities, please contact our friends at L.I.E.F., lopezislandeducationfoundation.org
Here is the current InSTEP board of directors:
Isaac Berg was first impacted by InSTEP ten years ago as a student on the Japanese Connections tour. Since then, he graduated college and has traveled to 30 more countries, spending almost two years abroad in various parts of Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. He currently lives on Lopez with his wife and young son and works for a local youth nonprofit. He is excited to be a part of InSTEP and to help provide current and future students the same travel opportunities that influenced him.
Patricia Burleson and her husband, Hugh, along with teacher Kurt Jacobs, have led annual study tours to Japan for local high school students since 2001. Patricia was a founding member of Lopez InSTEP (formerly known as Lopez Island Foreign Exchange). While team teaching with Greg Ewert they shared a hope that someday there would be a way to support international travel opportunities for Lopez Island students. Next thing she knew, Greg had started a committee and called a meeting.
Susan Corbin currently serves as Treasurer. She has prior experience in public finance as a budget officer and court administrator. Susan was the first director of the Lopez Children’s Center. She and her husband David raise Navajo-Churro sheep on the island. They appreciate their daughter’s experience traveling with the French Club.
Nancy Ewert moved to Lopez Island in 1988 along with her husband Greg Ewert. Nancy traveled as frequently and as far away from home as possible prior to starting a family and she and Greg prioritized travel as they raised their family. When they were not able to travel, they hosted international travelers in their home. Greg started what became the inSTEP program and worked tirelessly to continue these programs until his death in 2012. Nancy shares his passion for education through international travel in the Lopez School. All three daughters, now in their 20s, were participants in international travel programs through the Lopez School and continue to reap the benefits in their adult lives.
Richard Fagen is a retired Stanford professor with a long-standing interest in overseas education. He has traveled to more than 50 countries and has lived for extended periods in Mexico and Chile. He and his wife have been full time Lopez Island residents since 1993.
Lisa Geddes is an elementary music teacher and secondary Spanish teacher at Lopez Island School. She has devoted much of her time and energy helping to facilitate learning that extends beyond the classroom walls, particularly through international travel. She leads a service learning trip to Nicaragua with Lopez High School students every two years.
Geoff Heard lived in Latin America for ten years during his childhood. He has traveled to over 25 countries and spent two years working in the Middle East. He has been a pilot for a major airline for 27 years. Geoff moved to Lopez full-time in 2007 with his wife, Sally, and his daughter,Maggie. He has seen first-hand the rewards of the international travel programs: Maggie has been on three school trips (France, Québec, and Nicaragua), and Geoff went along as a chaperone on the 2015 Nicaragua trip.
Dave Sather is the principal of the Lopez Island School where he arrived in 2013. Having been born in the Skagit Valley and raised in Southeast Alaska, Sather is familiar to the rush of tides and open pastures. "What I'm most excited about are all the opportunities that our students can enjoy with a close knit and supportive island community." Sather is already preparing his own trip to Greece in the Spring of 2016.
Richard Têtu was working in ski area and resort management when he realized that he loved teaching. After returning to college to get a teaching degree, he moved to Lopez in 1987. His wife Debbie and he have led educational trips with students since 1992.
Jane Werntz-Ward is a long-time resident of Lopez Island who worked for years at Lopez School and Islands' Weekly. Widely traveled herself, Jane has been active in the Lopez International Student Travel Education Program and its predecessor, Lopez Island Foreign Exchange, since the 1990s.
Isaac Berg was first impacted by InSTEP ten years ago as a student on the Japanese Connections tour. Since then, he graduated college and has traveled to 30 more countries, spending almost two years abroad in various parts of Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. He currently lives on Lopez with his wife and young son and works for a local youth nonprofit. He is excited to be a part of InSTEP and to help provide current and future students the same travel opportunities that influenced him.
Patricia Burleson and her husband, Hugh, along with teacher Kurt Jacobs, have led annual study tours to Japan for local high school students since 2001. Patricia was a founding member of Lopez InSTEP (formerly known as Lopez Island Foreign Exchange). While team teaching with Greg Ewert they shared a hope that someday there would be a way to support international travel opportunities for Lopez Island students. Next thing she knew, Greg had started a committee and called a meeting.
Susan Corbin currently serves as Treasurer. She has prior experience in public finance as a budget officer and court administrator. Susan was the first director of the Lopez Children’s Center. She and her husband David raise Navajo-Churro sheep on the island. They appreciate their daughter’s experience traveling with the French Club.
Nancy Ewert moved to Lopez Island in 1988 along with her husband Greg Ewert. Nancy traveled as frequently and as far away from home as possible prior to starting a family and she and Greg prioritized travel as they raised their family. When they were not able to travel, they hosted international travelers in their home. Greg started what became the inSTEP program and worked tirelessly to continue these programs until his death in 2012. Nancy shares his passion for education through international travel in the Lopez School. All three daughters, now in their 20s, were participants in international travel programs through the Lopez School and continue to reap the benefits in their adult lives.
Richard Fagen is a retired Stanford professor with a long-standing interest in overseas education. He has traveled to more than 50 countries and has lived for extended periods in Mexico and Chile. He and his wife have been full time Lopez Island residents since 1993.
Lisa Geddes is an elementary music teacher and secondary Spanish teacher at Lopez Island School. She has devoted much of her time and energy helping to facilitate learning that extends beyond the classroom walls, particularly through international travel. She leads a service learning trip to Nicaragua with Lopez High School students every two years.
Geoff Heard lived in Latin America for ten years during his childhood. He has traveled to over 25 countries and spent two years working in the Middle East. He has been a pilot for a major airline for 27 years. Geoff moved to Lopez full-time in 2007 with his wife, Sally, and his daughter,Maggie. He has seen first-hand the rewards of the international travel programs: Maggie has been on three school trips (France, Québec, and Nicaragua), and Geoff went along as a chaperone on the 2015 Nicaragua trip.
Dave Sather is the principal of the Lopez Island School where he arrived in 2013. Having been born in the Skagit Valley and raised in Southeast Alaska, Sather is familiar to the rush of tides and open pastures. "What I'm most excited about are all the opportunities that our students can enjoy with a close knit and supportive island community." Sather is already preparing his own trip to Greece in the Spring of 2016.
Richard Têtu was working in ski area and resort management when he realized that he loved teaching. After returning to college to get a teaching degree, he moved to Lopez in 1987. His wife Debbie and he have led educational trips with students since 1992.
Jane Werntz-Ward is a long-time resident of Lopez Island who worked for years at Lopez School and Islands' Weekly. Widely traveled herself, Jane has been active in the Lopez International Student Travel Education Program and its predecessor, Lopez Island Foreign Exchange, since the 1990s.