Adventures in Writing Camp was created by Stanford-educated authors Hans and Jen Hartvickson in collaboration with Doctor Alison Nordyke and teacher Jonny D. Williams.
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Jennifer Hartvickson, Founder
Jennifer Hartvickson travels the country speaking to schools, art associations and after school programs about the importance of setting goals and making plans. She has presented assemblies to over 150,000 students at over 200 elementary schools across the United States, using her experiences as an author and illustrator to delight, educate and inspire young readers and writers. Jennifer has extensive background in forward-thinking educational ventures. She served as Director of Marketing and Operations at A.S.K. Learning and was co-founder and Campus Director of InsideTrack Learning, a student recruitment and retention services organization. Jennifer holds a Master’s in Education and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Stanford University.
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Hans Hartvickson, Founder
Hans (along with his wife Jen) is the author of books including “Mister Lemur’s Train of Thought” and “It Will Take a Lot of Us to Lift a Hippopotamus,” and the founder of the educational band “The Scheming Lemurs.” Hans and Jen are the creators of the GATE class “My Child The Author” and have taught eBook making workshops to teachers and librarians. Hans earned an M.B.A from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. While attending Wharton, he served as the president of Wharton Toastmasters. Hans holds a B.A. from Stanford University, where he majored in economics and earned a secondary major in public policy. In addition to his work in education, Hans spent 10 years in financial services, as a Vice President at an investment bank and a Senior Research Analyst at a San Francisco investment fund.
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Dr. Alison Nordyke, Curriculum Development
Dr. Nordyke has created level-set curriculum used by Kids Love Writing that addresses the writing, science and social studies components of the common core. Dr. Nordyke holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from The University of Southern California, a Masters in Education in curriculum and instruction from Concordia, and a Bachelors in Child Development from Cal State Fullerton. Her unique combination of theoretical research and hands-on application allows Kids Love Writing to create curriculum that delights, inspires and educates students.
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Jonny D. Williams (a.k.a Jonny D. Lemur), Musical Learning
Jonny D. Lemur has created music and musical curriculum used by Kids Love Writing. In this role, Jonny blends his classroom experience as a 3rd grade teacher at San Ramon Valley’s Quail Run Elementary School with his passion for writing and playing music. In his early 20’s, he established his own record label and traveled the country performing music. Jonny currently performs regularly with two Bay Area musical groups. His musical teaching experiences include private instruction in guitar, song writing, and “full band” classes with Garage Band Academy. Jonny also developed a course called “Musicianship,” which he taught in the public school sector at West Sacramento Early College Prep charter school in West Sacramento, California. In addition, he has created and recorded entertaining educational songs with “KLABLAB.”
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Blake Foss (a.k.a Baron Von Blake), Web and IT
Blake creates the web presences for Kids Love Writing, manages our IT needs, and generally oversees all things technical in the organization . Blake’s background includes extensive experience in web application development and commercial art and design, which enables him to provide a fusion between creative and technical. He has been involved in web development since 1996 and has worked with several education focused companies, including ASK Learning. Blake is an accomplished photographer and videographer, currently working on a stop motion short about a young boy’s vivid imagination as an Astronaut. He is originally from Sydney, Australia.
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Principal Kevin Keegan, Director
As an experienced elementary school principal, Kevin Keegan brings the public school administrator’s perspective to Kids Love Writing’s board of directors. Kevin is currently the principal of the Ormondale School in the Bay Area’s Portola Valley School District. He has been recognized for his collaboration with staff and community, as well as with groups such as the Silicon Valley Educational Foundation and Altera Foundation to bring unique and innovative programs to his schools.
Prior to his time at Ormondale, Kevin spent time as the principal at Kathryn Hughes Elementary in the Santa Clara Unified School District, and as a 4th grade teacher. He is particularly interested in early literacy, equity, STEM education, and project based learning. Kevin is married with three children.
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Beth Sutkus Thompson, Director
Beth Sutkus Thompson brings substantial experience in educational non-profit operation to the board of Kids Love Writing. Beth is the founding Executive Director of KIPP Bay Area Schools, an innovative organization that is revolutionizing education in low income neighborhoods. In this role, she developed and implemented a strategic growth plan for the organization, identifying and chartering new locations for new schools.
Prior to KIPP, Beth was on the founding team of NewSchools Venture Fund, a philanthropic fund that invests in entrepreneurs that are transforming the public education system. At NewSchools, she provided strategic consulting and operational support to several nonprofit ventures in the portfolio, managed the due diligence and business plan review process, and spearheaded various events and initiatives to engage NewSchools’ network of business, education, and policy leaders. Beth holds a B.A. in political science, an M.A. in Education, and an MBA with a certificate in nonprofit management, all from Stanford University. She is married with one child.
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W. Andrew McClelland, Director
Andy McClelland is the Director of Operations for smartschoolsplus, a provider of educational staffing services to public school districts and charter schools. In this role, he consults with superintendents, administrators, and school board members to help them balance their educational and budgetary needs. Andy’s operational and “workforce management” expertise positions him to provide the board valuable insights on camp staffing and retention.
Andy is a graduate of Stanford University, where he majored in Sociology with a concentration in Organizational Management. Andy and his wife have 3 children, as well as an unexpectedly agile 120 pound African Sulcata tortoise.
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