A catalyst, noun: a person or thing that provokes or speeds significant change or action.
The Catalyst Institute is where you gain the practical tools to advance experiential pedagogy from the periphery to the core of your school with others who share a passion for bringing immersive and authentic learning to the forefront of education.
Immerse yourself in a five-day retreat with other passionate school leaders. Led by thought leaders and practitioners, you will:
- ✓Discover your top strengths through a self-assessment and guided workshop, including what they mean, how they apply to you, your team, and your institution in the context of building sustainable change.
- ✓Cultivate resilient, trust-rich teams that can champion bold ideas and sustain long-term transformation.
- ✓Investigate concrete, evidence-based frameworks and how to implement and integrate them to strengthen experiential education at your institution.
- ✓Develop an iterative and individualized action plan that is rooted in your school’s vision and mission.
Learning is deepened throughout the Institute through a number of experiential learning methods, including:
- ✓Asset-mapping
- ✓Case studies
- ✓Peer feedback protocols
- ✓Reflective journaling
- ✓Fireside chats with fellow inspiring educators
Catalytic transformation does not end after the retreat. Because change requires accountability, support, and iteration, we include a rigorous 6-month coaching program, included with your registration. This 6-month coaching cohort is a set of structured follow-ups to support continued implementation and accountability through:
- ✓One-on-one coaching
- ✓Group coaching sessions
- ✓School team coaching sessions
Live and learn together
Participants will live and learn at a remote, idyllic and intimate retreat setting to immerse themselves in a community and the work of institutional growth.
Support that outlasts the retreat
Structured follow-up for continued implementation and accountability.
Field-leading practitioners
Thought leaders and practitioners guide discussions and workshops.
Beyond the seminar room
Fireside chats, night hikes, and community celebrations deepen learning and build a community of leaders that endures beyond the institute.
A retreat set at Caldera
Nestled on the serene shores of Blue Lake in the Cascade Mountain Range, Caldera Arts Center offers an unforgettable backdrop of towering Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir forests at 3,500 feet above sea level—just 16 miles west of Sisters, Oregon. Set on 119 acres of awe-inspiring natural beauty on the traditional lands of the Tana‘nma of the Warm Springs bands and Paiute, this intentionally remote campus invites you to unplug from the everyday and step into a place where imagination blooms and community thrives. Here, creativity isn’t just encouraged—it’s woven into the landscape itself, from the quiet rustle of the forest to the clear mirror of the lake. Caldera is a place that makes you feel anything is possible.
What you’ll take away from the Institute
A Personalized Strategic Action Plan
On the final day of Catalyst, we transition from learning to doing. Participants work individually and with their school colleagues to draft a personalized vision for institutional evolution.
Models of Integrated Ex Ed Programming
Understanding of specific, inspiring models of integrated experiential education programming in each of the five threads of the Catalyst Institute: core academics + Ex Ed pedagogy, Ex Ed assessment, faculty empowerment and activation, Ex Ed and belonging practices, and community as classroom.
Actionable Leadership Skills
Actionable and empowering leadership skills along with approaches to effective team management in facilitating and overseeing institutional transformation.
A Community of Passionate Peers
Cohorts are launched during the Institute and provide an anchoring, intimate, supportive sub-community in which participants will digest their learnings from the day.
Post-Institute Coaching
Six months of support and accountability through a coaching cohort, individual coaching, and school team coaching.
Five threads to revolutionize independent schools
To revolutionize independent schools as they evolve to advance and deepen experiential learning through five critical threads to bring experiential education from the periphery to the core of institutions.
Faculty Activation
Activating faculty training, professional growth models, coaching and supporting the people who are teaching our students.
Academic Content + Experiential Education
Deepening connection to content and building the “durable skills” that students need for a democratic society and a skilled workforce.
Inclusion and Belonging
Deepening the integration of inclusion and belonging using Ex Ed as a tool to build cultural competency, student leadership, student agency, and belonging.
Community / World as Classroom
Expanding community partnerships, global competencies, and experiential learning in all its forms and sustainability in all its forms.
Ex Ed Assessment
Measuring learning and impact, grading, mastery, and college readiness.
Workshops & sessions
The five-day institute will include a range of interactive, experiential workshops, some of which will be shared by all participants, and others that will allow for variety and choice. No one day at the Institute is the same, but every day shares some common themes. Each session and activity will be led by field-leading practitioners, including Derek Kanerek of Catlin Gabel School and Mason Hults of Gallup, and expert facilitators from prolific independent schools.
Innovation Hub & Discussion 2025 Speaker Tony Wagner
This interactive workshop with entrepreneurs and changemakers explores the dynamic landscapes of work and education. Participants will have the opportunity to work with leaders in sustainability and technology with current perspectives that illuminate the types of skills graduates really need to navigate this moment when the capacities of A.I. offer enormous challenges and opportunities.
North Star Workshop
This workshop guides school leaders through a backwards design approach to align their programs with a clear and compelling Portrait of a Learner rooted in their school’s guiding principles, their mission, vision, and values.
From Theory to Practice Models of Centered Experiential Education
This workshop offers participants a practical, detail-rich exploration of how to move experiential education to the core of school programs through five key best practices.
Leading with Strengths Unleashing Your Potential for Impact
In this workshop, harness your unique leadership strengths to drive purposeful innovation and spark institutional momentum with Mason Hults of Gallup.
Building Teams That Thrive Catalyzing Culture and Collaboration with Derek Kanerek of Catlin Gabel School
This workshop empowers participants with strategies to build high-functioning, change-making teams by cultivating a strong, intentional organizational culture rooted in experiential education.
Catalyst for Change Leading Purpose-Driven Change
Using the metaphor of chemistry, participants will consider what conditions make transformation possible, what needs to be released or introduced to spark growth, and how to manage the pace of change.
The Keystone Effect How Inclusion and Belonging Hold School Culture Together
Schools often experience this work in cycles, with moments of urgency, bursts of energy, and long stretches of fatigue or uncertainty. This workshop invites participants to step back and view inclusion and belonging through a keystone lens: as a core, load-bearing element of a school’s ecosystem rather than a standalone initiative. Using experiential activities and real-world examples, participants will explore how it shapes relationships, resource flow, and belonging, and what happens to institutional culture when it is weakened or removed.
Catalyzing Momentum Crafting Mission-Aligned Action Plans
This culminating workshop guides participants through the creation of a personalized action plan using insights gathered throughout the institute—from their call to innovation and signals of integrated experiential education to team culture and change management strategies.
Carrying It Forward From Insight to Action Through Cohort Commitment
Transformative learning only matters if it travels home with us. This closing session invites participants to consolidate their insights into a cohesive transference plan they can bring back to their schools. Each leader will present their action plan within their cohort using a structured tuning protocol, ensuring they receive thoughtful feedback, support, and fresh perspectives.
Designers & facilitators
The Catalyst Facilitators are passionate educational leaders who have been working alongside ISEEN staff to design and refine the Catalyst Institute. Together, they have connected with experts across several fields: core academics and experiential education pedagogy, assessment, faculty empowerment and activation, DEIB, and community as classroom. They bring their expertise to the development of engaging, practical workshop content.
Lauren Kelley
Dr. Barret Fabris
Cris Harris
Derek Kanerek
Workshop lead, Building Teams That Thrive.
Derek serves as the Upper School Head at the Catlin Gabel School, which he first joined in 2018 as Upper School Academic Dean as part of an initial movement toward mastery-based learning. Derek’s leadership work begins with the belief that nearly all challenges schools face are, at their core, learning challenges that require us to meet each educator where they are and coach them to learn and grow. He holds a PhD in Education Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, where he studied the intersection of organizational theory, school leadership, and adult development & learning under the advisement of Dr. Ellie Drago-Severson. Derek and his partner and three boys are happiest when exploring the Pacific Northwest’s beaches, forests, and rivers by paddleboard or on foot.
Mason Hults
Workshop lead, Leading with Strengths.
Mason is a Leadership Development Consultant at Gallup, delivering Gallup’s transformational courses on change management, Engagement, CliftonStrengths, and coaching for performance in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. As a workplace consultant, he embraces Gallup’s engagement sciences and strengths-based psychology to empower and equip leaders to build thriving teams. His approach to development, culture change, and leadership is grounded, practical, and people-centered. Mason has a degree in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and spent a decade living and working in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Niger, Spain, and France. Before joining Gallup, he served as Director of Pedagogy and Programming at Envoys, a leader in global experiential education, where he helped design and scale cross-cultural learning programs, partnered with school leaders to integrate experiential pedagogy, and engaged students as co-creators in shaping transformative educational journeys. He continues to consult with independent schools, supporting leaders in aligning strategy with student-centered values.
Schedule at a glance
No one day at the Institute is the same, but every day shares some common themes.
What it costs to bring your team
Registration fee includes four nights of lodging at Caldera Arts Center near Sisters, Oregon and all meals starting with Day 1 dinner through Day 5 breakfast. Three lodging options are available with different pricing. If participants decide not to take the complimentary shuttle provided, they are responsible for their transportation from Redmond Airport to Caldera.
Refund and Cancellation Policy
Should you need to cancel your registration you will have two options. A colleague may be substituted at no fee or, if you cancel without substituting your place, the refund policy below will go into effect:
Refund for cancellation greater than 61 days prior to the Institute.
Refund for cancellation 60–30 days prior to the Institute.
Refund for cancellation under 30 days prior to the Institute.
Who is the Catalyst Institute for?
Catalyst is designed for teams of school leaders already well-versed in experiential learning pedagogy and eager to take the next step in school evolution. Those who oversee large sections of school programming, such as:
Many of our attendees come together as groups of three from the same organization. This is especially fruitful when creating action plans during the Institute, and for momentum-building and commitment to galvanizing action upon your return. Recognizing that catalytic change comes in many forms, ISEEN invites individual attendees to the Institute as well.
Individual, school group, and cohort coaching
Lasting institutional change requires a roadmap, support, and systems that ensure follow through. Catalyst is built on a high-touch, six-month extension model designed to turn theory into practice. Catalyst includes six months of extension work beyond October, structured as follows:
Structured follow-up
Post-Institute, your cohorts meet for structured coaching and follow-up to apply new skills and learn from peers.
Two sessions with a lead facilitator
Catalyst alumni meet virtually with one of the Catalyst lead facilitators. These sessions focus on problem-solving, accountability, and celebrating the milestones of implementation.
Two sessions for your team
The two post-Institute School Team Coaching sessions support the team of changemakers and the nuances of driving change in their specific institutional context.
Frequently asked questions
Ready to bring your team?
Applications for the October 9–13, 2026 Catalyst Institute in Sisters, Oregon are open now.