Brett Rubenstein

I grew up in Southern Ohio where I fell in love with nature, playing outside, fishing with my grandpa, and visiting our family farm.  It was on a ski trip to Colorado in the early 1980s where I fell in love with the mountains and knew they would forever be a part of my life.  I followed my passion for natural science and mountains to the University of Colorado at Boulder, where I had endless adventures in the backcountry and pursued a degree in Biology.  Early in my career, I taught K-4 science while working as a naturalist and wildlife rehabilitator in Aspen, Colorado. Ultimately my desire to better understand the inner-workings of the living world led me to pursue a MS in Biology at Kansas State University, where I taught college biology and conducted research in the field of physiological plant ecology. Careers as both a research scientist and as a summer camp director helped me realize that my passion was really in education, and I’ve been teaching secondary science and leading experiential trips with students ever since. 

Twenty years later, I stumbled upon Embark Education, and its creative and engaged community of learners who understand the importance and value of real-world learning, curiosity, relationships and commitment to the social-emotional development of adolescents.  I could feel the power of its mission to “human better” by supporting and encouraging students to “courageously inquire, engage and discover a sense of self”, and knew I had to be a part of it!  I could not be more excited to join this community and to grow and learn alongside its students and educators!

I love to ski, and have coached U8-U14 athletes including my own teenage kids who have grown up ski racing, while trying to find time to continue to race competitively in the USSA Alpine Masters.  In addition to skiing, I enjoy mountaineering, cycling, kayaking, nature photography, vegetarian cooking, and watching college athletics. I moved from Colorado Springs to Denver with my family (Carolyn, Jackson and Piper), our two rescued chocolate labs (Bode and Hazel), our cat (Roxy), and cornsnake (Fang).