SALEM, Va. – Judith Painter, an eighth-grade geography teacher at Andrew Lewis Middle School in Salem, has been selected as one of this year's Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Grosvenor teacher fellows.
Painter was chosen, along with 39 other educators from the U.S. and Canada, in recognition of her commitment to geographic education. The 2018 fellows will embark on global expeditions on board the three Lindblad Expeditions ships for a hands-on experience for professional development.
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This past weekend, the fellows traveled to National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., where they participated in a multi-day, hands-on, pre-expedition workshop covering everything from photography to outreach planning. The fellows also had the opportunity to network with Lindblad Expeditions naturalists and past fellows.
The expeditions will take place later this year, and the fellows will begin their 10-17-day expeditions to locations including the Canadian High Arctic, Antarctica, Southeast Alaska, Arctic Svalbard, Norway, Iceland, Greenland and the Galapagos Islands. Painter's expedition will be to Antarctica.
Educators will be accompanied by Lindblad-National Geographic expedition experts, ranging from undersea specialists to National Geographic photographers.
This year marks the 12th year of the Grosvenor Teacher Fellow Program, established to honor former National Geographic Society Chairman Gilbert M. Grosvenor's lifetime commitment to geographic education. The program started with only two fellows in 2007, and has grown over time.
You can see all of this year's fellows on National Geographic's website.