NATALIE LAMPERT
New York University, M.A., Journalism
Elon University, B.A., English, B.A., International Relations

A widely traveled writer and reporter, Natalie wrote her first story when she was six years old and is currently finishing her first book, a work of narrative nonfiction to be published by Random House (2020). Natalie grew up in Washington, D.C., and Stuttgart, Germany, and currently lives in Boulder, Colorado. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from New York University and a bachelor’s degree from Elon University. During college, Natalie spent a semester abroad in Ghana, where she conducted field research for her undergraduate thesis, an investigative, feature-writing project. After college, Natalie traveled to Sri Lanka, where she was a Fulbright scholar teaching literature to university students. Natalie has worked in a variety of writing environments, including as a fact-checker at The New York Times and as a research assistant for The Atavist Magazine. Her articles and essays have been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Marie Claire, Slate, and The New Republic, among others. Natalie has led a Putney high school writing program in Prague, a journalism program in Oxford, and also Putney’s Writing in Ireland program.

JOHN O’CONNOR
University of the Pacific, M.A., Education
Saint Michael’s College, B.A., Religious Studies

Throughout John’s life, exploration and development of interpersonal connection has been of utmost importance in his learning and daily growth. While at Saint Michael’s College, he studied Buddhism and Eastern religion, and visited South India for a study abroad program. He was immediately inspired by the people and cultures and has since returned to India, Nepal, and parts of Southeast Asia to further explore these traditions and provide service for people in need. During a study abroad semester, John lived in a Buddhist monastery with Burmese monks and practiced various forms of meditation, in addition to participating in retreats and taking other academic courses. After graduation, John worked in a school in Massachusetts, but desired to get involved in experiential education. For a year he lived and worked aboard Schooner Roseway, a 137-foot wooden ship that ran educational programs out of Boston and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More recently, John has been living in the Bay Area and just completed a graduate program in education while working as a multidisciplinary fourth grade teacher at an elementary school. He works on developing compassion and believes that kindness and service are vitally important to the cultivation of a healthier world. John has led high school student trips abroad to India and Nepal.