David Gilbert
David Gilbert’s primary association with ENF has been with the Outdoor Academy. His introduction to OA began with a visit in 1993 from ENF’s then executive director Helen Waite. Helen came to discuss her dream of a semester school, hoping that Greensboro Day School, where David was academic dean, would be interested in the concept. Convinced by Helen’s vision for OA, David was able to bring his school along to become one of OA’s six founding member schools, and he has served as his school’s liaison to OA ever since. After participating in some early advisory meetings as the school’s curriculum and program were being designed, David was invited to serve on the OA Advisory Board. He was elected to the ENF Board of Trustees in 2005. In the spring of 2009 David added another dimension to his involvement with OA as his oldest daughter joined Semester 28. Reflecting on the impact this experience has had on his daughter, David comments, “Helen’s vision for OA truly became a reality for me through my daughter who, coincidentally, had been born only weeks before Helen’s first visit to my school.”
As Academic Dean at Greensboro Day School with over 30 years of experience as an independent school administrator, teacher of math, physics and computer science, and an advocate for outdoor experiential education, David feels his primary service to the ENF Board is to attend to the long-term vitality and viability of the Outdoor Academy. Given the mission and philosophy of ENF that undergird the school, David sees OA as a school whose program exemplifies experiential learning, stewardship of the natural world, and the development of the individual as a responsible, contributing member of one’s local and global community – all critical components of a 21st-century educational institution. David is committed to helping the program prosper and acquire a reputation of preeminence nationally.
David was graduated from Amherst College with a BA in chemistry and subsequently earned an MAT in Secondary Science from Duke University. He did additional graduate work in the history and philosophy of science at Wesleyan University (CT) and in educational administration and science education at Teachers College of Columbia University, which he attended as a Klingenstein Fellow.
In his free time David enjoys playing cello as a member of the Philharmonia of Greensboro and in other ensembles. He also enjoys hiking, backpacking and whitewater canoeing. Each spring he leads his school’s 6-day backpacking expedition for the 90 students of the junior class to Pisgah National Forest, a stone’s throw from Eagle’s Nest.
