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LEADERSHIP
Our Team
Learning Courage is led by a dedicated team of survivors, educators, and advocates who bring deep experience in independent schools, trauma-informed practices, and institutional change.
Together, we're committed to creating safer learning environments where every student can thrive.
Jamie is the co-founder and CEO of Learning Courage. His experience includes nearly two decades in the private sector in both finance and marketing roles, where he honed his business acumen, strategic thinking, and creative approach. Jamie has also consulted with, helped start, and been involved in board leadership of a variety of nonprofit organizations.
His work with schools began when, in 2016, he shared the story of being sexually abused in 9th grade at Milton Academy. During the school's 9-month investigation, he observed first-hand how important and yet challenging it can be for both survivors and school leaders to rebuild trust and support healing.
Learning Courage came out of his observation that schools needed guidance keeping survivors at the center of incidents of sexual abuse and misconduct. Central to his findings in this work is that being survivor-centered is in the best interests of not just survivors but also the institutions where the abuse occurred. The best way to improve the sector's response to sexual abuse, he reasoned, was to create an organization that collected and shared what they learned.
Jamie graduated from Connecticut College and lives in Portsmouth, NH with his wife, two daughters and a dog that thinks he's actually human.
Amy Wheeler (She/Her), Executive Director & Survivor
Amy Wheeler is a co-founder of Learning Courage and a survivor of sexual abuse. She is also a wise and compassionate independent school educator and administrator with over 30 years of practical, front-line school experience. She knows well the impact of sexual misconduct on students, faculty, staff, and institutions, and the importance of proactive educational training and prevention. Her lived and professional experiences make her uniquely qualified to help schools navigate the complex issues facing independent schools today.
A graduate of Connecticut College, Amy began her career as a "triple-threat" English teacher, dorm parent and coach at Lawrence Academy while raising a family of her own; so she understands well the challenging and very full life led by boarding school faculty and staff.
Amy earned an M.Ed. from Boston College in Educational Leadership and worked for eleven years at The Sage School, a k-8 school for academically gifted students. There she served as Director of Admission and Secondary School Placement, Assistant Head, and interim Head. Simultaneously, she helped to establish the Tremont School as a founding board member. Amy also spent seven years as Upper School Director at Beaver Country Day, followed by three years as Associate Head at The Ethel Walker School, a 6-12 all-girls boarding school in CT.
Amy currently serves on the Board at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where she is a member of the DEI and Governance Committees. She lives in Westport, MA with her partner, Tim.
Alisa Barnard (She/Her), Director of Operations and Consultant
Alisa Barnard is the Director of Operations and a consultant for Learning Courage. She has over 25 years of experience having worked as a "triple threat" Humanities teacher, dorm parent, and coach, and an administrator at Northfield Mount Hermon School, Westtown School, St. Paul's School, and Proctor Academy where she was most recently the Assistant Head of School. She brings patience and a commitment to inclusion and collaboration to the complex work of community and institutional change.
An independent school graduate herself, Alisa has a deep understanding of the way in which the experiences that young people have in their formative years resonate throughout their lives. It is an appreciation for the unique, impactful relationships that develop in independent schools that draws her to the work of prevention, survivor care, and institutional healing.
Alisa is a graduate of Colgate University and Harvard Divinity School and is currently pursuing a Master's in Divinity at Emory University with a focus on chaplaincy. She lives in Dublin, NH where she enjoys swimming in the local lakes all summer and walking in the woods with her dogs in all seasons.
David Smith (He/Him), Financial Consultant
David began working with Learning Courage in early 2020 but took on a larger role in early 2023 to assist the organization with financial and operational matters.
David was a CPA for many years after graduating from Babson College, working for Deloitte & Touche and a small local CPA firm in central Pennsylvania. From there, he spent 13 years at a start-up concierge and lifestyle management company, where he worked his way up to Controller and Vice President of Finance. He ultimately helped lead the team that successfully sold the company to a large corporate conglomerate.
For the last 10+ years, David has applied all that he learned as a CPA and from helping a start-up business grow to acquisition by consulting with small businesses and nonprofits. He provides broad expertise in accounting, budgeting and forecasting, insurance, payroll, human resources, benefits, workflow processes, and implementing leading-edge systems.
Connect With Our Team
Have questions about our work or want to learn more about how we can support your school? We'd love to hear from you.
Learning Courage membership gives your school timely, relevant and vital information about how to reduce sexual misconduct and respond appropriately to incidents when they do occur.
