Mark Collard
| Mark Collard | |
|---|---|
|
Collard at ACA Conference '08 | |
| Born |
December 20, 1964 Melbourne, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education | Chisholm Institute of Technology, Clarkson University |
| Occupation | Adventure Educator |
| Known for | Project Adventure facilitator, top-selling author of 'No Props' & 'Count Me In,' developer of playmeo database of group games & activities |
| Website | www.markcollard.com |
Mark Collard is a key figure in the professional development of adventure education in Australia, and was instrumental in the development of Project Adventure in the early 1990s.[1]
Education
Collard graduated from Chisholm Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia in 1985. In 1987, Collard received a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship to study for his MBA at Clarkson University, NY.[2]
Project Adventure
He worked as a management consultant with Horwath & Horwath Services for 2 years before pursuing a 6-month internship with Project Adventure in Hamilton, MA. Collard became one of the first Certified Trainers for Project Adventure in Australia, and began to develop the business of Project Adventure Australia in 1991.[1] Collard continues to be Project Adventure's only Certified Trainer in Australia.
During his ten years with Project Adventure Australia, Collard delivered a wide-variety of public enrolment and custom adventure-based learning programs for school, corporations and community groups all over Australia, New Zealand, south-east Asia and the USA. He has presented dozens of keynote speeches and practical sessions at various state, national and international conferences.[3][4][5][6][7] Collard has worked freelance since 2000, and is noted as one of Australia's leading adventure educators.[8]
In 2012, Mark developed a comprehensive online database of group games and activities called playmeo.com which showcases hundreds of ice-breakers, energisers, trust exercises and team-building games.[9]
Other activities
Collard is registered as an expert witness for adventure education litigation with the County Court, Victoria.[10]
Collard is the author of the top-selling[11] adventure education titles No Props: Great Games with No Equipment [12] and Count Me In: Large Group Activities That Work [13] both published by Project Adventure Inc.
Bibliography
- No Props: Great Games with No Equipment (1996) ISBN 0-646-29708-2
- No Props: Great Games with No Equipment (2005) ISBN 978-0-934387-05-7
- Count Me In: Large Group Activities That Work (2008) ISBN 978-0-934387-30-9
- Inspired Activity e-zine monthly e-newsletter, distributed since 2008
References
- 1 2 InspireYourGroup, Collard's biography.
- ↑ Google Books entry for No Props, describing Collard's educational background.
- ↑ Conference session Adventure Leadership: Processing Techniques, Australian Camps Association Conference, October 2006
- ↑ Outdoor Education journal article We Should Take Fun More Seriously, Journeys, February 2007, Victorian Outdoor Education Association Inc
- ↑ Conference session Effective Programming: Your Approach Is Everything, 15th National Outdoor Education Conference, 24 September 2007
- ↑ Conference practical session No Props To No Flops, Outdoor Recreation Industry Council Conference, Sydney NSW, August 2008
- ↑ Conference keynote address Excellence In Teams, YMCA State Conference, Sydney NSW, March 2010
- ↑ Victorian Outdoors Conference 2010, June 2010
- ↑ playmeo, Collard's comprehensive online database of group games & activities.
- ↑ Camping Magazine article The Electric Fence: To Use Or Not To Use?, Connections Magazine, June 1998, Camping Association of Victoria Inc
- ↑ Wilderdom, No Props recommended activity book.
- ↑ InspireYourGroup, No Props publication details.
- ↑ InspireYourGroup, Count Me In publication details.
External links
- Collard's professional website
- InspireYourGroup - Collard's adventure education biography
- playmeo - Collard's online group games database