The Kikori Story

Education + Adventure + Social Emotional Learning

When Co- Founders Kendra and Bryn met, they each had reasons for bringing Kikori to life. Bryn went on an Outward Bound trip following her Freshman year in college, and that trip was the first of many adventure travel opportunities that has taken her across countries and continents blending outdoor pursuits with leadership development. Kendra was a School Social Worker whose job was to support students to be self-reliant, compassionate and productive. She knew the power of experiential education but saw that teachers didn't have the time, resources and knowledge to make it happen.

Together they designed Kikori with intention to bridge these gaps and put experience back into the world of education...where it belongs.

Meet the Co-Founders

Kendra Bostick, LCSW

Kendra became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and worked as a School Social Worker for six years and as a therapist within inpatient child and adolescent behavioral health units in Chicago for two years.

Kendra is passionate about empowering others, celebrating differences, and using experiential activities to bridge divides. Kendra is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of New Hampshire, with a focus on measuring the impact of experiential activities on youth social, emotional, and cognitive development. In 2017, Kendra completed her second Masters degree in Education with a focus on how to use Adventure Programming and Experiential Education to maximize meaningful learning within the education system.

Bryn Lottig, MEPD

Bryn is a sought-after expert in experiential education and an Adventure Program Coordinator at Arbor Vitae-Woodruff, an Expeditionary Learning school. She received her Master's degree in Adventure Based Experiential Education from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She started her career leading extended wilderness trips canoeing, kayaking, and backpacking. And although she has over two decades of experience working with youth, she really refined her facilitation skills by working in the Leadership Program at Camp Manito-Wish YMCA.

Her passion is to deliver meaningful programming to school and corporate groups alike, using the Challenge Course and Wilderness Experiences as a medium to focus on Social Emotional Learning outcomes. Bryn regularly provides Professional Development for schools and businesses, speaks at regional, national and international conferences. In addition to her ACCT Level I & II, and CCM certifications she is also a certified private pilot, PADI Advanced Scuba Diver, holds a blue belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu and can be found frequently participating in Wild Cold Water Immersion. She lives with her husband, two children in Northern Wisconsin.

What's In a Name?

“Similar to the Kikori River which flows through this land connecting people who may speak, act, and think differently, Kikori app will be a connecting force for those who use it”.

When searching for the perfect name for our app, co-founders, Bryn and Kendra brainstormed a BUNCH of different things. Bryn's favorite quote is that “No man steps in the same river twice because the river is always changing and so is the (wo)man” by Heraclitus. She felt like that perfectly describes experiential education activities because an educator and facilitator can run the same activity ten times and get ten different results. The facilitator is always changing, the participants are also always developing, and the activity itself is always evolving.

With that in mind, Bryn began looking up the longest undammed rivers in the world. She found the longest undammed river in Papua New Guinea was the Kikori. Papua New Guinea is also one of the world’s most linguistically diverse countries.

Mission

We are creating a tool which aligns experiential education activities with teaching and social emotional standards which educators can use to meet their students' unique needs and transform their classroom.

Vision

Our vision is that experiential education activities will be accessible to educators around the world thus providing all youth the opportunity to develop the cognitive, social and emotional skills needed to thrive.