Envision Guides
Cara Frantz
Program Founder & Director
Occupationally, Cara is a private practice professional licensed midwife, serving families for over 19yrs. Cara has background studies in psychology, child development and the history of the industrialization of maternity care & education in America.
Prior to becoming a midwife Cara was a paramedic in Alaska, which gave her six years of extensive emergency medical training and wilderness skills. Cara is also a mother to two sons, a partnered mom to two other wonderful kids and is the co-owner of the Mehta-Frantz farm where the Envision Community Center resides.
Amy Schlotterback
Lead Guide & Primary Program Developer
Amy has been living in Southern Oregon for 11 years now and calls the Applegate, "Home". Her husband, Mike and her were first drawn to the region via the Little Applegate where they lived in an off-grid intentional community for 2 years and worked as Sustainability Instructors for recent high school graduates at the Birch Creek Arts & Ecology Center. Here Amy taught courses in Organic Gardening, Natural Building, Wildcrafting, Beekeeping, and Herbal Medicine Making. During her time at the Center she also launched the Ecostery Program through the Dakubetede Education Center, offering graduate level courses in Deep Ecology.
In 2012, Amy and her husband pursued their Permaculture Design Teaching Certificates. They moved to their EcoVillage in British Columbia and began the process of expanding their skills with additional course-work and experiential opportunities. This was when Amy was first introduced to Waldorf Education and Rudolf Steiner's work. Upon completion of her Permaculture Design Teaching Certificate Amy was inspired to pursue a Waldorf teaching certificate through the Sophia Institute.
During the next couple of years, Amy and Mike traveled internationally visiting intentional communities and teaching Permaculture Design Skills at a variety of projects in Colombia and Ecuador. Amy continued her coursework in Waldorf Education while she traveled and upon returning to the Rogue Valley connected to the Madrone School to gain her first hands-on Waldorf training. Amy spent a school year volunteering in their garden and teaching Spanish.
In the years to follow, Amy would immerse herself in a variety of Nature-based Educational Opportunities across the Rogue Valley to gain experience. She worked as a Summer Camp Instructor, a Hiking and Backpacking Guide, a River Rafting Guide, and a Rock-Climbing Coach.
Amy would also apply her background in Digital Art and Design in new and exciting ways during these years working in Marketing for two non-profits in the Valley- The Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and Mt. Ashland Association.
In addition to her passion for Nature-based education, Amy has a diverse professional background in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Amy and Mike have been creating documentary films since 2006 and using their filmmaking skills to help support the movements, projects, individuals and organizations we consider to be "changemakers" in the world. You can watch some of her work on their website www.commonlinkproductions.com
In recent years, Amy and Mike have been working together to create a nature-based rites of passage program for all ages. You can learn more about this project at www.flowstatetravel.com.
Mike Dickenson
Primary Guide
Originally from Northern Nevada, Mike Dickenson has always been drawn to the unknown and has challenged himself by seeking what life might be like outside the conventional.
After graduating from Montana State in 2005 with a B.A. in Secondary English Education, he felt disillusioned by the unrealistic standards of public schools, most notably brought on by the policies of No Child Left Behind.
Rather than diving into a career in public education, he created a self-induced rite of passage by giving himself two years to hitchhike from Nevada to Argentina. During that time he wrote freelance articles and taught English in various countries in a wide variety of formats. He has also spent a full year working with various organizations in Trujillo, Peru to provide education to children on the fringe of society.
Mike has paired his love of travel with the philosophical insights that travel brings by creating documentary films that seek to inspire and educate. In 2008 he filmed his first documentary The MapMakers: Project Colombia, and in 2009 he joined forces with his now wife Amy Schlotterback to create Commonlink Productions, a production company that produces documentaries, short films, and books, and educational material. Mike has published two novels, and will soon publish two more works of fiction and non-fiction.
Twenty years ago, Mike decided to become a whitewater raft guide having never been in a rubber boat before. Today, his passion for the wilderness and the life-affirming experiences it offers has only grown - he believes that the best teacher is Nature herself. As well as being a raft guide, and sea kayak guide, he also has experience in Wilderness Therapy with youth aged 12-26. He has been a mentor for young adults and children through a variety of mediums from Big Brothers Big Sisters, Montessori Education, Intentional Communities, and overseas education. He's dabbled in stand-up comedy, plays a mean guitar, was chess champion of his seventh grade class, and believes that the quickest way to change the world is to lead by example.
To find out more about some of Mike's more recent endeavors and published books you can visit www.flowstatetravel.com
David Reece
Guest Guide
I am a born and raised Oregonian. My wife, Leann, and I have been married 11 years and have lived in Southern Oregon for the last three and a half years. I come from a long line of hardworking, common sense believing, educated Americans. My family are all entrepreneurs, and I have followed down the same path since part way through college.
I am an Eagle Scout and am an outdoorsman at heart. I received a Bachelors degree from Oregon State University in General Agriculture and a minor in Horticulture. Since graduation in 2011, I have worked with youth in Young Life at Washington Family Ranch in Antelope, OR where I was an intern for a year with my wife. Not only did we work with youth in outreach there - we trained and led groups of volunteers on a regular basis. Leading groups and being the instructor and organizer is a place I thrive.
When we moved to Medford, we became staff at a live-in creative school and were on staff until early 2020 when the school ended. We taught everything from budget management, art, and music, to philosophy and ethics, to land management, stewardship and plant care to practical skills like cooking and cleaning. We also focused on the healing of trauma and brokenness through physical movement and family experiences. My passion for education was stoked during the 2 years assisting in developing curriculum and implementing programs for the students, and I fell in love with teaching young minds how to apply education in the practical, while remaining connected to themselves and others. My particular focus while on staff was land/plant/building maintenance, fruit tree propagation, financial stewardship, and adventure coordinator.
The opportunity to become a Guide at Envision melds the skills and abilities I have with the platform to teach young minds in a productive and robust way. Much of what is not working in the education system is the lack of ability to see each other clearly, honor each others’ stories and differences, and create a safe, family-like environment for children to be supported, challenged and held accountable. Emotional awareness in education is lacking and this has caused a great deficit in society. Much of my work in every industry or environment I have been in has been focused on improving culture to help my coworkers and superiors thrive together as a working community by addressing their own emotions, honoring each others’ differences and finding a way to work well together.