LifeCompass Institute

Dr. Karen E. Bohlin, Director of LCI and Head of Montrose School, is a recognized thought leader in the field of character and ethics education. Director Emerita and Senior Scholar at Boston University’s Center for Character and Social Responsibility; co-architect of the National Schools of Character Program, Dr. Bohlin has served as a past adviser to the White House Domestic Policy Office on character education; consultant to the MA, GA, WV, NJ, SC Departments of Education; scholar for the Intellectual Virtues Project at Loyola Marymount University; a sabbatical fellow at the Jubilee Centre; an editorial reviewer and contributor to the Journal of Character Education and the Journal of Education at Boston University.  She is the author and contributing author of several books including Teaching Character Education Through Literature: Awakening the Moral Imagination (Routledge 2005), Building Character in Schools (Jossey-Bass 1999) and Happiness and Virtue: Beyond East and West: Toward a New Global Responsibility (Tuttle 2012). An important focus of her work in both the higher education and K-12 education is the development of practical wisdom in school leaders and teachers.

Deborah Farmer Kris is passionate about sharing the best research and practices that help parents and educators answer the question, “How can we help our children thrive?” Deborah works as a parenting columnist and consultant for PBS Parents, she writes about education for MindShift (an NPR education blog), and she is a senior associate at BU's Center for Character and Social Responsibility. Over the course of her career, Deborah has taught elementary, middle and high school, served as a school administrator, and directed a girls leadership institute. Her writing has been featured several times in The Washington Post, and she is the co-author of the book Building Character in Schools: A Resource Guide. A popular speaker, she has presented to hundreds of parents and educators around the country on topics related to character development.