Kroka's Founders

THE STORY

In 1996 Misha Golfman and Lynne Boudreau founded Kroka Expeditions as a year-round adventure school. They were both public school teachers as well as instructors for Outward Bound and guides for Mahoosuc Guide Service in Maine. While in graduate school at Antioch New England, Misha conceived of the idea of Kroka, and the project became the theme of his thesis. He brought to the curriculum his experience teaching in the United States, as well as his background of being raised in the “Russian outdoor tradition,” traveling, learning, and teaching in the wilderness. 

Misha and Lynne saw that they had something different than the traditional outdoor education model to offer. They wanted to make experiences more engaging, inviting, dynamic and meaningful for children, so that students carried a longer lasting connection to nature and community. They did this through centering the community building elements of outdoor education around communal work, the expedition lifestyle, and practical earth living skills to create the pedagogy that remains the foundation of Kroka Expeditions today.

In June of 2022, Lynne and Misha passed the torch of Kroka’s leadership to a new leadership team and embarked on a new chapter of their lives. In a letter they wrote for Kroka’s annual newsletter they said, “We believe that the organization is a living and growing being. Our relationship to it, as founders, is very much like that to our own children. Grown children typically leave home and move away from the adults who supported them in their growing. They go off to have new experiences and influences to become their next being. The organization is deeply rooted in place and hence we, the so called parents, need to move on and let the organization flourish without us! Much like with our adult children, we see our role on the periphery while Kroka moves into its next stage of development.” Kroka programming will always be a reflection of Misha and Lynne’s vision and we are eternally grateful for their passion, hard work, and dedication.

Lynne and Misha are currently launching NowWhat Adventures, a guiding service for parents of grown-up children who are looking to start the next chapter of their lives.

ABOUT KROKA’S FOUNDERS

Lynne Boudreau, M.Ed. graduated from UMass, Amherst and Leslie College with degrees in Education and Creative Arts. Prior to co-founding Kroka, Lynne taught as a special education teacher, public school classroom teacher, and Waldorf nursery/kindergarten teacher. Lynne also worked as a ski guide at Mahoosuc Guide Service. She has always had gardens and a deep love for animals. In 2009, Lynne shifted from Kroka’s summer programs coordinator to farmer manager. She has since studied and now practices biodynamic principles of farming. Lynne loves to share her knowledge of herbs and homeopathy with folks when healing is needed, as working with plants is a lifelong passion of hers. She brought to Kroka a wealth of teaching and life experience, combined with a deep understanding of child development and an unsurpassed compassion for all beings.

Misha Golfman earned his BS in Physical Education and Recreation from Plymouth State University and MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch University, NE. As a child, he spent every summer expeditioning with his family, while foraging and fishing. Misha has spent over 50% of his lifetime living in nature and on expedition. Prior to founding Kroka he was a guide for Mahoosuc Guide Service and Outward Bound as well as a public school teacher. He and Lynne built their homestead and raised four, now adult, children on the Kroka farm sharing life with many animals. Misha’s research is focused on the development of Altruistic will. He believes that sustainable future will be attained through cooperation and through partnership of humans and nature. He speaks on subjects of Compassionate Risk Taking, Inconvenient Design and Cooperative Parenting. His personal passion is long self-supported expeditions – major trips include: Cola Peninsula, Russian Arctic; Uapishka Mountains, Quebec; Moise, Broadback, Ashuapmashuan & Dumoine Rivers, Canada; circumnavigation of Cape Bretton Island; and many more!

THANK YOU MISHA AND LYNNE!

“You have changed our children’s lives forever. Kroka has been an important experience in their growing up and I am so grateful to you both for your support and experience to guide them to be in nature. Please know, that it has been a blessing and will continue to grow for generations.”

“I am eternally grateful for the role that KROKA has had in the way I chose to live my life everyday. I hold the life lessons (big and small) and the precious memories with me everywhere I go. Thank you for creating such a unique space for me to learn, travel, challenge, create and strengthen myself, my relations to the natural world and my relations to others. Thank you for being such a strong and positive influence on me.”

“Thank you for creating such a beautiful, sustainable, generous learning space for children!”

“We are so grateful for your vision and drive to so wonderfully create and sustain Kroka, and we are so happy and excited for the two of you as you start the next phase of your lives. We will continue to support Kroka and the incredible legacy you’ve left for future generations.”

“The summers that I spent at Kroka are some of my most treasured experiences. They allowed me to become who I am today, and those experiences would have been nothing without the love and dedication you gave to Kroka and the community. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for sharing your passion and care with me and the Kroka community.”

“Thank you for instilling a true love of Nature and an appreciation for the outdoors in our children. Their trust of themselves has grown with each of their Kroka experiences and will be something that will serve them well throughout their lives. We appreciate your tremendous dedication to your important mission all these years.”