Colleen Waterston
As the founder and visionary of the Big Shared World community building initiative, Colleen does a little bit of everything, but her favorite part of this whole adventure is connecting with people about meaningful topics in an effort to widen perspectives and worldviews, including her own! Every experience she encounters only expands her curiosity to explore more. This attitude has guided most of her educational, professional, and personal decisions over the years as she relishes new opportunities to learn. with an undergrad degree in psychology, minor in anthropology, and master’s in international development, Colleen has always loved learning with people at the center.
In the fall of 2014, Colleen embarked on Big Shared World with a motto and goal of “3 Questions. 30 Countries. 300 People.” 40 countries later, Colleen had asked her three questions to over 700 people. The initial endeavor was the foundation of what Big Shared World has become today. What started as a social experiment has blossomed into a growing start-up company. Exploring the world at large or her own backyard in a meaningful way is what drives her, and this project, forward. Colleen is really looking forward to having students across Minnesota engage with the activity book and companion lessons this coming school year. She also is eager to finish her travel memoir, a book for adults, about the Big Shared World project.
When Colleen is not elbow-deep in building Big Shared World and Our Minnesota Community, you can find her hanging out with her favorite Minnesotans, her beloved family (preferably at their cabin in northern Minnesota). A world-traveling homebody, she’s just as likely to be off carpe-dieming on an adventure or working on a puzzle while watching comedian specials on Netflix to recharge. Colleen always loves the idea of how a quick (okay, sometimes not so quick) plane could take her to a completely different world than her own. Thanks to her mom’s airline employee benefits and standby travel privileges, she has become an expert at the last minute getaway for a change of scenery and inspiration!
Amanda Zieba
As the Education Coordinator for Our Minnesota Community, Amanda is the lead author of resources created to help educators take the concepts and values of Big Shared World to the next level. Amanda brings a host of experience and expertise to the team including her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in education, which are complemented by her thirteen years of classroom experience as a middle school reading and ELA teacher.
Amanda and Colleen originally met in an online mastermind group for writers. In the nationally represented group, the semi-neighbors (Amanda lives in Wisconsin) decided to come together for a writing retreat. After days of working alongside one another, they also decided to join forces and work together. When Amanda is not working for BSW, or cheering on her husband and sons at their numerous sporting events, she is teaching part time at Western Technical College in La Crosse, WI and writing. She has written eight books for readers of all ages and has plans for many more. Amanda loves sharing her passion for writing and reading – hence her brand name, “word nerd.” To learn more about her books, visit her author website at www.amandazieba.com
