Gary Appel

Gary Appel is the Michigan state manager for the Great Lakes East Comprehensive Center, a federally funded center based in Illinois that provides capacity building assistance to state departments of education in the Great Lakes region. A former science teacher, he co-authored The Growing Classroom: Garden-Based Science (National Gardening Association, 2007), a curriculum guide to help teachers use school gardens to teach science, and Leading Lesson Study: A Practical Guide for Teachers and Facilitators (Corwin Press, 2007) about a Japanese approach to teacher collaboration. Prior to moving to Michigan, Gary served as the executive director and codeveloper of the Life Lab Science Program at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He serves on the Traverse City Area Public Schools Board of Education, the Michigan Staff Development Council Board and the Michigan Land Use Institute Board. In 1990, he was awarded a three year Kellogg Foundation National Fellowship.