Adam Fletcher
founded The Freechild Project in September 2001 to
advocate, inform, and celebrate social change led by and
with young people around the world, especially those who
have been historically denied the right to participate.
He has led Freechild for the last decade, fostering the
visionary goal of re-envisioning the roles of young
people throughout society.
Today, Adam is an
internationally recognized expert in community
engagement. An author, trainer, and public speaker, he
leads
CommonAction, a private consulting firm in Olympia,
Washington. Among the organizations who have recently
worked with him are the Seattle Seahawks, the Alberta
Ministry of Education, the American Institutes of
Research, the Human Service Coalition of Miami/Dade
County, and the Vermont Principal's Association.
As a contractor for local,
state, and national organizations, Adam has helped
create more than 50 projects focused on engaging young
people. He has delivered keynote addresses at numerous
conferences, trained thousands of youth and adults
annually since 2001, and written dozens of publications,
including manuals, articles, and curricula. His work and
writing on re-envisioning the roles of young people
throughout the spectrum of society and on meaningful
student involvement throughout the education system has
guided social change around the world and earned him
international acclaim. In 2010, Action for Healthy Kids
named him a “Healthy Schools Hero” for his national
leadership in youth engagement.
Adam’s career has focused
on engaging young people and communities. He has taught
drama to low-income African American children; directed
ropes challenge courses; taught environmental education;
instructed foster, homeless, and runaway youth in
independent living skills; and directed a teen center.
Adam also served two terms in national service through
AmeriCorps, developing a tutoring and mentoring program
for Kurdish and Iraqi refugee students, and facilitating
a high adventure program for inner city youth. He has
worked nationally through the federal Corporation for
National Service and the nonprofit Points of Light
Foundation. He also worked in state government as the
first student engagement specialist in Washington’s
state education agency, and as the school health manager
for Washington's state department of health. Adam was
the co-chair for Washington Action for Healthy Kids, and
engaged 400 high school students in improving school
health through the Students Taking Charge program.
In addition to directing
The Freechild Project, Adam leads
SoundOut, a program focused on meaningful student
involvement. He also serves as an advisor for several
local and national organizations and agencies, including
the Institute for Democratic Education in America, the
National Youth Rights Association, Generation YES, and
the Patchwork School in Louisville, Colorado. He is a
contributing editor for the Review of Education,
Pedagogy and Cultural Studies, an academic journal, and
regularly writes for educational publications around the
world. Adam is an active volunteer at his daughter’s
school and throughout his local community. Adam finds
time for hiking, camping, writing poetry, and enjoying
life in Olympia, Washington with his daughter Hannah,
and their cat, Mailbox.
Learn about Adam's work,
book him for speeches, or find out what he can do for
you by calling him at (360) 489-9680. You can learn more
about him at
www.adamfletcher.net.
