Theodore Timpson (Founder and President) arrives at Young Spirit with a broad range of skills and professional experience, in education, theater, and business. Over fourteen years, he has developed and taught in five different innovative schools focused on the experience and motivations of children. Outside the classroom, Theodore founded Achieve Tutoring, an agency for academic support to struggling students. He has staged and directed eight children’s theater productions, and performed in many others. He has worked with young people aged 4-18. Theodore also co-authored a study for the World Bank, entitled What Are Youth Developing Toward? and advocating for a holistic approach to youth programs. At the web design company Tristream, he developed materials for sales and marketing, and creative approaches to brand strategy. Theodore has a B.A. in English from Harvard University and a M.S. in Education from Bank Street College in New York City, an institution recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for its pioneering work with children. Theodore enjoys rolling on the floor with his two children.

Unni Narayanan (Founding Director) is the President and CEO and founding member of Primary Global Research. In this capacity, Unni defines PGR’s strategic vision and has been instrumental in changing the way institutional investors view and utilize primary research. Unni is a recognized high tech industry expert and has broad range of technical and leadership experience in a variety of disciplines. Prior to founding PGR, Unni was at Intel where he held a variety of key management positions. He also spent several years at IBM, where he was a member of the original AIX/ESA operating system team. Unni holds one U.S. patent, with numerous others pending, and has an extensive list of technical publications. He earned a B.S. degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of California at Los Angeles, an M.S. degree in Computer Science from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Unni is also an enthusiastic student of Carnatic (South Indian) vocal music.

Barbara Rabin (Founding Director) has over thirty years experience teaching elementary school, developing curriculum, adopting best practices, supervising and training teachers, designing summer school programs, and tutoring privately. She is Co-founder, Head Teacher, and Early Childhood Coordinator for the Living Wisdom School in Palo Alto, CA, where she also serves as Board Vice President. She has worked in diverse public and private educational environments, including Columbus Academy, Rowland Hall - St. Mark’s School, Poughkeepsie Day School, and Lewis Central School. She has designed and operated integrated alternative curriculum, school publication projects, summer school programs, and a highly regarded children’s theater program. Barbara holds a B.S. in Elementary Education and a M.S. in Classroom Teaching from the State University of New York, as well as a permanent teaching certificate from New York State. She received the Ten-Year Award for Creation and Direction of the Living Wisdom School Theater Program and the Sumner Award for Best Teacher of the Year at Rowland Hall - St. Mark’s School. Barbara has a longstanding love of the performing arts, as well as Eastern and Western fine arts.

Lisa Ling (Founding Director) is a writer and social entrepreneur who studied international business law, practiced as a management consultant and competed for Canada as an elite Karate athlete. She is Co-founder of Motivate Canada, an organization specializing in youth development and civic participation through sport. She co-authored (with Theodore) a World Bank Youth Development handbook, intended to help managers create youth development projects around the developing world. Lisa studied at the University of British Columbia (LL.B. 1994) and earned her graduate degree at the London School of Economics (LL.M. 1996). She has dabbled in action movies, and enjoys making music on the piano (she is an Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto). Lisa is a nine-time Canadian karate champion, and World Soke Cup champion. She serves on the Athletes Commission of the World Karate Federation, and is a former member of the Canadian Olympic Committee. Lisa currently lives in Doha, Qatar, with her husband and two children.

Ann Idzik (Director) is an educator, facilitator, speaker, and author who has written and spoken about changing families and the need for educational institutions to integrate and welcome this changing phenomenon in our schools. With extensive experience in leadership roles of organizations (including the Girls Scouts of America, YWCA, local youth councils, and national student leadership forums) Ann’s creative leadership has assisted a number of organizations in developing strategic plans. A world traveler, Ann has visited emerging countries and has observed family life and educational institutions in places such as Ghana, Cuba, Soviet Union and China. During a decade in New York State, she was involved in leadership roles with local, country and state School Board associations. This included training school board presidents and facilitating a retreat with participants from higher education, corporations and school boards. A parent and grandparent, Ann earned a doctorate in educational administration from Teachers College at Columbia University. She did graduate work at Bank Street College of Education. She holds a BA from Denison University.

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