Meet our director
Hi, I’m Carolyn.
I founded The Field School of Hvar, because I believe that schools can be an engine for healthy communities and a powerful instrument for building agency in young people.
I am an American by birth and upbringing. I now live on Hvar with my partner and our young son, who are both Croatian. We chose to live on Hvar because of the free-range childhood that we felt the island could offer our family. Recognizing that other families - both Croatian and international - share our aspiration for a holistic approach to child development, I began investigating how I could bring together the best possible educational community in our island paradise.
Before coming to Hvar, I began my career in grassroots placemaking, convening a festival of culture and technology that drew 20,000 attendees. I went on to work under the head of operations and fundraising at The Aspen Institute, a global think tank based in Washington, D.C. I am a “double Hoo” with an undergraduate degree in literature and an MBA from the University of Virginia.
Outside of work, home, and learning Croatian, my passions are (as you might expect from the themes in our program) hiking, gardening, and reading. I am extremely grateful for all the wonderful people I have already met on this journey to launch The Field School of Hvar, and look forward to meeting new allies and co-conspirators as we continue onward. If you are inspired by the work we’re doing, please get in touch!
Summer Academic Dean
Zoe Clute
Hello! I’m Zoe. As the academic dean for The Field School, I will hold community at the heart of all our learning practices. I believe children learn best when they feel connected: to place, to each other, and to a sense of purpose.
Creating exciting educational experiences has always been a driving force in my life. My career journey began at Stanford, where I studied child development and human biology, and enjoyed teaching children’s creative writing and working with 5-8 year olds at Stanford Sierra Camp.
I then became a faculty member at The Thacher School in Ojai, CA. There, I taught biology and yoga, backpacked with students, and designed a summer camp for L.A. middle schoolers to work with endangered turtles and tortoises.
My career journey continued to Castilleja School in Palo Alto, where I crafted a new climate change curriculum. Seeing the growing impacts of social media and new AI tools on my students, I then returned to Stanford for an M.S. in Learning, Design, and Technology.
Now, I work as a science faculty member at The Urban School of San Francisco. Outside of my time at school, I enjoy trail running with my friends, baking, writing letters, and pausing to admire every animal I see.
I look forward to deeply integrating theory and research into each experience at The Field School, while never losing sight of the childlike wonder and connection that drives learning. Let’s be curious together and make the world a better place!
Our Team
Ana Sabanović
Healers + Early YearsAna brings over 10 years of experience working with children in forests, on the hockey rink, and even in underground caves. Most recently, she's been leading outdoor education programs with Outward Bound Germany, guiding international students through nature-immersion experiences focused on sustainability and leadership. She is Wilderness First Aid & CPR certified, holds a Permaculture Design Certificate holder, has training as a Forest Therapy Guide, and is fluent in Croatian, French, English, German & Hungarian.
Jordan Reese
Early YearsJordan is an educator with a background spanning Reggio Emilia–inspired teaching, curriculum development, art studio direction, and outdoor education. She holds a Master's in Curriculum & Instruction with a specialization in Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Learners from the University of Denver, and has spent the past several years building her own nature-based learning program in Los Angeles.
Bea Yates
Elementary Language Arts & BiologyBea brings over a decade of experience in place-based, hands-on learning in the UK and beyond. She co-leads nature and craft workshops for children and teens, including basketry, natural dying, and fermentation. She also runs seasonal programs on a working organic farm emphasizing food systems and ecology. Her career began in arts education, running programs for the Tate Modern and international photography workshops. Bea holds a BA in Fine Arts, a TESOL Certificate, and has completed Forest School training, Pediatric First Aid, and Food Hygiene certification.
Tonći Bavčević
SailingTonči is an islander, marine engineer, competitive sailor, and dad. He has been working on boats - from skiffs to oil and gas rigs - for his entire career, and knows the island’s waters like his front yard.
Fabijan Belić
ClimbingFabijan is an islander, founder of the adventure outfitter Tufa, a glacier guide in Iceland, and one of the organizers behind the Hvar Climbing Festival. Before coming home to the island and the rocks he loves, he spent five years as an infantryman, including a peacekeeping mission in Mali.
Maëlle Delebecque
ExplorersMaëlle grew up on boats, has guided sled dogs in Quebec, taught French across two continents, and spent a year and a half traveling from Alaska to Patagonia. Now she brings that intrepid spirit to Hvar — as our summer Explorers Guide!
Artemesia Buonerba
Kinder + ExcursionsAn educator and journalist based in Bolzano, Artemesia has taught Italian and history to students aged 11–18, designed creative workshops across Czech Republic and Spain through Erasmus+, worked with children at a refugee reception centre on Lesbos, and founded Storŧə, an independent literary and photography magazine.
Mirella Brenke
CommunityMirella brings a remarkable range of experience to this role. A graduate of the University of Zagreb with a diploma in International Trade and Marketing, she has spent her career at the intersection of culture, people, and place — from running relocation and integration support for international families in Germany, to founding a fair-trade organization in Uganda, to managing cross-cultural training programs across Europe. She speaks five languages, including Croatian, and has a deep personal commitment to youth mentoring and outdoor life.
2026 Fellows
Mirna Mihoković
Zero Kilometer SchoolwearCroatian fashion and costume designer. Paris College of Art alumna. Zagreb Design Week finalist. A maker who dyes, stitches, and experiments by hand — and who believes clothing should be slow, tactile, and deeply personal.
This summer, Mirna mentors a remarkable group of Croatian and American teen girls who will be shaping our Zero-Kilometer Schoolwear project. Specifically, she will help them connect the dots between place and self-presentation — Croatia’s rich ethnography and its expression in contemporary idiom.
Shannon Merenstein
Zero-Kilometer SchoolwearShannon is the founder of Hatch Partners in Play, co-founder of The Creativity Project, a published author, and former teacher whose work has brightened the lives of thousands of children. Conceptually brilliant and effortlessly warm, Shannon embodies excellence in inquiry-based education.
Shannon will facilitate a special series of her signature PlayLabs for the teen creative strategists shaping our Zero-Kilometer Schoolwear project, helping young people better understand children through observation of open-ended creativity.
Andrew Dodson
Wooden BoatsAndrew is a civil engineer, carpenter, and kayak builder from Tennessee who also helped run the River Gorge Forest School and co-founded a nature retreat with his family. He is someone who builds things, loves the water, and believes children deserve to learn how the physical world works by working with their hands.
This fall, Andrew and his family will join our community on the island. Together with our students, they'll build a real wooden vessel - an unforgettable fusion of STEAM and social studies skills development - on an Adriatic island where boats like these have been woven into the fabric of culture for millennia.
Lidija Detić
Teacher Training - Folk MusicLidija is an educator, composer, multi-instrumentalist and founder of KeDobro, an educational practice based in Varaždin focused on early childhood education and holistic learning through the Orff Schulwerk approach
A passionate tambura player for more than 30 years, she also teaches this traditional instrument and proudly shares Croatian musical heritage and personal artistic expression with younger generations. Her work also includes collaboration with organizations supporting people with disabilities, where she facilitates inclusive music workshops.
Outside of work, she is a hiking guide in a local mountaineering society in Varaždin, a wife, and mother of three nearly grown daughters. She finds inspiration in nature, community, and the belief that learning never stops.
Mihovil Kotoraš
Teacher Training - Emergency ResponseMihovil is a professional firefighter with DVD Jelsa, which has been kind enough to host numerous Field School learner groups over the years. A father himeself, Mihovil’s family have lived in this part of island Hvar for centuries. He is also an avid rower, having competed twice in the World Championships at the U23 and senior level.
Mihovil will be training Field School guides on specific risks of the island, including fire safety, emergency response protocol, and local wildlife. All Field School Guides hold lifeguarding or comparable marine rescue training, as well as working-with-children clearance.
Dr. Masha Jug-Dujaković
Teacher Training - Wild PlantsMasha is an ethnobotanist with a PhD in agricultural sciences from the University of Zagreb (2010), where she wrote her dissertation on the genetic and biochemical diversity of Dalmatian sage (Salvia officinalis).
Her published work covers the ethnobotany of the Adriatic islands — which plants islanders eat, which they use as medicine, which they bring to church on feast days — as well as the genetic diversity of Mediterranean species including immortelle (smilje), lavandin, Dalmatian sage (kadulja), and Dalmatian pyrethrum.
She is returning to the Field community this summer to train our Guides on local flora and its traditional meaning in our island community. In addition to being a scientist, Masha is a mother, grandmother, and a wonderful friend.