Dean Larwood is the new special education student support specialist at UMCS’s new Mountain Campus. He’ll be working with our Upper Elementary students. When he and his wife, Julie, lived in San Jose, he thoroughly enjoyed working at Orchard Elementary School as an instructional aid. After moving to Oakland, he worked at The Phillips Academy, again as an instructional aid. Dean has a long list of things he loves, such as nature, hiking, camping, biking, traveling, history, alternative energy, and other environmental issues. His many trips across the country and the long periods of time he’s spent in rural places provide a seemingly endless variety of ways to open up curious minds, igniting kid’s desire to learn. Installing solar power systems, cleaning up creeks and parks, and creating drought tolerant plantings have been his way of giving back to the community.