Ancestral Knowledge is group of earth skills specialists who live locally, here in Maryland. As you will read below, our core group draws from a wide variety of backgrounds – from skateboarder to scientist and engineer to environmentalist! In addition, Ancestral Knowledge brings in guest instructors from far and wide to teach their own area of specialized knowledge.
Julie Biedrzycki – Board President
Julie Biedrzycki is a passionate educator and outdoor enthusiast with over 20 years of experience in teaching and environmental education, working with students of all ages from preschool to adults. As a homeschooling mom of four and former teacher, Julie is passionate about inspiring wonder, deep connection, and love of the natural world. She serves as President of the Board of Directors for Ancestral Knowledge, and offers feature programs and program design for schools and organizations. Julie’s expertise includes nature-based learning, wild foraging, herbalism, and earth sciences. She has designed nature play spaces, including the Maryland State Fair’s Nature Play Space, and collaborates with organizations like the Association for Nature Based Education (ANBE) to advance nature-based education. Through her work with Hummingbird Hill Collective and ANBE, Julie provides training opportunities for professionals in nature connection and outdoor education.
Bill Kaczor – Co-founder/Executive Director 2007-Present
Bill is the Executive Director and co-founder of Ancestral Knowledge. Bill has worked and studied intensively with the masters in the fields of; youth mentoring, naturalist studies, primitive technology and tracking. He has been teaching children and adults in these subjects since 1998 — Bill was a lead instructor at Children of the Earth Foundations- Coyote Tracks summer camps for 5 years, and two years as the assistant director. He has instructed students at the University of Maryland, Georgetown University, Rivercane & Falling Leaves Rendezvous, Mid-Atlantic Primitive Skills Gathering (MAPS Meet), Bill can often be found instructing at Tom Brown Jr.’s Tracker School teaching primitive traps, bow making, flint knapping, pottery and hide tanning. In 1999 after 11 years, Bill chose to leave his skateboard/snowboard business and dedicate his life to helping people connect with the Earth through ancient skills. Shortly afterwards, Bill designed and was granted an after school and summer program for the 21st Century Learning Community in Public School District 150 of Peoria, Illinois. This program was successful in that it led the children to a respect for nature, respect for themselves and others, self-discipline and adventure. Bill is a specialist in bow making, stone tool technologies, hide tanning, fire by friction and hunting and experienced in many more skills.
Read what Tom Brown Jr said about Bill
Kyle Dexheimer – program coordinator/instructor
Kyle has joined AK with a diverse background. He attended the Coyote Tracks and the Tracker School. He has also studied various subjects under former Tracker instructors. He served in the Peace Corps in Tanzania where he should have hung out more with the potters and basket weavers instead he was focused on agriculture and trapping the rats that ate his avocados and soap.
Laura Rose – Field Instructor
Laura spent her childhood summers camping and hiking in the old forests of Minong, Wisconsin where pine trees grow as far and tall as the eyes can see. These childhood summers nurtured her love for the outdoors and connection to nature. Her education and cultivated background in Yoga, herbal medicine and natural wellness, led her to study and obtain a Masters degree and license in Chinese Medicine, which is entirely based on the laws, cycles, and rhythms of Nature.
Coming back into balance with Nature, Laura has always found equals greater health and happiness. A life-long learner, her passion for a deeper nature connection led her to the Wilderness Awareness School in Duvall, WA where she was taught among other things, Coyote Mentoring which is the same philosophy followed at Ancestral Knowledge. Laura is so happy to share her mentoring and nature based skill set to help foster that wild, playful, and intrinsically connected nature within us all through the programs at AK. Initiating deep nature connection and fostering respect, confidence and knowledge in the wild that surrounds us and is a part of us is a great passion for Laura and she loves to share this sacred part of existence with humans of all ages.
Keith Grenoble – Lead Instructor
Keith Grenoble has been a product of the Back to the Land movement and developed close ties to Native communities from an early age. Keith started his journey by making stone tools represented in the rich archaeological record of Tidewater, Virginia and has been teaching earth skills since 1987. Over time, Keith has become skilled in a variety of earth skills. He is very passionate about making simulations of prehistoric cookpots, and enjoys working with people of all experience levels and interests. He can often be seen catching a knap here and there.
Ben Kamm – Lead Instructor
Raised in the DMV, Ben spent his summers camping and hiking all over the east coast, even to Canada. He developed skills in plant ID and tracking, on these trips, and continued to draw inspiration from his childhood experiences as he was mentored by Ancestral Knowledge Staff. During this mentor-ship, Ben honed his skills around fire making and carving, with a strong focus on friction fire (Bow Drill method).
Ben is passionate about History and the way that ancient people lived, he strives to share the ways that our ancestors used to thrive and survive. As a home schooler and one of seven, Ben has experience with mentoring younger children and working in a group!
Always an active person, Ben enjoys weight lifting and exploring his local landscape.
Alice Craig – Lead Instructor
Many know Alice from her role as the Head Chef at the Mid-Atlantic Primitive Skills Gathering. What people don’t know is that she is an amazing teacher, great with kids, and has an amazing skill set. Alice is dedicated to connecting kids to nature through many avenues. Alice and her Husband Rich had a Nature Music camp for several years in WNC where kids would come and learn how to play the guitar while weaving into the activities wilderness skills. Everyone loves Alice!
Josh Roberts – Lead Instructor
Josh Roberts discovered his passion for wilderness survival skills in Vermont in 1998. Through Tom Brown Jr’s books he was inspired to practice survival skills which lead him to pursue these skills as a vocation. For over 15 years he has gained experience in this field with various summer camps, organizations and schools in over ten states. These include The Vermont Wilderness School, The Wild Earth Programs, The Roots School, The Institute of Natural Learning, The Fairview Lake YMCA, The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, and The Student Conservation Corp among others. Josh’s goal in life is to share his passion for the benefits of wilderness survival skills. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Adventure Education and Environmental Studies from Prescott College in Arizona.
Josh has been working with Ancestral Knowledge in the DC area since the spring of 2012. Before moving to the DC area he taught similar survival programs in the Swanguak Mountains of New York. He is currently involved in instructing and developing Ancestral Knowledge’s home school programs, it’s summer camps and his own survival skills workshops. Josh has been actively involved with Mid Atlantic Primitive Skills youth programs and plans on continuing that involvement. He enjoys flintknapping as well as pursuing his interests in permaculture, primitive archery, wild edible foraging, guitar playing and snowboarding.He is best known for his warm personality, fire making skills, his mentoring and teen rites of passage programs, as well as his dedication to teaching wilderness survival skills.
Matt Hansen – Lead Instructor
Matt is a man of many skills. He is best know for his adventures in immersion. Matt likes to follow the seasons up and down the coast learning how to live the life of a true hunter gatherer. Matt brings an amazing skill set and experience to the camps that you won’t find anywhere else. Matt has a gentle and kind nature to his teaching that the kids gravitate towards. If you like adventure, this is the guy you want to roam with.