Meet Our Team

Dr. Maizell has over 35 years of experience as an educator in the New Jersey Public Schools. He holds a Doctorate in School/Community Psychology. His lifelong passion has been in the area of social/emotional learning. Dr. Maizell founded Project Quest, a diversionary group-counseling program for court-involved youth in Sussex County, NJ. The program served students from nine county high schools, later expanding into middle and primary schools as an after school primary prevention program. In partnership with Project Adventure, a nationally known provider of experiential learning, Dr. Maizell conceptualized and constructed a universal playground in the Sussex-Wantage Regional District (NJ), which allowed for general education and differently abled students to play together on uniquely designed playground equipment.

In his last district, the Kinnelon Public Schools, Dr. Maizell implemented a district wide primary prevention program called Full Value Schools. As a result of this implementation harassment, intimidation, and bullying referrals and confirmed incidents fell significantly over a three-year period. Students reported, via school climate surveys, feeling far better equipped to self-regulate and confront inappropriate behaviors with their peers. Dr. Maizell’s program has been presented at national and regional conferences. Most recently he delivered a session to educators at The New Jersey Alliance for Social Emotional, and Character Development Conference (2019). He is the co-author of the book, Exploring Islands of Healing (2002) and the principal author of The Full Value School: A social emotional learning community (2019).

Mr. Grund has over 28 years of experience in the public schools serving as a member of child study teams, and Student Assistant Counselor and anti-bullying specialist. He holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from New York University and certifications as a New Jersey Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified School Social Worker, and Certified Student Assistance Coordinator.

Post-graduate training has included the Institute for the Advancement of Group Studies, UMASS’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy Training, the Stanford Forgiveness Therapy Training and Stanford Cultivating Compassion Training, and the Nalanda Institute Contemplative Psychotherapy Training. Mr. Grund is a certified Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapist and Mindful Education Teacher, Contemplative Therapist, Wilderness Medicine First Responder, and Stanford Project Forgiveness Therapy Trainer. Mr. Grund is currently in private practice as a licensed clinical social worker. He is a senior trainer for Project Adventure, Inc. providing workshops for educators and therapists in the areas of experiential therapy. He also works extensively with New Jersey school districts on integrating mindfulness into educational settings, presenting to administrative teams, teachers, parents. He most recently offered trainings to administrators in the Chatham, Montville, North Hunterdon, and Mountain Lakes Public Schools. Mr. Grund has also trained over 150 teachers in the Kinnelon Public Schools in order to implement their Full Value Communities primary prevention program. Mr. Grund was the recipient of the Somerset Hills Schools 2015 Educational Professional of the Year award.

On Wednesday, April 10th, Jim Schoel left us. Our memorializing of him lies within our hearts and memories. All of this is, in truth, is almost impossible to articulate. We lived experiential learning together though our work, endless discussions, long walks, sailing, and through our writing, which proudly stands for all time representing the what, so what, and now what of our lifelong passion.

Jim was a windmill tilter, never daunted by the upstream swimming of our mission. If you want to walk with Jim read Counseling on the Run, choose a reading from Gold Nuggets, use GRABBSS and the Full Value Commitment, ride the adventure wave to understand the ebb and flow of group growth, or dive into Islands of Healing, and Exploring Islands of Healing where we made the deliberate choice to explain why it all works and not just how you do it. We honor our clients in that way. And finally, embrace the primary prevention model that we created in The Full Value School: A Social Emotional Learning Community, to make the world for kids and adults a kinder, safer place.

Jim was a creative genius; sparks flew, and most all of them hit their mark. His soul and spirit were deeply interwoven into our lives, and the lives of our families. He touched us across generations. Our children felt completely embraced by his genuine interest and his love, as did we. Every idea we proposed was met with “that’s great, John and Rich” even when some of them were not so great. His belief in us was steadfast. Although at times seemingly scattered, there was purpose in the tangents. We believe this was his creative process at work, which often synthesized ideas into brilliantly new and purposeful concepts and applications.

Full Value Communities has been the vehicle for communicating our collective vision. Although Jim had not been able to facilitate for several years our work rests firmly on his foundational shoulders. Whether teaching at the University of New Hampshire with graduate students, facilitating whole school interventions, or helping corporate teams find a more authentic path to success, Jim has always been standing right with us. He has been our chief encourager, mentor, laugh mate, explorer, inventor, and most importantly our dearest friend.