Our Founder
Rebecca Frances is a pioneer in the world of 21st Century Education. She designed a BA in Globalization and Education at NYU, holds a Masters in Adolescent Psychology from Prescott College and is a PhD Candidate in Sustainability Education. Her research and engagement focuses on Adolescent Well-being in a Changing World. She specializes in guiding youth and emerging adults through transitions and into personal flourishing. Over the past 20 years Rebecca has lived and worked across multiple sectors and demographics. Her ventures in global learning started at 16 when she was an exchange student in France. Since then she has followed a path of exploratory, experiential learning and become an advocate for teen thriving. Rebecca led and designed Gap Year courses for Where There Be Dragons, and has taught in the field in Tanzania, Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda, Morocco, China, and Jordan. Rebecca uses her background in Global Learning and adolescent development to work with youth one-on-one as a Gap Year consultant and Adolescent Purpose coach.
Teens are coming of age in a very different world than that of previous generations, with heightened anxiety, depression, and increased uncertainty. It is our belief that there is a time and place for clinical interventions, but that many youth can find their way back to their center as they begin to make sense of the world around them and their place within it. Rebecca’s approach is based on cultural psychology, the study of how cultures inform and shape the individual and their psychological processes. We center the unique talents and stories of each individual and work with them to develop a sense of purpose, global citizenship, emotional development and focused goals in order to create conditions for thriving. Rebecca works with youth from around the world through remote one-on-one sessions, or in person in Taos, New Mexico.
Rebecca is fluent in providing support for LGBTQ youth, and is a committed activist of decolonizing existing systems and bias. Rebecca is also a mother, photographer and artist.
— Rebecca Burns, Founder and Mentor
Our Educators and Mentors aren’t just academics, they are activists, outliers and creatives.
We are a community of future-minded individuals who want to understand and engage in the world we live in. We are experts in our field, and regular people with lots of grit. We are creatives. We are believers. We are activists. We are parents, and teachers. We are teenagers. We are the future. The Diana School partners with individuals, institutions and organizations with the common goal to give youth the tools they need to thrive in a changing world. We amplify the voices and actions of teens, for teens.