Matthew Rich-Tolsma

Matthew Rich-Tolsma is presently Director of Operations at the MetaIntegral Foundation’s Integral Education Center. He also serves as a visiting Research Fellow at the School for Transformative Leadership, Palacky University, where he is involved in research in the field of Transformative Higher Education approaches and social innovation as well as teaching transdisciplinary courses on Meta-theory, psychology, and partnership economics. More locally Matthew serves as an educational consultant at the Experience Integral Foundation in the Netherlands and serves as guest faculty for the Montessori Foundation’sMontessori Leadership Institute. His present research interests integrate multiple approaches (especially those stemming from the work of Montessori, Aurobindo, Wilber, Bhaskar, and Morin) in service of the development of transformative educational futures in the face of complex personal, social, and ecological crises. Matthew has a background in Montessori education, democratic education, and unschooling. He has taught children and adults and consulted with schools and training organizations in South Africa, China, India, the USA, and throughout Europe. He holds a Diploma in Early Childhood Development (Sustainability Institute), as well as graduate level certifications in Montessori Education (Center for Guided Montessori Studies (IMC/MACTE)), Facilitation (University of Fort Hare), and TESOL (LTTC). He holds an MA in Psychology (International Center for Integral Studies – graduation pending), and is a Certified Life Coach (CCA / ICF) and Certified Nonviolent Communication Trainer (CNVC). He is presently completing a Certificate in Business Management through the prestigious IIT Delhi. Matthew is a popular conference speaker and trainer and has spoken at conferences in Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe. His writing has also been published in numerous book chapters and journal articles. He is also an editor of two forthcoming volumes on the topic of transformative higher education through Palacky University Press, and has acted as an expert reviewer for a number of journal including The Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning, Integral Leadership Review, Educational Research, and The International Journal of Peace and Development Studies.Matthew is proudly South African and presently lives with his wife, Anneke, in Utrecht, the Netherlands.