John Wallace was raised in the Louisiana home in which his father was born.  Upon receiving a B.A. in psychology from the University of San Francisco, he moved to his mother’s native state, completing a B.S. in education and M.S.E. at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.  John earned his doctoral degree at the University of Minnesota. 

For the past three decades John has been a teacher of regular and special education students, a middle school and elementary school principal, and a foster father to a multitude of children.  John describes himself simply as a child advocate. 

For many years John has suspended from his principal’s office ceiling a watering can and a hoe.  They remind him of his role in his kindergarten, his garden of children.  Every act that he performs during the day is designed to either foster the growth of best practices or to weed out those approaches that impede student progress.  He also keeps a shovel in the corner to remind him to limit the amount of fertilizer he allows to build up at his school.

As an educational gardener, John finds great fulfillment in taking the fruits of his harvest and sharing them at the market as a public speaker.  His many engagements have provided him opportunities to address a wide range of audiences.  The increased awareness and knowledge he receives through these experiences he then brings back to apply in his own garden.