Meet the team
Jamie Aiken
Executive DirectorJamie Aiken is the founder of The Refuge, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit best known for its residential learning centers serving hundreds of schools and thousands of students annually. Project American Life is a pioneer in instilling the Founding Principles of The Declaration and The Constitution using its one-of-a-kind experiential methods.
Jamie is a speaker, writer and musician addressing cultural, moral and spiritual concerns. Still, his toughest assignment is parenting his two daughters, Eliana and Gilia. Jamie’s conclusion is definitive upon comparing parenting just 2 with teaching 200 students every week: “I used to think running PAL was the toughest job in the world. I was quite naive.” JamieAiken.com
John Heeter
Creative DirectorJohn is the distinctly creative technologist who is often found working at the intersection between technical and visionary innovation in special effects, interactive designs and blockchain applications.
As part of Project American Life, John leads Virtual PAL development and overall technical strategy. His experience as a game developer informs his work when translating PAL’s experiential pedagogy into digital interactive experiences.
Scaling PAL to an entire new market is very exciting and gamification design enables methods that will educate and inspire students through maximum accessibility and scale previously unimaginable.
Steve Johnson
Expansion DirectorSteve is a great communicator (second only to President Reagan). He has served in various capacities during the past decades... from Senior Pastor to PAL Teacher to selling snow cones to Eskimos.
Additionally, Steve and his lovely wife (Charlotte) are amidst raising four amazing children… his toughest customers yet. In all of these arenas, Steve is peerless in his ability to connect with others… enthusiastically, authentically, and with refreshing humor.
It is Steve’s earnest belief that all of his experiences have brought him to this point in time… to help PAL accomplish the restoration of America’s Founding Principles… from sea to shining sea.
Interested in joining Project American Life?
The PAL Team is expanding and we are looking for motivated contributors.