About Giving Back

Karen Peterson, M.A., Executive  Director, comes from an education and entrepreneurial background.  

Ms. Peterson is in private practice as a Licensed Educational Kinesiology Consultant and Brain Gym® Instructor, Natural Vision Improvement Therapist, and Reading Specialist.  She has a BA and an MA in English, graduate courses in education, and thirty-four years experience teaching all of the above. She has been teaching Brain Gym (Educational Kinesiology) since 1986. She teaches a successful DOE course for Maui teachers, teaches seniors at Kaunoa Senior Center, and trains trainers. She designed five 3-credit graduate level courses for teachers.

Over the years, Ms. Peterson has worked with children and adults with ADD/ADHD, head injuries, vision problems and remedial and developmental reading needs, in addition to senior citizens and athletes. She has developed and led stress management seminars for businesses and trainings for classroom teachers. She is also a co-founder of The Learning Hui, a learning center, where she has taught Brain Gym, learning styles, study, reading and writing skills.

Karen established the non-profit agency Giving Back in 2000 to implement its  Intergenerational Mentoring Program: With Brain Gym® at its core, mentoring and learning are enhanced.  "When I turned 50, I started to feel younger. I was not going to be 'put out to pasture'. I had new strength and creativity for a project such as Giving Back. I wanted to 'give back', to be of service. I was sure others of my generation would want to share their gifts, enthusiasm, and vitality with the younger generation.

I was teaching senior citizens at the time. I saw how vibrant and full of wisdom most of them were. It was natural that they be included in the community, be the ones to nurture and mentor our children. I remembered that in the past the elders were the ones who often cared for the children."

I also remembered my grandmother,(who lived to be 100 and who was an important mentor in my young life.  When the young and old get together, there is instant magic.