ABOUT NORTH STAR

The North Star Initiative is an education-centered organization dedicated to helping young people develop the clarity, self-awareness, and practical skills they need to navigate life beyond the classroom.

At its core, the North Star Initiative is built on a simple belief: students need both an inner compass and real-world preparation to thrive. Through thoughtfully designed, school-ready curricula, the Initiative supports the whole student, academically, emotionally, and socially, while honoring students’ individual experiences, values, and identities.

The Initiative’s work begins with the Self-Leadership Series, including The 10 Initiations, which helps students build self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and the ability to think critically about themselves and the world around them. From this foundation, the North Star Initiative expands into applied learning areas such as financial literacy, health and well-being, relationships, life skills, and post–high school readiness, each designed to help students translate self-understanding into confident, responsible action.

The North Star Initiative is not about prescribing one “right” path. Instead, it equips students with tools to reflect, question, and choose wisely, so they can move forward with direction, resilience, and a strong sense of who they are as they step into the real world.

FOUNDERS

Amie Heatherton, EdS

Amie Heatherton is a seasoned educator with over 25 years of experience teaching across K–12 classrooms and online learning environments. She brings deep, lived classroom knowledge and a steady commitment to educating the whole student academically, emotionally, and socially.
Now working as a curriculum designer and content developer, Amie specializes in creating standards-aligned, student-centered learning experiences that invite reflection, self-awareness, and meaningful engagement. Her work skillfully bridges practical classroom structure with thoughtful, human-centered design, supporting both learners and educators in today’s educational landscape.
Amie is deeply passionate about helping students develop their inner voice, trust themselves, and cultivate the skills needed to navigate both school and life with confidence and integrity. Through her work with The North Star Initiative, she brings warmth, clarity, and wisdom to a program designed to support teens in becoming who they are inside and beyond the classroom.

Dr. Tassel Faith Shanebrook, PhD

Dr. Tassel Shanebrook is a licensed doctor of psychotherapy and educator who helps young people develop self-leadership, emotional intelligence, and a strong sense of identity. For more than 20 years, she has supported teens and adults in building confidence, resilience, and inner clarity during pivotal stages of growth.
Dr. Tassel’s work integrates psychology, mindfulness, and experiential learning to help students understand their emotions, regulate stress, and make aligned choices, skills that are essential for leadership, healthy relationships, and lifelong well-being. Her approach is practical, engaging, and empowering, meeting students where they are while guiding them toward greater responsibility, self-trust, and emotional maturity.
She is the creator of The Ten Initiations, a developmental framework designed to support young people as they navigate identity, relationships, boundaries, purpose, and self-direction. She has lectured internationally and appeared in the film Zero Limits.
Dr. Tassel is deeply committed to helping the next generation learn how to lead themselves with awareness, integrity, and confidence—so they can meet life’s challenges with clarity, agency, and self-respect.