Jamie Persons

Rwanda, Thailand, & Indonesia Instructor

MSW, UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work
BA in Anthropology, Social and Economic Justice, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Jamie’s love of travel has led her to work and wander her way across the globe. It also led her to Dragons, where she’s been teaching, learning, and exploring since 2010.

Domestically and abroad, Jamie has worked on community-based development initiatives focused on women’s empowerment and social change. After college, Jamie moved to Rwanda to  investigate approaches to post-conflict trauma healing and community building. In the years that followed, she worked with several international NGOs, collaborating with activists in East Africa and Central America.

Jamie eventually followed her interest in personal transformation and social change to a career as a clinical social worker. She currently lives in Chapel Hill, NC, where she works as a psychotherapist and yoga teacher. In each of these roles – and in the field with Dragons – Jamie considers the ways in which social, cultural, physical, psychological, and spiritual elements inform an individual’s sense of self and their connection to the wider world. She’s committed to helping students use both body and mind as resources in their learning and growth. 

Jamie is continually inspired by the transformational nature of travel and is excited to embark on her next journey with Dragons!

“Engaging with communities in new environments is messy…It is a journey that presents challenges, but in so doing allows a person to examine her expectations, trust the process, and discover gifts and connections she may otherwise have forgotten or taken for granted.”