06 Aug Meet the Staff: Director Deborah Guinn
Hello! Deb Guinn here – I’m the Executive Director of The Outdoor School (TOS) and Champions Retreat. I joined the team when TOS was first born in 1996 and it has been both exciting and a privilege to watch our program grow and change over these last 25 years! We’ve grown from a team of 6 to a team of 35; we’re constantly revising curriculum to meet the needs of both public and private schools; we’re reaching over 10,000 youth each school year; we’re always striving to tap into the potential that each guest (youth and adult!) has within themselves.
I was fortunate to attend an outdoor education day when I was in 6th grade and I couldn’t believe how exciting it was to learn outside in a hands-on manner. Forty two year later, I still remember my team leader, Hal, and how he brought energy and excitement to learning about macroinvertebrates we “caught” in the lake. I wanted to be like him… and now I have that opportunity!
I am a fan of all of our activities, but my favorites are Living Off the Land and Water Quality. Living Off the Land introduces students to the incredible things that plants can provide us with – medicine, food, shelter, dyes… plants are amazing! Water Quality is a class that I can almost literally “see the light bulb” go off when students begin to understand how all of the factors in a lake link together to make a healthy ecosystem.
My favorite TOS moment is from our very first day of our very first school. I remember all of us gathering together at the end of that day and wondering what in the world just happened?! We met kids, we taught kids, we entertained kids; kids learned and had a blast… and all of us were both exhausted and happy! I knew at that moment that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I absolutely love my job and can’t imagine doing anything else!
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