| | | Paul Limoges, CEO, AEE (pictured at right with Board of Directors member Jen Payne)
For this Annual International AEE Conference (my 3rd) I prepared myself with statistics and expected to spend a lot of energy doing what is expected of me as CEO of AEE. And then as the conference got started, I was reminded how much AEE conferences fill attendees with energy (myself included) and they lift us to greater levels of performance. I benefited from your expertise, energy, stories and passion. I walked away excited and proud to be leading this organization, that serves so many creative and talented people, truly making a positive impact in the world. Thank you for making our 38th Annual International Conference a successful one!
Hunter Merritt, 38th International AEE Conference Convener (pictured at right leading boom whackers)
Hunter shares his reflections on the conference on the AEE Blog. He also invites you to listen to a radio interview with keynote speaker Dr. Sugata Mitra. Feedback from the conference was that his presentation was outstanding. Listen to the interview.
Dr. Tom Smith, Old Raccoon
A preconference workshop at the 2010 AEE conference in Las Vegas was designed as a mentoring experience with the theory and practice of Raccoon Circles --- with intention of preparing some of them to be facilitators of a Raccoon Circles workshop later in the conference. Like many EE adventures, we risked moving into unchartered waters, and the rewards were worth the efforts. Read more.
Attention Conference Presenters: If you presented a workshop at the International Conference in Vegas, please send AEE Board member Laurie Frank your presentations, handouts, and other materials that you would like to share from your workshop. AEE will then post them to the AEE website on the conferences workshop page. | | Leaders | | Announcing the New Editors for the Journal of Experiential Education Anaya Drew, AEE Publicatons and Communications Coordinator  The Journal of Experiential Education is entering a new era with new editors and a new online platform! On behalf of the community of educators and researchers that make up AEE, and the JEE, we’d like to thank the outgoing editors, Mary Breunig, Tim O’Connell, and Brent Cuthbertson (pictured at right), for their commitment and service to the JEE and wish them the best in their future endeavors. Replacing them in this great role, we welcome:
Dr. Patrick Maher, University of Northern British Columbia, Canada
Dr. Simon Beames, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Dr. Glyn Thomas, La Trobe University, Australia
Mr. Philip Mullins, University of Northern British Columbia, Canada | | NAALA Resource Sharing
Natives, Africans, Asians, Latina(o)s, Allies Bert Zipperer, NAALA Co-Chair (Co-Chair Sanford Tollette pictured at right, center)
NAALA will be highlighting various resources as a foundation to deepen our collective knowledge of all people, with emphasis on issues of race, ethnicity, culture and language. She Would Not Be Moved: How We Tell the Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
By Herbert Kohl (2005) Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work
By Ms. Edwidge Danticat (2010) Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
(Adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948) | | Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group (TAPG)
Maurie Lung, AEE TAPG Chair (pictured at right with former BOD president, Laurie Frank)
The community and learning from the TAPG preconference continue to inspire me throughout the year. Our keynote speaker, Tom Smith, brought back the forever fun Raccoon Circles. New this year were the three workshop tracks: administrative, practitioner, and clinical. It was hard to choose! We also had an expert panel to discuss current trends and experiences as well as an urban adventure to challenge our assumptions. CEUs were available for participants this year, too.
Speaking of inspiration, we welcomed new members onto the Leadership Council and we honored volunteers for regional chairs, advisory council, conference conveners, leadership council, and best practices. There are a range of volunteer opportunities, from one time to on-going. If you are interested in a role, please contact one of the TAPG Leadership Council members!
TAPG also shared our exciting Action Plan, which includes increasing professional development opportunities, developing membership and leadership opportunities, and furthering Best Practices. For more information, go to tapg.aee.org. | Message from the Canadian Group
Kate J. Cassidy, Canadian Group Chair (pictured at right, center)
Over 100 people joined us for a fun Canadian Social in Las Vegas on Thursday night, and over 30 made it out to the breakfast meeting. From this two new initiatives were put forward:
The Integrated Curriculum Project
Bob Henderson would like to gather interested people to develop a booklet on integrated curriculum across Canada followed by possible workshop presentations. Interested folks were gathered after the meeting but there is still room to participate. If you are interested in becoming involved email Bob.
A Canadian AEE Conference 2012
Stephen Glass put forward the idea of having a AEE Canadian Conference that would travel to a different region each year starting in 2012. If you are interested in becoming involved email me at kcassidy@brocku.ca and I will forward you on to Stephen.
A big thanks to all who came and to those of you who committed to giving back by volunteering your time. Thanks also to Communications Leader Blair Niblett for bringing the Canadian flags this year and for help at the get together and meeting. It is never too early to think about presenting a workshop next year. If you would like a mentor to help prepare your proposal let me know. | | EBTD Get Ready to Rumble!
Marc Levy (pictured at right), Joc Clark, EBTD Co-Chairs
First this breaking news: Sam Sykes will be doing a full-day preconference next year at the 39th Annual International AEE conference in Jacksonville, Florida. Please make plans to join us in 2011.
Thank you to all the AEE members who came together at the recent international conference to express interest in our exciting profession-based group, Experience-Based Training & Development (EBTD). As I've written and otherwise shared over the past few years, EBTD is for everyone who works in or with organizations - and that's virtually everyone in AEE! Problem is, many of us have multiple interests, affiliations, and obligations - so it's been difficult for folks to get to all the various meetings they'd like to attend while at the conference. So we've asked the Association/Conference staff to consider "staggering" profession-based group meetings next year. This way, you won't have as many competing interests and can come to more than one meeting! Read more. | | News | Thank You and Good Luck
Paul Limoges, CEO, AEE
It is with sadness that we, as a team, have to say good-bye to one of AEE's stars! Kirsten Kindt, Member Services Director is moving on and I want to take this opportunity to recognize her contribution to AEE. She has, for the past three years, improved our systems, expanded our communiations, and continually increased member benefits to all AEE members. We will build on what Kirsten has accomplished and will continue to provide the highest quality service to AEE members. Thank you Kirsten. Kirsten Kindt, AEE
My 3 years at AEE have been great especially due to the generous and inspiring people I met and worked with. I will miss you as I leave to advance my career. I want to express my sincere appreciation to those of you that have donated your talents and leadership to this organization. I am grateful for the work you do and the values that you all share. With great enthusiasm I wish you all the very best of luck! | | Partners | | NOLS  By Brian Fabel, NOLS Professional Training Whether your outdoor program is brand new or has years of history, you will benefit from taking the NOLS Risk Management Training by obtaining a structured approach and the tools to build a risk management plan appropriate for your organization.
Using case studies from 45+ years of operations at NOLS and the collective experience of the group, we provide exercise that help quantify where your program is strong on risk management and identify the potential growth areas.
Mar 5-6, 2011 Seattle, WA
April 12-13, 2011 Atlanta, GA
May 11-12, 2011 San Francisco, CA | | Member Profile | | Adventure Education Program at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado
Jenifer JC Perteet, Adventure Education Program, Fort Lewis College
The Adventure Education Program at Fort Lewis College takes students out on 4 day and 7 day expeditions to some awesome wilderness venues above Durango Mountain Resort, Vallecito Creek trailhead, Coalbank, Molas Pass and the Rico-Silverton Trail. The program is an intensive four month experience where the academic focus is on Adventure Education. The entire semester is like an expedition, where students are part of a small learning community with shared goals. These goals include academic and personal success, with collaborative support to reach these goals.
On the whole, the faculty considers this to be a demanding semester in terms of the amount of work it requires and the intellectual engagement it demands. Most notably, students are expected to think critically and be able to read, synthesize and engage with a large volume of material in a relatively short time and throughout it all, they have a lot of good times - check out the photos! Blog - http://blogs.fortlewis.edu/adventureeducation
Facebook group - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=29676492290
Fort Lewis College website - http://www.fortlewis.edu/adventureed | |
