AEE Awards 

Andrew J. Bobilya is Professor and Program Director of the M.S. in Experiential and Outdoor Education at Western Carolina University. He has contributed via various service roles including the Board of Directors of the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) (2005-2012) and as the Editor-in Chief of the Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education and Leadership (2010-2018). 

Andrew's current research interests include wilderness solitude, autonomous student experiences, the human nature relationship, spirituality and outdoor programming, and college student transition programs. Andrew has received AEE’s Servant Leader Award (2013), the Western Carolina University College of Education and Allied Professions Legislative Teaching Award (2017) and Dean's Research Award (2017), and the Wilderness Education Association's Outdoor Educator of the Year (2018). Andrew is also the Director of Training and Education at 2nd Nature TREC (Training, Research, Education and Consulting). He enjoys spending time with his family and friends, moments of adventure, exploring natural landscapes and the related personal spiritual journey. Any benefits of his research efforts are due to the support of his family, mentors who invested in his growth, colleagues with whom he’s been able to explore meaningful questions and students who challenge his thinking and pose critical questions resulting in excellent research projects. 

Dr. Susanna Ho has played a pivotal role in shaping outdoor education in Singapore through her research. As the Lead Specialist of Outdoor Education in the Ministry of Education, she spearheaded the integration of outdoor learning into the Physical Education curriculum back in 2014. Her vision and dedication led to the formulation of a national outdoor adventure education master plan. 

Beyond Singapore’s borders, Dr. Ho has made significant contributions to the field. She was part of a research team supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, collaborating with experts from the UK, Denmark, and Australia. Their study explored the impact of outdoor learning on children’s well-being—an essential aspect of holistic education.

Locally, Dr. Ho has been actively involved in research projects. Currently, she is part of a research team that is examining the effects of the capstone programme for youths at Outward Bound Singapore, further enriching our understanding of experiential education.

Her influence extends to editorial roles. Dr. Ho serves as an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Experiential Education and as a Regional Editor for the Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education. Additionally, she contributes to the International Explorations in Outdoor and Environmental Education book series.

Criteria:

• Has completed a minimum of ten years of research not including graduate work.

• Has shown exemplary research productivity and visibility in the fields that use experiential education.
• Has a diversity of publication and presentation outlets particularly those that are refereed.
• Has numerous research contributions of significant importance.
• Exhibited continuity of research involvement.
• Has citations and author impact factor (e.g., H index) commensurate with their field of research and at least comparable to other researchers with 10 years of research.
• Has had creative and innovative impacts to research within the experiential education community.
• Has received awards, keynotes, grants, etc. that speak to a research presence.
• Exemplifies high ethical standards.
• Is actively involved with and committed to the values and mission of AEE.
• Is a current member of AEE.

Award Winner Receives: One year individual membership in AEE, plaque/award  

Past Recipients:

Risk Resolve, based in Australia, was founded in 2007 with a clear and simple mission: to support our partner organisations achieve their desired outcomes. Since those early days, we’ve worked with hundreds of different organisations, schools, and government agencies – large, small and everything in between, to support them develop fit-for-purpose risk and safety management solutions tailored to their own unique and contextual requirements.

Our holistic approach recognises that risk and safety work is complex. That it can sometimes seem never ending, and all-consuming. We’ve worn the suits of leaders based in the boardrooms, as well as the shirts of the workers on the ground. We’ve called in for urgent help from the field, and we know what it’s like to answer these calls.

As both practitioners and academics, we combine contemporary risk and safety thinking with practical and implementable approaches which build lasting capability and support better safety outcomes.

Criteria:

• Maintained innovative and outstanding programming at continuously high standards for at least five years.

• Demonstrated consistent commitment to and support for the work of AEE.

• Exemplifies high ethical standards.

• Is actively involved with and committed to the values and mission of AEE.

• Is a current member of AEE.

Award Winner Receives: One year organizational membership in AEE, plaque/award  

Past Recipients:

Mo Kappes (M.Ed., Experiential Education) has been working as an experiential educator for 30 years as a wilderness trip leader, challenge course practitioner, and advisor.  In her role as the Advisor to the Adventure Learning Programs (ALPs) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she has had the privilege of facilitating the leadership and character development of over 400 ALPs students.  UW-Madison has recognized Mo’s work in experiential education with the Wisconsin Experience Award and recognized her commitment to Social Justice with the Leadership in Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Efforts Award. Mo has served in various volunteer positions in AEE over the years including as an AEE International Conference convener, workshop reviewer, and volunteer; a long-time member of the Heartland Regional council; and as a member of the Social Justice Task Force. 

Criteria:

• Has demonstrated active, excellent servant leadership to AEE at a regional or international level for at least five years.

• Focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the AEE communities to which they belong.

• Demonstrates a passionate commitment to furthering experiential education principles.

• Exemplifies high ethical standards.

• Is actively involved with and committed to the values and mission of AEE.

• Is a current member of AEE.

Award Winner Receives: One year individual membership in AEE, plaque/award  

Past Recipients:

María José (Mache) Treviño Gonzalez is a curious and passionate experiential facilitator with over 20 years of experience. Throughout her career, she has focused on education, social inclusion, and community development. Mache is driven to make experiential learning accessible to everyone. She has developed a wide range of impactful resources—including books, manuals, and digital tools in English and Spanish—that are used by educators, facilitators, and community leaders globally. She has also co-organized experiential learning conferences in Latin America for over a decade.

Mache is a faculty member at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UK) and Westhill University (Mexico). In her academic roles, she has designed and implemented creative virtual learning activities for hybrid programs, influencing teaching practices through challenge and exploration. As a lecturer in Outdoor and Adventure Education in Wales, she introduces innovative elements to her sessions and engages with local community initiatives.

Mache co-founded the consulting agency Crecimiento y Aventura, where she collaborates on projects in Mexico and Latin America that combine experiential learning and participatory community development. These address vital themes like gender-based violence prevention, social justice, equality, and women's health, exemplifying her ongoing commitment to creating a better world through play and joy.

Morgan Decker is a licensed clinical social worker whose passion for experiential learning and adventure began early as she fondly remembers teachers and camp counselors leading experiential group activities. She went on to have many more adventure opportunities and chose to embrace this path in her education and career by attending the University of New Hampshire in the Outdoor Education program. After her undergrad program she continued on by earning her MSW degree also at UNH, focusing on adventure therapy. Morgan has an extensive background in the experiential field working in non-profit organizations, wilderness therapy, therapeutic boarding schools, various challenge courses, and public high school. She has been a member of AEE since 2007 where she has attended and presented at both regional and international conferences on trauma informed brain based facilitation, Social Emotional Learning, and variations on experiential activities. She is a member and recent Chair of the Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group (TAPG) Leadership Council and is a Certified Clinical Adventure Therapist (CCAT). Currently, she provides adventure based experiences with a focus on social emotional learning to youth at a public high school in southern Maine and she hopes to bring the world of adventure therapy to more places and people.

Criteria:

• Demonstrates that a practitioner can bring about significant change and impact in the lives of people in their program.

• Exemplifies consistently high levels of performance as a practitioner of experiential education.

• Possesses a solid knowledge of quality standards and exhibits this knowledge throughout their practicing career.
• Works on program delivery directly with clients, students, participants, etc. on a frequent basis.
• Is ideally a full-time experiential educator.
• Lives and works with a passion for experiential education.
• Is a practitioner more than a theorist.
• Exemplifies high ethical standards.
• Is actively involved with and committed to the values and mission of AEE.
• Is a current member of AEE.

Award Winner Receives: $250 from the Michael Stratton Practitioner Award Permanently Restricted Fund, one year individual membership in AEE, plaque/award  

Past Recipients: 

Bobbi Beale, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and a Co-Director of the Center for Innovative Practices & the Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health COE at Case Western Reserve University.  Dr. Beale has over 30 years of practice and expertise in trauma, resilience, system of care and behavioral health treatments for children, youth and families.  Specializing in Intensive Home-Based Treatment (IHBT) and Adventure Therapy, she spends most of her time training, consulting, researching and providing technical assistance to support behavioral health and other providers serving youth and their families that are involved in multiple service systems.  She is currently working with an indigenous owned and operated healthcare system in Alaska designing non-traditional therapy programs for Native Alaskan youth and families that have personal, cultural and historical trauma histories. For over 20 years, Dr. Beale has used adventure therapy due to its natural alignment with trauma informed care and anti-oppressive practices to bring awareness and change to systems of care that keep punishing participants for having trauma responses to their environments. She is co-author of the textbook, Adventure Group Psychotherapy and has served as a volunteer leader in many roles at AEE including leading the Social Justice Task Force founded in 2016.

Criteria:

The award recognizes a person (or persons) engaged in social justice and advocacy, with a minimum of at least 3 of the following components related to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging work:

• Actively engaged in demonstrated social justice action aimed at making the lives of others and /or communities better.
• Engaged in empowerment of marginalized individuals and/or communities.
• Engaged in community organizing and systems change that promote human rights and social justice action.
• Youth advocacy in communities.
• Advocacy for BIPOC and marginalized communities across the life span.
• Demonstrated evidence of ongoing inclusive change within their community/communities, programs, organizations or groups. 

• Exemplifies high ethical standards.

• Is actively involved with and committed to the values and mission of AEE.

• Is a current member of AEE.

Award Winner Receives: One year individual membership in AEE, plaque/award  

Past Recipients:

2023 - Sanford Tollette & Binky Martin-Tollette