NOLS Announces New Board of Trustees Members and Trustees Emeriti

September 11, 2024

Terms for 6 trustees and 2 new emeriti began on Sept. 1

LANDER, Wyo. – Sept. 11, 2024 /OUTDOOR SPORTSWIRE/ – The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) is pleased to announce the appointment of six new Board members and two Trustees Emeriti. The new board members’ terms commenced on September 1, 2024, and are three years long. Two former trustees were named trustee emeritus, an honorary position without a fixed term. In addition to the new appointments, five trustees retired on August 31, 2024.

“We are delighted to welcome Elaine, John, JK, Alan, and Gretchen as new trustees and are thrilled that Kate is returning to the board,” stated Dr. N. Stuart Harris, Chair of the NOLS Board of Trustees. “I am deeply appreciative of the brilliant work of our Governance Committee as led by Amy Dominguez-Arms. We look forward to the contributions, knowledge, and insights they will bring to the NOLS Board of Trustees that will be invaluable to forwarding our mission and elevating the leaders in everyone.”

The six new NOLS Board of Trustees are:

John Grunsfeld, PhD, is a scientist, former astronaut, and Astronaut Hall of Fame inductee with extensive experience as a leader in human space exploration, space science missions, and national space policy. He graduated from the Wind River Wilderness course in 1974 and the 2000 NASA Leadership Expedition. He currently resides in Colorado and is the President and CEO of Endless Frontiers Associates.

John (JK) Nicholas is currently a Managing Director at Ithaka Partners. Earlier in his career, he co-founded a health tech startup. He graduated from several NOLS courses, including a 1986 North Cascades Wilderness course and a Wilderness First Aid course.

Alan Townsend comes to the board with his dedication to sustainability and his years of experience as a highly cited author of over 140 peer-reviewed articles. He is the Dean and Franke Professor at the WA Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana. He is the author of “This Ordinary Stardust” and lives in Missoula, Montana.

Elaine Walsh Carney has a long history with NOLS, starting in 1989 after graduating from an Alaska Wilderness course. She became a NOLS instructor from 1994 to 1999 and a former Advisory Council Co-Chair from 2007 to 2010. Elaine is currently focused on democracy and global climate change mitigation and resides in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Gretchen Warner is a NOLS graduate, having completed multiple backpacking and wilderness medicine courses and served on the NOLS Advisory Council since 2020. She is the Head of School at the Overlake School and an affiliate consultant and professional coach at Mission & Data. She resides in the Pacific Northwest.

Kate Williams returns to the Board of Trustees after serving terms from 1999-2005 and 2009-2014, during which she served as the Chair from 2012-2014. She is a NOLS graduate with numerous courses and certifications, along with instructing, and now participates in alumni and development activities and trips. She is the CEO of 1% for the Planet and resides with her family in Waitsfield, Vermont.

In addition, the NOLS Board of Trustees has named Herbie Ogden, MD, and Greg M. Avis, Trustees Emeriti, in recognition of their exemplary service to the mission.

Five NOLS Board of Trustees terms ended on August 31, 2024. Chair Harris stated, “The NOLS community is deeply indebted to our retiring trustees for their selfless service: Andrea ‘Auny’ Abegglen, Danielle Dignan, Amy Dominguez-Arms, Noah Gottdiener, and David Lucchino.”

For more information about NOLS, please visit www.nols.edu or call 800.710.6657

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About NOLS

Established in 1965, the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) is the leader in wilderness education. What began in a small cabin in Wyoming’s Wind River Mountain range has evolved into a global, multifaceted nonprofit school offering a proven leadership curriculum through expedition courses, wilderness medicine certifications, risk management training, and custom education solutions for organizations. Today, NOLS operates 13 campuses worldwide and provides classroom instruction in over 40 countries. The NOLS community includes over 930 active instructors who teach various outdoor skills, from mountaineering and sailing to wilderness medicine that empower students to step forward in their lives. www.nols.edu | @nols | 800.710.6657

MEDIA CONTACT

NOLS Communications Director

Kelli Lusk

208.309.3793 | kelli_lusk@nols.edu / pr@nols.edu