Council Chair - Jason Angione jasonangione@earthlink.net
Jason attended Eastern Michigan University and earned an MA in Clinical Psychology in 2001. Jason is a mental health therapist at a community mental health agency in Canton, Ohio. During the school year, he is a therapist in an elementary school during the day, and in the evening, he runs an adventure based therapy group. During the summer, he is very fortunate to be able to be outdoors for most of it, as he and a team of therapists, facilitators, and camp staff takes children to the beauteous out-of-doors for 5-day camps to work on behavioral and emotional skill building. He became the Chair of the AEE Heartland region in 2009.
Treasurer - Eric Howden erichowden@aurora.edu
Eric Howden, Director of the Outdoor Wisconsin Leadership School (OWLS) in Williams Bay, WI has been a member of the AEE Heartland Region Council since 2007 and has served at a Heartland region conference convener and site host. With a BA in Political Science, Eric made the move to experiential education in the mid 90s. Since then he has obtained his MA in Recreation Administration from Aurora University, spent five years as an Outward Bound instructor at their Ely, MN base, was an Education Programs Manager for the Appalachian Mountain Club and has taught for the Recreation Administration graduate degree program at George Williams College.
Tom Holman - tholman@semo.edu
Tom Holman has been teaching and leading outdoor adventure trips for 20 years. He has 5 years teaching experience in the public classroom. He has an MA from Minnesota State University, Mankato in experiential education and PhD from University of Minnesota in outdoor education/recreation. He lives in Cape Girardeau, MO with his wife and kids and teaches outdoor recreation courses at Southeast MO State University. His experiential interests are adventure therapy and outdoor adventure for persons with disabilities.
Evan Coulson - evan.coulson@ondessonk.com
Evan Coulson has been involved in the field of outdoor education since 2001. Evan earned a B.S. in Leisure Sciences from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with an emphasis in therapeutic and outdoor recreation. Evan has enjoyed several opportunities to become engaged in experiential education programming throughout the Heartland Region, having worked for the Touch Of Nature Environmental Center and Southern Illinois University’s Wilderness Education Association (W.E.A.) affiliate classes in Carbondale, IL; Cleveland Metro-park’s Institute of the Great Outdoors (I.G.O.) in Cleveland, OH; and Camp Ondessonk in Ozark, IL. Evan currently lives in Southernmost Illinois with Gabrielle, his partner of 14 years, and serves as the Camping Services Director for Camp Ondessonk and is working on his M.S. in Outdoor Education Resource Management at SIUC.
JD Tanner - jd.tanner2@gmail.com
JD Tanner has been leading outdoor recreation and adventure trips and teaching outdoor recreation courses for over 10 years. He has a B.S. in Recreation degree from Southeast Missouri State University and a M.S. Ed in Recreation from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He is currently a hiking guide writer and photographer for Falcon Guides. He recently wrapped up three years as a Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer for the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and was an instructor at Southeast Missouri State University for two years before that. JD is also a Certified Park and Recreation Professional, a Wilderness First Responder, and a certifying instructor for the Wilderness Education Association. JD enjoys bagging peaks, hiking long trails, highpointing, and spending time with his girlfriend and dogs.
Danny Frank - desertlightning@gmail.com
Danny Frank has been a facilitator of the experiential learning process for nearly 15 years, in a variety of expeditionary and site-based settings. In particular, much of his work has focused on the therapeutic applications of EE with youth at risk. Danny earned a B.A. in Outdoor Experiential Education and a M.A. in Experiential Education Program Development, both from Prescott College. He is also a certified Wilderness First Responder, as well as a Red Cross First Aid and CPR instructor. Danny currently manages Youth Development programming for Woodland Hills, a corrections and mental health residential treatment center in Duluth, MN. This includes sports and recreation; outdoor adventure; community service and service learning; and cultural and spiritual programming.
Maureen Dawson-Hurst - m.dawson-hurst@sbcglobal.net
Maureen's love of the outdoors and adventure started with family trips, expanded with Girl Scout camp opportunities, and grew as she sought jobs that allowed her to work outdoors with all kinds of people. As a 15 year veteran in the field of Experiential Education, Maureen spends most of her professional time as an Experiential Based Trainer and Facilitator for Adventure Associates, Inc. Her background includes challenge course trainer and facilitator, kayak instructor & guide, backpack guide, climbing instructor, and some high school teaching experience. Maureen has a BA in Geography and History from UW-Milwaukee and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Aurora University. In 2004, Maureen added mom to her list of credentials and with her husband works to expand her children's love and knowledge of the natural world.
