Our mentors are the foundation for the success of the Explore Austin program. Our program is unique in that at least three mentors are chosen to lead each class of Explorers (15 students) for a minimum of a two-year period. Mentors are chosen through an application process designed to identify an applicant’s experience and passion for working with youth, demonstrated leadership ability, trustworthiness, resourcefulness, and accountability. Our Mentors come from varying backgrounds including military, education, business, etc. All Mentors must undergo an extensive background check, receive state mandated sexual misconduct training, and attend quarterly Explore Austin training sessions.
Mentors lead Explorers on six enriching Saturday Events during the school year and a seven to ten-day Summer Wilderness Trip where both Mentors and Explorers are mentally and physically challenged. Mentors are not expected to have technical outdoor skills, but instead are expected to reinforce Explore Austin’s ACES framework. They provide guidance by being a friend, a role model, a confidant and a nurturer. Being a Mentor in the Explore Austin program is definitely an enriching experience. To meet our Mentors, click on their name.
Interested in becoming a mentor? Click here.
I’m a devout Texan, born and raised all my life. However, last year I took some time away from my beloved state of Texas to travel Europe and Africa for 7 months. During that time I spent time in 25 countries living and learning each and everyday.
A local Austinite, Jason attended Westwood High School, class of 1999. At 21 he joined the Marine Corps and served five years on active duty in San Diego, CA. Jason was raised on outdoor fun. He is an avid adventurer, …
Jeff is a native Austinite and graduated from Georgetown High School. He attended college in west Texas. He is currently a distributor for European Imports. In Jeff’s spare time, he loves to camp, hike, fish, mostly any activity that involves …
Chris graduated from Pflugerville High School in 2003 and Abilene Christian University in 2007. He and his wife, Elena, enjoy exploring the outdoors with their two sons, Sam and Lincoln. When Chris is not working, he spends his time reading, …
Meredith is a native New Yorker but hasn’t lived there since she graduated high school. She received a BA in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was recruited to work at Dell in Nashville, TN. Meredith moved to Austin …
Amanda was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. Growing up, Amanda was involved with the local club swim team. If she wasn’t in the pool, she was with her team running cross country.
JJ is a transplant from a small town in North Texas, where she played club soccer and ran cross country and track. She moved to Austin to attend UT, where she earned a B.S. in Neurobiology. After working a few …
After growing up in St. Louis, MO attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina. After 3 years as a Consultant at Arthur Andersen, Bret came to Austin for Business school at the University of Texas, and has called Austin “home” ever since.
Dave is an entrepreneur, product developer, outdoorsman and personal development coach. He has a long and solid track history starting up and participating in Austin high tech companies and now works in his dream job where he helps develop and …
Originally from St. Louis, MO, Brent has called Austin home since 2004. Having spent 6 years at Dell in various roles, he currently works for local start-up, BestFit Mobile.
Nick grew up in San Antonio and graduated from Alamo Heights High School and Texas A&M University. After A&M, he moved to Dallas to work in construction project management for a large commercial contractor.
Jordan grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a Bachelor’s in Communication. After college, he spent a little over a year living in Argentina teaching English, learning Spanish, and traveling around other parts of South America.
As the son of an Air Force Major, Greg was fortunate to have the opportunity to live and visit many places growing up, his exposure to new and different environments have given him a broader perspective on life. Greg considers …
Born and raised in Austin, Stewart graduated from Austin High School and Texas A&M University. After graduating, Stewart served in the U.S. Marine Corps infantry in Afghanistan and Iraq, attaining the rank of Captain.
A native Austinite, Todd graduated from Austin High School and the University of Texas at Austin. After working several years in the commercial construction and insurance industries, he served four years on active duty as an officer in the United …
A native Austinite, PJ graduated from Austin High School and the University of Texas at Austin. He currently works in the commercial real estate industry with Cypress Real Estate Advisors.
Paul grew up in Fredericksburg, Texas. He was a star basketball player in high school. After a series of knee injuries, he lost his basketball scholarship. basketball scholarship.
Bethany was raised in San Antonio, Texas, and attended Texas Lutheran University where she graduated with a degree in Kinesiology. After college she spent two and a half years teaching at an Outdoor Education Center (OEC) for the Houston Independent …
Ashlee grew up in New Braunfels, Texas and moved to Austin after getting her BA in Political Science at Texas State University in San Marcos. During college she worked as a nanny and currently works for St. Jude Medical as …
Joel’s family moved to Eastern Europe when he was eleven-years-old. He spent the next several years living in Lithuania, Russia, and Germany. Joel returned to the U.S. to attend Evangel University and joined the U.S. Peace Corps after graduation. He …
Mike is a native Southern Californian where he received his BA from California State University Long Beach and was recruited to Austin by Velocity Electronics in 2001 to help lead a growing sales team. Outside of work, Mike enjoys spending …
Ryan was born in Singapore, and moved to Austin when he was 13 months old. Ryan was raised in Austin and graduated form Westwood High School in 2004.
Todd is a native to Illinois where he received his BS in Finance from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Todd relocated from Chicago to Austin in October 2010 to start his own commercial real estate consulting firm.
Coy grew up in a small town of only 3,000 people in Oklahoma. He attended college at the University of Oklahoma, where he majored in entrepreneurship.
Chase is a native Austinite. He recently graduated from the Acton School of Business, and took a job with Austin-based oil & gas company DrillingInfo.
Whitney is a native Austinite who grew up in Round Rock and graduated from Round Rock High School. After high school, she received her barber license and spent four years cutting hair at the hip and trendy Avant Hair Salon before deciding to pursue a degree in Interior Design at Southwest Texas University.
Originally from Chicago, Caroline graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in English and Spanish. She moved to the great state of Texas immediately thereafter to teach fifth grade through the Teach for America program. After stints studying abroad in …
David is originally from Minneapolis, MN and graduated from White Bear Lake High School in 1996. An avid hockey player, David attended and played hockey at the Iowa State University.
Mica Odom is the National Energy Media Director for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a leading nonprofit organization that creates transformational solutions to the most serious environment problems.
Laura grew up in Omaha and studies Journalism at the University of Nebraska. Following graduation, a brief stint in Portland, OR brought about a change in career interests, and when Laura was accepted to the graduate program at UT’s School of Social Work, moving to Austin was a no-brainer.
Director for the local non-profit Young Life, where he worked with students from Austin and McCallum high schools and O. Henry Middle Shcool. He currently works for Entercon, a radio station conglomerate, where he is the Public Affairs Director. His …
Clint Smith is passionate about helping kids succeed in life. He has been active in numerous mentoring programs, and he also spent a year away from the business world to teach fifth graders at an elementary school in Boulder, CO. …
I’m an Austin Native by way of Brackenridge Hospital and then Round Rock HS. I live in N. Austin with my girlfriend and 2 dogs. I love Austin and everything it has to offer, from Walnut Creek and the Greenbelt …
Jason grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School. He completed his undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt University and subsequently spent four year living in South America (Chile, Argentina, and Brazil), where he worked for an international investment bank
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