ABOUT JOHN HUIE

A Broad Educational Background
I have been a teacher and educational leader all my life. A native of Albany, Georgia, I am a graduate of Davidson College in Davidson, NC, with a BA degree in history and a minor in psychology. I earned the Master's Degree in American Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, and the Ph. D. in Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Extensive Experience Working with Young People
My career began with teaching English at McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN. I taught and served as Dean of Students at St. Mark's School of Texas in Dallas and served as Headmaster of Verde Valley School in Sedona, Arizona. I served as an assistant professor of Clinical and Field Studies in the College of Education at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada, where for a short time I held landed immigrant status. During my service as a US Army Lieutenant in France and Germany, I taught adult education classes in writing and served as editor of a command newspaper.

Outward Bound School Director
Later, I had the good fortune to help develop the Minnesota Outward Bound School where I served as Instructor and Program Director. My commitment to wilderness education led me eventually to the North Carolina Outward Bound School, where I served as Executive Director 1977 to 1994. During those years, we graduated more than 40,000 young people from our courses in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Peru. Since 1995, I have been Executive Director of the Environmental Leadership Center of Warren Wilson College, a unique, four-year liberal arts institution in Asheville, NC, with a commitment to academics, work, service, cross-cultural respect, and environmental citizenship.

My Perspective
Today I share my expertise with families to help them find programs in which their children can thrive. I travel extensively to evaluate wilderness therapy programs, emotional growth schools, residential treatment centers, boarding schools, and colleges.
Having experienced and worked through crisis with my own teenager, I offer a unique perspective to this work with families, teenagers, and others. In return, I have the privilege of seeing young people discover meaning, purpose, and - with the right help - the highest potential for their lives. (This is me with two of my four children - Zachary on the left and Nathaniel on the right. Another one, Peter, is smiling at us from behind the camera.)

Ethical Commitment

I am a member in good standing of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) and committed to the highest standards of professional service. 
I am also an Individual Affiliate of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs.