EXPERIENCE GUIDES

  • Key facilitation/group leadership/outdoor leadership skills

    • A certified forest therapy guide, Sarah helps people quiet their analytical minds, which can foster stress reduction, clearer-thinking, increased creativity and interconnectedness.

    Favorite outdoor place (that SUM might go

    • Sarah loves spending time by running water - LaBagh Woods and McClaughry Springs Woods are two of her favorite spots for getting outside.


    One sentence on your professional background outside of SUM

    • After many years of work in environmental policy and planning, Sarah runs her own forest therapy guiding service, That Forest Feeling, which includes mind-body coaching for people struggling with chronic pain and stress

  • Key facilitation/group leadership/outdoor leadership skills

    • Josh uses landscapes, stories and ecological knowledge to help distill complex social dynamics into approachable themes that in turn make difficult conversations easier and more natural to have.

    Favorite outdoor place (that SUM might go

    • Josh loves the Riverwalk, Peanut Park and the Cowles Bog Trail in Indiana Dunes National Park.


    One sentence on your professional background outside of SUM

    • Josh worked for many years as an urban and regional policy advocate before founding SUM, but has also been a teacher, coach, cook, gardener, camp counselor and more. 

  • Key facilitation/group leadership/outdoor leadership skills

    • Clint’s calm and caring demeanor make him a steady presence co-leading kayaking outings for people of all skill and comfort levels.

    Favorite outdoor place (that SUM might go

    • Kayaking on the Des Plaines!


    One sentence on your professional background outside of SUM

    • Clint has a background in urban planning and design, and is now a small-business owner and a brewer.

  • Key facilitation/group leadership/outdoor leadership skills

    • An empathetic and patient group facilitator, Mary is also an accomplished long-distance solo hiker, trained chef and practitioner of Samatha Buddhist meditation.

    Favorite outdoor place (that SUM might go

    • Mary loves the birds and prairie grasses on Wooded Isle in Chicago’s Jackson Park.


    One sentence on your professional background outside of SUM

    • Mary’s career has been in academia, as both a professor and administrator, and she holds a PhD in Political Theory.