Experience: Paul holds an MS in Environmental Education and has developed programs that connect people with nature for over 15 years. His work with Outward Bound and Mass Audubon specialized in creating opportunities for people to find adventure anywhere from a local park in Cambridge to remote wilderness in New England and internationally. He specializes in guided kayak tours and also owns an oyster farm and paddle tour company near Portsmouth, NH.

Motivation: "Growing up, I was lucky to have a small stream behind my house which was my favorite place to relax and play with friends. As I get older and am responsible to keep up with a fast paced work life, I often feel stress and anxiety which sticks around, especially when I do not intentionally make time to be outside. The fact that I, as an environmental educator, have to remember to schedule quality time in nature is absurd, knowing that it is vital to my happiness and well-being. That is what working in the modern age is, but does it have to be? I am building Out of Office Wellness to develop a way for busy adults, including myself, to integrate exploring and observing nature into their lives to take pause and find balance and happiness. Besides, why should kids be the only ones who get to play outside?!" 

Experience: Stefanie Haug, LICSW, MSW, MIA, is a practicing licensed psychotherapist, certified Mindful Outdoor Guide (Kripalu) and mindfulness teacher. Her global professional work spans the nonprofit (UNDP, schools) and corporate (ESG asset management) world where she focuses on community and nature connections, mindfulness, and trauma-informed care. She holds positions with community organizations centering human rights, mental health (Red Cross Mental Health Responder), and social justice. Stefanie is known for infusing curiosity, calmness and care - with a healthy dollop of humor and humility - into her relationships with all people and all things.

Motivation: "I am a passionate advocate of mindfulness in nature as a path to personal and community connection and care. Growing up in New England and Germany, I was privileged to have a range of nature explorations from preparing foraged meals (not always edible) to spending a summer in a backyard tent (not always comfortable). Whether through my early days as a budding herbalist, wildlife rehabilitator or environmental sustainability student, I’ve appreciated the interconnection of nature on hands-on, grassroots and global policy levels. The fact that nature is honored across cultures and traditions offers me another doorway into my ongoing learning and advocacy around culture, race and identity. Ultimately, I find my deepest happiness and sense of self when immersed in nature, alone, with others, feeling the connection to our place “...in the family of things,” (Mary Oliver). I welcome “rewilding” you to your own innate relationship within nature."

Experience: A relentless optimist, Will has spent the past decade bringing people together to improve themselves through fitness, food, and for the common good. This has been across many roles and professions. First, as a professional fitness coach certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Second, as an advocate for sustainable food systems both at the national and international level through the United Nations Association of the USA, and through international experiences working on the ground to learn sustainable practices from others who are leading the way from Peru to Tunisia to Nepal and more. This has been at the local level in Boston, bringing people together through food tours, preventing food waste, and working towards a more just food system. Third, by creating novel products, services, and experiences as a social entrepreneur, from developing fitness equipment to vegan desserts, and more.

Motivation: "Spending time surrounded by mountains and the ocean before I could even talk, it's always been obvious that we are nature, and that so much of our modern workplace and lifestyle has brought us out of that understanding, to our detriment. Now, more than ever, we need to get creative, get moving, and get together to return ourselves to this nature and this healthful state of being that we've always had just around the corner, if only we look for it."