Meet Our Faculty &  Staff

Beth Venable is the Executive Director of the Eagle’s Nest Foundation. Though new to the organization, the ENF mission resonates deeply with both her professional goals and personal values. She believes strongly there are no better resources for children than those offering real connection and experiences, the natural world, and a chance to know and be known in community.

Though she did not know to call it experiential education in the early 90’s, being an “arts kid” in an outdoor oriented family had a profoundly positive impact on how Beth would orient herself in adulthood. This began with an undergraduate degree in Theater from Florida State University, and was followed by arts in education programming in the late 90s before expanding with addition of outdoor programming. Wanting to better understand child development and families, Beth found her way back to school to study adventure based psychotherapy at Prescott College where she earned an MS in Counseling with a specialization in couples and families.

Beth, her husband Drake, and their daughter Laurel have a strong sense of place on the trails and rivers of Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. As longtime residents of the “golden corner” of SC, they frequently made their way up the winding road to ride in Pisgah and Dupont, to paddle the Tuckaseegee and Nantalala Rivers, and sink deep into the rhythms and culture of local music festivals.

Elizabeth Waite-Kucera (Noni) is the Executive Director of Eagle’s Nest Foundation and serves on The Outdoor Academy Advisory Board. She graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., with a B.A. degree in anthropology. Previously, Noni was Camp Director at Eagle’s Nest Camp from 1993-2003 and Business Manager from 1989-1999 for Eagle’s Nest Foundation. She has also been the Swimming Director, and Paddling Director.  Additionally, Noni developed Eagle’s Nest whitewater canoeing and Hante Bicycling programs.

Noni’s grandfather, Alex Waite, head of psychology at Rollins College, founded Eagle’s Nest Camp in 1945. Helen and Mo Waite, Noni’s parents, served as directors for the Eagle’s Nest Carolinas’ Camp for Diabetic Children. Her mother served as director of Eagle’s Nest Camp and executive director of Eagle’s Nest Foundation for many years. Noni spent her childhood years growing up at camp and is honored to carry on the mission of Eagle’s Nest as Executive Director of the foundation.

Cara, a North Carolina transplant from Ohio, now calls Brevard and the Blue Ridge Mountains “home.”  After hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2014 she took the role of Paddling Director for ENC before moving to the development office full-time.

Not only is Cara a skilled paddling instructor, she’s a talented experiential educator and an avid outdoorswoman. She holds a BS in Recreation from Ohio University and has worked in the field of outdoor education since 2003 as a wilderness instructor, outdoor program manager, camp counselor and challenge course facilitator. Cara spends her free time paddling, climbing, and hiking, tending to her impressive garden, and adventuring with her family.

Jesse was drawn to Eagle’s Nest by the mission and by the tremendous, life-changing learning offered by The Outdoor Academy.  He’s an experiential educator and nonprofit administrator with years of service in environmental and higher education organizations. Before OA he served as executive director of Smokey House Center in Vermont, where he worked to inspire youth and others to connect to the land through the work of conservation and agriculture. He previously supported student learning and campus environmental programs at Unity College in Maine and Green Mountain College in Vermont.

Jesse and his partner Laura – an experienced educator in and out of the classroom – met many years ago while enrolled in an immersive, community-based environmental studies program with the Audubon Expedition Institute (AEI). Jesse holds a master’s degree in environmental education from AEI, a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Pace University (NYC), and a certificate in nonprofit management from the Marlboro Center for Graduate Studies. He is also a Senior Fellow in the national Environmental Leadership Program which supports diversity and leadership within the environmental sector.

Jesse, Laura, and their three children love to explore the woods, grow and share food, and make music together. They’re delighted to call the Blue Ridge Mountains and Eagle’s Nest “home.”

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Colleen has enjoyed working with young people nearly her entire adult life (or longer if you include being an oldest child). She studied wildlife and conservation biology and Spanish language and literature in college, but it was her experience working in residential life that drew her to student support, youth empowerment, and social change. Colleen’s varied nonprofit experiences have allowed her to learn from and connect diverse groups of people, from helping to rally American high school students to raise over a million dollars to rebuild schools in northern Uganda, to working with an immigrant advocacy organization to bring together and form positive relationships between immigrant constituents and Missouri lawmakers.

Colleen got her start in the formal classroom through Teach for America in the Arkansas Delta before completing her Master’s in Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. She then spent five years teaching internationally in South Korea and Colombia before discovering the world of experiential education. Since then, she has fallen in love with learning alongside her students as they are pushed outside of their comfort zones in supportive communities. Before coming to OA, Colleen spent four years traveling, learning, and living in Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, the Southwest US, and The Bahamas with Where There Be Dragons, World Learning, The Island School, and a therapeutic wilderness program for young adults. She is passionate about the semester school model, and the role of Dean of Students perfectly combines Colleen’s passions for student support, mental health, youth empowerment, and place-based experiential education.

When not teaching or traveling, Colleen loves to hike, play board games, salsa dance, scuba dive, read personal development books, write poetry, paint, and visit her family all around the US.

Chelsea graduated from Sewanee: The University of the South with a major in Environmental Studies: Arts and Humanities. While at Sewanee, Chelsea played on the Women’s Varsity Lacrosse Team, leading the team as Captain her senior year. Chelsea spent her summers during college leading the Outdoor Leadership Program at a small summer camp in Virginia.

After graduation, Chelsea went on to work at Google in San Francisco. In 2018, Chelsea fell in love with the semester school model while leading the Histories Department at The Island School. She was thrilled to take that love to The Outdoor Academy in 2019, and looks forward each semester to sharing her passion for education, leadership, and adventure. In her free time Chelsea enjoys spending time with friends, family, hiking, traveling, re-reading Harry Potter, skiing, floating in the ocean and listening to music.

Morgan grew up splitting his time between Minnesota and Canada. Once the school year was over, he made a yearly migration to Ontario, Canada to spend his summers exploring the Northwoods with his family and friends. His most formative experiences were on wilderness expeditions at summer camp, facing hardship and challenges with his peers. The camp’s focus on remote, Northern Canadian whitewater canoe expeditions formed the backbone of Morgan’s deep passion for whitewater paddling and experiential outdoor education.

Morgan graduated from Evergreen State College with a degree in Experiential Education, Cross-Cultural Education, and Sciences. He finds joy in learning languages and exploring other cultures. He speaks fluent Spanish and Mandarin and enjoys passing his time paddling whitewater, playing with his dog, and playing music.

Morgan joined The Outdoor Academy after working at Voyageur Outward Bound School for 7 years. He brings his breadth and wealth of experiences and his passion to educate, mentor, and coach to the students of OA.

Katie grew up in Greensboro, NC, where she spent her youngest days reading, writing, and playing the violin. One of her most transformative and educational experiences, however, was when she found a second home here in the mountains as a member of OA Semester 28 (Spring 2009). Those four months taught her to appreciate simplicity, value the natural world, and look for community everywhere she goes.

After high school, Katie found one such learning community at Haverford College, where she majored in Chemistry and Environmental Studies. Since then, she has worked in a STEM education lab in Philadelphia, organized with a community campaign for environmental justice in the Appalachians, and travelled around Europe for five months on a work/stay program. Before returning to OA, Katie spent two years living on an island teaching experiential environmental education in the marshes and beaches of the Southern Outer Banks.

Now, Katie is thrilled each and every day to be helping the next generation of OA students find their own home away from home in the Appalachians. When not in the Admissions Office, you can still find her reading, writing, playing violin, and making bagels.

Elyse Terrill, originally from Chicago, is beginning her second year in North Carolina after several years of living in Mexico. 

Elyse has a BA in Spanish and Intercultural Studies from John Brown University and a BSEd from Illinois State University. Elyse has also traveled and lived throughout the Spanish-speaking world, having spent 8 months living and traveling through South America after high school; studying in Sevilla, Spain for 9 months during college; and living in Mexico for the four years before starting at OA. Elyse has taught in a variety of settings, including tutoring, 50:50 dual language classes, and teaching English as a foreign language. 

According to some of Elyse’s previous students, Spanish classes at OA are like no language class you’ve taken before! Students consistently comment that Spanish at OA is active, interesting, and fun. 

Originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Aidan first came to The Outdoor Academy as a student where she became passionate about the environment and outdoor education. Aidan attended Colorado College where she studied Environmental Studies and Education, culminating in an intensive semester-long program for aspiring environmental educators. She utilized her degree leading backpacking trips in Alaska and Iceland before returning to OA as a Resident Wilderness Educator.

Aidan is thrilled to be back at The Outdoor Academy taking on the role of Environmental Science teacher. She is excited to continue to inspire young minds through OA’s
revolutionary interdisciplinary learning approach. You can find Aidan exploring Pisgah Forest on foot or bike when she is not teaching.

Griffin grew up coming to summer camp in western North Carolina, and developed a deep love for the outdoors and everything related to natural history. Originally from Charlotte, Griffin attended the Maine Coast Semester School in Wiscasset, Maine. It was there that he first experienced an experiential approach to academics that left him wanting more. After leaving the Maine Coast Semester School, in 2019 he graduated from College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine where he obtained a degree in Human Ecology. Throughout his college experience, he would study US History, Native History, Central American History and Natural History. 

For two years after graduation, Griffin lived in Maine and worked as an assistant archivist in a museum, as occasional assistant to an oral history project of the Maine coast, and as a digital archivist in an historical society. After returning to North Carolina, Griffin has been thrilled to rejoin a semester school community and bring his love of experiential, interdisciplinary learning to a new generation of students.

Isa is a Camp, Outdoor Academy, and Hante alum from Asheville, NC. She has previously worked in the camp kitchen and will now be heading up our kitchen full time as our Whole Foods Program Manager. As someone who grew up attending Eagle’s Nest programming and living in the Blue Ridge Mountains, she was super excited to be able to join the full time team. She has worked in kitchens previously and is excited to work with Eagle’s Nest and bring whole foods and local vendors into our menus. Outside of Eagle’s Nest you can find Isa hanging out with her cat, hiking, playing with computers, and eating lots of good food!

As a former student and staff member of The Outdoor Academy, Reily is excited to once again join the team in the Admissions Office as the Financial Aid Counselor. Reily has a BA from Warren Wilson College and spent the last 10 years working in the Experiential Education field, primarily for the Voyageur Outward Bound School. Now, Reily splits her time between running a small outdoor equipment repair business and working as the Financial Aid Counselor.

As an alumni of The Outdoor Academy, Sophie is excited to be back in the role of Admissions Counselor. She graduated from Brevard College in 2022 with a degree in Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education. In addition to meeting new students,  Sophie loves talking to them about western North Carolina and all the awesome things to do here!

Ted came to The Outdoor Academy as our first Director in 1994. He retired from fulltime Science and World History teaching in 2021 and continues to teach blacksmithing and woodworking as part of the Crafts faculty.

Colin is coming to us from Flagstaff, Arizona where’s he’s been working as a jack of all trades in a large academic department at Northern Arizona University, working with undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. He also has much outdoor and trip leading experience, leading climbing trips for kids and teens and outdoor adventure programming at an adventure recovery program. He’s also worked as a cheesemonger, at a brewer’s guild, and in the textbook business!

Jay has extensive experience working with young people in the outdoors, residential life, culinary classes, church, and theatre! They’re coming to us from Elon University in North Carolina with a major in Outdoor Leadership and Education with minors in Human Service Studies, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Food Studies. She’s recently led backpacking expeditions for teens nearby in Hendersonville with Inside Out.

Chloe comes to us from Elon University in North Carolina where she managed a construction team building sustainable tiny homes and researched carbon sequestration. She also has extensive outdoor trip leading experience, leading expeditions for Elon students and 6-week long backpacking trips in Washington and Oregon for young teen girls. She’s also worked as an Eco Rep and cared for livestock on a 60-acre sheep farm!

After moving back to Brevard, North Carolina after a four-year stint in Colorado, Camille began working at Eagle’s Nest Foundation in 2018 as the Donor and Alumni Relations Coordinator. Camille earned her B.A. in Mass Communications from UNC Asheville, and she has a background in experiential education as well as an avid appreciation for the outdoors.

In her free time, you can find Camille exploring Pisgah National Forest with her husband and their dog, Piper. She also enjoys creating handmade arts and crafts and curling up with a good book and a hot cup of coffee.

Alex is originally from Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand and immigrated to the United States at a young age. He had been a photographer in western North Carolina for about five years before joining Eagle’s Nest Foundation in 2022. Alex is fluent in Thai, plays the piano, and spends lots of time with his friends. He spends his free time playing board games with his wife, learning new recipes, and lazing around his dog and cat.  Alex works closely with The Outdoor Academy, Eagle’s Nest Camp, and Hante Adventures; photographing the authentic experiences of the day to day life of these programs.