Trekkers’ Executive Director to Step Down

Thomaston, Maine - After 17 years as Trekkers’ Executive Director, Don Carpenter has decided to step down. Don, 45, informed the board of trustees of his plans in advance of its scheduled board retreat earlier this month. He will officially step down in February of 2016, ending nearly 18 years at the helm of the organization. His tenure began in 1998 when he arrived in Maine after getting a master’s degree in Environmental Education from Lesley University.

Don characterized his tenure as one of the greatest journeys he’s ever undertaken in his life. “When I first arrived at Trekkers, the program worked with 24 students, had a budget of less than $1,800, and we only ran one program a year. I knew as soon as I started working with the young people in this community, I was going to stay. However, nothing quite prepares you for the unexpected opportunities that come from committing fully to a mission, especially when you aren’t attached to a particular outcome. I wasn’t quite sure where we were headed, but what I was sure about was that if we could put the right leadership in place that there was an opportunity to grow something good into something great. I decided then to go all-in, risk everything and see what happened….17 years later, I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve created. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with so many remarkable young people, families and community partners.

My decision to step down at this time to seek a new way of fulfilling my lifelong commitment to serving young people is, for sure, not easy. Fortunately, it comes at a time when the organization is thriving: when an incredibly talented and committed staff and board are in place. It has been a privilege to work with this team. I look forward to seeing them keep Trekkers moving in a successful direction; one that continues to have a positive impact on our community.”

Trekkers began working with students from Thomaston in 1994. The organization increased its service area to include Cushing and St. George in 1996. Don first arrived at Trekkers in 1997 while still working on his master’s degree. He was invited by the founder of Trekkers, his uncle Jack Carpenter, to work with students on a marsh ecology project at the St. George School. The next year, Don was asked to come back to Maine by his uncle to help lead an expedition for 7th graders to Acadia National Park. It was on this trip that Don decided he wanted to stay and help expand the Trekkers mission.

After helping Trekkers get incorporated in 1999, Don began building Trekkers’ unique youth development model, which follows students through six years of their adolescence, surrounds them with mentors and caring adults, all while exposing them to the diversity of life, people, cultures and natural resources that exist outside of their everyday lives. In 2003, Trekkers graduated its first class of Trekkers who went through the long-term mentoring model from 7th to 12th grade.

In the years since those early days, Don helped lead the organization through an expansion plan designed to double the number of students and communities served. In 2010, with the consolidation of districts SAD #50 and SAD #5, Trekkers expanded its services to include young people growing up in Rockland, Owls Head and South Thomaston, and began replicating each of its grade-specific programs.

During Don’s tenure, Trekkers has grown from its humble beginnings into a flourishing organization that:
• Provides over 200 students a year an opportunity to be surrounded by caring adults from their own community
• Offers over 20 educational expeditions for 7th – 12th graders, both in and outside of Maine
• Recruits, trains and manages close to 330 volunteers a year who give over 10,400 volunteer hours to support Trekkers youth
• Motivates 92% of its students to graduate from high school
• Inspires 72% of its students to pursue higher education or the armed services (state average 62%), and
• Celebrates over 440 alumni who have gone through Trekkers unique 6-year mentoring program
• Works with a nationally recognized program out of McLean Hospital and Harvard University to measure and evaluate students’ strengths and areas to bolster
• Raises over a half of million dollars a year to support Trekkers’ youth-serving initiatives

Also, under Don’s leadership, other Trekkers programs have been developed outside the state of Maine and even internationally. Urban Trekkers programs in Camden, NJ, and Copan Ruinas, Honduras, are modeled after Trekkers’ unique youth development model and have provided hundreds more students the opportunity to be surrounded by caring adults through the use of community service, expeditionary learning and adventure-based education.

Stu Rich, President of Trekkers Board, said, "Don has been a remarkable and transformative leader in our community. His leadership style starts and ends with building strong, healthy and long-lasting relationships. Whether it has been with students, parents, school officials, community partners, donors, volunteers or alumni, Don has dedicated his energies to building positive, trustworthy and authentic relationships with everyone he’s known. I think one of his greatest achievements has been his tireless efforts to recruit and train an amazing staff in the Trekkers model as a way to help build a solid foundation for the organization to thrive in the years to come. Furthermore, Don is leaving Trekkers in the hands of a strong and diverse board. We couldn’t be more grateful for all the years of dedication he’s given to the organization and to the young people of our service area."

The Trekkers Board has developed a transition committee and will be starting a search for a new Executive Director over the summer.