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.

Trekkers Executive Director Presents at Regional Conference

Don Carpenter

Becket, Massachusetts - Don Carpenter, Executive Director of Trekkers, was a presenter at the Northeast Regional Conference of the Association for Experiential Education in Becket, Massachusetts.  Over 200 attendees from around the country attended this annual conference, which was held in mid-April at the Berkshire Outdoor Center. Carpenter presented information about how Trekkers integrates relationship-building, experiential education and character development in a youth-mentoring model designed for “the long haul.” He described how Trekkers’ unique approach is a translatable model that transforms lives, both in the most impoverished city in America (Camden, NJ) and here in the most rural/least diverse state in the nation. Talking about the Trekkers mission, Carpenter also gave examples of how experiential and expeditionary learning develop self-efficacy in teens through shared values, practices, and experiences.


Joining Carpenter for the presentation was Trekkers’ alumnus and volunteer mentor, Brandon Caron from Tenants Harbor. Brandon provided information from his experience in Trekkers, having completed the six-year program in 2008. He has served as an adult leader on many Trekkers expeditions, as well as being a Program Coordinator for the organization through an AmeriCorps term of service. Brandon is now completing a degree in Outdoor Education at Johnson State College in Vermont.


Speaking about their conference experience, Carpenter stated, “It was a wonderful opportunity to be able to share our long-term youth development model with a group of people who are so passionate about experiential education. In a setting with such accomplished practitioners, the Trekkers model pushes the needle in getting educators to think about the benefits of experiential education beyond ‘one and done’ programming.”


The Association for Experiential Education (AEE) is a nonprofit international association whose mission is to develop and promote experiential education. AEE was formed in the early 1970s and now has close to 1,400 members in 30 countries worldwide. The organization’s diverse membership is comprised of organizations and individuals from various fields, including education, the environment, youth development, outdoor and adventure programming, service learning, and organizational development.


Trekkers is a non-profit, youth-serving organization focused on connecting young people with caring adults through expeditionary learning, community service and adventure-based education. For more information about Trekkers, please call (207) 594-5095 or visit www.trekkers.org.

Trekkers Executive Director Presents at International Conference

Don Carpenter, Executive Director of Trekkers, was a presenter at the 41st International Conference of the
Association for Experiential Education in Denver, Colorado. Carpenter, along with Jim Cummings from Urban Trekkers of Camden, NJ, presented a workshop titled, “A Long-Haul Approach: Relationship-Building, Experiential Education and Character Development in Rural and Urban Settings.” Both Trekkers organizations integrate relationship-building, experiential education and character development in a unique youth-mentoring model that is designed for “the long haul.”  Their presentation explained this long-term approach and how it has transformed lives with equal success in the most impoverished city in America and in the most rural/least diverse state in the nation.

The relationship between Trekkers and Urban Trekkers began when Jim Cummings visited the Maine Trekkers program in July of 2004. After meeting with Carpenter and learning about the Trekkers’ six-year model for working with local youth, Cummings returned to New Jersey and modeled Urban Trekkers after the Maine-based program. Trekkers was designed to provide a means by which young people can form supportive relationships with caring adults through expeditions that include five educational components: community service, cultural awareness, environmental stewardship, wilderness exploration and adventure-based education. Groups of students from the two Trekkers groups meet several times each year for expeditions and cultural exchanges programs. Experiential and expeditionary learning are common denominators of these programs, which develop self-efficacy in teens through shared values, shared practices, and shared experiences.

Because of their long history together, Carpenter and Cummings were able to present the key aspects of their model and discuss a process where teens from two disparate contexts are brought together throughout the year to share outdoor adventure and outdoor education. Carpenter says, "Getting the chance to share the Trekkers model at the AEE Conference was a great opportunity.  Our workshop inspired many people to ponder the impact of combining mentoring over a 6-year period with experiential education.  I'm hopeful that this will be the first of many opportunities to share what we've learned over the past 20 years."

If you would like to learn more about Trekkers, please call 594-5095 or visit the website at www.trekkers.org.   You can learn more about Urban Trekkers by visiting their website at www.urbantrekkers.org.

COASTAL MOUNTAINS LAND TRUST NAMES NEXT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Camden, Maine - The Board of Directors of Coastal Mountains Land Trust is pleased to announce that Doug Sensenig has been chosen as the organization's next Executive Director. Sensenig will assume leadership of the nonprofit in February 2014, following the retirement of current Executive Director Scott Dickerson.

No stranger to land conservation, Sensenig helped draft and negotiate one of the first conservation easements held by Coastal Mountains Land Trust, on a family property on Fernalds Neck in Lincolnville in 1987. He has served six years on the Land Trust's Board of Directors, including a term as President. In addition, he brings with him experience from two years as Executive Director of the Hawai'i Island Land Trust in Kealakekua, Hawai'i, where he guided that organization through a merger with three others to form one statewide land trust. Sensenig's extensive background as an attorney and as an investment adviser will also serve him well in his oversight and management of the Land Trust. Sensenig, his wife Jennifer Bell, and their daughter Kate live in Camden.

Sensenig said, "Coastal Mountains Land Trust has been a part of my life for over 25 years. It's been a story of people of all backgrounds coming together to make sure we pass on the same beautiful places that were left to us. It's a story of joy, remarkable success, and a lot of great laughs. I'm honored to help carry the torch that has been so ably borne by Scott Dickerson and the excellent staff over the years. Land conservation is vitally important to our communities. It isn't about fighting change, it's about communities changing for the better."

Jim Krosschell, Land Trust Board President, affirmed, "We are very fortunate to be able to hire someone who has technical expertise, infectious enthusiasm, and long-standing ties to this community. We're looking forward to Doug's tenure with the Land Trust with great anticipation."

Coastal Mountains Land Trust has worked since 1986 to permanently conserve land to benefit the natural and human communities of western Penobscot Bay, including such iconic places as Beech Hill in Rockport, Bald and Ragged Mountains in the Camden Hills, and Belfast's Passagassawakeag Greenway. For more information, please visit www.coastalmountains.org or call (207) 236-7091.