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Project "ee-moh"


  • Home
  • Youth & School Programs
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  • Donations & Support
  • Workshops & Trainings
  • Store- Gear n' Workshops
  • Upcoming Workshops&Events
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Imo Leadership

Xavier Fowler

Board of Directors

   Xavier Fowler is an enthusiastic, insightful, lover of learning and sharer of knowledge. A recent graduate of the University of Connecticut. He earned his B.A. in Chinese and B.G.S in Kinesiology, Exercise Science coursework. He is also a graduate of the Beijing Institute for Education in Beijing, China where he studied Chinese language and culture. 


He currently works as a Youth program Coordinator with Husky Sport, a University of Connecticut affiliated program that focuses on bringing physical literacy, nutrition education, academic support and transferrable life skills to students at Fred D. Wish school; additionally, as a Driving Instructor for CT licensure. 


Xavier is an outgoing individual that only pursues avenues that help further a mission of helping improve the lives of others, especially the plundered, minoritized and marginalized. He is most passionate about equity, Sport Based Youth Development, and Self-improvement through acquiring knowledge and practice along the 7 areas of well-being (spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, social, environmental, occupational). He believes that happiness and actualization is a by-product of creating wholistic wellness conditions for oneself. He is currently studying for his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certification and plans on pursuing a master’s degree in Sport-Based Youth Development.

Contact Xavier

David Howes

Board of Directors

Adventure, challenge, and belonging have always been essential ingredients in the classrooms, playing fields, and schools where Dave Howes has been a teacher, a coach, and a leader.


As a school leader and a veteran educator, Dave Howes is particularly interested in learning new ways to educate the whole person—the physical, intellectual, social, and emotional parts of a person– through real experiences that involve adventure, self-discovery, teamwork, and purpose. David believes that learning is truly a life-long endeavor and his Masters of Arts in Teaching and advanced degrees in Educational Leadership and Executive School Leadership have all been milestones on his personal learning journey. Currently, he is pursuing an Ed.D. in Curriculum,

Teaching and Learning at Northeastern University where he is very interested in learning more about the most effective ways to engage and empower youth, especially those most at risk of

becoming disconnected.


Outside of work, David enjoys being outdoors with his family and friends—boating, playing and coaching sports, biking, camping, and hiking. Currently, he is learning the craft of wooden boat building and has just completed his first project- a stand-up paddle board!

Contact David

Gordon LeVasseur

Board of Directors

Gordon LeVasseur is an educator and a game designer. He is friend to many, enemy to few, and an all-around decent guy.


Gordon is an educator and has been for the last 25 years. He currently teaches middle school math at Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy. Gordon has worked with a wide array of children – from struggling students to talented and gifted learners. Most of his teaching has been with elementary school children, and he has worked with individuals, small groups, and in classrooms. Additionally, he has lead teams of teachers, written curriculum, conducted educator training, and served as the local teachers’ union president.


Gordon is a published game designer. He has designed Keepers of the Questar and co-designed the upcoming Space Jam: Serververse Showdown Card Game, both for Upper Deck. Working with Forever Stoked Creative, Gordon was one of the designers of Blow My Mind for Kickstarter. He was the game designer for the Connecticut Historical Society’s latest exhibit – The Bicycle Game where museum goers make your way through the exhibition by playing games and solving puzzles in order to save bicycle history from the villainous Barnabus Boggs! It is a unique way to learn about the development of the bicycle and its impact on society.


It is no surprise that he teaches and makes games, Gordon believes that curiosity and imagination are vital to the growth and learning of an individual. Play is the way and there is no wrong way to play. Whether it is around a table with dice, in a gym with equipment, or among the trees of a forest with ropes – a young person needs to feel safe and secure so that they can take the reasonable risks that are necessary for their flourishing.

Contact Gordon

Shawn Moriarty

Board of Directors- President

  Shawn grew up in Storrs, CT, and attended the University of Connecticut. Shawn has been working in summer camping since the summer of 1983. In 1988 he began working in the ropes course industry. Since then he has worked and lived in Japan and Thailand, worked at 8 camps in 6 states, directed 3 of those camps, gotten his undergraduate degree in Asian American Relations from UCONN, and a master’s degree in Environmental Education from Prescott College. Along the way Shawn got involved in learning primitive skills, deep nature connection, and crafting regenerative communities.


Shawn is a published author. His book, Ropes of Ecology: Connecting People to Nature, Community, and Place includes activities that guide sense of place, teaches ecological literacy, resource guides, and ropes course and experiential education resources.


Shawn is a firm believer that children need to spend time in nature as often as possible, and that time at camp can play an incredibly important role in the development of a child.

Contact Shawn

Dennis "Dino" Perlot

Board of Directors- Treasurer

Dennis is an experienced management and technology consultant, with over 30 years of industry experience across Insurance, Healthcare, Legal and other industries. Dennis is passionate about the potential impacts that artificial intelligence and machine learning can have. He also advises customers on technology choices and transition to the cloud. Dennis supports the IT community through organizing and public speaking at user groups like Hartford SQL Server User Group, Power BI User Group, Code Camps, Boston Architect Summit and IT Round table for business users.


REPRESENTATIVE ENGAGEMENTS

New England Give Camp
For the last 10 years has participated and coordinated 100 to 150 individuals for this annual “hackathon” event to assist charities. Activities include PayPal integration for donations, event calendaring, social media usage and analytics. Volunteers typically work round the clock during this 3-day event.

Theia Solutions LLC

Founder of socially responsible technology firm for non-profits, schools and other start-ups leveraging a “mobile first" application development strategy. Services focused on information architecture, application development and cloud hosting.

Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT)

In partnership with CCAT, developed “Goodwin Choice” application for magnet school enrollment lotteries.

Sentiment Analysis

Developed “Omni Analytics Engine” leveraging Bing and Twitter search to locate matching topics in question. Results were passed to text analytics for topic detection, key phrase and sentiment analysis. 

  

EXPERTISE

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Management and Analytics, Solution Architecture, Technology Transformation

Contact Dino

Leah Rossettie

Board of Directors- Vice President

    Leah Rossettie is the Field Program Coordinator for the Life Sciences program UConn. Prior to that she worked at UConn Recreation, responsible for overseeing all Outdoor programs, as well as an instructor for Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities (SOLO) wilderness medical school. She has worked in collegiate Outdoor Recreation for over 10 years, teaching students the basics of backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, mountaineering, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, wilderness medicine, and more. 


She believes in the value of spending time in natural spaces, and outdoor recreation are indispensable tools in providing holistic wellness for people of all ages and backgrounds. She is dedicated to creating inclusive opportunities to bring people, especially those with minimal experience or exposure, into outdoor settings to provide opportunities to learn adventure skills and make connections. Reinforcing the importance of “Leave no Trace” ethics and preserving wilderness is something she believes is an essential part of teaching people how to engage in outdoor recreation. The most rewarding part of her job is in the moments of empowerment people have when they finally accomplish something they really struggled with or didn’t know they had the ability to do for themselves.


Her skill specialties include wilderness medical instruction, risk management, backcountry trip planning and logistics, beginner instruction, bicycle maintenance and repair, staff training & development, and instructional techniques. She is a SOLO Instructor, Red Cross CPR/First Aid Instructor, PADI Rescue Diver, LAB Cycling Instructor, PCIA Climbing Wall Instructor, ACA Swiftwater Rescuer, a 2013 Appalachian Trail “Thru-Hiker”, and a life-long student.


Leah holds a bachelor’s from the University of Connecticut degree in Kinesiology: Athletic Training, and a master’s degree from Western Kentucky University in Recreation & Sport Administration 

Contact Leah

Nicole Sener

People Operations

    Driven by a passion for education and equity, Nicole has centered her career around connecting young people of all ages to educational opportunities. 


Nicole is a peace education and youth development professional, with over 12 years of practice in a variety of settings, ranging from her service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic to local and national non-profits in the U.S. Nicole first found her way into youth development through Outward Bound, where she fell in love with outdoor education. An alumna of the Practicum for Experiential Peacebuilding program with Outward Bound's Center for Peacebuilding, she discovered experiential peacebuilding through the Outward Bound community as well. She is an advocate for experiential peacebuilding, and believes that facilitating opportunities that create common ground across lines of difference not only creates connection, but can also be an avenue to building more just and equitable systems -- and a more just world. 


Nicole earned her Bachelor’s degree and K-6 teaching certificate in elementary education at Bridgewater College and earned her graduate degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution at American University. 


Currently, Nicole is the community engagement director for Reading Partners in Baltimore, MD where she lives a sailor's dream on the Chesapeake Bay with her husband and pup, Baxter.

Contact Nicole

Mark Flynn

Associate Director of Challenge Course Activities

Mark has spent the last decade working within the realm of higher education with almost all of those years deeply focused on leadership development and team building. He is currently serving as the Coordinator of Four Arrows Challenge Course and Experiential Leadership Programs, Services, and Initiatives in the Department of Student Activities at the University of Connecticut. The path into the field was forged through volunteering at an up and coming low ropes program during graduate school. Now Mark manages that very same program and a small retreat space providing a range of hands on intentionally designed facilitated growth opportunities for the student leaders and community members at the University of Connecticut. He has stewarded the Four Arrows program from a handful of low rope elements to 25 low elements and 9 high elements that is a resource for thousands of people a year within the community.


Mark has always valued connection and opportunity through intentional play and education and approaches work with groups at place of empathy and designs experiences to be human centered. Mark’s belief in the power of bringing people together can be directly seen in the creation, implementation, and collaboration with the Police Community Challenge initiative and C2 – Connect and Challenge programming at UConn. Combatting perceptions and stereotypes through active community building processes, leveling positional power through trust exercises, and creating genuine connections among varying groups. Mark has also given his time to the Association for Experiential Education as a volunteer for a couple international conferences and the last 4 Northeast regional conference and will be the chair for the upcoming Northeast conference.

Mark earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts concentrated in Computer Graphics from New York Institute of Technology in 2009. He graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2011 with an M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs. In 2017, Mark completed an M.Ed. in Experiential Learning and Development from Plymouth State University.

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Contact Mark

Jason Hyland

Founder & Executive Director

 Jason Hyland is training manager at a behavioral and mental health services nonprofit. He retired as a police lieutenant at the University of Connecticut Police Department after 23 years in policing. He lead the agency’s Community Outreach Unit as well as a matrixed team of public education and engagement officers across the state. Prior to serving UConn, he was a police officer at the University of Arizona Police Department in Tucson, a corrections officer for the State of Arizona, and an adventure educator in camps and resorts. During his police career he served in patrol, special victim’s unit, professional standards, and community outreach capacities. 


His expertise includes stakeholder relationship building, problem solving models, collaborative governance strategies, public education and engagement, event management, facilitating adventure programs and experiential peacebuilding programs, and organizational strategic planning. He specializes in curriculum and educational program development, public information campaign development, classroom facilitation and instruction, managing program goals and objectives, and program assessment.


He has been recognized for creating a Police Community Challenge wherein groups of community members and police officers engage in a day-long sequence of challenge course activities focused on reducing negative perceptions of “other” and building strong interpersonal relationships and problem solving skills that enhance public confidence in their law enforcement agents and provide officers with greater skills for community engagement. This initiative is one of only a few such programs in the nation and engages in independent data collection to measure program efficacy. It has been featured at a national conference of outdoor recreation and experiential education. 


His education and facilitation history extends over thirty years and includes over 3,000 hours of direct facilitation and instruction for well over 15,000 participants in a variety of outdoor, classroom, and workshop settings . A lifelong leaner, he  finished a Bachelor's Degree on the same day he retired from policing. 30 years in the making, he completed his B.S. in General Studies with a focus in Child & Youth Development. 

Contact Jay

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