Staff
The staff at Quest and the Corporate Institute consist of a diverse group of students, faculty, volunteers from the community, and professionals who come from throughout the United States. Most of our staff began their involvement with Quest through participation in a local course or an extended trip. Staff members bring a great variety of skills to Quest, ranging from experts in many of the hard skills, such as rock climbing, kayaking, etc. to interpersonal skills and facilitators of groups. Quest provides a comprehensive apprentice program to pass on the valuable skills of every instructor.
Brett Simpson – Executive Director
Executive Director
Originally from Portland, Oregon, Brett has been working in the field of Experiential Education for over 15 years.
Brett has led expeditions in Peru, Mexico, Ethiopia, Costa Rica and Ecuador taking in their breathtaking beauty, rich culture and diverse outdoor activities. Brett has traveled, climbed, paddled, and backpacked extensively throughout the United States and Canada.
Brett works with the wide range of clients that Quest hosts each year and is the primary program designer. With his diverse background he is able to relate to a large spectrum of people. While not running international programs you could find Brett working with a group of disabled participants and then the next day working with a corporation’s senior management team. Some of the clients Brett has worked with include schools, universities and colleges throughout the state, Make A Difference, Pennsylvania Conservation Corps (PCC), Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Leadership Wilkes-Barre, ING, Geisinger Medical Center, Prudential Retirement and PP&L.
In addition to his job with Quest and the Corporate Institute, Brett works as a photographer and for the Wilderness Medicine Institute (WMI) of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) teaching wilderness medicine courses.
Brett has an undergraduate degree in outdoor recreation and leadership studies and a Master’s degree in education. Brett believes strongly in the extraordinary educational value of experiential education to impel individuals into experiences where they learn about themselves. Brett most recently returned from leading a summer 2009 trip called “3 Peaks of the Cascades”. On this trip the group climbed Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier, all in Washington State. This winter he will be leading another high altitude mountaineering trip to Mexico. Check it out under the Extended Trips tab.
Roy Smith – Director Emeritus
Director Emeritus
His interest in developing more effective teams and individual performance stem from his unique perspective of leading major expeditions on five continents and as a guide and corporation president.
He was instrumental in introducing Outward Bound into higher education in the late 1960’s and in developing corporate teambuilding training. For the past twenty-five years he has been involved in developing leadership training programs for the public and private sector. Currently, he is Director Emeritus of the Bloomsburg University Quest Program–modeled on Outward Bound–and the Corporate Institute, which offers professional development training for corporations in the areas of team building, communications, conflict-resolution and creative leadership.
His BA degree, from Prescott College Arizona, is in education. His graduate degree is in the field of management (School of Organization and Management) from Yale University. For more information on some of Roy’s amazing acomplishments, visit his website at www.royhsmith.com
Susan Lawson – Administrative Assistant
Administrative Assistant
Susan is our Administrative Assistant and Office Mom. She has been with Quest and The Corporate Institute since the Spring of 2003. It is hard to imagine what the office would be like without her. Here at Quest and The Corporate Institute, her daily tasks include office management, supervising student employees, managing payroll and maintaining financial data while providing general comic relief. When not working for us, Susan enjoys spending time with her family, friends and children.
Tabitha Chlubicki – Staff Development Coordinator
Tabitha is the latest in a long line of great people filling this role. She came on board in the summer of 2009 after graduating from BU with a degree in Mathematics.
And most importantly, the rest of the crew…
Quest has an amazing group of instructors and facilitators who work for them. We’ll be writing more about them on daily blog posts highlighting some of their accomplishments.
