Get your gear here! Leadership
- Kurt Hahn, Founder
John C. Read, President & CEO of Outward Bound USA, heads a leadership team committed to delivering the Mission and Core Values of Outward Bound in the wilderness, in cities, and in schools across the country. We are, in the words of our Founder, Kurt Hahn "Crew, Not passengers."
National Leadership
- John Read, President and Chief Executive Officer
- Mike Dunn, Chief Financial Officer
- Lewis Glenn, Vice President of Safety
- Anthony DiSpigno, Vice President of Advancement
- Angie Gossett, Director of Human Resources
- Gretchen Ostherr, Director of Blank-Read Training Institute
- Jim Garrett, Director of National Service Initiative
- Laurie Fontana, Executive Assistant to the President and Chief Executive Officer
Divisional Leadership
- Mickey Freeman, President of Outward Bound Wilderness
- Greg Farrell, President of Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound
- Bob Gordon, President of Outward Bound Professional
- Jon Howard, President of Outward Bound Discovery
- Katie Pastuszek, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Outward Bound Center
- David Starnes, Executive Director of the Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Center
National Leadership
John C. Read
President & CEO – Outward Bound USA
John C. Read was elected President of Outward Bound in April, 2002 after serving for three months on an interim basis. He was named CEO in 2005 when 85% of Outward Bound merged under a single Board and unified management structure.
Prior to this position, Read served as President and CEO for Heavy Duty Holdings, a $400 million mobile equipment components company he also founded and consolidated in association with Hidden Creek Industries [Now Commercial Vehicles Group, Inc (CVGI). NASDAQ].
Read began his career in government service, holding positions in Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under Secretary Eliot Richardson and the Treasury Department’s wage and price control program under Director John T. Dunlop. In 1976 he was appointed by President Ford and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary for Employment Standards in the Labor Department.
Following public service, Read spent 13 years with Cummins Engine Company in a series of manufacturing plant management positions, culminating as Vice President for the worldwide engineering and manufacture of the company’s mid-range family of engines. He moved to the Donaldson Company, a global manufacturer of engine and industrial filtration products where he served as executive vice president before establishing Heavy Duty Holdings.
Read’s experience with Outward Bound dates back to 1992 when he took the first of what are now nine wilderness courses. He joined the Board of Advisors for the North Carolina Outward Bound School (NCOBS) in 1995, was elected to its Board of Trustees in 1996 and served as Chairman of the (NCOBS) Board and as a national trustee from 1997-2000. In 2006, Read was recognized with “The Give Back Award” by Newsweek magazine as one of fifteen who “make America Great”.
Read graduated from Kent School in 1965 and holds a BA and MBA from Harvard University, and an Honorary Doctorate from Centenary College. He is married to Alexandra Read and they have three children, Kirk, Trevor and Lolly each of whom has experienced an Outward Bound course.
Michael A. Dunn
Vice President – Chief Financial Officer
Mike Dunn joined Outward Bound in June 2005 as CFO. Dunn has overall responsibility for the consolidated accounting and financial reporting for Outward Bound and oversees the organization’s endowment investments, treasury function, compliance & regulatory reporting.
Dunn’s career began in public accounting as an auditor with a regional CPA firm, Seward & Monde, CPAs. After leaving public accounting, he held several senior financial positions in closely held corporations in commercial real estate (Errichetti Associates and The Hutensky Group) and distribution/manufacturing (The Robert E. Morris Company). Dunn’s previous accomplishments include consolidating a group of geographical dispersed companies onto a common financial reporting and accounting system.
Dunn holds both BA (Accounting) and MBA (Finance) degrees from the University of Connecticut. He is additionally a Certified Public Accountant. He and his wife AnnMarie have two children, Sarah and Cameron.
Lewis Glenn
Vice President – Safety
Lewis Glenn has held this position since 1990; in this capacity he also serves on the Outward Bound Safety Committee, the Risk Management Committee and the Charter Committee.
Glenn served in the Peace Corps in the Marshall Islands and led the Department of Interior’s rehabilitation program on atomic and hydrogen bomb-torn Bikini Atoll in the Northern Marshall Islands. In the 70's he led group tours around the world and began working as an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Western USA and Kenya. Glenn joined Outward Bound in 1978. In over 29 years of service, Glenn has held a variety of field and management positions at the Hurricane Island and Southwest Outward Bound Schools prior to his current role as the Vice President of Safety for the national organization.
Glenn has a BA in Philosophy from Florida Atlantic University.
Anthony DiSpigno
Vice President of Advancement
Anthony Di Spigno joined Outward Bound in October, 2006 as Vice President of Advancement. In this new position, he will be responsible for the advancement of Outward Bound’s national Development and Alumni initiatives. Di Spigno is a recognized leader in the education and non-profit arena’s with an outstanding record of achievement in the strategic oversight and implementation of Development initiatives.
He joins Outward Bound from The Boys and Girls Club of America where he was responsible for the oversight and development of the national fund raising program. Prior to The Boys and Girls Club of America, Di Spigno was Senior Vice President for Resource Development at Habitat for Humanity where he developed and coordinated all fund raising activities, as well as spearheaded a global campaign to promote and coordinate international self-sustainability.
Angie Gossett
Director – Human Resources
Angie Gossett joined Outward Bound in August, 2006 as Director of Human Resources for Outward Bound Wilderness. In January 2007 she was promoted to the position of Human Resources Director for Outward Bound, Inc. where she will focus on leading the unification and advancement of Human Resources functions, most importantly staffing and retention, across the Outward Bound organization. Prior to Outward Bound, Gossett worked in the hospitality industry for 15 years where she served most recently as the Human Resources Director for the Vail Cascade Resort and Spa. Prior to the Vail Cascade Resort and Spa she served as the Human Resources Director for the Wyndham Peaks Resort and Golden Door Spa and the Wyndham Colorado Springs, and as the Employment Manager for The BROADMOOR.
Gossett holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from the
Gretchen Ostherr
Director - Blank-Read Training Institute
Gretchen Ostherr started working for Outward Bound in 1990 for the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School’s (HIOBS) Sea Program. She worked as a Watch Officer, Course Director and later as the Associate Program Director for HIOBS’ Sea Program in Maine and Florida. She then became the Director of Wilderness Program Development for HIOBS, and prior to becoming the Director of BRTI was a project specialist for Outward Bound Wilderness, working on the 2007 Safety Policies and Procedures and semester course development. Much of her work for OB in recent years has focused on curriculum development and staff training.
Gretchen received her B.A. from Hamilton College and her Masters in Education from Harvard University. In addition to her work for Outward Bound, she taught U.S. History, Nautical Science and a variety of electives at Tabor Academy in Marion, MA, and she taught U.S. History at Camden Regional High School in Camden, Maine.
She lives in Rockport, ME with her husband (also an Outward Bound instructor) and two young daughters. In her spare time she gardens, sails, runs and serves on the Board of Directors for her daughter’s pre-school and co-chairs the Education and Outreach Committee for the local food cooperative.
Jim Garrett
Director – National Service Initiative
Garrett began his long association with Outward Bound in 1964 at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School (HIOBS), where, over the years, he served as a sea course instructor (1965-74), then as a member of the Program and Safety Committee of the Board of Trustees and of the Corporation (1993-2004). He currently serves Outward Bound USA as the Director of the National Service Initiative. He is also the team leader for Outward Bound USA’s Instructor Judgment Training Curriculum Project and has presented training workshops for the Wilderness Risk Managers’ Conferences (2000-2006), the Association for Experiential Education Conference (2004-2005), the Wilderness Education Association Conference (2003), and to the Outward Bound International Conference 2000 (in Sabah, Malaysia), as well as for all the US Outward Bound Schools. He is a member of the Boards of Outward Bound Wilderness and of the Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Center and serves on the Mid-Atlantic Outward Bound Executive Committee (MAOBEX) and chairs the MAOBEX Program, Safety, and Facilities Committee.
Garrett is a 1973 alumnus of a five-week NOLS Wilderness Leadership course. For 30 years, he taught Middle and High School students in the fields of English, World Religions, and Human Values in two public and five independent schools, and he also established outdoor adventure programs for International College, Beirut, Lebanon, and The Gilman School in Baltimore. He has been a member of the Advisory Board for Princeton University’s Outdoor Action Program for many years, and in 1999, he served as interim director of Harvard University’s First-Year Outdoor Program.
Garrett is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. He and his wife Edith live in Maryland and have three grown children and three grandchildren.
Laurie Fontana
Executive Assistant to the President & CEO
As Executive Assistant to the President & CEO, Fontana’s responsibilities have included supporting the President and the Chairman of the Board, as well as liaison between the President’s Office and Trustees, management, and staff throughout the OBUSA system.
Before moving to Garrison from Long Island, Fontana worked for the Long Island Crisis Center, the region’s only 24/7 crisis intervention hotline and education center. As a counselor, she worked with young people and families on the most critical issues facing adolescents today: depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, runaways, self injury and domestic violence.
As Director of Community Education, Fontana conducted workshops on suicide prevention in area schools reaching thousands of students throughout the community. In 2004 she was presented with Nassau County’s Woman of the Year award for her work with young people.
Fontana and her husband Ken have one child, Michael.
Divisional Leadership
Mickey Freeman
President – Outward Bound Wilderness
Mickey Freeman joined the Outward Bound team in April of 2005 as President of Outward Bound Wilderness. Previously, he served as CEO of BizAir Ventures and as interim CEO and on the board of directors of Sunwise Swimwear, Inc.
In addition, Freeman served as president of Atlanta-based LoyaltyPoint, Inc., the largest eCommerce fundraising company for schools and non-profits in the US. He also served as board member, president and Chief Operating Officer of LoyaltyPoint’s subsidiary, Schoolpop, Inc. Prior to Schoolpop, he held senior general management roles at two technology companies, HotOffice Technologies, Inc. in Boca Raton and Shoptalk, Inc. in Chicago.
Freeman earned his MBA from Harvard University and a BA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
He and his wife Caroline have three children and live in Golden, Colorado.
Greg Farrell
President – Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound
Greg Farrell is one of the original creators and developers of Expeditionary Learning. He came to work at Outward Bound in 1990, after nearly 20 years on the national Outward Bound Board of Directors, during which time he was Executive Director of the Fund for the City of New York, a foundation established by the Ford Foundation to help improve the quality of life in New York City. While at the Fund, he had quite a lot to do with the creation of New York City Outward Bound (NYCOB). Before that he was Assistant Commissioner of Community Affairs and Director of the Antipoverty Program of the State of New Jersey. He has also been the executive director of Trenton, New Jersey’s antipoverty organization, a newspaper reporter, an assistant dean of admissions at Princeton University, a private in the US Army and a high school English teacher and coach.
He graduated from Princeton with a B.A. in English in 1957, and did graduate work at the Rutgers Urban Studies Center and the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He has taught at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at Princeton and at the New School for Social Research.
He and his wife Cathy have two sons, Andrew and Nick. All three of his immediate family members have been on more than one Outward Bound course.
Bob Gordon
President – Outward Bound Professional
Under Bob Gordon’s leadership, Outward Bound Professional has been a leader in the industry delivering results-focused programs for Outward Bound's clients in the areas of team building, leadership development, cultural change, communication, and trust building. Gordon’s expertise is in Leadership and Team development with a focus on action learning, which provides powerful lessons and insights into the behavior of leaders and teams in challenging situations. He has designed and delivered programs for the CEO and Senior Managers at Xerox, the Global Leadership Program for the University of Michigan, Prudential Real Estate, Motorola Cellular and the Institute for Civic Leadership to name a few.
Gordon attended Oregon State University on a National Student exchange and graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a BS in Business Administration. He has completed leadership programs with The Center for Creative Leadership, NTL, General Electric, Interaction Associates and The Harvard Business School. In addition, he teaches seminars for the University of Maine's Conference and Institutes Division and is a keynote Speaker on Leadership at The Edge.
An avid sailor and climber, Gordon was a member of the 1991 American Karakoram Expedition to Gasherbrum II. He lives in Camden, Maine, and is married with two children.
Jon Mark Howard
President – Outward Bound Discovery
Jon Howard is currently the President of Outward Bound Discovery based in Tallahassee, Florida. Howard started as a student out of high school taking a course with the North Carolina Outward Bound School (NCOBS) over 30 years ago and has over 25 years of service with Outward Bound.
His employment with Outward Bound began as an assistant Instructor for the STEP Program (a division of Outward Bound Discovery) and has included Course Director, Logistician, Program Director, Education Coordinator, Training and Development, and Associate Director for Outreach (the former name for Outward Bound Discovery).
Other work experience has included teaching 4th and 5th graders special education in an elementary school and working for the American Youth Foundation overseeing contracts and wilderness programs. Howard has a degree in Elementary Education and is certified in Reality Therapy. He was also a recipient of both the Kellogg Award in 1991 and the Josh Miner Award in 1996, for his long service and dedication to the youth and staff of Discovery programs. He has been recognized across the OB system for his experience and expertise in: serving and managing adolescents, the training/development of staff, and creation/implementation of new programming.
He currently serves on the Executive Committee for the Florida Juvenile Justice Association as Secretary.
Katie Pastuszek
Executive Director – Philadelphia Outward Bound Center
While living in Washington, DC during her middle school years, Katie Pastuszek participated in an "Outward Bound like" program in 1972 that continues to serve as a point of inspiration in her adult life.
Pastuszek 's professional career began in Philadelphia with 10 years of non-profit management experience with the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia. In the early 1990's (as the mother of two children) she reconnected with her adventure roots through part-time consulting with adventure-based education programs in the Philadelphia area - which led to a connection with New York City Outward Bound (NYCOB). In 1997, Pastuszek joined the Advisory Board of the newly formed Philadelphia Friends of Outward Bound, then part of the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School (HIOBS). In 1999, she resigned from the Board to assume the position of Program Director and, working in cooperation with the Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Center, she has overseen the expansion of today's Philadelphia Outward Bound Center.
David Starnes
Executive Director – Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Center
David Starnes is a lifelong outdoorsman who grew up fishing, hunting and living the life of Huck Finn in rural eastern Iowa. After taking a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) mountaineering course in 1977, Starnes began work with Outward Bound in 1979 as an intern with the Minnesota Outward Bound School. After a hiatus to obtain his Master’s degree, he returned to work with Outward Bound as the Program Director of the STEP Program from 1985 - 1989. He became the Director of the Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Program in 1989, followed by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director for Hurricane Island Outward Bound School (HIOBS), 1992 - 2003. After a brief absence in 2004, he returned as the Executive Director of the combined Baltimore Chesapeake Bay and Philadelphia Outward Bound Centers. In 2006, the two Centers split to become separate independent Centers with Starnes assuming the position of Executive Director - Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Center.
Starnes lives in the Baltimore area and is married with three children. He has both BS and MS degrees from Western Illinois University.