Vertical Playpen

Clint McCarthy (Associate Professor of Outdoor Education, SUNY Adirondack) chats with Chris Damboise about lessons learned as a younger professional, what students can expect when joining the SUNY program and the impact SUNY Adirondack aims to have in their community.

Brett Johnson, the new owner of Ipswich Town Football Club, joins Phil to discuss why connecting with the supporters matters, qualities of good leadership that are important to him and how empowering your staff makes all the difference. In 2005, Mr. Johnson founded and is the CEO of Benevolent Capital (www.benevolentcapital.com), a family office with investments in professional sports teams, real estate, private equity and venture capital. The current portfolio includes Ipswich Town Football Club, Phoenix Rising FC, FC Helsingor, Tucson FC, USL Rhode Island, TerraCycle, Athletic Brewing, Oura Ring, Damon Motorcycles, Thrasio, NYC Office Suites, Octagon Partners, and ArcherDX (acquired by NASDAQ: NVTA).

Mike Cardus joins Phil to discuss how Experiential Education informs his work in Organizational Development, how the front loading of activities needs to be adapted when working with corporate audiences and how having hundreds of hula hoops at home can affect how your job is perceived by others. Mike has focused expertise in team building, managerial-leadership, and organization development. Frequently asked to create solutions to address the development of high-performance teams, retention of talent, the innovation of product and profit streams, group conflict, coaching of leaders, developing systems to drive positive behaviors, and development of knowledge to increase organizational and personal effectiveness. Working primarily with teams and management within these organizations, his role has been honed to coach, counsel, facilitate and conduct focused group work. Learn more about Mike - mikecardus.com

Phil joins Phil to discuss qualities that he admires in leaders, why Soccer is truly the "beautiful game" and how it models leadership and life lessons. Phil is the co-host of the How Soccer Explains Leadership podcast and you can find it anywhere podcasts are found as well as their website - howsoccerexplainsleadership.com

Jan Keck joins Phil to discuss how he was introduced to the world of Experiential Learning, what he has learned over the last year about virtual facilitation and how to ask deep and meaningful questions. Learn more about Jan - jankeck.com

In this episode aimed answering your questions, Phil read out some of the podcast reviews and answered the following questions; - Is there room for introverts in facilitation? - How do you stay genuine in a "performancy" profession? - What is your favorite icebreaker question? - Best closing to a single day program? - Most under-appreciated facilitator skill? - What's something you are bad at and are working on improving? - What's your process when you have a bad day? Submit all future questions to - podcast@high5adventure.org

In this discussion, David Christian PhD, an expert in Counselor Education, and Danny McCarty PhD, specializing in Clinical Mental Health, explore the transformative power of adventure therapy. They share personal experiences that shaped their educational practices and delve into Adlerian theory, discussing concepts like social interest and overcoming challenges. The duo emphasizes the importance of play in counseling, illustrating how outdoor activities can enhance mental health and connection among clients. Their insights promote adventure as a unique therapeutic tool.

This was a live audience episode recorded for the 2021 Virtual BOOST (Best of out-of-school time) Conference. Phil was joined by High 5 Trainer Rich Keegan, Justin McGlamery who is founder and Chief Locus Focuser for Focus Your Locus Teambuilding Training and Development and also Chris Ortiz, the Program Director for the Team Development Center at Shaver's Creek and is an instructor for the Recreation Parks and Tourism Management Department at Penn State University. The panelists answered the questions submitted by Phil and also the live audience

This week's guest, Andrew Alexander King, is a surfer, climber and mountaineer who is currently attempting to be the 1st African American to summit the highest mountain and highest volcano on each continent, 14 in total. We discuss how adventure became a part of his life, his thoughts on being a role model and mentor to younger climbers and surfers and what people can do to improve diversity in the outdoors. Follow him on his journey via his instagram - @andrew_alexander_king

After both presenting at a conference on 2 different topics Phil and Lisa had this unplanned conversation all about adapting your current activities and the benefits of not revealing too much information when facilitating.