Meet the Certification Council
The AEE Certification Council consists of volunteers that are experts in the field of Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare. Each member of the council brings complimentary skills to the table.
AEE is excited to share word of a new initiative for our therapeutic adventure community to begin in 2022! The Certification Council is now recruiting Task Force Members to explore the creation of a Bachelor’s Level Certification for therapeutic adventure facilitators and practitioners. The Task Force will work with Certification Council Members to develop guidelines and criteria for certifying individuals facilitating adventure groups and experiences in the fields of psychology, counseling, social work, recreation therapy, and potentially others. If you’re interested in participating as a task force member, or if you have questions about Task Force responsibilities, please contact Steve Pace, Director of Accreditations & Certification, at Steve@AEE.org.
The Certification Council is Responsible For:
- Setting policy and procedures for the Certification Program.
- Developing, adopting, maintaining, evaluating and revising Certification Program criteria.
- Granting or denying certified status in accordance with Certification Program policy.
- Facilitating the development of educational materials related to the Certification Program.
- Periodically assessing the success of the program, revising it as necessary to achieve its mission.
- Attend one face-to-face meeting per year and monthly meetings via video-conference.
- Review agenda and other materials (i.e., applications, reports from Council members, etc.) prior to each meeting.
- Serve on committees as needed or requested by the chair.
Council Members
Federico A. Borroel, MS, LPC-S, formed RelateAbility, PLLC after serving in the non-profit sector as a program director, counselor, trainer, grant writer, and clinical supervisor. He has held a range of servant leader positions with the Association for Experiential Education to include the Chair position of the Association’s Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group. Through RelateAbility, PLLC, he specializes in relationship building services for families, colleagues, and peer groups. Most of his professional experience has been dedicated to helping trauma survivors achieve relational goals and to helping trauma serving professionals balance self-care with their capacity to care for others. Along the way, he has trusted experiential learning and adventure therapy to promote positive change among families, teammates, and organizations of many kinds.
Patrick is the current Outcomes Management and Training Director at Adventure Works in Dekalb, Illinois and a Faculty Instructor in the Counseling Program at Northern Illinois University. He has worked in the Mental Health field since 2008 in a variety of capacities and within the Adventure Therapy field since 2012. He is a former Professional Development Coordinator and Chair of the Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group. He is completing his PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision with his research focusing on the Electroencephalographic (EEG) measurement of brain waves during an Adventure Therapy activity. He lives in a small town in Northern Illinois with his wife and two young children.
Dr. Maurie Lung is the CEO of a community organization that provides adventure-based mental health therapy and consulting. She has over 25 years of experience ranging from therapist, business owner, author, speaker, trainer, evaluator, and university instructor. She has co-authored two books for mental health professionals as well as a variety of articles about how to experience nature and adventure in order to heal our hearts and restore dignity. Maurie integrates her knowledge and experience of recreation, education, psychology, and evaluation to experientially provide services with a diverse client population. She also is Associate Faculty at Prescott College teaching graduate courses in mental health counseling and overseeing the Adventure-based Psychotherapy and Ecotherapy programs.
After many years as a field guide and outdoor educator, Nick followed his passion to the University of New Hampshire where he earned a Masters Degree in Outdoor Education and a Master of Social Work degree. Nick's experience with Adventure Therapy practice is broad, and he has served as a field guide, facilitator, therapist, clinical supervisor, program manager, consultant and clinical director for several wilderness therapy programs. Nick has been involved in the creation, implementation and refinement of a variety of adventure and wilderness therapy programs and has been an active presenter, developer and leader in the TAPG community.
Lynette Spencer, LCSW, CCAT has 30+ years in the field of behavioral healthcare, specializing in adventure and outdoor behavioral healthcare since 2010. Lynette is the founder of Adventure Works (2010, Executive Director 2010-2021) and founding partner of Action Consulting and Therapy (2015, Managing Member since 2021). Servant leadership roles include being a member of the TAPG Leadership Council (Secretary and Treasurer 2013-2017), AEE Accreditation Site Reviewer (since 2016), and being a member of the executive committee of the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council (Secretary, Vice Chair, and Chairwoman 2016-2021), along with varied service positions in her local community. Lynette consults on organizational development and therapeutic decision making, as well as trauma-informed Adventure Therapy training and supervision in her private practice.
Jesy Cordle
Jesy Cordle, PhD(c), LRT, CTRS, CCAT has worked in various adventure programming and adventure therapy for over fifteen years. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Leadership and Education from Toccoa Falls College and a master’s degree in PRTM concentrating in Recreational Therapy from Clemson University. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Clemson where she is evaluating how adventure-based programming and adventure therapy are being used as interventions in the field of recreational therapy. Jesy also currently serves as the Professional Development Coordinator on the TAPG Leadership Council.
