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Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors


Apr 30, 2019

Bryan Delaney, Program director at SUWS of the Carolinas, has been working in the outdoors with adolescents since he was a young man. Much of his early outdoor training was in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and he would go onto become an Eagle Scout as a teen.  In college he worked for several years at the BSA's world’s largest summer camp, Philmont Scout Ranch, and was offered a full time job there. Bryan, who is gay, refused the job after being asked to sign a document in order to be employed at Philmont saying he was not.  Bryan shares this story and why continues to be be involved in Scouting and wilderness therapy.

After college Bryan pursued a career in the outdoor education industry and worked as a field instructor for numerous wilderness programs.Bryan has been an industry influence in wilderness programs and boarding schools for over 15 years. He started as a residential staff at Brush Ranch School and in 2003 became a field instructor at Second Nature Blue Ridge (SBNR). While at SNBR, he held positions as Mentor instructor, Program Coordinator and Field Director.