By Raelynn Schuety
Next year will be 40 years of service in environmental education for me, 39 with Wolf Ridge. Now on solid ground following the pandemic, and with a simply outstanding leadership team in place, it feels to be the right time to retire from Wolf Ridge, to another role or phase of life. I will be retiring by May of 2026.
My care for the future of Wolf Ridge is at the core of my soul. I have loved all the work, from the first 16 years accompanying children and graduate students outdoors as an instructor, that led to 20+ years in leadership.
I feel so privileged and fortunate to have had such opportunities. The ones I find myself reflecting upon most often: development of many curricula and a wilderness trip programs, incorporation of ropes course and rock climbing experiential learning into EE, the organic farm, leading buildouts of the WR campus and in turn Wolf Ridge becoming one of the largest employers in our county. Nearing the end of that career I feel joy and hope embodied in the world’s first renovated Living Building Challenge certified building, a 68-acre field station on Lake Superior, our graduate student training program facility, a revised native narrative in our curricula, and most recently the establishment of Outdoor School For All as law, a “must have” for the children of MN.
I have appreciated most… you, the people with whom I’ve shared this privileged career as I’ve learned from so many of you, and together we’ve done the most important work in the world. Thank you. As I look forward, I plan to retire not from something but rather to a couple things. I want to continue to help others in this field but more importantly, to spend more time with my family, particularly my home team, Sue, for whom I am so grateful. We look forward to more travel and exploration together and with our daughters, Sonja and Kari.
Wolf Ridge has begun the search for a new Executive Director. We have engaged Potrero Group, a national search firm with roots in experiential and environmental education as well as northeastern Minnesota. Potrero will begin recruitment in August, with broader public outreach and the application process opening. Information on the search can be found at PotreroGroup.com/WolfRidge.
Please help me, and Wolf Ridge, by sharing this link with your networks and identifying individuals you believe might make great candidates. Your referrals are valuable and important to the search and to me personally. Ideas can be sent to me directly or Andy Leider, Potrero Group search lead, at aleider@potrerogroup.com.
With the deepest of respect and gratitude,
Pete “Smud” Smerud