About Ian Standard

Title: Outdoor Educator, Wilderness Guide

Expertise: Hiking, Camping, Backpacking, Kayaking & Canoeing, Wilderness Medicine

Education: Master of Science in Outdoor & Environmental Education from Alaska Pacific University

• 10+ years working in the outdoor industry, including 3+ years of professional experience in wilderness therapy for children
• Has served as a trusted instructor for multiple outdoor and environmental education programs
• Served as a teacher at a K-3 outdoor school

The outdoors has always felt like home to Ian, and while he was born and raised in Central Illinois, he quickly sought out geography with a bit more texture and potential for adventure. Across the years, he lived a more nomadic lifestyle, working as an outdoor educator until landing in Western North Carolina, where Ian launched a career in wilderness therapy in 2018.

For the next three years, Ian led kids out into the woods as a means of helping them connect with the world around them and set their feet on a better life path.

When a similar opportunity arose in Southeast Alaska in 2021, Ian jumped at the chance to positively impact kids on the opposite side of the country. In this new role with Alaska Crossings, Ian canoed from one ocean island to another, investing up to 6 weeks at a time with small groups of students that needed space from the rest of the world.

Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down operations, Ian’s nomadic spirit and desire to help others inspired him to temporarily move to Greece with his partner where they lived in the mountains and worked to care for refugee children.

When he’s not guiding a group through the wilderness, Ian can often be found hard at work creating content and writing articles focused on the outdoors, spending time with his wife and dog, or taking an adventure through a good book. Whether it be fantasy or nature writing, Ian is always visiting a more magical place.