All CAA board members serve a 3-year term on a volunteer basis. New board member elections are held during the member meeting at our annual conference. The Board of Directors meets at least twice a year to plan events and provide direction for the organization.

Amy Smallwood
President
Amy has been playing in the outdoors since she climbed her first tree at age five. Her adventure experience in the last 10 years includes leading trips and training wilderness instructors for HoneyRock camp in northern Wisconsin, leading expeditionary canoeing trips for Outward Bound, Canada, and teaching in the Outdoor Leadership department at North Greenville University in Greenville, South Carolina where she taught both theory-based and skill-based courses and led a field-based semester each fall for three years. She now works as the Adventure Program Director for Noah’s Ark Whitewater Rafting and Adventure Company in Buena Vista, Colorado. Amy holds a Master of Arts degree in Educational Ministries from Wheaton College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Education from Taylor University. She is a certified as a Wilderness First Responder through SOLO, Single Pitch Instructor through the AMGA, certified lifeguard, and is a CPR and First Aid instructor through the American Red Cross. She considers her greatest achievement to be training her dog to army crawl. She has been serving on the CAA board since 2006.

Tim Kidd
Vice-president
Tim Kidd, PhD, is associate professor of Christian ministries and outdoor leadership at John Brown University, where he has taught in the outdoor leadership ministries program since 1999. He has been involved with CAA since 2003 and is passionate about using the wilderness to help others grow as disciples of Jesus. A WEA certified instructor and LNT master educator, he has been leading wilderness trips for youth and college groups for over 25 years from the Smokies to the Rockies and from the Ozarks to the Northwoods. His favorite outdoor pursuits include backpacking, mountain biking, dog sledding, and rock climbing. Tim and his wife, Sandy, have 2 sons, a daughter and a daughter-in-law.

Becky McKinnon
Secretary
Becky lives in Portland, Maine where she continues her search for opportunities to learn and educate through experiences. She graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in education and developed a love of wilderness ministry and experiential education through years as a student and employee of HoneyRock Camp in Wisconsin. She has also been involved in environmental education in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota and the schools of Maine. She is learning to enjoy day hiking with less outdoorsy friends and is most content when outside and/or working with her hands. Becky first attended a CWLC conference in 2004, and the quality of people at the conferences keeps drawing her back. She joined the Board in 2007.

Rick Masters
Rick grew up in Nebraska where he then graduated from Grace University. His call to ministry was in the Church setting and clarified in the outdoor environment. He has served in roles of facilitator, guide, director and general purveyor of adventure ministry philosophy and education. This has led Rick to CAA to serve and give as a board member since 2008. He currently works at HoneyRock Camp in Wisconsin as the Adventure Ministries Manager.

Kelli McMahan
Kelli lives in Waco, Texas and has worked for Baylor University as the Assistant Director of Campus Recreation since the spring of 2000 and directs the Outdoor Adventure program. The sacrifice of not living in the mountains is made bearable by working at Baylor, being involved in a great outdoor adventure program and having amazing friends, family and co-workers in Waco. Kelli completed her undergraduate degree at Baylor and a masters degree at Oklahoma State University. Three primary aspects of the outdoors captured her attention and passions now over 15 years ago and that was pushing through challenges, interaction with the natural world and the incredible potential for God to speak through His creation. She has been involved since 2000 as a board member with the CAEI, one of the organization that merged to form CAA and has enjoyed seeing the inception of this organization evolve. She is certified as an AMGA Top Rope Site Manager, ACA Level 1 Kayaking Instructor, Wilderness First Responder, Challenge Course Instructor and has been an instructor at Outdoor Leadership Lab for 10 years. She particularly enjoys rock climbing and expeditions and has been fortunate enough to spend time in the mountains of Nepal, Argentina and Tanzania. When she is not working or playing in the outdoors, she can be found running or singing with her vocal group, Beyond Jordan. Each year she dreams of a wining Baylor football team and avidly supports the Baylor Bears regardless of wins!

Carol Yard
Carol serves as the Program Director at Tilikum Center for Retreats and Outdoor Ministries in Newberg, Oregon. Tilikum is a ministry of George Fox University. She enjoys growing the wilderness program there, as well as teaching the Wilderness Expedition class at Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon. She has led trips and trained wilderness instructors for HoneyRock Camp in Northern Wisconsin and Die Hoekie Camp in South Africa. She first started leading extended backpacking trips at SAMBICA (Sammamish Bible Camp) in Seattle, Washington, and got her first taste of adventure ministry at Camp Jumonville in Pennsylvania, her home state. Carol holds a Master of Arts degree in Educational Ministries from Wheaton College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Grove City College. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder and is a survivor of two poisonous spider bites. She once spent an entire summer hiking around counting prairie dog poop. She has been serving on the CAA board since 2008.

Paul Harbison
Wilderness camper, mountaineer, hiker, caver, backcountry skier, avalanche forecaster, canoer, rock climber, scuba diver, earth keeper, delighter in wintry landscapes, worshipper, bible study member, Sunday School teacher, small group facilitator, church elder, discipler, conflict mediator, adopted son of God, friend of Christ, enthusiast of the Psalms, son, brother, husband, father, uncle, neighbor, citizen, educator, basketball coach, photographer, Steelers fan, writer, introvert, bicyclist, occasional instigator of fun, and feeder of Toby the family dog. Paul lives in Butler, PA with his wife, five happy campers and Toby.Paul is the director of the Outdoor Leadership Team for the Coalition of Christian Outreach (the CCO). He has been an active member of CAA for several years, and served as a keynote speaker for us in the past.

Glenn Middleton
Glenn’s love of outdoor adventure began as a small child in northern Minnesota on his family’s farm and transferred to YMCA Camp Manito-Wish in northern Wisconsin where he began backpacking, ropes course facilitation, sea kayaking and expedition canoeing. Glenn spent his college years in Arizona hiking, biking, climbing, and working as a raft guide and ski instructor–as you can guess it was difficult for him to sit in a classroom. Glenn has served abroad 2 years for the Peace Corps in the Philippines, where he gained an appreciation for the local culture, language and people. After his return to the states, Glenn has worked for numerous Outward Bound schools and colleges as a backpacking, rock climbing, sea kayaking, and whitewater canoeing instructor. Glenn also enjoys traveling places such as South America to sea kayak in the fjords off the Chilean coast and to pursue mountaineering in Patagonia and Ecuador. Glenn is a certified Wilderness First Responder, CPR HealthCare Provider, ACA Level 4 WWC and SWR instructor, an AMGA SPI and is trained in Crevasse and Avalanche Rescue.