We are pleased to to announce that Outward Bound California’s Bay Area Program now has a Staff House! This new home gives our hard working, dedicated field staff a place to live, just down the hill from our base in the Presidio.

While a roof over one’s head seems disconnected from creating meaningful courses, it is an integral part of running high quality programs. Not only does it give our field staff comfort and reliability it also provides space to grow a community and develop professionally. Program Director Maggie Lyons Weller says, “When our field staff are ‘at work’ they are ON for 24 hours a day.  Field staff sustainability is a high priority for us because the longer we can keep an Instructor in the field, the more experience they gain and thus, the safer and higher quality their courses are. Our staff are on the ground, committed to delivering our mission directly to students. Establishing a staff house in the Bay helps us support our commitment to them.”

Having a welcoming staff house that relieves the stress of Bay Area renting and supports time out of the field has been a long standing need in San Francisco. With staff more available, the program gains  an accessible pool of seasoned instructors ready to be scheduled, instead of working two or three other jobs for other organizations or travelling great distances  between courses.

Instructors give so much of their time to the participants on course and off. They work long, dirty hours, often times managing the mental, physical and emotional stress of course. When the course is over, they spend hours cleaning gear, writing evaluations, and debriefing the lessons from that specific group. The Staff House, therefore, is a haven for our instructors. Staff House Manager and Head Logistics Coordinator for the Bay Area, Kellen Macfadyen, explains the magic of their new home:

It is the best feeling to wake up to the sound of waves crashing on the beach in the morning. Going downstairs the day after a long course end, to see instructors cooking breakfast on a stove (instead of a whisper-lite) and swapping stories on the couch is what it is all about; a community of like-minded people who support each other to develop professionally and as individuals, who happen to share a sink when they brush their teeth in the morning.

The staff house is a dream realized, and we have already received a generous amount of donated furniture and housewares. If you have any items you would like to give to make the Staff House a home, please contact Kellen Macfadyen at [email protected]. Specific dream list items are a pull-out couch, floor lamps, and wall art.