John Karren

Admissions & Co-Founder
john@elementswilderness.com

John has been serving families in wilderness therapy since 1997. Prior to founding Elements, John had extensive experience as both an admissions counselor and an admissions director. He has always enjoyed his role helping families understand our mission.

John loves the outdoors himself and is passionate about its power to change and heal families. Born in the California Bay Area, John moved at a young age to Salt Lake City, where he became involved in skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing and cycling.  John is now an avid triathlete and serves as the race director for the San Rafael Triathlon which benefits the local Emery County Search and Rescue.

John spends a lot of time with his family and they are a huge support for him. He shares two children and two grandchildren with his wife Melanie. John has spent many years coaching his son Kolby and daughter Blair in their various events and loves sports of all kinds, and now he gets to share that love with his grandchildren. You will find his whole family together nearly every weekend supporting each other in their sporting events and involved in fundraisers for causes dear to their family. John and his daughter Blair have consistently ranked as two of the nation’s top fundraisers for the fight against Cystic Fibrosis, proving that with their love and passion, there are no limits.

John is an owner, founder, and dad, and he wears those three hats with ease. He helped design this program based on what he as a parent would want to see should his own children attend. The empathy he feels for all our families makes him the perfect person to talk to as they prepare to make these difficult yet incredibly important decisions.