Who We Are:
Lynn Smith: (Clinical Director)
Lynn is the primary therapist for the boys of group one. Working in therapeutic wilderness programs is a natural fit for Lynn as it combines his enthusiasm for outdoor recreation and passion for personal growth. He brings an abundance of knowledge and practical experience to the Elements Wilderness Program clinical team. He is an expert at using the wilderness to promote insight, motivation and change in adolescents. Lynn started his career in wilderness therapy as a field instructor in 1994 for Aspen Achievement Academy. He later moved on to work for Second Nature Wilderness Program as a Mentor Instructor, where he trained new staff and mentored Senior Field Instructors. After completing his Masters in Social Work, he moved into the role of therapist at Second Nature. He has also worked with adolescents in other types of therapeutic settings including; residential treatment centers, therapeutic boarding schools, group homes and an outpatient substance abuse counseling clinic.
Lynn completed undergraduate work in sociology with an emphasis in criminology at the University of Utah in 1996. While completing his undergraduate degree, he also finished a one year substance abuse treatment certificate program. As a part of this training, he completed an internship as a substance abuse counselor in a program that serves inmates in the Utah state prison system. Substance abuse and dependence continue to be a focus of Lynn’s clinical practice and he believes the wilderness is an ideal setting to start the course of recovery.
Lynn completed his graduate training in clinical social work at the University of Utah. While in graduate school he completed an advanced practicum working with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and providing therapeutic support for their families. He also completed a practicum at the Veteran’s Hospital in the outpatient mental health clinic as well as in the inpatient psychiatric unit. He worked with many veterans suffering from a wide variety of mental health issues. His most rewarding experience was co-facilitating a therapy group for WWII veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Lynn has been able to use these experiences to work effectively with children who have experienced trauma and has successfully identified and worked with children suffering from mild developmental disorders.
Lynn is originally from Lodi, California and grew up playing in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He spends much of his free time enjoying the mountains and deserts of Utah. He has spent the past 8 winters teaching and coaching snowboarding at Snowbird. He currently coaches part-time for the Snowbird competition snowboard team. He also enjoys biking, rock climbing, mountaineering, fishing, scuba diving, backpacking and traveling. He is currently training for his second LOTOJA double century bike race.
Jennifer Rapp, CPCI: (Therapist)
Jen is driven by the excitement of personal growth and the opportunity to help others explore themselves in a wilderness setting. Jen believes in the wilderness model as a means for promoting lasting change in an individual through challenge and perseverance. Jen began working in the wilderness at Second Nature Wilderness Program as a field instructor in 2001 and reached a senior level position. She left Second Nature in 2003 to work for Stone Mountain School for boys in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Jen loved the mountains of the east coast and being close to her family, but felt her home was in Utah and returned to work at Gateway Academy, located in Salt Lake City. She worked in many arenas at Gateway and eventually worked her way up to the lead staff position which included duties such as being the educational liaison, leading recreation trips, and staff supervision at the Salt Lake house.
Jen pursued her Master's degree in counseling through the University of Phoenix. She completed her internship at First Step House, a residential substance abuse program for adult males in Salt Lake City. Jen found her experience at First Step House to be incredibly rewarding, challenging, and educational. Jen completed her undergraduate degree in sociology at Colorado State University. While in Fort Collins, she worked as a legal advocate and a member of the domestic abuse response team at a safe house for women and children that had been victims of domestic violence.
In her free time Jen is an avid mountain biker and snowboarder. Her parents moved to London, England when she was 15 years old, which allowed her the opportunity to attend a portion of her high school in London and travel throughout Europe. She enjoys traveling outside the country and finds a spontaneous bike trip to the desert equally as exciting. On her father's 60th birthday, they ran across the Grand Canyon together.
Tara Feeney, CSW: (Therapist)
Tara has been working with children and adolescents in the outdoors for over 10 years. She learned early in her career about the power of wilderness to create positive change in the lives of young people. She believes we go to wilderness to better prepare ourselves to live in modern society and continue the journey of self awareness and change. Wilderness is the ideal setting to engage and motivate adolescents, conduct an accurate assessment while providing opportunities for growth and insight.
Originally from northeastern Ohio, Tara began working in wilderness in New York at Ramapo for Children. There she was the assistant director of an adventure therapy program following two years of service with Americorps focused on providing therapeutic wilderness experiences to youth, families and groups. Tara moved to Utah in 2003 to work in wilderness therapy. She began as a field instructor at Second Nature Wilderness Program and quickly knew wilderness therapy was a natural fit. She worked as a senior field instructor at Second Nature until pursuing her graduate degree.
Tara received her Master of Social Work Degree at the University of Utah. During the MSW program she completed internships at Vista Adolescent Treatment Center and Copperhills Youth Center, providing individual and family therapy to teens in residential treatment. She also worked at Valley Mental Health in an outpatient program specifically designed for women with children that have substance dependence and other mental health concerns. These experiences provided the catalyst to return to wilderness and accept a position at Elements. Tara is also part of a research team at the University of Utah assessing the prevalence rates of mental illness and substance use in Utah.
Tara spends much of her free time outdoors and sleeps better under the stars. She loves the mountain and desert surroundings that Utah provides and can often be found climbing, skiing, kayaking, hiking and traveling the western U.S. She also enjoys gardening, cooking and listening to live music.
Karen Hesselman: (Program Director)
Karen went to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana achieving her Bachelor of Science in Park Administration with an emphasis in Outdoor Management and Tourism with a minor in Business. After college, she went to Alaska to be a raft guide in Denali. She explored many rivers including the Nenana, Chulitna, Matanuska, and Talkeetna Rivers.
She spent the next seven years at Second Nature Wilderness Program based in Duchesne, UT. There she obtained the Senior Field Instructor role and was on staff for three years. She then moved into the office as Second Nature’s Recruiter and finally Assistant Field Director for three and a half years. Most of her time was spent managing instructors, maintaining the schedule, upholding policies and procedures, and maintaining the quality of the program. Karen had a brief opportunity in Second Nature’s Admissions Department before starting Elements Wilderness Program.
Through her personal experience and the many roles she performed at Second Nature, she has the knowledge and guidance necessary to be a key contributor in Elements Wilderness Program.
Karen is currently the President of the Indiana University Outdoor Adventures Alumni Association. She has been a board member for three years and President for the past two. She helped start the association and it recently reached the goal to establish a scholarship intended for college students pursuing the outdoor field. Karen is still active and dedicated to Indiana University, her roots to the outdoor profession. Karen grew up in Ohio and is the youngest of four children. She enjoys tennis, snow skiing, road biking, and rafting.
John Karren: (Admissions Director)
John has been serving families in an admissions role in wilderness for the last nine years prior to founding Elements Wilderness Program. He served as the admissions counselor and admissions director for a wilderness program previously.
John loves the outdoors and is passionate about the experience that the wilderness provides for families and the students that take part in them and the changes that occur while they participate in the therapeutic aspects of the program. John was born in the Bay Area of California but grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah where he learned to love the outdoors, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing and biking, both mountain and road. John also enjoys training and racing triathlons where swimming is his best event and he tries to grind through the other two events.
John spends a lot of time with his family and they are a huge support for him. He has been married to his wife Melanie for 19 years and has two children, Kolby (20) and Blair (18) both are currently enrolled in college. His family loves to travel and spend time together. His son plays college volleyball so John and his wife are roadies for the team and rarely miss a game or tournament. His daughter is going to Utah State in Logan, Utah studying to be a pharmacist. His family also loves to travel to triathlon races and they are a big support. The many races have taken them to some very enjoyable events in Mexico, Tempe, Sun river, Oregon and all of the local Utah triathlon.
John has spent many years coaching his kids in their various events and loves sports of all kinds.