Sarah Hubbard - Executive Director
Sarah is a native of Athens - where she currently lives with her husband Jason and her 2 children, India and Kalib. Growing up, she had the freedom to explore nature in all of its wonder, developing a strong, play-based relationship to the natural world. She went on to study Horticulture at the University of Georgia, as well as becoming a passionate student of herbalism and homeopathy, all of which she continues to study and practice today.
Sarah is a graduate of Wild Intelligence's "Year of the Coyote" year-long adult program, and completed her time as a Mentor Apprentice at Wild Intelligence. She is now happily and competently the Executive Director - bringing to bear her amazing gifts as both a mother and long-time manager of a small business as well as her passion for children (of all ages) being wild in the woods!
In her life at home, Sarah loves going to her sit spot everyday - learning the language of the birds and continually deepening her relationship to the earth. Her life is dedicated to community building, non-violent communication and the continuing creation of a better world. When she is not outside exploring she can be found at home in her studio making art quilts.
Sarah is a graduate of Wild Intelligence's "Year of the Coyote" year-long adult program, and completed her time as a Mentor Apprentice at Wild Intelligence. She is now happily and competently the Executive Director - bringing to bear her amazing gifts as both a mother and long-time manager of a small business as well as her passion for children (of all ages) being wild in the woods!
In her life at home, Sarah loves going to her sit spot everyday - learning the language of the birds and continually deepening her relationship to the earth. Her life is dedicated to community building, non-violent communication and the continuing creation of a better world. When she is not outside exploring she can be found at home in her studio making art quilts.
Sara Callaway - Adult Programs Director
Sara Callaway is from the flat and sandy coastal plains of Georgia, and has happily called Athens home since 2005. Her journey of nature connection really began in earnest when a friend handed her The Tracker by Tom Brown back in 2001. She was hooked! Shortly after, she attended her first Earthskills Rendezvous and finally found her people. She makes the pilgrimage to visit this extended family twice a year, and is actively cultivating it in her own community here in Athens. Wild Intelligence is the local manifestation of that family, and one that she has been an active participant in since 2010, having completed the first-ever Year of the Coyote, as well as the Year of the Wolf, and Year of the Bear. She feels deeply honored to have the opportunity to give back to this community now and hold the center for these Wild Intelligence Adult Programs. Yay!
Other parts of Sara's path have included: 5 years as Farm Manager of Roots Farm in Athens, where she deepened her connection to natural cycles and cultivated a working relationship with the land, as well as the farming community; many years studying the Kamana Naturalist Training Program through the Wilderness Awareness School founded by Jon Young; a year working for Second Nature Blue Ridge as a Wilderness Therapy Guide for troubled teenagers; 2 summers working for Cheerio Adventures as an Adventure Camp Guide in backpacking, canoeing, mountain biking, caving, and rock climbing; 2 seasons as a staff member working for GeoJourney -- a traveling educational excursion in geology, ecology, and anthropology that crosses the continental USA every year; a degree in Anthropology and Poetry from Berry College; and many more years studying Nonviolent Communication, Conscious Loving, Interpersonal Relating, Intentional Life Design, Shadow Work, Soulcraft, Sacred Sensuality, Zen Meditation, Hatha Yoga, and other juicy approaches to living a satisfying and purposeful life.
At home and around town, you can find her reading (usually more than one book at a time), writing, sitting in her backyard, computing at coffee shops, taking long walks at the State Botanical Gardens, sharing deep conversation over cups of tea, cooking up fabulous meals in the company of good friends, doing Hatha yoga at the Healing Arts Centre with her longtime mentor Kerry Fulford, and continuing to learn from the land as a farmer at Cedar Grove Farm.
Other parts of Sara's path have included: 5 years as Farm Manager of Roots Farm in Athens, where she deepened her connection to natural cycles and cultivated a working relationship with the land, as well as the farming community; many years studying the Kamana Naturalist Training Program through the Wilderness Awareness School founded by Jon Young; a year working for Second Nature Blue Ridge as a Wilderness Therapy Guide for troubled teenagers; 2 summers working for Cheerio Adventures as an Adventure Camp Guide in backpacking, canoeing, mountain biking, caving, and rock climbing; 2 seasons as a staff member working for GeoJourney -- a traveling educational excursion in geology, ecology, and anthropology that crosses the continental USA every year; a degree in Anthropology and Poetry from Berry College; and many more years studying Nonviolent Communication, Conscious Loving, Interpersonal Relating, Intentional Life Design, Shadow Work, Soulcraft, Sacred Sensuality, Zen Meditation, Hatha Yoga, and other juicy approaches to living a satisfying and purposeful life.
At home and around town, you can find her reading (usually more than one book at a time), writing, sitting in her backyard, computing at coffee shops, taking long walks at the State Botanical Gardens, sharing deep conversation over cups of tea, cooking up fabulous meals in the company of good friends, doing Hatha yoga at the Healing Arts Centre with her longtime mentor Kerry Fulford, and continuing to learn from the land as a farmer at Cedar Grove Farm.
Wallace Duvall -Youth Mentor
Wallace Duvall is a naturalist, not by some extreme knowledge that can be measured in text books; but by the "engaged conversation with life" and an intimate immersion into that visceral language of mother earth. His heart continually grows toward this re-awakening to real life, to source, and to not converse with it would be a tragedy. He sees this active conversation as a preparation of the soil in which true, eco-social regeneration will grow bountifully. This is the change.
As a proud father of three wild and authentically radiant souls, he understands they will one day be mentored by the incredible youths that he now mentors and will inherit the world we are all shaping today. He has great hope that the work we do today will bear much fruit in the generations that follow.
Ann Turner - Youth Mentor, Adult Mentor
Ann has cultivated a passion for and fascination with the natural world since her early days growing up in Marietta, where she embarked on magical adventures crawling through privet tunnels, concocting herbal brews in the roots of giant white oaks, and climbing to the tops of old magnolias with the neighborhood children. As an adult she continues to live to witness the miracle of each moment, each intricacy in the natural world, and to share that passion with others. As a mentor, her goal is to deeply see and reflect back the inherent beauty and gifts that each person – child and adult – brings to the world.
Ann attained a B.B.A. in marketing in 2009 from the University of Georgia and pursued a career in professional cycling before reconnecting to the power of the natural world on a backpacking trip and redirected her life’s path. She then spend several years exploring and rekindling that relationship – backpacking in India, Kashmir, Nepal, Tibet, and up and down the west coast. In 2011 she purchased a tipi and spent a year learning to live more simply within it. After participating in a community program at Earthsong with Evan McGowan, she began the 2012 Year of the Coyote program and found the niche where she could put her passions to use. She stepped on as staff for Wild Intelligence in the summer of 2013. She also spent much of the summer staffing an organic teaching farm at Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge, GA and in the fall of 2013 began her role as director of youth programs for the Earthskills Rendezvous gathering.
Currently, Ann is involved as a mentor in all of our youth and adult programs. When she’s not in program, you can find Ann at her sit spot, reading, writing, painting, or most likely wandering wide eyed through the forest.
Ann attained a B.B.A. in marketing in 2009 from the University of Georgia and pursued a career in professional cycling before reconnecting to the power of the natural world on a backpacking trip and redirected her life’s path. She then spend several years exploring and rekindling that relationship – backpacking in India, Kashmir, Nepal, Tibet, and up and down the west coast. In 2011 she purchased a tipi and spent a year learning to live more simply within it. After participating in a community program at Earthsong with Evan McGowan, she began the 2012 Year of the Coyote program and found the niche where she could put her passions to use. She stepped on as staff for Wild Intelligence in the summer of 2013. She also spent much of the summer staffing an organic teaching farm at Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge, GA and in the fall of 2013 began her role as director of youth programs for the Earthskills Rendezvous gathering.
Currently, Ann is involved as a mentor in all of our youth and adult programs. When she’s not in program, you can find Ann at her sit spot, reading, writing, painting, or most likely wandering wide eyed through the forest.
Mike Weems - Adult Mentor, Youth Mentor, Elder, President of the Board
Born and raised in Aiken, South Carolina, Mike Weems was introduced to nature by frequent trips to the beach, lake, and mountains, during a time when kids spent all of their free time outdoors. Many secret forts and treehouses were constructed all over the neighborhood.
After high school he came to the University of Georgia and obtained a B.F.A. in Drawing and Painting. Athens worked its charm and he is still here.
Having a degree in art has necessitated having several interesting jobs along the way. A passion for canoeing down Georgia’s black water rivers led to Treehouse Hammocks, Inc. which made camping hammocks. The need to tinker resulted in his getting a federal Airframe and Powerplant license. Two antique airplanes were restored during this time and one, a Stearman biplane won a national award. It can be seen on Athens local The Normaltown Flyers album. Building his own house led to a long career of building restoration and construction. During this time he dropped the paintbrush for the camera.
Time spent in nature is more inspiring to him than time in a studio. The last several years have been spent helping with Wild Intelligence, nature photography, sailboat restoration, and a lot of guitar picking.
After high school he came to the University of Georgia and obtained a B.F.A. in Drawing and Painting. Athens worked its charm and he is still here.
Having a degree in art has necessitated having several interesting jobs along the way. A passion for canoeing down Georgia’s black water rivers led to Treehouse Hammocks, Inc. which made camping hammocks. The need to tinker resulted in his getting a federal Airframe and Powerplant license. Two antique airplanes were restored during this time and one, a Stearman biplane won a national award. It can be seen on Athens local The Normaltown Flyers album. Building his own house led to a long career of building restoration and construction. During this time he dropped the paintbrush for the camera.
Time spent in nature is more inspiring to him than time in a studio. The last several years have been spent helping with Wild Intelligence, nature photography, sailboat restoration, and a lot of guitar picking.
Tommy Tye - Adult Mentor, Youth Mentor, Storyteller
Tommy left his forestry career in 2009 to embrace a calling as a naturalist. He completed an internship at Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center and joined Wild Intelligence in the fall of 2010. He has served in our youth and adult yearlong programs and at spring and summer camps. Tommy finds physical, mental, and spiritual wellness by patterning his life on nature. Adopting core practices to cultivate awareness is the first step. He believes that direct personal experience
is the best teacher, and his role as a mentor is to simply facilitate that process.
A passionate storyteller, Tommy uses the gift of story to inspire, connect, heal, and create joy. He also has some skill with Woodcraft (axcraft and knifecraft) and Wilderness Survival Skills (especially cordage, fire, fishing and hunting), Deep Nature Connection (bird language, natural navigation, stillness, and tracking), and Native Plant Studies (focusing on trees). He has practiced traditional archery for 40 years and has been crafting primitive wooden bows and arrows for 20.
Tommy earned his undergraduate degree in Forestry and Wildlife Management and his graduate degree in Forestry. He is a certified Wilderness First Responder and a National Archery in the Schools Program instructor. He has earned a Certificate in Native Plants from the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and is a trained facilitator for Project Learning Tree, Project Wild, Growing Up Wild, Georgia’s Native Seasons, and the Leopold Education Project.
On his days off, you probably won’t find him.
is the best teacher, and his role as a mentor is to simply facilitate that process.
A passionate storyteller, Tommy uses the gift of story to inspire, connect, heal, and create joy. He also has some skill with Woodcraft (axcraft and knifecraft) and Wilderness Survival Skills (especially cordage, fire, fishing and hunting), Deep Nature Connection (bird language, natural navigation, stillness, and tracking), and Native Plant Studies (focusing on trees). He has practiced traditional archery for 40 years and has been crafting primitive wooden bows and arrows for 20.
Tommy earned his undergraduate degree in Forestry and Wildlife Management and his graduate degree in Forestry. He is a certified Wilderness First Responder and a National Archery in the Schools Program instructor. He has earned a Certificate in Native Plants from the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and is a trained facilitator for Project Learning Tree, Project Wild, Growing Up Wild, Georgia’s Native Seasons, and the Leopold Education Project.
On his days off, you probably won’t find him.
Jenny DeRevere - Adult Mentor, Youth Mentor
Jenny lives a slow, quiet and earthy lifestyle with her husband Jamie, and two sons. She has always felt most at peace and alive surrounded by the natural world.
She grew up in New England, mostly outside, where as a young child she fell in love with the smells, the sounds, and the beauty of nature, loving how being in the nautral world made her feel. Spending many amazing years exploring led her to having some life changing experiences in the natural world. Working at rafting companies in some far flung places, allowed her to experience living with and in nature as well as packing food and gear on extended raft trips, being utterly blown away by and in awe of all of the immense beauty and wildness of the earth.
Jenny moved to Athens to pursue a passion for gardening and a to 'try out the place.' Where she ended up laying down some flower roots, and has been here 17 years. She attended Wild Intelligence's Year Of The Coyote in 2011 and was awakened to a deeper idea of nature connection, one that included fostering community and "a guiet mind." Wanting more and a deeper understanding, she attended the Year Of The Bear in 2012, deepening her own connection and learning how to support and mentor others along their journey of nature connection.
Jenny is thrilled to be on staff for Wild Intelligence, working with both the children's program and with the adult program. Following her heart and learning so much more everyday, she brings her gifts of listening, song, holding sacred space, nurturance, reverence, and authenticity oh, and cooking great nourishing food. When she is not working with Wild Intelligence he spends her days tending her home fire, her flower garden, her inner landscape, and the home education of her two boys.
She grew up in New England, mostly outside, where as a young child she fell in love with the smells, the sounds, and the beauty of nature, loving how being in the nautral world made her feel. Spending many amazing years exploring led her to having some life changing experiences in the natural world. Working at rafting companies in some far flung places, allowed her to experience living with and in nature as well as packing food and gear on extended raft trips, being utterly blown away by and in awe of all of the immense beauty and wildness of the earth.
Jenny moved to Athens to pursue a passion for gardening and a to 'try out the place.' Where she ended up laying down some flower roots, and has been here 17 years. She attended Wild Intelligence's Year Of The Coyote in 2011 and was awakened to a deeper idea of nature connection, one that included fostering community and "a guiet mind." Wanting more and a deeper understanding, she attended the Year Of The Bear in 2012, deepening her own connection and learning how to support and mentor others along their journey of nature connection.
Jenny is thrilled to be on staff for Wild Intelligence, working with both the children's program and with the adult program. Following her heart and learning so much more everyday, she brings her gifts of listening, song, holding sacred space, nurturance, reverence, and authenticity oh, and cooking great nourishing food. When she is not working with Wild Intelligence he spends her days tending her home fire, her flower garden, her inner landscape, and the home education of her two boys.
Jenn DeMoss - Youth Mentor
Jen never dreamed that her dissertation research would lead to Wild Intelligence, but here she is. Jen is a graduate student at UGA by day, and a Wild Intelligence youth mentor…also by day. In 2012, she completed a summer internship with the WI summer kids program and discovered that spending time exploring nature’s endless mysteries with kids keeps her feeling young. It also leaves her covered with ticks, but it seemed like a fair trade off. After that, she kept coming back for more, enrolling in the Year of the Coyote program in fall 2012, which she completed with Wallace and Ann. She worked as a summer staff member in 2013, and hopes to return as a staff member for years to come!
It’s really all about the trees for Jen. Botany and forest ecology field courses got her outside during her undergraduate years, and she has tried, with varying degrees of success, to never go back indoors. There is a great sense of comfort that comes from spending time with trees, and Jen credits trees for all of her really good ideas. She
hopes to encourage others to experience the profound peace and happiness she has found in her times outdoors, and to enter into the subtle dialogue that is happening all around us in the non-human world. It’s well worth the effort!
It’s really all about the trees for Jen. Botany and forest ecology field courses got her outside during her undergraduate years, and she has tried, with varying degrees of success, to never go back indoors. There is a great sense of comfort that comes from spending time with trees, and Jen credits trees for all of her really good ideas. She
hopes to encourage others to experience the profound peace and happiness she has found in her times outdoors, and to enter into the subtle dialogue that is happening all around us in the non-human world. It’s well worth the effort!
Bernard Cook - Youth Mentor
Bernard grew up near Athens in Madison County, and from the very beginning spent as much time outside as possible, fantasizing about one day living wild in the forest. Not much has changed since then. He has a passion for herbal medicine, wild food, earth skills, and everything handmade. Feeling a sense of wonder and belonging with Mother Earth, he is always looking to share this connection with others in the hopes that it would be as life and love-giving for them as for himself. He is currently apprenticing in the Grey Fox program, and is a student in the Year of the Coyote program.
Jason Hubbard - Youth Mentor
Jason Hubbard (HuBb) lives at the HubbShack just outside of Athens with his wife and two children. When he is not exploring nature (Inner as well as outer) he is most likely growing food or making art - sometimes making food and growing art. Hubb is an artist of no real discipline. He is a permaculture nerd and visionary gardener - which is a long way of saying he is an ever evolving art project.
Evan McGown - Founder
A native of Athens, Evan left home at the age of 18 to seek mentoring and find and develop his gifts. In 2009, Evan returned and founded the Institute for Wild Intelligence, with the intention to catalyze a movement in Athens and hand it off to local committed stakeholders. He is grateful and humbled that it's happening!
After studying at Tom Brown's Tracker School in 2001, Evan undertook a year-long intensive program at Wilderness Awareness School in Western Washington, studying with Jon Young and many others. He then began to work as a lead mentor for Wilderness Awareness School, eventually becoming Adult Programs Director and Summer Camp Director. Always led by a passion for how people learn, Evan eventually became lead writer for the school's "textbook" in its innovative mentoring approach. Coyote's Guide to Connecting With Nature is now a best-selling guide for camps and nature-based programs across North America and Europe. He is also a contributor to a recent book on arts-based youth and adult empowerment called Catch The Fire.
Having stepped back from the center of Wild Intelligence programming and instead supporting staff from behind, Evan is now pursuing a MA in Counseling Psychology with Pacifica Graduate Institute, commuting to California once weekend a month. Evan loves to play music of all kinds, study dreams and psychology, cook good food and have fun with friends.
After studying at Tom Brown's Tracker School in 2001, Evan undertook a year-long intensive program at Wilderness Awareness School in Western Washington, studying with Jon Young and many others. He then began to work as a lead mentor for Wilderness Awareness School, eventually becoming Adult Programs Director and Summer Camp Director. Always led by a passion for how people learn, Evan eventually became lead writer for the school's "textbook" in its innovative mentoring approach. Coyote's Guide to Connecting With Nature is now a best-selling guide for camps and nature-based programs across North America and Europe. He is also a contributor to a recent book on arts-based youth and adult empowerment called Catch The Fire.
Having stepped back from the center of Wild Intelligence programming and instead supporting staff from behind, Evan is now pursuing a MA in Counseling Psychology with Pacifica Graduate Institute, commuting to California once weekend a month. Evan loves to play music of all kinds, study dreams and psychology, cook good food and have fun with friends.