Changemakers and Trailblazers: Establishing the Center for Veterans Employment (CVEO)

Advancing the Outdoor Professional

In this episode, Jeannette Stawski interviews Aaron Leonard about the Center for Veterans Employment in the Outdoors (CVEO). Aaron shares his background in the outdoor adventure and experiential education field and how he ended up working with Guardian Revival, an organization focused on the health and wellbeing of veterans and first responders. He explains that CVEO aims to connect service members transitioning out of the military with opportunities to work in the outdoor field or pursue education and certifications related to outdoor employment. The conversation also covers the need for purposeful recruiting of veterans in the outdoor industry and the current status of CVEO, including plans to build a website and seek funding.

Meet Aaron

Aaron Leonard, a retired U.S. Army officer with over 35 years of small team and organizational leadership experience, is at the forefront of developing therapeutic outdoor adventure programs for the well-being of our Guardians—military service members, veterans, and first responders. As the Program Executive Director with Another Summit at Guardian Revival, Aaron leads a dedicated team supporting Guardians in New York's Hudson Valley. He is also the founder and chair of the New York Outdoor Rx Coalition, representing nearly 160 New York-based organizations. Aaron is a leading expert in nature-based therapeutic outdoor adventures, dedicating his time and energy to helping others. He holds graduate degrees in Communications from Park University and Outdoor Education and Leadership from Prescott College. His most recent research article, "Barriers For Veterans Accessing Outdoor Programming: An Examination of Website Representation,” was published in January 2024 in the Journal of Experiential Education.

Resources

• Center for Veteran Careers in the Outdoors (CVEO) [https://veteranoutdoorjobs.org/]