by Terry Rayno
Ed Thorney ’77 and Jill Gibbons at the top of Mt. Brace, Taconic State Forest (N.Y).
Edward Thorney ’77 has spent his life helping others bring about positive changes in their lives.
Over the last 27 years, he has trained more than 30,000 people—children, business leaders, even United Nations diplomats. He has gained a reputation as a leader in what is often called the “human potential” movement by integrating various disciplines into his work.
He began his path as an educator at Plymouth State, where he received his degree in biology. After graduating, he moved to the northwest corner of Connecticut. From his home in Lakeville, Conn., he says, “I wanted to live someplace where it was beautiful, but also someplace where I could make a living.”
In the summer of 2003, Thorney and his wife, Jill Gibbons, created a new kind of experiential camp for kids, combining outdoor adventure training with fine arts, technology and community service. This integration results in a fun, dynamic approach to developing a greater sense of self, an appreciation of the natural environment and a place in the community.
Included in the outdoor training is caving, rock climbing, Tyrolean Traverses, orienteering, canoeing, rafting, high- and low-ropes courses and team-building exercises. The arts curriculum features weaving Adirondack backpacks, working with clay and creating animal totems, painting a totem pole and studying photography.
To incorporate technology in the mix, the campers learn to use video cameras. They visit elders in the community to interview them about what it was like when they were growing up, then turn their interviews into films.
“It’s remarkable,” says Thorney. “We often have older people sitting in their homes with few people to talk with, and young people who don’t know much about their own community. … It’s a great way to build strong relationships in the community and to record their legacy.”
Thorney grew up in northwestern New Jersey where he spent as much time as he could in the woods. When it came time to attend college, “I fell in love with the Plymouth area and the environment at the school. One of the things I really liked about Plymouth was that teachers took us out of the classroom and gave us a chance to observe. After all, we had Langdon Park right next door,” he recalls.
His love of the outdoors led him to a career as a wilderness educator. In Connecticut, he first taught science at a regional high school and became interested in wilderness and adventure education. He then became a therapeutic instructor for the state’s Wilderness School for the Department of Family Services.
He received an M.S. in management from Antioch New England Graduate School and a certificate in wilderness leadership from the Wilderness Education Association. He now runs two businesses from his home. One is the Institute for Wilderness and Community, “a school committed to the development of community through volunteer service.” The Institute provides opportunities for physical, emotional and spiritual growth through a series of leadership training, intergenerational social events and group experiences.
“The curriculum integrates three vital components: wilderness/adventure education, rites-of-passage and gestalt counseling, a holistic approach to group and individual development that provides a foundation for choice, problem solving and conflict management,” he says.
The Institute was recently asked to oversee the Jack and Martha Briscoe Experiential Education Center. The Briscoes were environmentalists and political and social activists in northwestern Connecticut. The center will focus on outdoor education, fine arts, technology and community.
Above & Beyond International, LLC is a corporate leadership training company that provides executive meeting facilitation, change management, strategic planning, leadership and team development. Some clients include Ingersoll-Rand, American Skandia, United Technologies, Otis Elevator, Pratt & Whitney, Cowles Business Media, Bankers Trust, Nabisco and General Dynamics Defense Systems.
Thorney has worked with United Nations diplomats as adjunct faculty and advisor to the Institute of World Affairs, where he designed a multinational youth development program for Eastern Europe. He has also been an assistant team leader for Flying Doctors of America in Guatemala. In addition to teaching at both the high school and college levels, Thorney has advised and worked with the National Audubon Society and the Wilderness Education Association.
For him though, the most important thing he can do is instill in people a feeling of “connectedness.”
“We need to practice how to withhold judgment and really listen to what someone is saying,” Thorney says. “We do not need, necessarily, to be agreed with. We do need, however, to be heard and understood. We need to be capable of holding multiple perspectives if we are really going to understand each other. I like to say there are as many truths as there are people to share them.”
