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www.chicagoadventuretherapy.orgavailable |
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As a child, whenever Andrea's family went anywhere even slightly close to water, her mother would take a spare set of clothes - because Andrea would end up IN the water. The outdoors had a huge impact on her, impacting who she is as a human being. Partly because of this, in 2006, by then a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Andrea founded Chicago Adventure Therapy (CAT) and has been the director since. CAT works with Chicago youth who wouldn't usually get the chance to get outdoors, using outdoor sports to build life skills. Andrea puts a strong emphasis on leadership and community building. In addition, she has been teaching paddlesports and leading adventure travel trips since 1998. In 2015 she became the 7th North American woman to earn the 5 Star Sea Leader Award, and in 2016 became the second American to earn the UKCC Level 3 Coach Award. In 2019 she took a sabbatical from CAT and paddled the American West Coast from the northwest tip of Washington to San Diego Bay. As a coach and a clinician, Andrea believes that paddling, learning, and growing should be fun, challenging, accessible and engaging. She works to individualize her delivery in an attempt to provide everyone with a challenge and an opportunity to learn in a way that is effective for them. |