Red Canoe Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization and was founded in 2015 as Friends of Wabun. Each of the founding board members experienced life-changing wilderness travel as teens. Those board members with participating children witnessed the qualities of the wilderness work on them too. Convinced of the profound value of these experiences, they came together to create a fund that would enable more young people access to such programs. A close connection with Camp Wabun remains vital, and the support of that community has been a springboard to our growth which has helped us engage with other essential programs. While the name changed to Red Canoe Foundation in 2019, the core mission of connecting youth with transformative wilderness expeditions is unchanged and enduring.
Gail Coleman brings six years of experience as a classroom teacher and nearly twenty years as a senior administrator in not-for-profit health care organizations. She also brings a belief in the transformative power of time spent in the wilderness based on her own backpacking and canoeing experiences. She feels privileged to merge that passion with her leadership and executive skills to focus on positive youth development and help make it possible for more young people to step out of their comfort zone and into the woods. To reach Gail either email her at gcoleman@redcanoefoundation.org or phone 608-469-4752
Libby’s experiences canoe tripping as a teenager laid the groundwork for her life. The teamwork, the time for introspection, and the mental and physical strengths she developed became the skills and values she brought to career and family. A graduate of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Libby worked professionally in forest ecology and land use policy in Maine. There she and her husband hiked and camped with their three children. But it was letting them go on their own wilderness expeditions and witnessing the profoundly positive effects that propelled Libby to strive to connect more young people with wilderness.