12.24.08 - The Women's Wilderness Institute Receives Prestigious Accreditation

Press Release
What AEE Accreditation Means for TWWI Participants and Supporters

The Women's Wilderness Institute Receives Prestigious Accreditation from the Association for Experiential EducationHonor signals commitment to quality, safety, excellence and professionalism

For Immediate Release - December 24, 2008

(Boulder, Colorado) - After more than 12 months of in-depth internal and external assessment and review, The Women's Wilderness Institute has been granted Accredited Status by the Accreditation Council of the Association for Experiential Education (AEE). This status will be valid through November 5, 2011, three years from the date of accreditation.

Attaining accredited status through the AEE Accreditation Program is solid evidence of an organization's commitment to quality and safety, belief in professional standards, and allocation of resources toward continued excellence and improvement. Programs that achieve AEE Accredited Status can be confident that they meet or exceed recognized industry standards.

The Women's Wilderness Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the courage, confidence and leadership skills of girls and women through the challenge and support of wilderness and community-based programs. Since 1998, The Women's Wilderness Institute has run outdoor, experiential education courses designed specifically to meet the needs and learning styles of teenage girls and adult women. Course offerings include backpacking, rock climbing, mountain biking, creative and expressive arts, canoeing, fly fishing and winter sports skills. The Institute also offers Wilderness Recovery Retreats for women survivors of cancer and domestic violence/sexual trauma. Need-based financial aid is available for these retreats and all Girls' Wilderness and Community courses.

"We're excited to add the Women's Wilderness Institute to our growing list of accredited programs," said Shawn Tierney, AEE accreditation manager. "The integrity of their programs and the service they provide is exceptional. Knowing that The Women's Wilderness Institute meets the highest standards in the field of adventure education should give tremendous confidence to their clientele, staff and supporters."

The Association for Experiential Education (AEE) is a 501(c)(03) professional membership association incorporated in the State of Colorado. The mission of the AEE is to develop and promote experiential education. The association is committed to supporting professional development, theoretical advancement, and evaluation of experiential education worldwide.

While AEE was founded in the mid-1970s, its accreditation arm came into being in the early 1990s, in response to the experiential adventure program boom of the 1980s. By 1990, the need for standards of program quality, professional behavior, and appropriate risk management became imperative, so in 1994 AEE responded to that need by developing the most comprehensive standards for common practices in the industry, thus becoming the nation's first recognized accreditation process focusing on experiential adventure programming. Since then, the AEE Accreditation Program's standards-based evaluation process by objective, independent reviewers has become the industry-accepted level of professional evaluation for experiential adventure programs.

Nine New Courses in 2009The Women's Wilderness Institute 2009 schedule offers over 60 different courses for girls age 8-18 and adult women. Dowlnoad the 2009 course catalog.

For more information about The Women's Wilderness Institute contact:Wendy Gruenberg Wray, Marketing Director
303.938.9191 or email wendy@womenswilderness.org

AEE Program contact:Shawn Tierney, Accreditation Manager
303-440-8844 x 16 or email accreditation@aee.org.
For more information about AEE, visit aae.org

What AEE Accreditation Means for TWWI Participants and Supporters

Confidence in Program QualityAs explained by the Association for Experiential Education, "Attaining accredited status through the AEE Accreditation Program is evidence of an organization's commitment to quality, belief in professional standards, and allocation of resources towards continuous improvement. Programs that have gone through the AEE Accreditation process have distinguished themselves in the growing field of experiential education. At the time of the accreditation review, programs must document and display compliance with the standards for adventure programs in experiential education."

For Participants Our staff is dedicated to providing you with an exceptional outdoor experience. You will learn from highly skilled women, who will create a supportive learning environment that prioritizes your education and well-being. You can be assured that The Women's Wilderness Institute uses risk management procedures and practices that are considered "best practices" in the field of wilderness programming.

For ParentsYou can be confident that your daughter's safety and our educational methodology adhere to the highest industry standards. Every aspect of our programming has been reviewed, approved and is held accountable by the AEE.

For DonorsThe Women's Wilderness Institute is dedicated to excellence in all aspects of programming and willing to open up our policies and to outside review and accountability. Accreditation provides you with more information about the integrity and excellence of our programming, policies, staff development and infrastructure. For information about ways you can support the Institute, visit our Supporters and Donate Now pages.

Peer OrganizationsTo read about other AEE accredited organizations, visit aae.org.