Season 9 Episode 2
How can nature impact one's leadership capabilities?
November 24, 2026
In today's episode of Break Away, Bryan Tower sits down with Jeannette Stawski, author of 'The Outdoor Leader' and Senior Assistant Director of Adventure Leadership and Sustainability at the University. The conversation is focused on both the destructive and healing power of nature and how both may be needed to be our best possible selves.
Competencies
Episode Resources
Reflection Questions:
- When was the last time you took a moment outside to appreciate the terror and beauty around you?
- If you could make it outdoors every day, what would your choice of activity be? Is there anyone you can ask right now to schedule that for this next week?
Jeannette Stawski
Jeannette Stawski is the author of, “The Outdoor Leader” released by Mountaineers in 2024 and owner of leadership development company Leading Valiantly. She currently serves as the Senior Assistant Director of Adventure Leadership and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. Jeannette served for 14 years as the executive director for the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE). She is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) and a Certified Executive Coach. She was the director of Outdoor Adventures at the University of Michigan for eleven years and has worked as a professional outdoor guide, a wilderness medicine instructor, and NOLS instructor. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband and their two children.
Bryan Tower
Producer/Editor of the Break Away Podcast, Bryan Tower is a student of Film, Television, and Media at the University of Michigan. He’s excited to be a part of this incredible podcast and to learn more about leadership with every episode he does. He has a lot to learn and loves to have his incorrect conceptions corrected and recorded in real time.