OUTWARD BOUND IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL
Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School launched Outward Bound’s first- ever campus in Washington, DC in 2020. Since then we have served over 6,000 students and educators, and 27 community partners across the district, annually. As a leader in social emotional skill building programs, CBOBS utilizes the power of the outdoors along with our immersive curriculum to build lasting impact for students and educators.
Washington, DC students and educators deserve the change to experience transformative Outward Bound programming within the natural settings of their own city. In partnership with THEARC, we look forward to establishing a physical campus and ropes course right in the heart of Ward 8. This new campus will also allow us to build critical access to our programming to improve social emotional learning across DC classrooms, whether that’s through our in-classroom facilitation, one-day teambuilding, or five-day wilderness expeditions. We’ve been perfecting our programs for over 30 years, and are proud to be able to provide end-to-end support for the partner schools we work with to ensure we can address the needs of students, educators, school administrators, and the communities that surround them.
BY THE NUMBERS
Read our DC Case for Support
6,000
DC STUDENTS SERVED SINCE 2020
2,227
2024 DC OUTWARD BOUND PARTICIPANTS
27
2024 DC COMMUNITY PARTNERS
ACROSS ALL 8 WARDS
OUR PROGRAMS
Watch our Insight one-day youth programs in action.
SPOTLIGHTING OUR DC ALUMNI
Sojourner Truth School Educator, Coach Ty, shares the unique relationship between educators and students that forms through Outward Bound programs.
Archbishop Carroll H.S. students walk you through their Outward Bound expedition along with their classmates.
IN THE KNOW: CBOBS IN WASHINGTON, DC
- An Innovative New Pay Model For Outdoors Instructors
- An Exciting Start to 2025 as Six New Members Join Our Board
- Welcoming New Board Leadership in 2025
- Community Circle: Deloitte Impact Day comes to Outward Bound
- Community Circle: We All Float On
- Data on the Horizon
MEET THE DC TEAM
While our entire staff at Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School is dedicated to our DC Campus,
our growing cohort of DC-based crewmates are the face of Outward Bound in Washington.
ASHLEY BERTOLINI
Ashley is a self-proclaimed “camp kid”. Growing up in Western New York, she spent all of her free time outside exploring, camping, hiking, swimming and horseback riding. When she wasn’t outdoors, she spent her time planning her next adventures. She loved sharing her curiosity and passion for the outdoors with anyone who would listen. This led her to study social studies education at SUNY Fredonia. After college, she worked as a youth department coordinator before expanding her love of experiential learning into the international realm. Ashley obtained her masters in International Education from New York University where she worked on projects related to education in emergencies. To continue thinking about diverse ways to view education and learning, she joined the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. She spent her two years learning alongside her students while incorporating nature as a classroom into her lessons. After returning from West Africa, Ashley joined the gap year field working for the New Zealand based company, Pacific Discovery. She facilitated intentional and ethical travel with groups of students through Central America and South East Asia. Ashley worked with students on cross-cultural competency, sustainable travel, personal growth, and developing an inclusive group culture. When she is not sharing her excitement about experiential education, you can find Ashley reading, frequenting cozy cafes, or learning a new hobby like latte art.
LISA KIRCH
Lisa was born in Chicago, IL, and moved to the DMV to pursue a graduate degree in English Literature. She loves the outdoors, having grown up near the shores of Lake Michigan, and was grateful to land in a region with so many opportunities to camp and hike. She taught college writing while earning her doctorate, and towards the end of her degree, had the good fortune to try her hand at grant writing. For the past nine years, she has enjoyed a career in fundraising at a community-based nonprofit that serves children and families. She also has a husband and two children who love to climb. With a passion for raising money and a belief in the power of experiential education, she is thrilled to lend her skills to CBOBS! During her spare time, Lisa can be found reading, wandering through Rock Creek Park, singing around the house, and eating chocolate.
SHEY LAMBERT
A native of Knoxville, TN, Shey grew up exploring the lush landscapes of the southern Appalachian Mountains and the vibrant trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was through his own experiences of exploration in the wilderness of these lands that broadened his love for the outdoors and guided his understanding of how one’s own immersive experience in nature can create a backdrop for challenge and discovery within one’s own self. After failing to graduate high school, Shey found guidance through participation and involvement in asset based, outdoor and experiential education programming much like what we offer here at Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School. These experiences fostered and instilled confidence, adaptability, and determination within himself and equipped him with the certitude that he was capable of confronting and overcoming any challenges or obstacles that life may throw his way. As of today, Shey has become the first generation in his family to have obtained a college degree. He has earned an Associate of Arts in Outdoor Leadership Education and Recreation from San Juan College, a Bachelor of Arts in Adventure Education from Prescott College, and a Master of Science in Recreation Management from Southern Illinois University. Shey knows the incredible impact an expedition or experience with Outward Bound can have on a person’s life and he wants to make certain all students in the DC area have accessibility to these opportunities through the Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School.
Voices of DC | Endorsing Outward Bound
Hear from the likes of Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, as well as Congressman (and Outward Bound Alum) Don Beyer as they share their excitement for our new venture into Washington DC. We’re honored to have these distinguished individuals take the time to voice their support for our future work within the DC Education System.
GET INVOLVED
We’re looking for people who want to join us in our mission to bring Character Education programs to as many students in the DMV as we can. Refer us to your child’s school, donate in any amount to help us provide scholarship resources, become part of our Advisory Committee, or bring your organization to us for to take part in our professional team-building.