Joe Hartles

Joe's passion for helping students with challenging behaviors can be traced back to his final years in high school when he regularly volunteered to assist his school's adventure education program that focussed on younger students who struggled in a typical school environment. He grew up in Redditch, England and worked all over the UK facilitating experiential educational opportunities and adventure programming for teenagers and young adults.

In 2007, Joe moved to North Carolina to work as a wilderness counselor. This is where he honed his skills in behavior management and verbal de-escalation, while getting the opportunity to explore and adventure across WNC and the South East. Those experiences prepared him to create fun and unique outdoor opportunities for students at FernLeaf like wood splitting club, fishing club and canoeing.

Joe is a graduate of St. Martin’s College, where he graduated with a BSc. in Outdoor Studies (Hons). When he is not busy supporting students at FernLeaf he can be found fishing, exploring, camping across WNC or planning his next big adventure with his family.