About Adventure Associates

History

In 1991, with a common vision of providing high quality programs focused on increasing team effectiveness, Don Taylor, Ed Tilley and Rebecca Tilley founded Adventure Associates. The combination of Ed and Rebecca's first-hand business experience and Don's educational background made for a strong management team.

The blending of adventure activities and interactive experiences with training topics, delineates Adventure Associates brand of corporate training.

Mission

Adventure Associates produces positive results for individuals and organizations through teambuilding programs that develop effective leadership and encourage breakthroughs in personal and professional relationships.

Company Culture

The company culture embodies the concepts taught in the programs and workshops. Effective teamwork and clear communication significantly impact daily interactions. The three owners spend quite a bit of time discussing both the day to day operational details of the company while also enjoying planning for the future. They find that a weekend snowboarding trip or an afternoon mountain bike ride is their preferred mode for informal meetings.

Weekly staff meetings combined with an annual retreat help the whole team communicate often and with purpose. A strong emphasis on building solid systems and staff infrastructure has enabled the Adventure Associates' staff to work at a high level of effectiveness. Adventure Associates' office environment has changed as the company has grown. From using a home/office in the early years to the current 5000 square foot building, the company has accommodated the growing core staff and large number of workshops.

Our open floorplan has worked well to keep dialogue and collaboration an integral part of the program design process. The staff's favorite meeting space is an outdoor picnic table, and lunchtime finds them on nearby walking trails, tennis courts and scooter paths.

The Associates

The core staff is the key to Adventure Associates' success. These associates, some of whom have been with the company since its inception, have built the company's professional and personable reputation. The diverse mix of skills and knowledge among the core staff of facilitators, workshop designers and logistics staff has allowed Adventure Associates to answer client needs and design programs using a team approach.

Some facilitators have strong backgrounds in organizational development, psychology or leadership training, while others have built their skills through outdoor leadership and experiential group process. The critical element that this team embraces is a true commitment to program success, quality customer service and high ethical standards.

The Directors

• Don Taylor combines a doctorate in counseling with his outdoor adventure interests to pioneer outdoor recreation leadership training and professional growth programs for Adventure Associates. Don has been a professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies at San Francisco State University since 1979, chairing the department for the past six years. He has over 20 years of experience using experiential learning concepts to enhance the organizational effectiveness of corporate and academic groups.
• Rebecca Tilley is a highly skilled facilitator who brings a myriad of corporate training experiences to her role as a training specialist. Her background in teacher training and staff development, certifications in Group Facilitation, and her experience as a presenter of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator program combine with years of leadership experience in outdoor and adventure leadership training.
• Ed Tilley has served as President and lead facilitator for Adventure Associates since its inception in 1991. An experienced ropes course leader and a seasoned entrepreneur, Ed has worked with interpersonal group process and organizational development in a variety of settings and has been guiding groups in the outdoors for nearly two decades.