FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 20, 2010

Contact: Aparna Rajagopal-Durbin
(307) 335-2328
aparna_durbin@nols.edu

Two Marin County Residents Elected to the National Outdoor Leadership School’s Board of Trustees

Lander, WY. Mill Valley resident Jay Jacobs and Kentfield resident Michelle Sarti have been elected to join the Board of Trustees of the prestigious National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), the world’s leader in wilderness education.

Since 1995, Jay Jacobs has worked for Summer Search, a national youth leadership program serving 1,200 underprivileged high school students and 3,000 alumni in seven cities throughout the United States. After founding Summer Search Boston, Jacobs moved to the Bay Area to serve as CEO of the organization, where he oversaw the launch of new Summer Search programs in New York, Seattle, Silicon Valley, and Philadelphia. In addition to his work with Summer Search, Jacobs serves on the boards of the Bothin Foundation, the Foundation for Teaching Economics, and Marin Country Day School. Jacobs is a three-time NOLS graduate, having taken courses in the Rockies and Alaska, and is a former instructor for NOLS. He currently lives in Mill Valley with his wife, Liz, and sons, Oliver and Thayer. “Having worked for over 15 years with organizations like NOLS and underprivileged students, Jay will bring a unique perspective to the NOLS Board,” says NOLS Executive Director John Gans. “With Jay’s talents, we hope to refine NOLS’ outreach efforts to bring more diversity to the NOLS student and instructor pool.”

A graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the University of San Francisco Law School, Michelle Sarti has spent over a decade as a criminal trial lawyer and subsequently served as in-house counsel for Century Theatres. Sarti is currently working towards a second career as a counseling psychologist, while keeping busy as a full-time mom to her three children, Edward, Roan, and Eve. She serves as a chair on the Mt. Tamalpais School Raffle Committee, as well as a volunteer in her daughter’s classroom. In 2008, she completed the San Francisco Half Marathon and presently enjoys swimming with the North Bay Aquatics Masters Program. Sarti took NOLS’ 1997 Rock Climbing Course, and more recently attended a NOLS Brooks Range Backpacking course in Alaska. “After working with NOLS for four years as an Advisory Council member, we are thrilled Michelle is joining the Board,” said Gans. “She has always brought a fresh perspective and will continue to help the school find creative solutions as we move forward.”

About NOLS:

Founded in 1965 by legendary mountaineer Paul Petzoldt, NOLS is the leader in wilderness education, providing awe-inspiring, transformative experiences to nearly 14,000 students each year. These students, ages 14 to 70, learn in the wildest and most remote classrooms worldwide—from the Amazon rain forest to rugged peaks in the Himalaya to Alaskan glaciers and Arctic tundra. Graduates are active leaders with lifelong environmental ethics and outdoor skills. NOLS also offers customized courses through NOLS Professional Training, and the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS is the leading teacher of wilderness medicine worldwide. For more information, call (800) 710-NOLS (6657) or visit www.nols.edu.

# # #