Tom Vogl
For the last decade, I’ve had the honor of serving our Mountaineers community and helping advance our mission. At the heart of what inspires me about The Mountaineers is our vision to Adventure with Purpose. Every day, we give people of all ages and walks of life the opportunity to have transformative outdoor experiences.
Adventure is what usually comes to mind when people think of The Mountaineers. As outdoor educators, we share our knowledge on how to be safe, responsible outdoor recreationists, and empower others to be advocates for the natural world. But it’s the Purpose side of our mission that inspires me daily.
When people find out I work for The Mountaineers, they often assume I’m out climbing, hiking, and skiing with people all the time. While much of my free time is spent outdoors with friends and family, and as a Mountaineers volunteer, most of my day job is spent indoors handling administrative priorities – and it’s these priorities that make me feel like we’re making a meaningful difference for our community.
One example of a Purpose-driven, critically important administrative component of my role is serving on our Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Prevention (SHSAP) Committee. Chartered by the Board about two years ago, the SHSAP Committee fosters an organizational culture that prioritizes keeping people both physically and emotionally safe. This work is the bedrock of establishing an inclusive and welcoming environment, and an essential component of ensuring The Mountaineers delivers strong learning outcomes and outdoor experiences where all participants feel belonging.
The SHSAP Committee meets monthly and has been making steady progress in important areas, such as leader support and development and org-wide policy improvements. After months of work to improve our key behavior policies – making them more comprehensive and setting clearer expectations for members and leaders alike – the SHSAP Committee presented an updated, Board-approved Mountaineers Code of Ethics and Behavior Standards Policy earlier this year. On the training front, two new bystander courses were added to our Leadership Development Series: Bystander Intervention Tools for Outdoor Trips and Activities, and Preventing Harassment and Abuse in Outdoor Communities. These milestones in leader training and organizational safety are what make the Adventure part of our vision possible.
Providing courses and robust policies that improve equity and belonging are tangible ways The Mountaineers is investing in the emotional safety of our community and advancing our vision to Adventure with Purpose. Ongoing updates about the SHSAP Committee, leadership development for our volunteers, and helpful leader tools can be found on the Leader Resources page on our website. As we head into spring and summer, I hope you’ll seek out opportunities to learn more about this work and how you can incorporate these resources into your Mountaineers programs.
This article originally appeared in our 2026: Issue 2 of Mountaineer magazine. To view the original article in magazine form and read more stories from our publication, visit our magazine archive.
