Tim Brown has been the President/CEO at Tracy Aviary since 2005. While overseeing a $35M transformation of the downtown Salt Lake City campus, Tim has paid particular attention to preserving a landscape and atmosphere described by many as being an oasis in the middle of the city. In 2020 Tracy Aviary opened the first phase of a second campus, The Jordan River Nature Center, in South Salt Lake and adjacent to the Jordan River. Providing opportunities for people to connect with nature is a lifelong passion for Tim whether at Tracy Aviary, the Jordan River Nature Center, on a river, or up a mountain. Tim received a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Vermont and a M.A. from Antioch University - Seattle in Community and Environment. He splits time between Salt Lake and Liberty, Utah.

Dorothy (Dart) Schmalz is Chair & Associate Professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism at the University of Utah. She believes in the importance of leisure and recreation for physical and mental health. She teaches courses in the philosophy of leisure, serving diverse populations, social psychology of human behavior, and leads workshops for community members, faculty, staff, and healthcare providers on the importance of leisure for balance and wellbeing.

Joanna Bettmann Schaefer is a Professor at the University of Utah College of Social Work and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She received her B.A. with honors from Dartmouth College in 1993, her MSW from the University of Utah in 1999, and her Ph.D from Smith College School for Social Work in 2005. Dr. Schaefer has received numerous honors, including the 2023 Betty van der Smitten Distinguished Researcher Award from the Association for Experiential Education, the Council on Social Work Education’s Summer Scholarship for Harvard Institutes of Higher Education, the Dean’s Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Psychoanalytic Psychodynamic Research Society Award. She serves as clinical faculty in the University of Utah department of Psychiatry. She worked as a field staff, therapist, director, and researcher in wilderness therapy and residential treatment settings for more than 20 years. She also worked as a clinical social worker in community mental health agencies, the University of Utah Counseling Center, and private practice. She served as a social worker for the American Red Cross disaster response to Hurricane Katrina in Utah and Mississippi. Dr. Schaefer’s research focuses on nature’s impact on mental health, wilderness therapy, residential treatment, and attachment. She is the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Experiential Education.