EXPOSE
NOLS’ Transformation: Embracing Change By Anne McGowan Advancement Communications Coordinator
The NOLS mission is at the base of the school’s Transformation Pyramid.
16 | THE LEADER
T
he world, and practically everything in it, changed dramatically in the last few years. NOLS is no exception. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic altered virtually everything at the school, from the way expedition and wilderness medicine courses are now taught, to the protocols that students, instructors, and staff are required to follow, and to the way our much-reduced staff show up at the office—or from home. No one anticipated the magnitude of change. A schoolwide shutdown for months, a massive reduction of staff—these were needed and difficult responses to a dire situation, made with the safety of students, staff, and the viability of the school their paramount goals. While many organizations might hunker down and retreat in times of difficulty, NOLS leadership views this as an opportunity to consider how we might rebuild into a new form to more strongly enable our educational mission. That opportunity is, in part, the genesis of our NOLS Transformation efforts.
