Jack Carey
Jack Carey is the founder of Live Oak Wilderness Camp. Jack spent much of his early years outdoors: camping, backpacking, and hiking. His passion for the outdoors took him on an academic scholarship to the University of Minnesota where he graduated with a B.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (summa cum laude). He spent summers working for the US Forest Service and the Environmental Law and Policy Center, but his plans to work in conservation management changed as a senior when he joined Teach For America and began teaching 5th grade in the South Bronx from 2004 to 2006. He has spent most of the last decade years working for Teach For America and its global affiliate, Teach For All.

opportunity/Challenge

New Orleans is a city full of outstanding kids who attend different public, private, parochial, and independent school systems, but opportunities are lacking for them to connect, learn, and grow together. There’s an opportunity to reframe summer camp as not only a fun experience, but one that develops leadership, self- awareness, empathy, and service—all while bringing together diverse cohorts of high-performing 10, 11, and 12 year-old students from across the city.

impaCt

• Since the Accelerator Program, 110 campers from 37 public and private schools enrolled in a summer camp.
• The venture has created 30 part-time jobs for New Orleans residents.