Paola Vita is the Chief Advancement Officer for NYC Outward Bound Schools, where she leads the organization’s fundraising and communications efforts. She has an extensive background in education, counseling, and youth development, and was on the Harvard Graduate School of Education team that designed the Expeditionary Learning school model, which has been adopted by over 160 schools across the nation, including those within NYC Outward Bound Schools’ network of public schools. In 2012, Vita was awarded Outward Bound USA’s highest staff achievement award, the Joshua Miner Award, for her 20+ years of service to the organization and for modeling the values and principles of Outward Bound, including the belief that all of us, regardless of background or circumstance, are capable of far more than we realize. She graduated from Brown University and received a M.Ed. in counseling and education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.