Introducing the VOS staff team

Jeff “Willy” Willis, Owner & Founder of VOS

Since 1991, I have developed and led camps and expeditions throughout Canada, Japan, Germany, Colombia, Ecuador, Yukon, Peru, Italy and the Arctic. My love of outdoor experiential education, years of experience in youth and family work, and passion for environmental education and social justice led me to create Vancouver Outdoor School.

When I became a dad, I realized my kids did not have access to climate change education at school and/or summer camp, so I created the World Bound climate change expedition series and built climate education in our Fieldschool program as a foundational principle alongside outdoor education and leadership training.

I am also the founder and owner of Fireside Adventures where Barnsy, myself, and many of the VOS team members create life & social skill-building outdoor experiences for children and youth during the school year.

Liam “Barnsy” Barnes, Director of VOS

Lead Fieldschool Instructor and Director of Fieldschool

I started at Fireside as a junior instructor. Since then, I’ve led many epic adventures spanning BC, Yukon and Ecuador. As Director, I helped build Fireside’s World Bound and Vancouver Outdoor School’s Fieldschool from the ground up including Fieldschool Extension. I also created our Parkour & Filmmaking curriculum, which we’ve shared with hundreds of kids in order to help them develop physical literacy and risk management skills.

My mission is to co-create the punk rock or electric guitar of education - we need something fast, furious, out-of-the-box and real to help us stand against modern challenges.

Ethan Barnes, Coordinator of VOS

I joined the team as a writer but found myself pulled into the world of outdoor experiential education. I now work for Vancouver Outdoor School as a 1:1 mentor and support staff for Fieldschool. In the summer, I am a camp coordinator and staff with Fireside. I hold a Master’s of Linguistics from Lancaster University, a BA in Literature and Language from UBC, and I’m currently completing a Master’s of Counselling where I plan to apply the out-of-the-box wisdom I’ve learned from Fieldschool.

Katie Wallace, B.Ed. (Environmental Education Specialization)

My passion for outdoor education began at summer camp; I fell in love with the chaos of canoe trips, the ridiculous inside jokes, and weirdly deep conversations with people I just met. As someone who grew up neurodiverse, these moments were more than just memories- they taught me confidence, resilience, and connection in a way I had never felt in the classroom. These days, I tend to live just outside of my comfort zone, whether that’s dipping in frozen lakes, singing for crowds, or flipping upside-down to top out my latest climbing project.

Through my undergraduate studies in Psychology, along with my experience supporting youth in both clinical and educational settings, I’ve learned that meaningful growth happens when we challenge ourselves to engage with new environments and perspectives. In turn, I am committed to creating spaces where people feel safe not only to embrace who they are, but to explore who they can become. 

Certifications: Advanced Wilderness First Aid (40h), CPR Level C, CPI Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Training, B.A. (Psychology Major, English Literature and Creative Writing Minor), B.Ed. (Environmental Education Specialization)

Daniel “Dani” Mikolela, BTT & Fieldschool Instructor

As a young, Kenyan boy immigrating to a first world country, my life was changed forever by my first Fireside Adventures expedition. As I got older, after participating in numerous expeditions, I decided I wanted to pay those life-changing experiences forwards by becoming a Fieldschool and BTT instructor with VOS, as well as a camp instructor with Fireside Adventures in the summer.

Since then, I’ve worked with multiple kids in our Between-The-Trees program and been a supporting instructor with Fieldschool. I believe in this community’s transformative ability to improve kid’s self-belief. The reason for this belief is simple: I’ve seen it happen. Over my year in working with VOS I have seen so many kids go from anxious and obsessed with screens to young people full of self-belief, comfortable exploring the natural world, and part of a real community.

My personal interests include creating music and rapping, parkour, reading and learning of any kind, and – most importantly – connecting with people.

Charlie Muegge, BTT & Fieldschool Instructor

My name is Charlie. I’m currently attending Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and majoring in film. I believe there is a creative outlet for every child, and they just need to find it.

I’ve been camping since I was a child. Through this I gained not only skills but believe these experiences shaped me into who I am today, and allowed me to connect with others in a truly unique way, making lifelong bonds.

I grew up neurodiverse myself, in a neurodiverse family. I am very passionate about inclusion, and working to create strategies and tactics for different brain styles. It is one way to make it easier to exist in a world that was not built for us.