About Us

Explore Austin is a local non-profit youth development organization that uses mentoring, nature, and outdoor adventures to transform the lives of young people & inspire them to become future leaders.

Founded in 2006, Explore Austin works with youth through a six-year leadership, mentoring, and adventure program. Students enter our Program as rising 7th graders and remain until graduation from high-school. Once in our Program, “Explorers” become a part of a team of 20: ?ve volunteer Mentors and 15 student Explorers. The Adult mentors are volunteers who participate in each outdoor adventure alongside Explorers, developing positive, long-term relationships and impact.

Each year, teams learn a speci?c and progressively more advanced outdoor skill set (e.g. paddling, rock climbing, mountain biking, mountaineering) during nine Saturday outings throughout the school year and one week-long Summer Wilderness Trip.We use a unique ACES Leadership Framework for our curriculum which is a hands on approach and a belief in learning by doing. Over the program's six years, Explorers learn the elements of being Action-Oriented, Courageous, an Excellent Teammate, and a Strong Communicator.

Our program serves 300 Explorers (92% are Hispanic) and 100 volunteer Mentors annually. Explore Austin is uniquely situated to utilize long-term, high-quality mentors to increase the ?ow of community into Explorers’ lives while improving elements of grit, self-efficacy, and leadership skills too. We know that the more skills and resources youth have, the more likely they are to succeed in life.