In Touch With… Hale Education's Dr. Aaron Morehouse

By: Tom Leyden

There’s a lot of pressure and expectation that comes with being “the one who replaces the legendary one,” and no one understands that better than Aaron Morehouse, Hale Education’s Executive Director, who assumed the reins last August after the retirement of Eric Arnold, who took Hale to new heights over the course of more than 20 years in charge.

As Aaron and I sat in Hale’s conference room catching up about a number of topics, one of the first things he wanted to make clear was his appreciation for Eric and everything he’s done while staying aboard as a senior advisor.

“I definitely want to acknowledge the legacy and tenure that Eric had here for over twenty years and how tremendous the transition has been – the support from the board, from the staff, from the community, from Eric himself. Working with him regularly has been fantastic.”

After a national search, Hale’s board of directors selected Aaron to lead the organization during a time of great growth, in the midst of a major effort to preserve Hale’s land through a permanent conservation restriction, Aaron’s experiences throughout the world – he’s spent time in Vermont, Maryland, California, and Oregon and traveled extensively around the globe to lead programs focused on leadership through experiential learning – set him apart as the perfect fit for the job.

“My career has been consistently focused on experiential education,” he said. “I started out as a mountain guide, a river guide, a ropes course facilitator, delivering programs much like what you find at Hale, including those on our brand-new climbing tower. I focused on experiential education in the outdoors, conservation and land preservation and engaging communities for over twenty years. Coming to Hale was coming back to my roots and what’s most important: this land and the communities that it supports.”

Since August, his mission has been simple – get to know the community and those who have built an incredibly successful infrastructure that continues to set Hale Education apart as the gold standard in New England.

“I held one-on-one meetings with every single staff person, every single board member, corporate board members, community members and our partner organizations,” said Aaron, “I came to this role not to say, ‘This is where we’re going and this is what we’re doing,’ but to learn where we are right now, so we can determine together where it is that we’re going. What the staff has told me is exactly what’s been built into the strategy we’ve put together.

“The main key is focusing on what we do really well. The summer camps, the day camps here at Hale bring thousands of kids together every summer to have the time of their lives, transformational experiences through camp. Those kids come from those communities directly around Hale and across the Greater Boston area. We really will double down on our summer camps, but we also want to ensure that we provide access to camps for kids that otherwise wouldn’t have access to summer camp.”

The camp program, and most of what Hale Education is able to provide, would be impossible without the 1,100 acres of land that span Westwood and Dover. The conservation restriction will protect that land in perpetuity.

“Hale Education succeeded in raising 38 and a half million dollars to be able to secure that conservation restriction, and those funds came from our communities,” said Aaron. “That’s a fantastic achievement and important to recognize. The conservation restriction was filed with the state before the end of 2024 and has been going through a review with the state. After that, we will bring it to the town select boards to vote on, and then it will become official with the state. We aim to have all of that done by the end of June.”

Among the next goals on Aaron’s to-do list are getting out into the community and being more visible around Westwood. He’s now officially a resident, and part of his success will certainly depend on how well people know him and understand what Hale offers.

“For those close by, I’d say come out on June 18 for our Summer Solstice Swim and S’mores event that’s free and open to the public,” he said. “We will open the gates to South Beach and welcome people to come check out what we’re all about. The event, an annual celebration that unofficially kicks off summer, is sure to be especially meaningful this year as Hale permanently protects open spaces like its beloved waterfront.”

As we wrapped our conversation, I asked Aaron what brings him the most satisfaction, and his answer was simple.

“What gives me the most satisfaction is joy,” he said. “When you see young folks on the challenge courses or the climbing wall or kids coming out of the water in summer camp, you see that joy. You literally are seeing transformation happen. That makes us all go. That’s what powers this place. There’s a lot of joy.”