Dr. TA Loeffler brings 20 years of expertise leading people through significant life-changing experiences to every facet of her work. Her work and adventures have taken her to 35 different countries and five different continents. As a Professor of Outdoor Recreation at Memorial University of Newfoundland, TA has developed a reputation for excellence in experiential education because her students are more likely to be outside chasing icebergs than sitting in a classroom. TA is attempting to complete “The Seven Summits,” the highest peak on all seven continents.
TA believes that we all long for a balanced, engaged, and creative life that challenges us to be the best we can possibly be. She models this belief in her life on a daily basis and combines her broad range of skills to inspire all to create the life they truly want. With compassion, care, presence, and playfulness, TA creates a safe space for all to learn and grow within. Using her vast collection of outdoor adventures to create metaphors that provide new ways to see and transform the inevitable obstacles of life, TA’s multi-media presentations inform, educate, inspire, and motivate. As a filmmaker and speaker, TA understands the power of metaphor to initiate and sustain life change. TA inspires hope, possibility, and vision in those whose lives she touches.
TA has received international and national recognition for her innovative teaching and motivational speaking. In June of 2008, TA was awarded a prestigious 3M National Teaching Fellowship. In 2008, Minnesota State University named TA as the “2008 Distinguished Alumnus” in the Humanitarian category. In 2007, TA received the Karl Rhonke Creativity Award from the Association of Experiential Education. In 2006, The Globe and Mail named TA, “A Class Act” and she received the Association of Atlantic Universities Distinguished Teaching Award. The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport named TA to their 2006 Top Twenty Most Influential Women in Canadian Sport and Physical Activity List. Additionally, TA received the Memorial University Presidents Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2005 and the Association for Experiential Education named TA the Outstanding Experiential Teacher of the Year in 1999.
During her recent climb on Mount Everest, TA updated her website daily from 21,000 feet above sea level using a personal digital assistant and satellite phone. During the year leading up to Everest, TA spread her message of “Big Dreams, Big Goals” to over 10,000 youth in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Having heard TA speak, many of these same children followed her climb via the web and sent supportive messages to her on the mountain via email and yak mail.
TA is a talented athlete. TA uses strength training, running, biking, yoga, cycling and step aerobics to prepare for her expeditions. She has a passion for hockey and has played every position on the ice including goaltender. TA has coached several championship winning hockey teams and has officiated at the national championship level. Through her experience in both sports and outdoor adventure, TA intimately appreciates teamwork and knows how to bring teams together to accomplish their goals and fulfill their greatest potential.