Jeff Jackson, Program Co-ordinator

Outdoor Adventure Program

Jeff Jackson has over 20 years experience in the outdoor adventure industry that has taken him from the Yukon to Mexico, India, Costa Rica and many points in between.  Jeff has held course director and management positions with Outward Bound, the National Outdoor Leadership School, high profile kayak schools, and cross country ski facilities.

Jeff is a kayak and mountain bike instructor trainer, and teaches leadership and business courses in the program. He is also a well-known writer on river and conservation issues and is involved in international river education programs.

Jeff has a degree in Business Administration and a Masters of Education specializing in professional development.  He has been a consultant and presenter on risk management issues and is a nationally competitive Nordic skier and mountain bike racer.

Chris Melmoth, Professor, paddling on Maine/Northern Quebec expedition.

Chris Melmoth’s educational background and experience in the adventure industry give him excellent credentials to teach the business components of Algonquin’s outdoor training programs. His students benefit from 20 years of first-hand experience in guiding, instruction, administration, and management with one of Canada’s leading outdoor adventure companies.  He also brings practical approaches and a wealth of national and international business knowledge, essential in today’s tourism sector.

His work has brought him to numerous adventure destinations across Canada and the U.S.A., including the Yukon, Hawaii and Alaska.  He has also spent time in Australia, New Zealand, and both western and eastern Europe.

More recently, Chris has been involved in Algonquin College-related ecotourism projects in Mexico and Costa Rica and in recent years has travelled to China where he was invited as a consultant on experiential learning and adventure tourism programs.  He has led the trip to Costa Rica for the Rainforest and Tropical Science course for the past four years.

Ian Pineau, Co-ordinator

Outdoor Adventure Naturalist

By the time Ian Pineau received a degree in Physical Education & Recreation from the University of New Brunswick, his personal interest and teaching experience in canoeing and hiking had brought him well on the way to becoming a seasoned canoe tripping instructor. 

Through many years of working with youth-at-risk programs, Ian developed and refined the skills he needed to be a year-round outdoor educator.

Ian gained hands-on experience in outdoor industry skills through several years of experience as a commercial raft guide in Northern Canada and as an instructor for college, municipal and commercial outdoor programs.  He continued to build on that knowledge and experience base through many personal water and land-based backcountry trips in all seasons.  Ian was both a part-time, then full-time, instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).  His exciting outdoor adventures have brought him to New Brunswick, New Zealand, Australia, Ontario, the Yukon, Mexico, and all over western North America.

Ian's goal as co-ordinator of the Outdoor Adventure Naturalist Program at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley is to provide his students with the skills and knowledge they need to transform their passion for the outdoors and the natural environment into lifelong careers in the outdoor adventure industry.

Ben Shillington, Skills Instructor

Ben Shillington is a graduate of the Outdoor Adventure Program and brings a wealth of outdoor experience and skills to both the ODA and Outdoor Adventure Naturalist programs.

He has been involved in two Mount Everest climbs and helped guide Algonquin's Expedition Africa Mt. Kilimanjaro climb in 2006.  Ben has also cycled throughout Italy and across Canada and the U.S.A. and has organized a number of ice climbing and winter expeditions and has led a number of whitewater and flat water canoe expeditions.

Ben works at our outdoor education partner, Wilderness Tours, where he teaches some of the skills courses including Climbing, Map & Compass, Ice Climbing, Slope Rescue, Hiking, Winter Survival, Sea Kayaking, and Snowshoe Travel.

In his spare time, Ben also enjoys writing about outdoor adventures such as his experiences filming and reporting on Algonquin College's Mount Everest and Mount Kilimanjaro projects.  A true Canadian adventurer, Ben has written a book called "Winter Backpacking" about winter camping survival techniques which includes much anecdotal advice and information garnered from his many outdoor adventures in ice and snow. Read more about his adventures.

Cameron Dubé, Skills Instructor

Cameron Dubé travelled to British Columbia to live the mountain lifestyle and teach skiing at Whistler.  After a few years, he decided he wanted to get more education in the outdoor adventure tourism field, and enrolled at Algonquin College's Outdoor Adventure program in Pembroke.  Returning out west, he taught skiing at Golden, B.C. before deciding to pursue his degree at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops.

Through an articulation agreement between TRU and Algonquin College, Cameron entered into the third year of the Bachelor of Tourism Management degree at Thompson Rivers, earning both a college diploma and university degree in just four years. 

Cameron is also skilled in many areas and teaches both skills and theory in courses such as ice climbing, biking, whitewater kayaking, rafting expedition, winter expedition, and eco-tourism in both the Outdoor Adventure and Outdoor Adventure Naturalist programs.   He was one of the instructors who helped supervise a group of Algonquin College students who took an ecotourism field trip to Costa Rica, one of the most exciting general education electives the College offers.

Cameron has enjoyed several ice, rock and mountain climbing expeditions, Chile being among his favourites, and also Mt. Kilimanjaro, where he helped guide a group of Ottawa high school students, along with principal guides Ben Webster and Shaunna Burke.  During the Mt. Kilimanjaro climb, Cameron also enjoyed capturing the adventures of the climb through both still photography and video recordings.  Read more about his adventures.