The Team

CHLOE STEEPE
founder + executive director
Chloe’s family is still confused as to how the little girl from downtown Toronto developed such a passion for the wilderness. Maybe it was living on a sailboat for the first year of life, or it might have been that field trip to Algonquin Park in Grade 6 when she was devoured by mosquitoes… whatever the cause, it resulted in wanderlust – an insatiable need to keep her things in a backpack, pannier or barrel and hit the trails, rivers and forests for as much of the year as possible.

Being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 18 pushed Chloe to pursue a degree in Physical and Health Education at Queen’s University, along with a degree in Geography. After a brief hiatus from school, she returned to complete her B.Ed. with a specialization in Outdoor Experiential Education. Fully certified as an Advanced Wilderness First Responder (80 hour course), Swift Water Rescue Technician, Nahanni River Guide, Flat Water Canoe Instructor and more, Chloe has spent the past 5 years guiding extended canoe and raft trips in Ontario, Quebec, the Yukon and Northwest Territories. She has travelled extensively within Canada, as well as to Europe, South and Central America, and most recently Australia and New Zealand, where she circumnavigated the South Island of New Zealand by bicycle.

Travelling and working for a variety of different camps, companies and organizations has allowed Chloe to see the impact that wilderness tripping and experiential education has on the average person. Inspired by the possibility of using the outdoors as a forum to engage people living with Type 1 diabetes, Chloe created Connected in Motion. In her opinion, diabetes education and support systems in Canada needed a breath of fresh air. Now was the time to do something about it.

JEN HANSON
director of operations + social media guru

Jen recently completed her Master of Education degree, researching experiential diabetes education at Brock University. She has Bachelor of Kinesiology and Bachelor of Education degrees and has taught visual arts, physical education and special needs programming at the elementary level. Jen is certified as a Wilderness First Responder and a National Lifeguard and has additional teaching qualifications in special education, environmental education and from the Canadian Wildlife Federation, High Five and TRIBES programming. Jen has held Challenge Course Facilitator and Supervisor certifications with Challenges Unlimited and has 8 years of experience working with challenge courses throughout Ontario.

Jen is the elementary age programmer for Children with Diabetes, is a member of the Diabetes Education and Camping Association’s DLead council and is working to facilitate the International Diabetes Federation’s Young Adult Leaders program at the 2011 World Diabetes Congress in Dubai. She has also volunteered and worked with the Canadian Diabetes Association (Camp Huronda), Diabetes Hope Foundation and the JDRF.

Jen grew up exposed to an abundance of sport and physical activity, but competed most passionately in rugby, hockey, ringette and wrestling. Jen attended Brock University and competed both provincially and nationally with the varsity women’s wrestling team.

Curerntly, Jen works as the Director of Operations at Connected in Motion, as a Lead Assistant with ALIVE Outdoors and as a blogger with Explore Magazine.

MIKE LAST
technical aficionado + website super hero
Mike has been traveling and enjoying the outdoors his whole life. Growing up in Mississauga, Ontario, Mike played sports like any suburban kid. At 8 years old, he started going to summer camps and has spent time in the wilderness every summer since. With 7 years experience as a camper at the Taylor Statten Camps, and working at Camp Huronda for five summers including mountain bike instructor and boating instructor, Mike has spent just about every summer of his life in Northern Ontario.

At 15 years old, Mike moved to England for school and used his European homestead as a base to travel numerous European countries. This was about the time he started seriously taking photos. Traveling through England, Ireland, France, Italy, Switzerland and Spain, Mike combined his love of travel and snowboarding and started making photos.

Now finished his 4 year Managerial and Organizational Studies degree at the University of Western Ontario, Mike plans to continue traveling and enjoying the outdoors with his camera, snowboard and mountain bike. Oh yeah, he’ll continue helping to bring Connected In Motion to the internet. With his parents recently moving to Utah, he has a new outdoor wonderland to explore. Check out Mike’s website and photography at www.mikelastphoto.com.

HANK DEVOS
film + photo mastermind
Hank grew up in Ajax, Ontario with his two sisters. He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on News Years Eve, 1995 at the age of 12, four years after his older sister, Julie, was diagnosed. Hank learned to ski at Dagmar Ski Resort when he was only 2 1/2 years old and race a Lakeridge Ski Resort at the age of 9. Two years later, Hank began racing with the Oshawa Ski Club.

Hank is an aspiring film director currently working on small film projects and working on developing a feature length film. He aspires to be a great director one day, those close to him have already bared witness to his immense talent and completely humble approach to his creative endeavors. Some of his work can be seen on his production companies website http://www.hankdevos.com

Hank has been a part of nearly every Connected in Motion event. He is the mastermind behind the 2009 and 2010 Slipstream videos, the 2010 Canoe Trip video and the 2010 Cross Canada Adventure Series video. He also manages the Connected in Motion Youtube account.