Management Team

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  Robert Cooley, PhD

  Founder & Clinical Superviser

  Dr. Cooley grew up on the McKenzie River in Oregon, where he learned to row a whitewater boat at age four. He made his way through college and graduate school by spending his summers logging, doing Forest Service trail work, and working as a river guide. He earned his PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Oregon in 1979 and has specialized in family and adolescent therapy. He has lived abroad several times and speaks French, Spanish, and German. Dr. Cooley developed and directed a family therapy program at Oregon's child welfare department and had a private therapy practice, while taking summers off to run a whitewater rafting company. In 1988, he combined his outdoor and therapy interests in founding Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Expeditions. Dr. Cooley and his wife Ingrid, a family therapist, live in Albany, Oregon, and have four children.

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  Rob Koning, WFR, CADC-I

  Executive Director

  Rob has a plethora of experience working in the field of outdoor behavioral healthcare. He has logged more than 750 days in the field working directly with adolescents as a wilderness guide. In addition, he has worked for three other outdoor adolescent programs prior to coming to work at Catherine Freer. His experience includes working with adjudicated adolescents and adolescents in the social services network. Prior to assuming the role of executive director, Rob was our wilderness department manager. He is an accomplished public speaker and has presented at an Association of Experiential Education conference and at a Wilderness Risk Management conference. Rob has also taken part in a number of community-based leadership trainings. He holds a degree in Recreation and Outdoor Leadership from Western State College. In his spare time, Rob spends most of the time with his wife and two children and also tries to find time for snowboarding, mountain biking, and playing guitar.

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  Katherine Eastlake, LPC, CADC

  Clinical Director

  Katherine's experience working with adolescents ranges from working at an adolescent day treatment facility to an adolescent detention center. It is a child's potential for growth that inspires her work on behalf of adolescents. Katherine holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Oregon and a MA in Forensic Psychology from the University of Denver. During her free time, she enjoys playing ultimate Frisbee, hiking, reading and spending time with friends and family.

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  Joseph Gowan

  Operations Director

  Joe's background is in the sciences and he has worked as an environmental biologist and as a chemist for a nonprofit science research firm in Kansas City. This experience helped him learn how to manage detail-oriented tasks while keeping staff motivated to try their best each day. His passion has always been in preserving our natural environment. He spent his youth hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing with his family and these experiences are a large part of the reason Joe values family so much today. While Joe's value to Freer is in the office, he envies the experiences that our staff have with our clients in the wilderness. In his free time he volunteers in Portland's parks, hikes, cooks, enjoys a good cup of coffee on his balcony with his dog and hitting local farmers' markets in the summer.

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  Bri Condon, WFR

  Field Operations Supervisor-Expeditions

  Bri has focused her career on working with teens that have grown up around high-risk factors and sharing with them her passion for the outdoors. Her experience includes leading multiple hard-skills adventure trips on land and water with a variety of populations and working as an independent living coordinator working with teens in foster care settings. Prior to taking on the role of Field Operations Supervisor, she worked for Catherine Freer as a field guide and took part in numerous expeditions throughout the Pacific Northwest. Bri holds a bachelors degree in Outdoor Education with a minor in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder and also a medical awareness trainer. In her free time Bri enjoys a good challenge while out backpacking with her dog Frye, whitewater canoeing, sea kayaking, and rowing.

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  Allan Capp

  Field Operations Supervisor-Adventure Phase

  Helping adolescents grow and learning in the process inspires Allan's work. His experience includes work at a therapeutic wilderness program and for the Bureau of Land Management. Allan has studied at the university level at the Ozarks Technical Community College and Central Oregon Community College. In his free time he can be found mountain biking, surfing, rock climbing, and snowboarding.