Sean came to NOLS as a student in 1999 and as an instructor in 2003. After earning a doctorate in philosophy, he chose NOLS over academia, and currently works in Alaska, Patagonia, and the Pacific Northwest in the mountaineering, sea kayaking, and hiking programs. He lives in an old Finnish farm house in Andover, Vermont with his wife Summers, who is also a NOLS instructor, and is President of the NOLS Instructor Association. Sean is also a freelance translator, translating books, articles, and business documents from French and Spanish to English.