Founding Partners
Jake King, C.O.O.
Jake has spent thousands of hours in the wilderness, in group and solitary settings, learning and growing. He has led hundreds of youth and adult day and overnight trips, teaching wilderness survival and leadership skills, and is passionate about sharing this knowledge. A father of four, Jake has made it a point to be prepared and to ensure his family has every opportunity to Thrive in any emergency.
A former Army Ranger, police officer, and manager of homeless shelters, Jake has spent the last 20 years working with at-risk youth, recovering addicts, the homeless, and inner-city adults & youth. He created Thrive Outdoors as a way to increase knowledge of the natural world, help instill confidence and positive self-worth in all its students, teach survival in extreme circumstances, and help guide people to a better understanding of stress reduction & authentic leadership.
Melanie Haney, C.E.O.
Melanie has always loved travel and adventure, drawing insight and inspiration from the diverse communities of people around the world. She believes in learning through every experience, whether ordinary or extraordinary, and she has been fortunate enough to serve people through a wide variety of projects in parts of the world ranging from rural Eastern Europe to the valleys of the Southwestern United States.
As a photographer, Melanie always approaches life through a creative lens. Sharing people’s stories, through their words or by capturing the moments of their lives—large and small—has been one of the greatest blessings in her life.
Melanie holds her MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and is currently a doctoral student in Leadership Studies at Taylor University.