DIRECTOR / CHIEF GUIDE
Leon Chartrand, Ph.D, Founding Director / Chief Guide / Teaching Professor
Dr. Leon Chartrand
"Dr. Leon" founded Xavier Expeditions in his first year teaching at Xavier University in 2010. So far, he has guided 54 expeditions. In addition to guiding and teaching, Dr. Leon is responsible for directing Xavier Expeditions, which includes managing all safety-based logistics, planning new expedition developments, prioritizing student well-being, recruiting talented faculty, and long-term growth of the program.
Dr. Leon received a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in Environmental Ethics in 2008, specializing in Thomas Berry, Mircea Eliade and Shamanism. He also holds two doctoral certificates: one in Theology and Ecology from the Elliott Allen Institute at the University of St. Michael's College; the other, in Wilderness/Large Mammal Conservation from the Center for the Environment, Department of Forestry, University of Toronto. Before coming to Xavier, Dr. Leon served as the Regional Bear Biologist and Bear Management Officer for the Wyoming Game & Fish Department in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He also served as the Bear Wise Community Planner for the State of Wyoming where he authored and implemented a community-based program to reduce conflicts between humans and bears. In addition to being a wilderness guide and teaching professor, Dr. Leon also specializes in the areas of Ecology, Indigenous Lifeways, Environmental Philosophy, and Eco-spirituality.
Dr. Leon’s Contact Information:
leonchartrand.com (professional website)
ASSISTANT GUIDES
Franklin Ebersole, Assistant Guide, USMC Veteran, MBA Student
Before joining Xavier Expeditions, Frank was a rifleman in the Marine Corps from 2010-2015 and deployed four times during his enlistment. During his time in the Corps, he developed a passion for new cultures and viewpoints which ultimately directed him to obtain his undergraduate in international business from Xavier University. Currently he is pursuing his MBA while acting as a Xavier student veteran liaison for the expedition program and he is working to develop a Military Affiliated Expedition program for Xavier’s Student Veterans Center that will be inclusive to student veterans, dependants, active duty and National Guard/Reserve duty persons within the Midwest Region. Franklin is an avid outdoorsman who was originally drawn to Xavier Expeditions as an undergraduate student-veteran, and he continues to work dilegently to make it more accessible to student veterans for the last three years. In
Joseph Hetzer, M.A, Assistant Guide, Biology Teacher,
Now entering his eighth year with Xavier Expeditions, Joe began as an undergraduate student on his first expedition in 2010 and was also a student in 2011. Since 2013, Joe has served as our graduate assistant on 13 expeditions and has long been beloved by students and faculty. Joe is now the primary guide for all Yellowstone Expeditions because he has a proven record of keeping his eyes on safety and also on ensuring students have additional opportunities to explore even on their days off. Joe also has a knack for leading thought-provoking reflection exercises, wilderness activities and group discussions. He has proven himself to be an invaluable asset to the everyday function of each expedition. We are fortunate to have his assistance. In addition to being an assistant guide, Joe is also currently a Biology Teacher at Roger Bacon High School. Assistant Guide, email, phone
FACULTY
Rebecca Deaton
Visiting Professor, French
deatonr@xavier.edu (email) (513) 745-1955 (office)
Rebecca is a regular chaperone on our expeditions. She has participated in expeditions to: Grand Canyon & Navajo Nation; Grand Tetons & Yellowstone; Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska; Namibia, Africa; and Gates of the Arctic. Rebecca teaches basic and intermediate French courses at Xavier. She holds a B.A. in French and Francophone Studies and an M.A. in French and Francophone Literatures with a specialization in Pedagogy and Second Language Acquisition from the University of Cincinnati. She completed additional studies at Université Catholique de l’Ouest in Angers, France, and at the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour in Pau, France. She lived for 2 years in Angers, France, where she taught at the University of Angers.
Wilbur Escorcia, Ph.D.
David Gerberry, Ph.D.
Jonathan Gibson, M.F.A.
Charlie Gustafson-Barrett, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor, Philosophy of Literature
gustafsonbarrettc@xavier.edu (email) (513) 745-4238 (office)
Dr. Barrett is currently a visiting professor in the Department of Philosophy at Xavier University, where she teaches core courses such as ‘Ethics as an Introduction to Philosophy,’ and ‘Philosophical Perspectives.’ She received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Tulane University. Her areas of expertise include ancient philosophy, aesthetics, and philosophy and literature. She and her two dogs are excited to join Neala for the Yellowstone Expedition of summer 2020.
Bethany Henning, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor, American Philosophy
henningb1@xavier.edu (email) (513) 745-4268
Dr. Bethany Henning received Ph.D. from the University of Southern Illinois in American Philosophy with a specialization in the Philosophy of Nature. She is interested in the question: “how it is that experience becomes meaningful?” She works to develop a dialogue between American pragmatism, psychoanalysis, and phenomenology to demonstrate how cultural life emerges from complex ecologies. In her research as well as her teaching she is concerned with how our embodied life is continuous with our ethical and aesthetic projects. Her forthcoming book defends this continuity within experience and explores how John Dewey’s theory of “cultural naturalism,” better termed “ecological humanism,” recovers the visceral for the benefit of the conceptual, and the ideal. Such a recovery benefits not only our relationship with the natural world, but also our understanding of gender, race, and sexuality.
Adam Konopka, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor, Philosophy, Ethics, Religion and Society.
konopkaa@xavier.edu (email) (513) 745-3491 (office)
Dr. Konopka is currently a visiting professor in the philosophy department at Xavier and has served as the Besl Chair in the Ethics/Religion and Society program for the four prior years. He has offered sections of a core curriculum course entitled Philosophical Perspectives: Environmental Philosophy and Wilderness (PHIL 200) on several previous expeditions and has also taught a broad range of upper division philosophy courses at Xavier. Dr. Konopka received a Ph.D. in philosophy from Fordham University and has scholarly interests in a broad range of contemporary topics. He serves as a trustee of Cincinnati’s Mill Creek Alliance – a non-profit organization that whose mission is to empower Mill Creek communities to protect and enhance the value of the Mill Creek, its tributaries, and watershed – and has been involved in a variety of watershed restoration projects and policy initiatives. A lifelong fly angler, Dr. Konopka has fished throughout the Great Lakes river systems and the New England coast. He particularly enjoys exploring new fishing waters on the expedition trips. Dr. Konopka is looking forward to expeditions to Namibia and to Gates of the Arctic in 2020.
Esmeralda Nastase, Ph.D.
David Reid, Ph.D.
Senior Teaching Professor, English and Literature
reid@xavier.edu (email) (513) 745-3309 (office)
A native of Cincinnati, Dr. Reid received his doctorate in Linguistics from the University of South Carolina and has been teaching in the English Department at Xavier for 25 years. Before coming to Xavier, Dr. Reid worked as a technical writer and taught English in Tokyo, Japan. He has taught a wide range of both writing and literature courses at XU and has taught Literature & the Moral Imagination on five previous Expeditions: Gates of the Arctic (Alaska), Wrangell-St. Elias (Alaska) twice, Yellowstone (Wyoming) and Namibia (Africa). Dr. Reid’s English 205 Expedition courses focus on the literature of climate change, each tailored to its particular Expedition location. He is very excited to return for another Yellowstone Expedition this year as well as to create a new English 205 course for the 2020 Greenland/Iceland Expedition
Rita Rozzi, J.D.
Karim Tiro, Ph.D.
Stephen Yandell, Ph.D.
ASSISTANCE
Donna Brandt
AAA Travel Agent, email, phone
Donna is the most knowledgeable person we have when it comes to travel questions. She has played a primary role in Xavier Expeditions' success since it began and takes it upon herself to make sure we have the lowest possible travel expenses without diminishing the quality of the expedition experience. Donna is mindful of student budgets when it comes to planning these expeditions and she is the person to contact if you have any questions regarding travel arrangements and travel cost payments.
