White House Author

Pam Hess is the Director of Youth Engagement and leads the Outdoors Rx program at the Boston-based Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), the nation’s oldest outdoor recreation and conservation organization. Outdoors Rx represents AMC’s collaborative partnership with the healthcare community to provide free, dedicated resources for prescribing regular outdoor physical activity to youth, especially underserved individuals. Outdoor activity has been shown to improve the physical and mental well-being of youth while also offering a greater appreciation for the natural world. Once Outdoors Rx prescriptions are written, AMC helps families “fill” these prescriptions by providing free, guided outdoor programming in their communities several times a week. Outdoors Rx is currently being piloted with pediatric healthcare practitioners in Greater Boston communities with plans for expansion. Ms. Hess has held a leadership role in youth outdoor education at AMC for the past 11 years.