John (JT) Turman started building high rises in the late 1990’s to pay for college. He ended up spending more than 15 years working in industrial construction. When business in the Puget Sound made him restless, he headed to the wilds of Utah and Colorado to work with adjudicated and at-risk youth as a wilderness therapy guide. The growth through empowerment didn’t only affect the program participants, JT found change and growth through service to others. After a few more years of at-height work as a tree worker JT discovered the Aerial Adventure and Challenge Course industry. Planning only to work for a season or two building ziplines, he found the work challenging and fulfilling. What began as a fun seasonal job, evolved into a passion for helping course operators maintain and improve their businesses. Since 2010 JT has designed, built, maintained and inspected over 100 courses throughout North America. As time progressed, he focused more time on developing an inspection and maintenance program to assist Aerial Adventure Operators maintain successful programs. He is currently growing his client base through Ascent Collaborative Services and volunteers with the Inspector Certification Panel for the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT). The mission of Ascent Collaborative Services is to train and assist Aerial Adventure Course Operators grow their technical skills and knowledge in order to gain more control over their business’s ongoing maintenance and future growth. When not working, JT loves to get out on the river and spend time in the kitchen, sharing meals with friends.