About Our Mentoring Programs For Teen Boys in Asheville, NC

What Is Journeymen?

Journeymen was founded in 2008 by Jon Leidel and Chris Frisco, and our program was modeled after the work of Boys to Men, which is an international non-profit that has powerfully impacted the lives of more than 3,000 boys and men throughout the world through its mentoring programs for young men and rites of passage adventure weekends.

We are a non-sectarian, non-partisan, non-profit organization created by men for the specific purpose of providing mentoring for teenage boys in North Carolina aged 12-17 to help guide them through their passage into manhood.

Through our transformative mentoring programs, we are committed to igniting the innate potential of the young men and boys whom we work with by guiding them through life’s challenges and helping them open doors to new possibilities.

By creating a secure and welcoming space where youth can find their voice, build essential skills, pursue their aspirations, and learn to live their lives in a more meaningful and impactful way, we nurture resilient leaders for the future.

The Journeymen Program

Journeymen is staffed by dozens of committed men who have undertaken their own journeys of personal development.

Our team of mentors and facilitators create a safe and stimulating environment that supports and challenges young men and boys during their transition into adulthood.

Twice each year we offer a Rites of Passage weekend experience, which provides a safe and powerful place for boys to consciously envision what kind of men they can be.
Once each month our mentors and Journeymen staff meet to provide mutual support and guidance, strengthening our ability to mentor youth with compassion and dignity.
Several times each year we take the young men and boys of Journeymen (whom we call J-Men) on outings and overnight trips. These outings allow our mentors to model authentic and positive masculinity while strengthening their bonds of friendship and community with the J-Men.

Our Mission

Our mission is to support young men so they can know themselves and live with purpose in a safe, open, and non-judgmental community.

Why We Do What We Do

With many urban teens living away from their fathers, many fathers failing to see their children after divorce, and millions of children being raised without their biological fathers, young men and boys today are in desperate need of a healthier masculine culture, and positive male role models.

At the same time, teenagers today are exposed to more negative and destructive influences than ever before, including bullying, social isolation, fear of school shootings, and addiction to everything from pornography, drugs, and alcohol, to video games and social media.

With this in mind, through our mentoring programs for young men and boys, we strive to counteract these negative influences by promoting healthy masculinity, providing positive male role models, and supporting young men and boys during their most formative years to become the best they can be.

Our Values

Accountability

Build trustworthy and supportive relationships. Show up authentically. Honor your word.

Compassion

Understand others and accept where they are. Support your community by facing challenges with empathy. Strive to find out what motivates us to do our best and better understand how we can grow together.

Confidentiality

Create safe spaces by promising not to share other people’s stories and personal information without their consent.

Creativity

Continuously look for creative solutions. Encourage and embrace new ideas in order to participate and succeed in an ever-changing world.

Solution-Oriented

See challenges as opportunities. Have courage to speak your truth. Understand everything is solvable with a solution-oriented approach.

Respect

Treat everyone with equality and dignity. Show up with integrity. Value diversity in all its forms, including world views, race, and culture.

Board of Directors & Leadership

Journeymen is fortunate to have its dedicated board of directors, all of whom support Journeymen with personal contributions.

Skylar Wilson, MA

Executive Director

Skylar has led rites of passage events and programs for the past twenty years for teenagers and adults.

Robert Plaugher

Treasurer

Robert is a retired math teacher and healthcare IT professional. He and his wife Jane transplanted to the North Carolina mountains 30 years ago, and although they enjoy traveling, they’re happy to call this place home.

Stuart Motola

Board President

Stuart is a men’s relationship coach, best-selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur who has worked with boys and men for over 20 years and has also owned and operated a youth education company that has touched the lives of more than 35,000 young people.

Greg Hall II

Secretary

Greg has been in Asheville since 2007 and is passionate about working with youth. He believes in seeing youth thrive and championing them as they pursue their goals.

Kinsman Beal

Advisor

Kinsman joined Journeymen as a volunteer for our Rites of Passage Adventure Weekend in 2022 and immediately looked for more opportunities to volunteer with our after-school Community Groups and Crafting Passages workshops.

Colin Newkirk

Colin is the owner and president of Colin Newkirk Builder, Inc.

Brent Skidmore

Brent has taught at universities and craft programs across the country for 26 years, including Penland, Arrowmont, Anderson Ranch, and Peter’s Valley. Since 2007, he’s worked at UNC Asheville as Assistant Professor of Art and Director of Craft Studies.

Eric Belsterling

Eric is a licensed clinical counselor who brings 28 years of experience in the mental health field, including being a behavioral health technician, a master wilderness guide, and even the clinical director of a psychiatric residential treatment facility in North Carolina.

Joel Besemer

Joel recently moved to Asheville and is a new addition to the Journeymen board of directors with much knowledge to share and a passion for seeing young men reach their full potential. Hailing from Wisconsin, Joel has spent 34 years working with community non-profit organizations, helping with fundraising efforts and strengthening their alumni associations.

Mike Healy

Mike Healy is the heart-beat and financial manager of the band Papadosio. For the past 18 years, Papadosio has been touring continuously while becoming a hub of community connection and cultural transformation. Mike is the

Sam Panther

Program Coordinator

Sam is excited to join the Journeymen Asheville team, bringing with her almost decade of project management, marketing, development, and wellness experience, as well as a deep commitment to supporting community organizations like our nonprofit.

Dr. Misty Boachie

Advisor

Through her boys' involvement with Journeymen, she has become a passionate advocate of the organization. Misty has been a healthcare professional for over 20 years.

Our Supporters & Sponsors

Testimonials

I realized that I was failing math because I thought I didn’t care. I now see that I do care and want to do better.

Journeymen was fun and helped me to feel more free in myself.

Being a Journeymen mentor has given me an opportunity to impact the lives of young men I would never meet in my ordinary life, and share with them the passions and gifts that I am uncovering on a daily basis in hopes that they will be inspired to share their own.

Journeymen has helped me to feel more confident in expressing myself. I realize that I’m creative and can learn to do what I want in my life.

The weekend was awesome and powerful for me. Although I do not think I can exactly put into words how it has changed me, what I do know is that I now walk in the world with a different perspective.

My experience of the weekend was as a caterpillar building a cocoon, then fighting its way out, emerging as a fresh and new being, fluttering weakly with new wings.

Wednesdays are my favorite day of the week because it’s when I meet with Journeymen. It’s the only place where I can truly be myself and I’m not forced to do anything I don’t want to.

It was an honor and a privilege to work and play with you all this past weekend. It was one of the sweetest experiences of my life, and I am so happy to have met you all.

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