Howard P. Colhoun

Howard "Pete" Colhoun challenged NOLS to think outside of the box. Pete was vice chair of the NOLS Board of Trustees from 2003 – 2004, a former co-chair of the Advisory Council and the treasurer of the NOLS Board. In February 2014, Pete was elected as Trustee Emeritus of the NOLS Board of Trustees. He was instrumental in the creation of the NOLS Endowment, which funds our mission as a school in perpetuity.

Colhoun volunteered for NOLS starting in 1993 and participated on courses in East Africa, Mexico, Alaska, Patagonia, and the Rocky Mountains. In 1993, he spent several weeks in the high Himalayas on the Sagarmatha Environmental Expedition with NOLS instructor, Steve Goryl.

Colhoun held an MBA in finance from Harvard, studied as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Trondheim, Norway, and received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Princeton University.

Colhoun was a general partner at Emerging Growth Partners, a venture capital/small public company investment partnership in Baltimore, MD. Prior to that, he served in senior management roles with T. Rowe Price Associates in Baltimore and Arthur D. Little, Inc. in Cambridge, MA. He spread his time between serving on the boards of several corporations and organizations including the National Parks and Conservation Association, Irvine Nature Center, The Bryn Mawr School, Princeton University, the Fulbright Association, the National Aquarium in Baltimore Foundation Board, and a host of others. He was a panelist on the national television show Wall Street Week for 32 years.

Colhoun enjoyed fly-fishing, heli-skiing, sailing, horsepacking, and canoeing. He also traveled extensively in the United States and abroad. Colhoun has four children—three of them have taken NOLS courses.

He lived by a simple framework: learn, earn, and return. Pursue knowledge with humility. Build something of value through hard work and sound judgment. Then give back more than you received.

Curiosity was Pete's compass throughout his life. Those fortunate enough to have traveled beside him will carry it forward.