Supporting the Surviving Children of Our Fallen Patriots

Our Mission and Vision

Gold Star Teen Adventures provides mentorship, leadership development, resilience training
and team building for the children of our nation’s military, first responders and intelligence community who lost their lives.  The program teaches critical life skills through year around adventure opportunities and facilitates healing and a return to normalcy for those coping with the sudden loss of a parent. Our objective is to help these teenagers struggling with loss become more confident and productive young adults.

Our History

Kent Solheim, a special operations service member, was seriously wounded in combat in Iraq in 2007 where he ultimately lost his right leg after sustaining four gunshot wounds. Kent’s experiences on his road to recovery inspired the creation of Gold Star Teen Adventures. Kent, a father of two, realized that if he had not made it home, he would have still wanted his children to know the brotherhood of the special operations community that he had grown to love and to share the adventures that his career had permitted him to do. Additionally, Kent realized that he experienced emotional healing when he was able to spend time with others who endured similar trauma in their lives.

Gold Star Teen Adventures was created to provide a place where youth can come together to share new experiences with others who have shared a similar journey. We are built on the pillars of healing, leadership development, and opportunity. Our organization is committed to serving and honoring the community of people who have sacrificed so much.

We believe that by bringing together youth in environments where they can have fun and develop relationships amongst team leaders and other Gold Star youth, we allow them the opportunity to interact with others who can empathize with the similar emotional trauma they've experienced. 

Our Program Pillars

Healing

We believe that by bringing together youth in environments where they can have fun and develop relationships amongst other Gold Star youth, we allow them the opportunity to interact with and empathize with others who have experienced similar emotional trauma.

Opportunity

We believe that each of these teens are uniquely wired given their pedigree and that adventure is likely a big part of who they are. Unfortunately, with the loss of a parent, these youth may not get the same experiences that they would have. We want them to have exceptional, memorable, and professional opportunities to learn and experience new things and challenge themselves.

Leadership Development

The theme of leadership is central in every GSTA Adventure. Our programs are designed to develop our participants through direct instruction and experiential learning coupled with the challenges and experiences that the outdoors can provide. 

Our Board of Directors

Army (Retired) Francis M. Beaudette has joined our Board and serves as the Board Chair.  Over the course of his 32-year career in Army and Joint assignments, the majority of it as a Green Beret, Fran served with high performing organizations at varying levels, from a 12-man Special Forces ‘A-team’ to the 36,000-Soldier and Civilian US Army Special Operations Command. His recent assignments were Deputy Commanding General of the 1st Armored Division, Assistant Commanding General of JSOC, CG of 1st Special Forces Command and Commanding General of the US Army Special Operations Command. Fran is a fluent French speaker and has had the opportunity to travel to nearly 80 countries. As an immigrant, service to his Nation has been an important hallmark of his career choices. His operational assignments, totaling six years of deployed time, include the first Gulf War; comprehensive Africa experience to include noncombatant evacuation operations in Sierra Leone and the Congo; multiple peacekeeping operations in Kosovo; numerous deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Jordan, all during eras of war, turmoil or crisis. Fran was a distinguished academic and military graduate from the Citadel and holds a MA in Military Arts and Science from the US Army Command & General Staff College and a MS in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College. Fran, an avid outdoorsman, and his wife of 32 years, Liz, live in Charleston, SC. They raised three children: one a Special Forces military spouse, one serving in Special Forces, and one in college.

Francis Beaudette 2

Francis Beaudette

Chairman of the Board

Gold Star Teen Adventures

Kent Solheim

Founder and Program Development Lead

Mark E. Mitchell is a former senior executive in DOD who served most recently as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (ASD(SO/LIC)). He is also highly decorated U.S. Army infantry and Special Forces combat veteran who served 28 years on active duty. He participated in multiple campaigns in the First Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq. He served four tours in the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), commanding at every level from detachment to group. In addition to commanding 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Colonel Mitchell simultaneously commanded a nationwide, Joint Special

Operations Task Force in Iraq in 2010-2011. He has also served on the National Security Council as a Director for

Counterterrorism and worked as a business executive in the private sector. Mitchell holds Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University and a Master of Science degree in Defense Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School. He also served as a National Security Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and non-resident fellow at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. He has lectured at Harvard Business School, the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Joint Special Operations University, the U.S. Army War College, the National Defense University, and the United States Military Academy.

Gold Star Teen Adventures

Mark Mitchell

Board Director

Gold Star Teen Adventures

Dr. Allen Solheim

Board Director

Gold Star Teen Adventures

Michael Love

Board Director

Gold Star Teen Adventures

Eleanor Halff

Board Director

Tom Schmidt currently holds the position of Executive Vice President/General Manager of Anrak Corporation. Apart from this Tom has a passion for the sacrifices of our nation’s military and first responders and devotes his time and resources to serving this community.

Gold Star Teen Adventures

Tom Schmidt

Board Director

Rona Wenik graduated with a B.A. in History and English from the University of Pennsylvania and with a J.D. from the Harvard Law School. After law school she clerked for the Honorable Marvin Katz, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She then served as an Assistant United States Attorney for both the Eastern District of New York and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and was awarded the Attorney General’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney for her successful prosecution of the individuals responsible for the largest ever seizure of cocaine in the United States. Rona is also the mother to three successful young men. One of which is a graduate of the United States Military Academy now serving as an active duty armor officer.

Gold Star Teen Adventures

Rona Wenik

Board Director

Governing Documents

Gold Star Teen Adventures is a 501(c)(3) organization with registered with the State of North Carolina and the IRS. Our EIN is 90-09980. We are currently headquartered in North Carolina.

Corporate Headquarters

Gold Star Teen Adventures
2504 Raeford Road, Suite 200
Fayetteville, NC 28305

IRS Letter of Determination

The IRS granted Gold Star Teen Adventures 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in June of 2013.

Articles of Incorporation

The Articles of Incorporation provide the legal basis for Gold Star Teen Adventures.

Bylaws

The Bylaws provide a foundation for the Gold Star Teen Adventures Board of Directors.

Donor Privacy Policy
Financial Reports