A native Virginian, a lifer, and the third of five Naegele men to graduate from The Heights, Elias first pursued his love for all things wild in Wyoming following his graduation from the University of Virginia. After a time spent guiding wilderness trips in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Elias returned eastward, where he taught middle and upper school math at The Avalon School for a year, before trekking up the coast to serve as a founding faculty member at Sparhawk Academy. Yet while the ancient Appalachians were never far off, the craggy peaks of the west continued to call, and Elias returned to the American West, where he met his wife and worked as an administrator at both the secondary school and collegiate level.

During the summer, Elias is the Director of Heights Frontiers, the school’s outdoor adventure program, which takes middle and upper school students into the wild hinterlands of the United States. If not readily available, he has likely ditched the pre-packaged life of suburbia for the open road on another adventure with his young family and trusty Irish Setter.