The mission of the Wilderness Education Association is to promote the professionalism of outdoor leadership and to thereby improve the safety of outdoor trips and to enhance the conservation of the wild outdoors. The WEA promotes professionalism through the following strategies: certification, accreditation, affiliation, membership, program consulting, research and development, and the fostering of collaboration and partnerships with like-minded institutions and organizations. Currently, over 40 affiliates are certified to teach the WEA 18-point curriculum during their WEA sanctioned courses.

• Elevate wilderness education and preservation in the minds of students and future leaders across the country
• Help develop a land ethic consistent with the ideals of the Wilderness act
• Establish wilderness education and outdoor leadership as a legitimate academic and professional field of study