Facility profile Utah

Challenger Foundation

Closed Kane County, Utah

At a glance

Address: Kane County, UT
Operated: 1988 to 1990

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Challenger Foundation was a program in Kane County, Utah. It operated from 1988 to 1990.

1 incident on record
4 staff members named

Survivor testimony

What people who lived or worked here say happened. Survivors' own words are published with their permission; forum accounts are what was posted publicly and are reported as claims, not findings.

Reported on survivor forums

Timeline

From the records: who ran it and the deals that moved it, its names, and the deaths, incidents, inspection findings, lawsuits and news stories on file. Point at an event, or tap "More about this", for the details.

1988
1. Opened
  Opened in Kane County, Utah
1990
1. IncidentJune 1990
  Death
  A 16-year-old died June 27, 1990 of heatstroke on a hike with the Challenger Foundation of Escalante, UT; owner Stephen Cartisano was acquitted of negligent...
  Death June 1990
  A 16-year-old died June 27, 1990 of heatstroke on a hike with the Challenger Foundation of Escalante, UT; owner Stephen Cartisano was acquitted of negligent homicide but banned from Utah child-treatment programs; parents settled in 1994 for $260,000.
  source
2. Closed
  Closed

Incidents on record

June 1990 Death

A 16-year-old died June 27, 1990 of heatstroke on a hike with the Challenger Foundation of Escalante, UT; owner Stephen Cartisano was acquitted of negligent homicide but banned from Utah child-treatment programs; parents settled in 1994 for $260,000.source 1, source 2

Videos

Challenger, Donahue (2014-10-19) Watch on YouTube

Staff

Administration

Stephen Cartisano

Former Ownersource
Elsewhere in the industry
- Pacific Coast Academy Former Consultant
- Chilanko Lodge cofounder
- New Hope Academy director
- Challenger Hawaii founder
Bill Henry

Co-owner
Elsewhere in the industry
- North Star Expeditions cofounder
Lance "Horsehair" Jaggar

Field director, co-owner
Elsewhere in the industry
- North Star Expeditions cofounder

Notable staff

Gayle Palmer DeGraff

Former Admissions Director (1990, r/troubledteens wiki)source
Elsewhere in the industry
- Summit Quest Founder, 1991
- Liahona Academy for Youth – Liahona Treatment Center Admissions office, 2025-2026
- Lifelines Family Services Marketing department
- Lifelines Family Services/Teen Lifelines Marketing, 2026
- Cross Creek Center Staff, before 2026

Connections on the network map

The companies, people and programs our research map ties to this program. Open it on the network map.

Ownership

Challenger Hawaii

Materials and links

Reference and research

From SCIAD NET.

Reporting this program

This program closed in 1990, so the state agency that licensed it can no longer act against it. Other channels may still be able to: the boards that license the people who worked here, law enforcement, and the civil courts.

The Utah reporting channels list each one and what it can do. Time limits depend on the state, the kind of harm and the survivor's age, and many states have lengthened or removed them for child sexual abuse, so a program closing long ago does not by itself mean it is too late. Laws change, so the time limits we list were correct when we checked them but may have been updated since; a lawyer can tell you where things stand now.