Our History

Navigators USA was founded in 2003 by a group of volunteers who had previously led Boy Scout Troop 103 in East Harlem, New York City, the first Troop started in a homeless shelter, an outreach program of All Souls Unitarian Church.

There was a need for a more inclusive scouting experience than what was being offered at the time. Navigators USA, all gender, secular, non-discriminating scouting provided that alternative.

During the first 4 years they wrote curriculum and published handbooks with the help of a grant from McGraw-Hill. They spent another 4 years testing their model growing slowly to 6 Chapters. In 2011 they built their first website and Facebook page in the hopes that others would find us. They did. We grew at a steady average of two new Chapters a month, having started over 414 Chapters as of Fall 2024.