Russell Cowan

Program Manager

As a Bay Area Program Manager, Russell connects with our group partners to help get participants ready for course, supports field staff, and helps the team keep the student experience at the center of our programming.  

Russell spent eight years working at a public charter high school in Los Angeles before moving to the East Bay to work for Outward Bound.  In his free time he enjoys walking his dog Atticus, making puns that everyone loves, and not understanding why everyone's eyes roll so much. 

Perry Gold

Director of Finance & Operations

Nettie Pardue

Executive Director

Nettie Pardue's roots go deep at Outward Bound beginning as an instructor 21 years ago. She currently serves as the Executive Director at Outward Bound California and has over 20 years of global experience working for Outward Bound in 13 countries.  In addition to Outward Bound, she has worked in the peacebuilding and conflict resolution field with Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding the United World College and SEEDS Community Resolution Center where she acted as facilitator and trainer for communication, conflict resolution, mediation and cultural competency courses. Nettie has a Master's in Applied Behavioral Science and has presented at conferences in the US and abroad.  

In her early 20's she worked for one of the Kurt Hahn United World Colleges in NM. Working with students from over 80 countries cultivated a sense of the power of outdoor experiential learning and how it can be transformative to underserved and underrepresented populations. Today, she brings experiential outdoor learning to diverse communities. As Executive Director she hopes to inspire and provide access to more staff and students to get outside! 

She is climber / mountaineer (favorite route - Sun Ribbon Arete in the Palisades), kayaker (whitewater and sea) skier and long distance runner, completing more than six 100 mile races in the US and Canada. Nettie thrives in pushing herself to overcome my personal limitations and I am always looking for the next NEED (new experience every day).

Jason Schmidt

Associate Program Director in the Bay Area.

Jason started working for Outward Bound in 2007 at the North Carolina Outward Bound School before heading west in 2009 to instruct in his favorite place on earth, the High Sierra. He then followed the seasons working in Appalachia, Everglades, rivers in North FL and AL, Joshua Tree, Bay Area and always returning the the mountains of California. 

Jason is a proud AmeriCorps alum who was drawn to Outward Bound during that time for OB's commitment to service. His favorite OBCA tasks revolve around service: he participated in the Service Bus, managed a beloved OBCA program, the Youth Leadership Corps, organized staff involvement at the yearly Yosemite Facelift and currently coordinating service projects for the summer wilderness to urban courses.

Jinny Jung

Fund Development Coordinator

A San Jose native and a graduate of University of Southern California, Jinny joined Outward Bound California in April 2018. Her passion for nonprofit development, compassion and excellence drew her to the organization, skills well utilized in her support of the Fund Development Team.

Growing up, she went camping, hiking and snowboarding with her family, her passion for getting outdoors is stronger than ever today. She also picked up urban cycling in Los Angeles (much to the chagrin of her parents), which truly awoken her love for pushing her physical limits. Now she's frequently speeding around the streets of San Francisco looking for her next happy hour/restaurant. She very much believes in the Outward Bound spirit of self-reliance and compassion.

Erin Thacher

Head Logistics Coordinator

Erin is just one member of a team of master gear wranglers. From forecasting program gear needs to hosting sewing professional development sessions, she keeps the High Sierra gear game on point. When she is not in the warehouse, she is nose deep in spreadsheets to ensure each student will be well taken care of.

She is a transplant to the mountains from the flatlands of Kansas. Before her time at Outward Bound California, she didn't know what a trekking pole was, let alone how to pack a pack. Although it took her a few years to develop what she calls "mountain legs," she now loves to travel the world in search of mountains and street food.

Lindsay Blake

Student Services Associate

Lindsay applied for a job at OBCA when she discovered the San Francisco base was literally around the corner from her house! She was super excited to find such an awesome organization and group of folks to work with. She started in the student services office in January 2017 - first as the Bay Area’s first Group Program Advisor and is currently a Student Services Associate.

Lindsay’s love of the outdoors truly began in 2001, when she challenged herself to try something new and signed up for a 10-day backpacking trip on Mount Adams in Washington as part of her college orientation. She loved the whole experience, and went on many outdoor adventures around the Pacific Northwest while at college in Portland, Oregon. Since returning home to California, she enjoys exploring the wilderness around the Bay Area with her friends and family. Some current favorite hikes are toddler friendly, and include any of the many Presidio trails, Ring Mountain in Marin, and Sawyer Camp Trail in San Mateo. In the years prior to OBCA, she held a variety of roles and responsibilities including health coach, grad student, therapist, school counselor, behavior therapist, as well as wife and mother.

Amelia Vigil

Events and Communications Manager

Amelia is works with both the Fund Development Team and Communications Team for all external communications and major gift events including our annual fundraisers and alumni engagement and community initiatives. In 1999 she was a Pinnacle Scholar and 2006 worked logistics in the High Sierra before coming back on administration staff in 2017. 

Check out this blog post for the story behind my first camping/backpacking/mountaineering/rock climbing experience ever! 
https://outwardboundcalifornia.org/blog/supernova/ 

Emma Rapp

Director of Communications and Outreach

Emma never saw herself in a direct service role - all her career and strengths finders growing up told her to be a teacher but she forged a different path instead dedicating her career to supporting the work of educators as they change the lives of students.  A serial career monogamist, she came to OBCA 5 years ago after 7 years in administration, fundraising and volunteer organizing at Playworks, based in San Francisco.

Programs like Outward Bound formed her as a leader, channeling her energy and persuasive powers for good.  She can remember vividly on a 10-day canoeing expedition in Maine at the age of 13, learning, through trial and error, her ability to tank or motivate the group depending on the leadership tack she took.  These days her preferred methods of challenge and discovery include snowboarding, all female backpacking trips, triathlons, and shaving her commute down to as close to an hour as possible.

Brent Klava

High Sierra Program Manager

Brent is a homegrown Outward Bound California employee. His journey with OB began in the Bay Area as an In-School/ Insight Day Instructor. From the beginning he connected with the mission and was blown away by the impact the curriculum had on the students. Years of Instructing in the Bay brought him to our High Sierra, and Joshua Tree course areas, as well as the Northwest Outward Bound School base in Mazama, WA. He worked as an Instructor, Course Director, and Trainer throughout the organization before transitioning into the High Sierra Program Manager role. In this role he manages various courses in the field and helps serve as a resource and mentor for field staff. 

When Brent is not sitting in the office in Midpines he enjoys going on long distance personal backpacking trips, watching college hockey (and most sports), going on runs, drinking coffee, seeking out Outward Bound staff expeditions, traveling, and finding swimming holes to jump into! 

Eli Fox

Outreach Coordinator

It feels really wonderful to be working for an organization such as Outward Bound.  When I was 14 years old, I had the opportunity to go on a 21 day multi-activity course in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.  On that trip, like so many people, I felt a new sense of pride and accomplishment which only arises when completing the rite of passage that is Outward Bound.  At that point I learned from my instructors that working in the wilderness is a viable career path, so I set out on it, and 12 years later I now work for Outward Bound California! 

I could not be happier, as it is extremely fulfilling to be offering similar transformative experiences to what I went through and seeing the different lessons and experiences these young adults (and adults and veterans) are taking away today.  

Valerie DiPonio

HR & Operations Manager

Valerie's signature subject line in emails to staff is "Boring But Important," and that speaks to how she injects her sense of humor and respect for big and small details into her role at OBCA.  Valerie onboards and clears staff to work in the field and in the office, makes sure everyone gets paid, and generally keeps the systems of the organization humming behind the scenes.  

Valerie hails from the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan.  She studied Political Science at Kalamazoo College, where she led incoming students on 18-day trips backpacking and canoeing through Killarney Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada.  That left her with a determination to work in the outdoor ed industry, and she eventually made her way to the Bay Area and to Outward Bound California.  These days, she lives and works for OBCA from the Lake Tahoe area, achieving a lifelong dream of being able to ski most days of the week in the winter.  One of her favorite OB moments was crossing the finish line of the 2017 San Francisco Marathon with three of her coworkers.  Valerie stubbornly insists on hand-grinding her coffee beans most mornings.  She is not sure yet what that says about her.

Sarah Ullrich

Logistics Manager

As Logistics Manager of the High Sierra program, Sarah ensures proper inventory and leveraging of the resources that help programs run - vehicles, food, equipment - as well as lead the rambunctious team of support staff who sweat their way to success every summer! She came into this career by accident while bouncing around as a seasonal worker in her early 20s when shediscovered a deep love for solving complex logistical puzzles.

Sarah believes that the world is one big wilderness worth exploring. Whether it's getting into type two fun of Sierra talus, losing shoes to the knee deep mud of New Zealand's Stewart Island or walking through the villages and concrete jungles of the ancient pilgrimage El Camino de Santiago, her approach to living fully is to regularly push herself into the unknown. Outdoor Bound allows staff to live in this way, always seeking new adventure whether through work or personal time. Sarah chose this life because it enriches who she is while enabling her to help enrich others through her work. "We have so much to give one another, and sharing ourselves through challenge and discovery is the best way to connect and grow as people. Outward Bound facilitates just that."

Chelsea Arcaris

Community Programs Advisor

Chelsea works in the Student Services department as the Community Programs Advisor. She helps to process applications and paperwork for both local group partners and open enrollment programs.

Simon Hill

Logistics Manager

Along with the rest of the logistics team, Simon does all things related to food, gear and transportation. On any given day his crew may be found sewing torn backpacks, outfitting students with boots or weighing and bagging hundreds of pounds of gorp.

Simon fell into the outdoor education industry because it gave me an opportunity to share the spaces and experiences that I love. He's always felt a curiosity for new landscapes and a compulsion for exploration and adventure. In his first years as an outdoor educator he saw how outdoor experiences can change people. They can be powerful. So this is how he's chosen to spend my time, well most of it anyway. He still sets aside time to follow my curiosity like exploring San Francisco and the greater Bay Area with a bicycle and a camera.

BJ Allen

Director of Student Services

BJ came to OBCA with a background in clinical social work and a specialty in animal assisted interventions.  She oversees the team who supports students and families in preparing for their Outward Bound experiences and also leads our organizational commitment to equity and inclusion.

BJ loves to run and hike and spends most of her free time playing outside with her partner, kids and the family dog. Their favorite adventures include playing in streams, building forts and roaming the forests of the East Bay hills.

Maggie Lyons Weller

Program Director

Maggie Lyons Weller is the Program Director for the Bay Area program with Outward Bound California. Maggie began working for Outward Bound as a Field Instructor in Baltimore and Philadelphia in 2006. Maggie became an administrator in 2008 as a founding member of the Bay Area Center staff. She has since served the organization in a variety of roles including student services, community outreach, staffing management and program design. Maggie holds a BA from Loyola Marymount University in Humanities and Sociology.

As a two time OB alumni, Maggie came with a firsthand understanding of the confidence, skill and perspective OB can teach young people.  Maggie has lived primarily in some of the largest cities in the US and has an equal love of wilderness and city. This continues to drive her passion for creating access to outdoor programs for students from urban areas and connecting their lived experience with OB's mission.  She enjoys trail running, movies, and sharing stories.

Sean Altman

Program Manager

Sean is the Program Manager for the Bay Area Basecamp at OBCA and develops curriculum-rich outdoor programming for our program partners.
He grew up camping all over California with his family, climbing in the Santa Cruz Mountains and running rivers in Idaho. It wasn't until college that he understood that he could make "the outdoors" a career. After graduating with a degree in Outdoor Education, he worked as a guide for a Wilderness Therapy Program in Oregon and managed a summer wilderness program in Yosemite before coming to Outward Bound in 2016. "Being a part of the shaping of our future has always been a driving force for me to work with youth in the outdoors."

When he's not working with instructors and students, he loves to work with his hands whether it's cooking, woodworking, gardening or restoring classic cars. 

Chelsea Knoren

Student Services and Sales Manager

Chelsea is in Student Services and the Communication departments where she helps students change their lives by finding courses on the website to getting them prepped for course. 

Chelsea was more of a gym person until she got tricked into a 40 mile bike ride in Point Reyes composed of only hills. After she returned exhausted, she felt super accomplished with a rush of adrenaline and wanted to tap more into this feeling, so she started bike commuting, hiking longer distances and kayaking. This new world brought her peace and a new connection to nature. At a career crossroads, she took an assessment of the things that make her happiest and on the top of the list was being outside and helping others find that peace too. She found OB and applied for many jobs, until we finally hired her! We don't regret it.