Instructors
Our seasonal instructors are highly trained educators and facilitators with expertise in outdoor adventure education and the unique needs of diverse adolescents. Their talents, competence and enthusiasm bring our programs to life!
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Instructors have an average of seven years of outdoor education experience.
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All instructors are required to have Wilderness First Aid or Wilderness First Responder certification.
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All instructors are female and reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of our girls.
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A significant portion of instructor training is dedicated to diversity curriculum.
Chanthy An
Chanthy joined our instructor team in 2007 after returning from developing a women’s empowerment program as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa. A natural teacher, she worked for the Headlands Institute for several years and currently facilitates a school gardening and wellness program read full bio
in Oakland. She returned for her 3rd summer with GirlVentures this past year after a hard-core NOLS educator trip earlier in the year.
in Oakland. She returned for her 3rd summer with GirlVentures this past year after a hard-core NOLS educator trip earlier in the year.
Susie Barr-Wilson
Hailing from the state of Washington, Susie joined GirlVentures in January 2010 as a graduate intern through San Francisco State University. She stayed on as the Program & Logistics Coordinator and then transitioned into a mentor role with both the Girls Advisory Board and Girlz Climb On.read full bio
After receiving her B.A. in Outdoor Recreation from Western Washington University, Susie worked as a Youth Program Director (directing retreats for adolescent girls) and as a camp Program Coordinator and Challenge Course Manager. Her passion for young women’s empowerment was further ignited by her 2007-09 Peace Corps service in rural South Africa, in which Susie worked with four women educators to develop an after-school program for girls in the village.
After receiving her B.A. in Outdoor Recreation from Western Washington University, Susie worked as a Youth Program Director (directing retreats for adolescent girls) and as a camp Program Coordinator and Challenge Course Manager. Her passion for young women’s empowerment was further ignited by her 2007-09 Peace Corps service in rural South Africa, in which Susie worked with four women educators to develop an after-school program for girls in the village.
Xiu Mei Chen
Xiu Mei began her life-long career with GirlVentures back in 1999 when she was a participant on our very own Project Courage Course! She returned the following year to do Transitions and stayed involved through our Leadership Development Program throughread full bio
her high school years.
After a brief break for college, Xiu Mei returned to GirlVentures with a degree from UCLA where she was highly involved with their outdoor programs and climbing wall. In 2009 she became our first of two alumnae to return as instructors! When she’s not teaching girls in the wilderness, she can be found dedicated to helping her community through her AmeriCorps service.
her high school years.
After a brief break for college, Xiu Mei returned to GirlVentures with a degree from UCLA where she was highly involved with their outdoor programs and climbing wall. In 2009 she became our first of two alumnae to return as instructors! When she’s not teaching girls in the wilderness, she can be found dedicated to helping her community through her AmeriCorps service.
Cori Coccia
Cori first came to Girlventures in the summer of 2003 as a Logistician and has worked every summer since as an Instructor and Course Director. She has her B.A. from San Francisco State in Recreation and Leisure with an emphasis in Outdoor Leadership. She earned her M.S. in Environmental Education by traveling around the country and living abroad in intentional learning communities with Lesley University’s Audubon Expedition Institute.read full bio
Cori taught for four years as an educator and naturalist teaching environmental science and teambuilding at the Headlands Institute. She is committed to creating access for all to the natural world, to experiences that promote self-discovery and empowerment and to deepening herself as an activist and youth ally. Having grown up along the California coast, Cori calls San Francisco home because she is in love with the land and here she can live on the cusp of the worlds that fuel her passion: the urban adventures and diversity of the bay area, and the wide open spaces of Marin, the Ventana Wilderness and the Sierra Nevada. She is a bicycling life-stylist and can be found biking to work daily. When she isn’t working she can be found riding her motorcycle up the coast, enjoying a local café, writing in her journal, knitting something, going for a hike, climb, ride or paddle or making a to-do list.
Cori taught for four years as an educator and naturalist teaching environmental science and teambuilding at the Headlands Institute. She is committed to creating access for all to the natural world, to experiences that promote self-discovery and empowerment and to deepening herself as an activist and youth ally. Having grown up along the California coast, Cori calls San Francisco home because she is in love with the land and here she can live on the cusp of the worlds that fuel her passion: the urban adventures and diversity of the bay area, and the wide open spaces of Marin, the Ventana Wilderness and the Sierra Nevada. She is a bicycling life-stylist and can be found biking to work daily. When she isn’t working she can be found riding her motorcycle up the coast, enjoying a local café, writing in her journal, knitting something, going for a hike, climb, ride or paddle or making a to-do list.
Tryka D.
Tryka grew up in New Jersey with her three sisters. Her introduction to Outdoor Education was in 2002, as a student on a North Carolina Outward Bound School 28-day trip. At the closing circle, she asked, “can I just stay?” Two months later, she was working there. She’s been instructing all-girl trips with Connecting with Courage (Boston, MA), Passages Northwest (Seattle, WA) and GirlVentures for six years.read full bio
Working with youth is her greatest passion in life and she expects to keep doing it for a long time to come. Backpacking, rock climbing, flat water kayaking or canoeing are among her favorite outdoor activities, although she also likes to spend time in the city to drink good coffee, have good conversations, and eat good food.
Working with youth is her greatest passion in life and she expects to keep doing it for a long time to come. Backpacking, rock climbing, flat water kayaking or canoeing are among her favorite outdoor activities, although she also likes to spend time in the city to drink good coffee, have good conversations, and eat good food.
Ivonne Garcia
A recent graduate of Smith College, Ivonne now spends her days working with youth at the Hamlin School, guiding and coordinating trips with UCSF Outdoor Programs and eating pupusas. She became an instructor with GirlVentures in 2009, following a semester spent in Patagonia with NOLS.
Maren Gauldin
Maren comes to GirlVentures with a passion for experiential outdoor education and a diverse range of experiences. She interned with the Women’s Wilderness Institute in Boulder, CO and has adventured with NOLS for 4+ collective months. She also spent two years involved with INVST-read full bio
a leadership program at the University of Colorado, where she earned a BA in sociology. Maren has a background in international trip leading and currently works as a Program Director for LEAPNOW, an experiential alternative to college. Since Maren discovered that nature is the best teacher you’ll ever have, she has sought experiences that have empowered her to live a life of discovery and adventure. Her passion for the wilderness and her love for working with girls brought her to GirlVentures in 2009. She finds herself rejuvenated by great friends, green spaces, yoga, dance and anything that inspires her to move.
Maren Gauldin
Maren comes to GirlVentures with a passion for experiential outdoor education and a diverse range of experiences. She interned with the Women’s Wilderness Institute in Boulder, CO and has adventured with NOLS for 4+ collective months. She also spent two years involved with INVST-read full bio
a leadership program at the University of Colorado, where she earned a BA in sociology. Maren has a background in international trip leading and currently works as a Program Director for LEAPNOW, an experiential alternative to college. Since Maren discovered that nature is the best teacher you’ll ever have, she has sought experiences that have empowered her to live a life of discovery and adventure. Her passion for the wilderness and her love for working with girls brought her to GirlVentures in 2009. She finds herself rejuvenated by great friends, green spaces, yoga, dance and anything that inspires her to move.
a leadership program at the University of Colorado, where she earned a BA in sociology. Maren has a background in international trip leading and currently works as a Program Director for LEAPNOW, an experiential alternative to college. Since Maren discovered that nature is the best teacher you’ll ever have, she has sought experiences that have empowered her to live a life of discovery and adventure. Her passion for the wilderness and her love for working with girls brought her to GirlVentures in 2009. She finds herself rejuvenated by great friends, green spaces, yoga, dance and anything that inspires her to move.
Beth Lim
Beth started with GirlVentures as a mentor for Girlz Climb On in the fall of 2010, began working as a Rock Specialist the following spring, and then joined us as the Program & Logistics Coordinator. In 2012 she will join us as the Program Manager for Girlz Climb On in the South Bay.read full bio
When she’s not hanging out at the office, Beth works as a rock climbing guide, volunteers for various organizations in the Bay Area, and wishes she had more time to get out and play in the great outdoors.
When she’s not hanging out at the office, Beth works as a rock climbing guide, volunteers for various organizations in the Bay Area, and wishes she had more time to get out and play in the great outdoors.
Sarah McKay
Manager of Vertex Climbing Center, Sarah gets away for road trips in Wanda, her VW camper bus as often as possible. Her master’s thesis, an analysis of how women climbers are represented in the media, was published in March 2010. She lives in a great town in a 1915 house, which she and her husband, Rob, recently renovated themselves! The two share their home with Virgil (the cat), and their dogs Barley & Ruby.
Elizabeth Reiff
Elizabeth is a student, teacher, gardener and printmaker who would rather be outside than inside in any weather. She collects free time and then spends it doing yoga, hiking, making things, riding her bike and learning how to guide whitewater rafts.read full bio
Elizabeth has been involved with GirlVentures for the past five years, first as a mentor for the Girlz Climb On program and then as an instructor. She also co-directs the environmental education component of the Bay Area based summer program Aim High and is an aspiring fiddle virtuoso.
Elizabeth has been involved with GirlVentures for the past five years, first as a mentor for the Girlz Climb On program and then as an instructor. She also co-directs the environmental education component of the Bay Area based summer program Aim High and is an aspiring fiddle virtuoso.
Rain Sussman
Though she grew up in the urban jungle, Rain feels most alive in the high peaks and anywhere coyotes howl. She has been teaching climbing for over ten years, and loves watching girls reach new heights, both literally and metaphorically, on the rock. A NOLS graduate and former Outward Bound instructor, she has worked with GirlVentures as an instructor and rock specialist since 2007.
If you are interested in becoming a seasonal Instructor, read more information on how to apply.
Meet our assistant instructors.