The People Behind It All...

GirlVentures is exceedingly blessed with a very active and highly engaged Board of Directors. The Executive Committee of the board works closely with our small year-round staff to run an efficient and effective organization - they are the faces behind the scenes - invisioning and incubating our potential. They then pass it over to our contracted and seasonal staff - the faces in the field - who bring our mission to life! We are most greatful for the excellence, passion and talents of all our dedicated staff.

Sarah Heath - Director, Programs & Outreach

Raised in a family of educators and outdoor enthusiasts, Sarah has always loved playing and working outside.  From her first summit (Mt Monadnock – on a bet over a creemmee with her grandpa) to ski-school at age 5 Sarah has always believed in the magic of adventure.  

Ms. Heath started with GirlVentures as volunteer mentor in Jan 2006, joined our Instructional team that summer and was hired as year-round staff in Jan 2007.  She comes to us with 19 years of experience teaching youth and adults alike. Having begun her career as an outdoor educator with the Swift Water Girl Scout Council back east, she's been leading outdoor expeditions for 16+ years.

On her 16th birthday, Sarah became an American Red Cross Lifeguard and continued to pursue advanced Red Cross training as a Lifeguard Trainer, CPR/PR Instructor, Small Water Craft Instrutor and Water Safety Instructor - thus beginning a succssful in career in mitigating the risks associated with outdoor adventure pursuits. Additionally Sarah has completed NOLS' Wilderness Risk Management Training, is a certified American Mountain Guide Association Climbing Wall Instructor; and holds a Wilderness First Responder certification.

Sarah first got involved with nonprofit work during high school as a volunteer and activist, after college she further entrenched herself in community work through 3 years of AmeriCorps*VISTA service.  Sarah holds a B.A. in Women’s Studies & English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an M.Ed. in Adventure-based Education, from the University of Vermont. In addition to her work with GirlVentures, Sarah also guides/facilitates for UCSF Outdoor Programs, California Nature Treks & Team Adventures, Adventure Associates, and Girls Move Mountains.

Sarah's other loves include her cat (Sigmund), her sweetheart (Sarah), Saturday morning yoga, fresh food, and triathlons. She tries to jet ‘home’ to Vermont whenever possible, and her personal philosophy is summed up nicely by the words of Garrison Keller: "Be well, do good work and stay in touch.”

 

Michelle Augenstein - Interim Development Director

Bio coming soon...

 

 

 

 

Michelle Lovejoy - Program Manager & Volunteer Coordinator

Michelle joined the full-time staff at GirlVentures as Progam Manager & Volunteer Coordinator in fall 2010 after completing two summers of seasonal work as both the Program & Logistics Coordinator and a field Instrucotr. With a Masters degree in Recreation Administration from San Francisco State University, a BA in physical education, and years of experience teaching (K-8th PE) we are thrilled to have her on our team.

Michelle is also certifiied as a Wilderness First Responder, holds a Commercial Drivers License (to drive our beloved purple bus: Lulu!) and is trained as an American Red Cross Lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor.

She whiles away her free time climbing, skiing/snowboarding, and playing co-ed soccer (every Sunday!). A Bay Area native, Michelle can best be desribed as a hardworking, playful outdoors-lady who can solve the most daunting task with her brilliant ingeniutity and make even the most mundane task painless with her efficency & humor!

 

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 staying on Program & Logistics Coordinator and then transitioned into a mentor role with both the Girls Advisory Board and Girlz Climb On. After receiving her B.A. in Outdoor Recreation from Western Washington University, Susie worked as a Youth Program Director, and directed retreats for adolescent girls. 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.  

GirlVentures is one of the major reasons Susie moved to San Francisco! She holds a Wilderness First Responder Certification and offers unbridled enthusiasm for our field. When not studying or working, Susie enjoys yoga, hiking, rock-climbing, swing-dancing, trying new recipes, and living life to the fullest with her husband, Ben.

 

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. 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 so close by.  She is a bicycling lifestylist and can be found biking to work daily.  When not working she may 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.

 

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 in Oakland. She returned for her 3rd summer with GirlVentures this past year after a hard-core NOLS educator trip earlier in the year.

 

 

Robyn Bryers
From scaling big peaks to rowing huge rapids and tackling open sea crossings in a kayak, she has done it all. Robyn graduated with a degree in Outdoor Experiential Education from Prescott College and has been the program director for a non-profit outdoor school in Prescott, Arizona since 2005. When Robyn is not busy floating somewhere in North America, she can be found co-directing the annual WEB (Woman's Empowerment Breakthrough) Conference held each year for teenage girls in Arizona. Robyn has been Instructing and Course Directing with GirlVentures for 3 years now.

 

 

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, is being published in March 2010 - yay! She lives in a great town in a 1915 house she and her husband Rob recenntly renovated themselves! The two share their home with Virgil (the cat), and their dogs Barley & Ruby.

 

 

 

Elizabeth Reiff
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. 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. She is also an aspiring fiddle virtuoso.

 

 

 

Tryka D.
Tryka grew up in New Jersey with her 3 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 6 years. 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 graduation of Smith College, Ivonne now spends her days work with youth at the Hamlin School, guiding & coordinating trips with UCSF Outdoor Programs and eating pupusas :) She instructed with GirlVentures for the first time in 2009 following a semester spent in Patagonia with NOLS.

 

 

 

Maren Gaulden
Maren comes to GirlVentures with a passion for experiential outdoor education and a diverse range of experiences. She interned wtih Women's Wilderness Institute in Boulder, CO, served on the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, and has adventured with NOLS for 4+ collective months. She also spent 2 years involved with "INVEST" a leadership program at the University of Colorado where she earned a BA in sociology. Since Maren discovered that nature is the best teacher you'll ever have, she has sought experiences that have empowered her to become an exceptional instructor. This experience, balanced with her beautiful humor, made her a great addition to our GirlVentures Instructor team in 2009. She finds herself rejuvenated by great friends, green spaces, yoga, dance and anything that inspires her to move.

 

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 staid involved through our Leadership Development Program through 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.

 

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 GV as an instructor and rock specialist since 2007.

 

 

Read about our Assistant Instructors