Seasonal Staff
Our energetic seasonal instructors come from all over the country to lead our expeditions. They are Outdoor Educators, averaging about 5 years of experience each and are certified Wilderness First Responders. In addition to their extensive experience with other programs, all staff complete an annual 5-6 day staff training focused on GirlVentures curriculum, policies and procedures, and social and emotional learning facilitation skills.
McKenzie Dale
McKenzie has been with GirlVentures since 2018 in the roles of both Instructor and Rock Climbing Specialist. Prior to joining GirlVentures, she had been working in the field of outdoor education since 2013, and outside of working with GirlVentures, she has spent the past two years serving as an AmeriCorps member with the Bishop Paiute Tribe's Environmental Management Office where she facilitates environmental education programming and coordinates land restoration projects. McKenzie is certified as a Wilderness First Responder through NOLS, a Single Pitch Instructor through the American Mountain Guides Association, and a California Environmental Educator through the Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education. She also holds a B.A in Applied Linguistics with a Minor in Spanish from Portland State University.
McKenzie is very curious about the connections between community and land, the healing nature of the outdoors, and believes that time spent in wilderness brings out the best in people. She is committed to her role in creating a more just and loving world. McKenzie has tremendous gratitude for all of the youth, instructors, and staff that she has had the honor of working with at GirlVentures, and for the way that this work continues to help her grow as a person. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time painting watercolors, climbing rocks, tending plants, and cooking delicious things to eat!
Avalon Qian
Avalon is a GirlVentures baby, having grown up learning how to be outside with GirlVentures programs. As a student she has been on Project Courage, Transitions and Girls Climb On. After GIrlVentures, she went on a month long NOLS course that brought her to the alpine lakes of Wyoming. She then worked as an Assistant Instructor for the Transitions course the summer after high school and has returned every year since as in Instructor or Course Director. Avalon graduated from Bard College in 2018 with a BA in Anthropology. She is passionate about the work that GirlVentures does and is ever grateful for the place it made for her in the outdoor community. She is continuing to learn about what it means to create more access and inclusion within the outdoor world. Avalon also loves soccer, climbing, kayaking and dancing.
Narinda Heng
Narinda joined the GirlVentures community in Fall 2013 as a mentor for Girlz Climb On East Bay. She worked as an Admissions Associate for the 2014 season, during which she also became a field instructor. She's since worked community and summer courses for GirlVentures as well as wilderness courses with NOLS, Eagle Rock School, and Dunn School. Prior to work as an outdoor educator, Narinda graduated from UC Irvine with a BA in English literature in 2007 and worked in the nonprofit sector in Los Angeles 2007-2012. Narinda recently joined the Stanford Adventure Program as part-time and field staff. When not working in outdoor education, she spends her time rock climbing, writing, and making pottery.
Miah McClinton
Miah is a queer, mixed-race, Black woman from Asheville, North Carolina. She has worked for the North Carolina Outward Bound School for the past 7 years, cycling through a variety of titles and responsibilities ranging from intern, logistics, instructor, whitewater specialist, and course director. Miah has had the privilege of working with, adventuring alongside, and learning from hundreds of students, and feels so lucky to build community with folks in wilderness! She is especially grateful for having had the opportunity to listen and learn from the stories and experiences of adjudicated youth, veterans, trauma survivors, and youth of color. As a graduate student in the College of Ethnic Studies at SF State, Miah is interested in the politics of space, racialized landscapes, and the relationship between healing the people / healing the land.
Erin Teutschel
Erin grew up in the Bay Area adventuring in backcountry places with GirlVentures starting at the age of 11. When she was in middle school she was introduced to outdoor adventure-based programming and since then her passion for working outdoors has only grown. Erin spent 4 years at GirlVentures as a student, before moving to the role of Assistant Instructor. Since then she has also held the roles of Program and Logistics Coordinator, Instructor, and most recently Course Director. Driven by the passion for the work GirlVentures does, Erin pursued a B.A. in Adventure Education and Human Development at Prescott College in the Southwest. During and after completing her degree Erin worked for a variety of outdoor education programs across the country. She sees the value in this work because the leadership, communication, and personal development skills that she gleaned from her outdoor experiences as a young person are the same skills she still relies upon to work her way through life’s challenges. Erin currently works at a Public Charter School in Tucson, Arizona where she teaches English and Social Studies to middle school students. She still works with outdoor education organizations, including GirlVentures, during her summer break.