Breakout Session Presenters
The 2018 Leadership Conference is scheduled for Saturday, December 1 at the Seattle Program Center in Magnuson Park. Please find full presenter bios listed below.
Click here for full descriptions of our breakout sessions.
- David Moskowitz, David Moskowitz Photography and Wildlife Tracking
- Nick Block, The Mountaineers
- Ben Brown, The Mountaineers
- Brian Carpenter, The Mountaineers
- SuJ'n Chon, The Mountaineers
- Bill Coady, The Mountaineers
- John Colver, The Mountaineers
- Julie Dasso, The Mountaineers
- Nora de Sandoval, The Mountaineers
- Joe Harper Kowalczyk, The Mountaineers
- Michelle Harper Kowalczyk, The Mountaineers
- Peter Hendrickson, The Mountaineers
- Katherine Hollis, The Mountaineers
- Katja Hurt, The Mountaineers
- Richard Jolley, Keating, Bucklin & McCormack
- Ryan Kitchen, The Mountaineers
- Charlie Lieu, #SafeOutside
- Bam Mendiola, Bam Organization
- Sam Ortiz, The Mountaineers
- Dave Rowe, PSIA-NW
- Vik Sahney, The Mountaineers
- Steve Smith, Experiential Consulting, LLC
- Debbee Straub, Jellyfish Flow
- Nellie Suthers, The Mountaineers
- Tom Unger, The Mountaineers
- Tom Vogl, The Mountaineers
- Tess Wendel, The Mountaineers
- Janette Zumbo, The Mountaineers
David Moskowitz
David Moskowitz Photography and Wildlife Tracking
David Moskowitz works in the fields of photography, wildlife biology, and education. He is the photographer and author of three books: Caribou Rainforest, Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest, and Wolves in the Land of Salmon. He has contributed his technical expertise to a wide variety of wildlife studies regionally and in the Canadian and U.S. Rocky mountains, focusing on using tracking and other non-invasive methods to study wildlife ecology and promote conservation. David also helped establish the Cascade Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Project, a citizen science effort to search for and monitor rare and sensitive wildlife in the Cascades and other Northwest wildlands.
Nick Block
The Mountaineers
Nick Block's role as the Volunteer Collaborations Manager is to support the many organization-wide, volunteer-led initiatives at The Mountaineers. Prior to his staff role at The Mountaineers, Nick was a student of the Intense Basic Alpine Climbing Course in Seattle and went on to chair the course in 2018. Nick enjoys leading alpine climbs and helping people discover everything the mountains have to offer.
Ben Brown
The Mountaineers
Ben Brown has been a K-12 public teacher for eight years, and a volunteer instructor with The Mountaineers for two. He currently works as an instructional coach supporting teachers in the Bethel School District with effective, efficient, student-centered implementation of technology in their classrooms. Ben is working on a Doctorate in Education in Instructional Systems Design and Technology, and is concentrating on professional development and adult learners.
Brian Carpenter
The Mountaineers
Brian Carpenter has been exploring the mountains and waters of Washington since the declination was 21 degrees east (that's a long time ago!). He recently completed his Masters in Education at the University of Washington and is a graduate of the IslandWood Education for Environment and Community program. Brian helps teach various courses and leads hikes, backpacks, snowshoes, and naturalist trips. He also volunteers at Mt. Rainier National Park. In his rare spare time, he fiddles around on the violin and grows peaches.
SuJ'n Chon
The Mountaineers
SuJ'n Chon has served as a trip leader with the Seattle Snowshoeing, Hiking, and Backpacking Committees, as well as instructor for the Alpine Scrambling and Navigation programs at the Seattle Branch. She currently serves as Program Director for the North Cascades Institute, and is a new a Skagit County resident.
Bill Coady
The Mountaineers
Bill Coady joined the Mountaineers in 2001 and was first involved in alpine scrambling. He then branched out to cross-country skiing and sea kayaking, as well as other courses including wilderness navigation, wilderness first aid, snowshoe, and avalanche safety. He is currently chair of the Everett Sea Kayak Committee and an instructor with the Everett Nordic Ski Program. Bill and his wife Michele enjoy kayak camping in the San Juans and cross-country skiing, especially in the Methow.
John Colver
The Mountaineers
John Colver is a former British Paratrooper, athletic coach, author of Fit By Nature (Mountaineers Books 2011), and a mountain guide since 1999. John has guided climbers on Denali, Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, and other high-altitude expeditions, as well as over a hundred visits to the top of Mount Rainier. Based in Seattle, his current passions include long-distance hiking and writing.
Julie Dasso
The Mountaineers
Julie Dasso is an Olympia Basic Climbing instructor, Basic Climbing Mentor Coordinator, and Basic Climbing Committee member. She climbs, scrambles, hikes, backpacks, kayaks, and horseback rides. She also volunteer extensively with the Pacific Crest Trail Association.
Nora de Sandoval
The Mountaineers
Nora de Sandoval has been hiking, backpacking, skiing, and kayaking in the Northwest with her family for the past forty years. Fortunate to have the formative experience of working for Northwest Youth Corps as her first job, she has continued working in education, leadership, and the outdoors ever since. A teacher for 20 years, Nora now works for the Girl Scouts of Western Washington as the Learning Manager for Outdoor Learning and Certification Workshops. Within her work role, as well as in the broader community, Nora has led several workshops around topics of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and looks forward to bringing her passion for this work to The Mountaineers as a member of the Inclusion Committee.
Joe Harper Kowalczyk
The Mountaineers
Joe Harper Kowalczyk currently serves as an Academic Services Director in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington. He has been an educator and administrator for over 11 years, working in university and K-12 settings in Washington, Colorado, Maryland, South Africa, and Switzerland. Joe's recent adventures have him carting his newborn in a backpack carrier around the Pacific Northwest's mountains.
Michelle HARPER KOWALCZYK
THE MOUNTAINEERS
Michelle Harper Kowalczyk earned a BA in Elementary Education in 2007 and her MS in Student Affairs in Higher Education in 2010. Since then, she has served in a variety of settings as a classroom educator, teacher trainer, and workshop facilitator. She currently serves as an Assistant Director for Leadership and Government in the Center for Student Involvement at Seattle University and assists in instructing lectures through the Tacoma Branch of The Mountaineers.
Peter Hendrickson
The Mountaineers
Peter Hendrickson has led a combination of hikes, backpacks, scrambles, climbs, paddles, cycles, and treks for over 60 years. A past Seattle Navigation Chair, he's the current Seattle Branch Chair and an active hike leader/instructor/mentor.
Katherine Hollis
The Mountaineers
Katherine Hollis directs The Mountaineers conservation and advocacy work, envisioning and driving the organization's unique approach to public lands conservation. The Mountaineers conservation advocacy program works to protect the outdoor experience – our wild places depend on our powerful voice for conservation and responsible access. We advocate, educate, and engage outdoor enthusiasts to protect our public lands.
Katja Hurt
The Mountaineers
A fourth generation Mountaineer and recent graduate of the Basic Climbing Course, Katja has over 12 years of volunteer experience, including being an alpine ski patroller and a police and fire chaplain for several local agencies. Katja has a background in instructor development, curriculum design, and she recently attended the 2018 Wilderness Risk Management Conference. She has a growing interest in equity, inclusion, and diversity in outdoor education and is eager to share her learning across The Mountaineers.
Richard Jolley
Keating, Bucklin & McCormack
Richard Jolley is a partner at Keating, Bucklin and McCormack in Seattle, where he has worked for over twenty years. In conjunction with Ruth Nielsen, he has been representing recreational entities like Washington state ski areas for over ten years and is a member of the Association of Ski Defense Attorneys. Richard is passionate about mountain recreation and loves skiing, climbing, hiking, and mountain biking. He has climbed a number of North America’s 50 classics but has led none of them! Richard and his wife split time between Seattle and Jackson, Wyoming.
Ryan Kitchen
The Mountaineers
Ryan Kitchen is a NAUI Scuba Instructor and AIARE Course Leader. He volunteers a significant amount of time with the Evergreen Mountain Bike Association, The Mountaineers, and the Northwest Avalanche Center. Ryan teaches avalanche safety courses and backcountry ski classes for The Mountaineers, and can most often be found wandering the hills of Washington and blowing bubbles in the oceans of the world.
Charlie Lieu
#SafeOutside
Charlie Lieu is a trained data scientist and operational strategist who focuses on complex data-driven strategy and program development. She currently holds an appointment as a program operations director at UW Medical, and she is an affiliate researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Charlie is credited with starting the #SafeOutside movement, as well as supporting partners in policy, legislation, and procedural refinement or development.
Bam Mendiola
Bam Organization
Bam Mendiola is a speaker, writer, and diversity consultant. Their work has recently been featured by NBC, REI, and the National Resources Defense Council and has been described as "arresting", "powerful", and "peppered with humor".
Sam Ortiz
The Mountaineers
Sam Ortiz grew up admiring climbers at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, watching rock climbers scale tall red walls, and never once considered she might be able to do that herself one day. She always adored the outdoors, but as a plus size, Hispanic woman, rarely saw any role models who she could look up to. The Mountaineers has given her the training and skills she needed to join others on tall red walls, or even on glaciers. Now, through her adventure photography, she is becoming the role model that her younger self always wanted and needed.
Dave Rowe
PSIA-NW
Dave Rowe is a Level III certified Alpine and Telemark ski instructor, a Divisional Staff member of the Northwest Division of the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA-NW), an Alpine and Telemark Certification Examiner, and a member of the PSIA-NW Technical Team. Dave provides training to Snowsport School Directors and their instructors throughout the Pacific Northwest with the aim of raising professional standards in order to foster exceptional guest experiences.
Vik Sahney
The Mountaineers
Vik Sahney is an outdoor adventurer and business leader who is presently the VP of the Mountaineers Board and a climb leader. In 2011, Vik became one of ~350 people and the first Indian-American to complete the 7 Summits, summiting the tallest peak on each continent.
Steve Smith
Experiential Consulting, LLC
Steve Smith is a risk management consultant who works primarily with outdoor education and experiential learning programs. His career has included administrative leadership roles with national organizations including Outward Bound and The Student Conservation Association, and he has contributed to The Mountaineers as a volunteer, magazine author, and former staff member of the Education Department. He spent three years as the chair of the Wilderness Risk Management Conference and has presented annually at the conference since 2010.
Debbee Straub
Jellyfish Flow
Debbee Straub, MSEd, RYT-500hr yoga instructor is an accomplished educator in her community. As a prior middle school STEAM teacher, she left full-time teaching to create her business, Jellyfish Flow, and to continue her studies with Yoga Therapy, mindfulness, and graduate work. She practices and teaches mountaineering, yoga, and mindfulness. Debbee also taught mindfulness skills to her middle school students and teachers, including training workshops for teachers and staff. Debbee is a Mountaineers member and volunteer.
Nellie Suthers
The Mountaineers
Nellie Suthers is a 3rd grade teacher in the Seattle Public Schools. She has been a member of the Tacoma Branch of The Mountaineers since 2013. She taught the Tacoma Sport Climbing Course for two years and also served on the Tacoma Intermediate Climbing Committee for one year.
Tom Unger
The Mountaineers
Tom Unger has been hiking, climbing, skiing, paddling, and sailing throughout the west since 1992. He estimates he has done 70 week-long backcountry trips, mostly as leader, across all these modes of travel. Last summer, Tom lead a group of three Mountaineers sea kayakers on a three week, 200 mile trip down the west coast of Vancouver Island. As a leader for The Mountaineers, Tom is widely praised by both students and participants for his outstanding communications, group facilitation, instruction, and collaborative leadership.
Tom Vogl
The Mountaineers
Tom Vogl is the Chief Executive Officer of The Mountaineers. He works closely with The Mountaineers staff and Board of Directors to support the strategic vision, operational plans, and resourcing to execute the organization's mission with a high degree of integrity and fiscal responsibility.
Tess Wendel
The Mountaineers
Tess Wendel is a Mountaineers instructor and climb leader, and she currently co-chairs the Seattle Intermediate Climbing Course. She also worked on staff for The Mountaineers helping new members navigate our programs and making pathways to leadership more transparent on the website.
Janette Zumbo
The Mountaineers
Janette Zumbo has been a member of The Mountaineers for almost six years, and she currently serves as the Basic Climbing Chair of the Olympia Branch. She's taken a number of Mountaineers courses, and is passionate about improving the courses for our students as well as providing high quality experiences and opportunities for course volunteers.