2025 Summer Instructors

Gilian (sounds like fish “gill” ) has taught a variety of subjects in nature-based K-8 schools, completed high alpine trail construction in the western Rocky Mountains, and led a youth conservation crew on projects in and around Plumas National Forest. Gilian holds a Bachelors of Science in Society and Environment from the University of California – Berkeley, and is a certified NOLS Wilderness First Responder. Gilian loves to sing, cook and throw long, lazy dinner parties with friends and family. Favorite poems of hers include Kobayashi Issa’s “Cherry Blossoms” and “i thank you god for most this amazing…” by e.e. cummings. This is Gilian’s second summer at ARC.

Mike has been in education or environmental education for the past five years. Currently he teaches high school science in Oregon. Prior to his education career, he was a wildlife biologist, working in locations across the country. He has extensive backcountry living and travel experience through various outdoor pursuits.  When not working, Mike can be found indulging his outdoor hobbies – all disciplines of climbing, trail running, and skiing. His start for all of the above began at The University of Maine, where he studied wildlife ecology. He went on to get his dual masters at Southern Oregon University in Environmental Education and Secondary Science Education. He has had his Wilderness First Responder certification since 2016.

Born and raised in San Diego, CA, Sadie is excited to be joining the ARC team as an instructor for her second summer, this time, in the Yosemite Immersive Course! She graduated from Elon University this spring with a B.A. in Strategic Communication and International & Global Studies and obtained her NOLS Wilderness First Responder certification in 2024. During her four years at Elon, she worked as a trip leader for Elon’s Experiential Learning and Outdoor Adventure program (ELOA). She has led hiking and paddling trips throughout the southeast, from the Appalachians to the Outer Banks, and in Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Everglades National Parks! In her free time, you can find Sadie cooking with friends, playing a ferocious game of Rummikub, curating the perfect playlist, and participating in any and all outdoor activities (but her favorites are hiking, hammocking, and eating picnic lunches).

Melany is a 2016 ARC summer graduate, who joined the ARC staff team in 2020. She has been a summer instructor for 4 years, and has been WFR certified since Spring 2023. Currently she is working on her B.A. at Fresno State in Art with an emphasis on 2D Animation. In her spare time, Melany likes to draw on her iPad, watch any Gordon Ramsey show, and spend time with loved ones.

Laurel has worked all over California as an outdoor educator and wilderness guide, sharing her passion for the natural world with youth and adults. She earned a B.A. in Public Health and Spanish at Pitzer College, and has since applied both her preventative health lens and Spanish language skills to her work in the outdoor field. Over the past three seasons, Laurel has guided backpacking trips in the Sierra Nevada, exploring glaciated valleys and identifying pine trees. She is eager to return to the Yosemite area with ARC students this summer to continue teaching and learning about this dynamic and magical place. When she is not playing in the mountains, Laurel enjoys live music, cooking, and reading, especially historical fiction. Laurel earned her Wilderness First Responder certification in 2018 through Wilderness Medical Associates.

Heather (she/her) is ARC’s Summer Program Manager and is based out of Yosemite for summer 2025 to support all ARC programming out of this location! Heather earned her B.A. in Ecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but owes the depth of her knowledge to the 2,000+ nights she has spent in the wilderness as an outdoor educator and mountain guide. She has instructed for the National Outdoor Leadership School, helped build outdoor curriculum for several schools, and co-founded an education-based guiding company in the Sierra. She has taught in Australia and less venomous places like Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Alaska, and, of course, California. Heather has been a Wilderness First Responder and Leave No Trace Master Educator since 2010. She is consistently inspired by the works of Robin Wall Kimmerer and Brian Doyle. Outside of work, find Heather trail running, crafting, and snacking.