2024 Summer Instructors

Alonso Santos-Gonzalez was born and raised in Fresno, CA and has been traveling and working in the conservation corps field for the past 4 years. He has led crews through the Mojave Desert and spent 5 months in the backcountry of Kings Canyon National Park, where he learned trail building, backpacking and wilderness living skills.  Alonso completed his first summer with ARC as an instructor in 2023 and is continuing on as the Central Valley Program Facilitator. Alonso enjoys spending time outdoors, playing guitar and being with family and friends. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelors of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies with an emphasis on Water Resource Management and acquired his Wilderness First Responder Certification in 2023 through NOLS.

Zoe discovered her love for the outdoors on family camping and backpacking trips when she was little. Since then, her love for the outdoors has only grown and she has spent many summers hiking in the Sierras. During her time at UC Santa Cruz, she worked as a wilderness guide where she led backpacking, camping, and kayaking trips for fellow students. She also led climbing trips for Leading Lassies, a women’s climbing club she co-founded. Before her time in Santa Cruz, she led month-long river trips in Alaska. In her free time she loves to soak up lots of sunshine, read, and has recently become obsessed with knitting. Some of her favorite writers are Clarice Lispector, Mary Oliver, and e.e. cummings. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz this spring with a degree in Philosophy and has been a Wilderness First Responder since 2022.

Oliver grew up in San Francisco, and received his B.A. in Environmental Studies at UC Santa Cruz in Spring 2024. He first realized his connection with the natural world on hikes in Marin Headlands, and backpacking trips through the High Sierras. As his passion for outdoor adventures has grown, he has focused more on working in groups, both as a leader and an active participant. As a wilderness guide through the Adventure Recreation department at UC Santa Cruz, he’s had the opportunity to develop skills related to leadership, community building, and risk management. As a crew leader for Sierra Institute’s P-CREW during the Summer of 2023, he worked with high-school students to conserve and restore ecosystems in the Plumas watershed. He is excited about sharing some of his own perspectives on life, and equally excited about learning from others. In his free time, he can be found strumming a guitar, bird watching, and reading Mary Oliver poems. He can’t wait to be a part of Adventure Risk Challenge this summer! He acquired his Wilderness First Responder Certification through NOLS in 2019.

Kaela (she/her) started working with ARC as a summer course instructor in 2020 and transitioned to work year-round with students as one of ARC’s Tahoe Program Coordinators. She is now our Academic Year Program Manager. Kaela is passionate about social justice, youth leadership development, and experiential education and has worked with various outdoor and international education programs, as a college student advisor, and a summer camp counselor. In her free time, Kaela is in the kitchen, reading or listening to audiobooks, and exploring outside – most recently learning how to backcountry ski, mountain bike, and pack raft. Kaela has a MA in Peace Education from the UN University for Peace, a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies from Davidson College, and has maintained an active Wilderness First Responder certification since 2009.

Melany is a 2016 ARC summer graduate, who joined the ARC staff team in 2020. She has been a summer instructor for 3 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.

Emma Turcotte (she/her/hers) hails from the midwest and fell in love with outdoor education during her time at Earlham College. In 2017, Emma obtained her first Wilderness First Responder certification and graduated with a B.A. in Human Development and Social Relations the following year. She then moved to the east coast and began her outdoor education career working at a nonprofit in Boston dedicated to giving youth outdoor experiences. During her tenure she started hiking in the White Mountains, became addicted to snowboarding, and developed a passion for working with underrepresented young people from the city. Emma most recently moved to New York City and is working for New York City Outward Bound Schools as a Lead Instructor. She loves dogs as much as she loves ice cream and can often be found reading either science fiction novels or biographies of the people she admires.

Maddie (she/her) is so excited to be on Team Tahoe this summer! This will be her fourth summer with ARC, and she has been on ARC’s programming team full-time since September 2022. Before that, she served as an environmental educator in programs for youth in North Carolina, California, and Colorado, including those with learning diversities. She has a BS in sociology and anthropology from St. Olaf College (MN) and a master’s in nonprofit management from Regis University (CO)! She has held a Wilderness First Responder certification since 2019. In her free time, Maddie loves to explore through trail running, hiking, and backpacking; enjoys sewing, water coloring cards, and pie-baking; and keeps her commitment to lifelong learning by reading (especially nonfiction!) and conversing with friends, colleagues, and students.

Sam is very excited to be working with ARC this summer. He has been guiding since he was 17, spending more than 450 days on trail encouraging youth and college age students to break out of their comfort zones and find the wonders of life. Although new to the west coast, Sam has spent plenty of time guiding within the Rocky Mountains up through Canada, Brooks Range in AK, Adirondacks/Greens/Whites and more by foot, as well as racking up the miles sea kayaking, lake hopping and river running via canoe. Sam earned a B.S. in Forestry along with a minor in Wilderness Emergency Medical Services; the combination of both have informed his ability to safely and confidently guide in the backcountry. In his free time, Sam enjoys cooking big meals, baking sweets, and throwing down in a pottery studio. His favorite literary works are the conservational words of Robin Wall Kimmerer, as well as the philosophy of Benjamin Hoff.

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. She currently works as an English teacher in Spain, and is looking forward to returning home to continue learning and exploring in the Sierras. 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.

Kara Sun (she/her) grew up in the Bay Area, and is currently an educator for StopWaste, an organization based in Oakland which does climate resilience work throughout the East Bay. Kara received a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Carleton College in Minnesota, as well as a Master Environmental Educator certification through the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education. Kara has also been certified as a Wilderness First Responder since 2019. Kara is passionate about increasing accessibility to safe green spaces, driving sustainable food system change, and working towards waste reduction through a lens of environmental justice. Kara brings years of experience teaching environmental education to diverse student groups, as well as an agricultural background working on farms around the U.S. and abroad. She is thrilled to join the ARC team in Tahoe this summer! In her free time, Kara enjoys outdoor shenanigans such as hiking, climbing, and tidepooling, and also loves to grow food, dabble in various crafts, play games with friends, and read. She just finished the book Eat Like a Fish, and would definitely recommend it – it’s a fun read and will probably convince you to become an ocean farmer!

Melany is a 2016 ARC summer graduate, who joined the ARC staff team in 2020. She has been a summer instructor for 3 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.

Heather (she/her) is ARC’s Summer Program Manager and is based out of Yosemite for summer 2024 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.