Every year, we are so excited to introduce our summer staff to the world – they are always a fantastic and qualified group. This year is no exception! Read on to learn about our team headed to Europe for our Europe Coast to Coast bike trip and for this summer’s welcome additions to the office!
Leader Name: Meg Manning (she/her/hers)
2022 Trip: Europe Coast to Coast
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
School: Hamilton College, Class of 2021
Major: Geoscience
Previous Apogee Experience: Pacific Coast ‘19, Alaska Mountains & Coast ‘21
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Biking, playing spikeball and ultimate frisbee
Highlights of 2021: Meg has loved living and skiing in Colorado since graduating college! She has also spent some of the past year guiding people through the Olympic and Mount Rainier National Parks.
When she isn’t hanging out in the backcountry, you can find Meg: Coaching ultimate frisbee, cheffing up some dinner with friends in their new house, or finding the best ice cream shop in the area.
Meg is pretty great for so many reasons – here’s some more proof: Meg has been bungee jumping in New Zealand and has been paragliding in Zermatt!
Leader Name: Zach Klingner (he/him/his)
2022 Trip: Europe Coast to Coast
Hometown: Fort Collins, Colorado
School: Colorado College, Class of 2022
Major: Organismal Biology & Ecology
Previous Apogee Experience: Alaska Mountains & Coast ‘21
Certifications: Wilderness First Responder, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Splitboarding, mountain biking, fly fishing, bouldering and backpacking
Highlights of 2021: Zach studied art history in Florence, Italy this spring, and had some truly fantastic days skiing in Colorado.
Where you can find Zach when he is not skiing or in the biology lab: Zach loves playing and watching rugby, listening to music and podcasts, cooking, reading, and spending time with friends and family.
Other things about Zach that make us say, “Woah, cool!”: Zach is passionate about making the outdoors a more inclusive and accessible space for all. He leads a mentoring club where he and his peers work with local middle school students in an afterschool program. He can also juggle and unicycle, though not at the same time… yet!
Leader Name: Christian Elliott (he/him/his)
2022 Trip: Europe Coast to Coast
Hometown: Battle Creek, Michigan
School: University of Michigan, Class of 2017
Major(s): International Studies & Spanish
Previous Apogee Experience: America Coast to Coast ‘21
Certifications: Wilderness First Responder, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Skiing and water sports!
Highlights of 2021: Christian moved to Salt Lake City and is living the dream! In the fall of 2021, Christian and ECC Support Extraordinaire Mark House completed an Iron Man together! You could call them Iron Men!
Cool Christian Comments: He volunteered at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and he also spent six months leading trips throughout Europe for college students studying abroad.
Leader Name: Grace Warder (she/her/hers)
2022 Trip: Europe Coast to Coast
Hometown: New York, New York
School: Bates College, Class of 2020
Major: Environmental Studies
Previous Apogee Experience: Pacific Coast ‘18, Summer Assistant Director ‘21
Certifications: Wilderness First Responder & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Sledding, walking on the beach, watching the Portland Sea Dogs baseball team win, and of course, biking!
Highlights of 2021: Last year, Grace watched the birth of a lamb and went backcountry skiing (not simultaneously…) – both for the first time!
When she’s not cheering on the Sea Dogs, you can probably find Grace: Canoeing, playing frisbee, kayaking, eating pizza with pineapples on it, or playing with other peoples’ dogs.
Some other reasons Grace absolutely rocks: She teaches high school environmental classes in Maine, and studied subsistence farming for a semester in Nepal. During her time in Nepal, Grace’s personal goal was to eat a minimum of three dumplings (momos) every day. She succeeded.
Leader Name: Mark House (he/him/his)
2022 Role: Europe Coast to Coast Support
Hometown: Troy, Michigan
School: University of Michigan, Class of 2017
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Previous Apogee Experience: Pacific Coast Support Staff ‘17 , Costa Rica Language & Community ‘18, Europe Coast to Coast ‘19, and America Coast to Coast ‘21
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Snowboarding, cycling, and running
Highlights of 2021: Mark completed his first Iron Man race in Waco (with Christian Elliott, another Apo leader!), Texas, moved to Utah, and visited 36 different states!
Where you can find Mark when he’s not on his bike or camping: Playing basketball, skateboarding, or fixing cars and bikes.
Mark rocks for many reasons – here are just a few: He has lived in three different time zones over the last four years. He has designed parts that are in Jeep Wranglers and amusement park rides at Disney World. He has biked across two continents and is a 90% free-throw shooter (according to him…).
Name: Jack DeAngelis (he/him/his)
2022 Role: Summer Assistant Director
Hometown: Wilton, CT
School: University of Richmond, Class of 2019
Major: English
Previous Apogee Experience: Virtual Maine Coast College Essay ‘20, Alps Explorer ‘19, Pacific Coast ‘18, Maine Coast College Essay ‘17
View from the Office: Jack is a long-time member of the Apogee family and this summer he will be joining us in the office for the first time!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Running long distances, jumping SO high, and gazing over the sun-speckled azures of the Atlantic Ocean.
Where you can find Jack when he’s not gazing at the sea: Bombing down big hills on his road bike, rocking out to ABBA on vinyl, reading a good book, saucing a frisbee, or helping his students put together their school’s newspaper!
Highlights of 2021: Jack was most excited that in 2021, he started teaching high school English!
Jovial Jack Tidbits: He has coached both cross country and track and field high school teams! He sang in a choir in college that took him around the world to perform in eight different countries, and his self-professed kryptonite is a tall stack of buttermilk pancakes!
Name: Emily Saulnier (she/her/hers)
2022 Role: Summer Assistant Director
Hometown: Morristown, NJ
School: Williams College, Class of 2018
Major: Political Science
Previous Apogee Experience: Emily was a participant on our Europe Coast to Coast trip back in 2014!
Views from the Office: Emily brings tons of experience with her to Apogee; she volunteers as a counselor for a 24 hour crisis hotline in her spare time, she worked on a biodynamic farm in the Puget Sound, and she’s also a self-proclaimed New York Times Crossword Expert.
Highlights of 2021: Emily worked this most recent winter as a ski patroller in Park City and it’s safe to say that training avalanche rescue dogs and tons of backcountry skiing made this a terrific highlight.
Exciting Emily Facts: Emily is a coffee aficionado (which means she’ll fit in in our office!), a Spotify playlist curator, and loves all trivia games!