Leader Name: Marc Flores (he/him/his)
2022 Trip: Caribbean Service
Hometown: Anaheim, California
School: University of California – Berkeley, Class of 2020
Major: Community Planning
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Gravel cycling and hiking with friends!
Highlight of the past year: Marc went on a solo bike tour along the Pacific Coast!
Where you can find Marc when he isn’t biking: In addition to always planning his next adventure, Marc enjoys reading and learning illustration and graphic art.
Other marvelous Marc facts: Marc currently works as the Resident Advisor for the seasonal staff at the YMCA of the Rockies, where he’s in the process of redesigning his front yard into a native ecosystem! He also studied abroad in Spain for an entire summer, where he conducted a project on the gap in technological adoption between the United States and Spain.
Leader Name: Westen Doran (she/her/hers)
2022 Trip: Caribbean Service
Hometown: Wilmette, Illinois
School: University of Richmond, Class of 2023
Majors: Journalism and Leadership Studies
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Swimming, hiking, hammocking, camping.
Highlights of the past year: Westen went backcountry camping with her friends in Joshua Tree National Park!
Where you can find Westen when she’s not hanging out with her friends: Westen is a jack-of-all-trades! She loves baking, painting, playing guitar, and writing or editing stories for her school newspaper.
What makes Westen even more wonderful: She is currently training for a half marathon in November! Westen also taught herself how to play guitar and even knows how to wind surf. On campus, Westen volunteers with a service organization, which includes working with an animal shelter and tutoring students at schools in the Richmond area.
Leader Name: Louise Ahearne (she/her/hers)
2022 Trip: Colorado’s Rocky Mountains
Hometown: Freeport, Maine
School: Connecticut College, Class of 2022
Major: Sociology; Minor: Psychology
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, CPR, Lifeguard
Highlight of the past year: Learning how to kiteboard in Turks and Caicos!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Skiing, sailing, hiking and running
Where you can find Louise when she is not adventuring: Going to live concerts, hanging out at the beach with friends, and napping!
Some super fun facts about Louise: She has spent the past six summers teaching sailing on the coast of Maine! She was a Student Advisor Coordinator at Conn College, leading the team that supports first-years during their college transition, and she wants to become a school counselor. Also – Louise is a two-time Apogee alumna (Pacific Coast ‘15 and Scottish Highlands ‘17)!
Leader Name: Dana McRae (he/him/his)
2022 Trip: Colorado’s Rocky Mountains
Hometown: Warwick, Massachusetts
School: Vassar College, Class of 2022
Major: Sociology
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, CPR, Lifeguard
Highlights of the past year: Built a 60-foot-wide walking labyrinth with friends and a professor!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Climbing, hiking, backpacking, running, biking, swimming, soccer, and ultimate frisbee
Where you can find Dana when he is not busy captaining his ultimate frisbee team: Reading, listening to music, playing board games, cooking, and planning outdoor adventures!
Some other reasons we think Dana is just the bee’s knees: Growing up, he spent most of his summers tutoring, coaching soccer camps, and working as a carpenter restoring old houses. Dana also took classical voice lessons throughout college and performed an hour-long recital with an accompanist at the end of his senior year! He can also wiggle both ears, independently or together – now that’s talent!
Name: William (Will) Pittman (he/him/his)
2022 Role: New England Support Staff
Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
School: Washington and Lee University, Class of 2024
Major(s): Religion and Sociology
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid and CPR
Highlights of 2022: Whitewater rafting in West Virginia!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Bouldering, disc golf, and playing pretty much any sport.
Where you can find Will when he is not hanging outside: Reading in hammocks, hanging with friends, or learning new games/activities!
A few more reasons why Will is awesome: He has spent his recent summers with kids as a camp counselor, teaching new skills and facilitating community living. In college, Will volunteers with the local daycare center after school program, and loves organizing games and tutoring. Will can play the piano and the melodica, and is a bit of a trivia phenom (starting with winning his school’s Geography Bee in 5th grade)!
Name: Patricia (Patty) Pi (she/her/hers)
2022 Roles: Gear Warehouse Manager and New England Support Staff
Hometown: Taipei, Taiwan
School: Colorado College, Class of 2022
Major: Art: Integrated Design
Certifications: Wilderness First Responder and CPR
Highlights of 2022: Taking a group of BIPOC students hiking, camping, and standup paddleboarding for the first time!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Climbing, hiking, and camping
Where you can find Patricia when she is not outside: Longboarding, making candles, embroidering, or working on wood projects in the carpentry shop (lately, she’s been experimenting with epoxy river tablets)!
More proof Patricia is the absolute coolest: She is an identical twin, has spent half of her life in Taipei, and has hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu! At Colorado College, Patricia is the gear manager for the Colorado College outdoors community, a Resident Advisor, and was part of the new student orientation leadership team, helping to welcome and integrate first-year students into the CC community!