Cue Phantom Planet’s California for this next batch of Leader Bios, which features our Pacific Coast and California’s Coastal Mountains teams (the latter of which will be heading back east to lead a session of our Maine’s Downeast Explorer trip toward the end of the summer, too)! California, here we come!
Leader Name: Asher Brownstein (he/him)
2023 Trip: Pacific Coast
Hometown: New Paltz, New York
School: Middlebury College, Class of 2025
Certifications: Wilderness First Responder, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Asher loves all types of biking: mountain, road, etc. He also loves trail running and both alpine and nordic skiing. If it’s on skis, Asher loves it!
Highlights of the past year: Asher (very impressively, might we add) completed the 100-mile White Rim Trail around Canyonlands National Park all in one day!
Where you can find Asher when he isn’t tearing it up on his bike: Asher loves to kick back with a book or board games with his family and friends. You might also find Asher sharing his plant identification skills with those around him!
Fast facts about Asher: Asher has been working as a camp counselor for six years! We also love that Asher grew up on a farm – he first discovered his love of the outdoors running around with the cow and many, many chickens. Asher also spent a semester in high school at the Island School in the Bahamas!
Leader Name: Jackie Miller (she/her) 
2023 Trip: Pacific Coast
Hometown: Westchester, Pennsylvania
School: Bowdoin College, Class of 2025
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Jackie loves it all: surfing, snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding, rock climbing, and mountain biking!
Highlight of the past year: Jackie got to surf on the North Shore of Oahu this year!
Where you can find Jackie when she’s not hitting the trails, ocean, or slopes: Probably doing something hockey-related, as she’s a member of the Bowdoin College Women’s Ice Hockey team and also serves on the Ice Hockey Community Service Board here in Brunswick. You might also find her leading trips with the Bowdoin Outing Club!
More cool things about Jackie: Jackie spent a month taking care of elephants in Thailand last year, she has seen Great White Sharks twice while surfing in Maine (though she didn’t love that as much, it was pretty cool!), and she just adopted a five-week-old kitten! Before joining the Apogee team, Jackie started her own youth surf instructor business and has been teaching lessons for the last three summers.
Name: Jakob Sperry
2023 Trip: Pacific Coast Support
Hometown: Newton, Massachusetts
School: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Class of 2023
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Jakob loves to be outside and explore through rock climbing, hiking, biking, backpacking, and road tripping.
Highlights of the past year: Jakob went on not one, not two, but three, incredible cross-country road trips with his friends this past year! Jakob is so excited about the number of places he got to bike, hike, and climb across America.
Where you can find Jakob when he isn’t adventuring: Jakob loves to make things and you can almost always find him in the “makerspace” of Worcester Polytechnic working on projects. He recently made a rooftop tent for his truck which was incredibly fun and rewarding!
Super cool facts about Jakob: Jakob has flown a plane before and is currently working on his pilot’s license! He is also a three-time Apogee Student alumnus, attending our Montana Service Adventure, Europe Coast to Coast, and America Coast to Coast trips. Jakob is pumped to support our Pacific Coast bike trips this summer – he has been a cyclist for over a decade and has been a bike mechanic for over five years!
Leader Name: Lena Schneck (she/her) 
2023 Trips: California’s Coastal Mountains & Maine’s Downeast Explorer
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
School: Hamilton College, Class of 2023
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Rock climbing, trail running, and canoe racing!
Highlights of the past year: Lena had the opportunity to trek to Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal, but that wasn’t all! She also completed the Adirondack Classic 90-Miler Canoe Race (for the second time)!
Where you can find Lena when she’s not racing down rivers: Lena loves baking, crafting, and spending time with her loved ones. You can also often find her at Hamilton College’s rock wall! Lena loves to climb and can often be found teaching and belaying others.
More proof that Lena is simply the coolest: She is undefeated at thumb wars, has two patents (which we are very excited to learn more about), and has taught children in so many different capacities – Lena has been a first grade writing tutor, camp counselor, youth rock climbing coach, and has spent the last few years working with Hamilton’s outdoor adventure orientation program!
Leader Name: Tess Ruddy (she/her)
2023 Trips: California’s Coastal Mountains & Maine’s Downeast Explorer
Hometown: Ferrisburgh, Vermont
School: Vassar College, Class of 2024
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard, & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Rock climbing, hiking, and backpacking
Highlight of the last year: Last summer, Tess spent two months living in Prague in the Czech Republic for an amazing architectural program. After she finishes her Bachelor’s, Tess intends to pursue a Master’s in Architecture!
Where you can find Tess when she isn’t on a European tour: You’ll often find Tess in the Catskills and Adirondacks, but Tess also loves cooking and reading, but is most excited to share that she recently started learning how to knit!
More cool things about Tess: In addition to spending a month backpacking through the Wind River Range in Wyoming as part of a NOLS course, Tess also biked and kayaked the entire length of Lake Champlain and has spent years as a student leader on hiking and camping trips for sixth to eleventh graders. Tess loves exploring and she loves it even more when she can share that love with others! Tess is also VERY excited to learn how to surf with our California’s Coastal Mountains students.
Leader Name: Zach Dinklage (he/him)
2023 Trip: California’s Coastal Mountains
Hometown: Santa Barbara, California
School: Colorado College, Class of 2025
Certifications: Wilderness First Responder, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: In classic California style, Zach’s favorite outdoor activities are surfing and biking!
Highlights of the past year: Over Colorado College’s spring break this year, Zach canoed down the Green River!
Where you can find Zach when he isn’t on the water: Zach is often found riffing on his guitar or kicking a ball around on campus with his friends. Zach loves to play soccer and was a critical part of getting a soccer club established at Colorado College last year!
Super cool facts about Zach: Though he’s from California, Zach spent ten years living in Utah furthering his love of the outdoors! Zach also spent two summers in Santa Barbara as a surf instructor working specifically with underprivileged youth, and afterwards, he went on to volunteer at a Junior Wheelchair sports camp, where he spent three summers and made some incredible memories!