Our Costa Rica Mountains & Coast, Caribbean Service, and Maine Coast College Essay leaders will be busy this summer: surfing, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, volunteering, writing – the list goes on! We have an amazing crew of folks on tap to lead these great trips – learn all about them below!
Leader Name: Charlie Ratner (he/him) 
2023 Trip: Costa Rica Mountains and Coast
Hometown: Frankfort, Michigan
School: Hamilton College, Class of 2023
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: The triple “S’s”: sledding, surfing, and shuffleboard
Highlight of the past year: One of Charlie’s lifelong passions is lacrosse. Reflecting back on his last year at Hamilton, his highlight is getting to play with his team on the Hamilton fields.
Where you can find Charlie when he’s not playing lacrosse or tearing it up on the shuffleboard court: Charlie is an avid reader and constantly has a book in hand. He founded multiple book clubs on campus, including one for his team to talk about social justice movements and use it as an open space for dialogue and questions. Additionally, he is a computer science major, so he spends quite a bit of time coding and thinking through all of the problem solving that goes into writing programs.
Other reasons why we can’t wait for Charlie to be out in the field with our trips: In 2020, Charlie decided to take a leave of absence from Hamilton so that he could work as a lacrosse coach in southern Israel. While there, he worked with students ages 12 to 18 and led five practices a week. He has also spent previous summers working as a youth group leader for a program based in Northern Michigan – there, he organized and coached tennis programs for over 200 students ages 3-17. On top of that, he speaks both French and Spanish! Phew, way to go Charlie!
Leader Name: Maddie Wayne (she/her)
2023 Trip: Costa Rica Mountains and Coast
Hometown: Brunswick, Maine
School: Macalester College, Class of 2024
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Hiking with her dog, swimming in the ocean, and running!
Highlight of the past year: Speaking of loving running… Maddie’s highlight was running a half marathon along Lake Superior in Minnesota!
Where you can find Maddie when she’s not running or out with her pooch: Maddie is a very serious reader and read over 60 books this past year! When she’s not handing out book recommendations, she can also be found deep in her other hobby: sewing!
Other reasons why Maddie is just amazing: She spent her Spring of 2023 semester living in Sevilla, Spain! She is also quite the language connoisseur – as she is fluent in Spanish and also takes some of her college classes in French and Portuguese! Maddie also is constantly seeking out opportunities to work with young people; she has worked as a camp counselor, private running coach, and in the summer of 2022, she worked with over 100 kids every day, serving food, playing games, and organizing community events. If that’s not enough, she also volunteers at her local middle school to teach French!
Leader Name: Kaitlyn Bieber 
2023 Trip: Caribbean Service
Hometown: Katonah, New York
School: Hamilton College, Class of 2023
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Hiking, skiing, kayaking, and swaying in her hammock
Highlight of the past year: This spring, as part of a trip with Hamilton’s outing club, Kaitlyn successfully completed a 10-day trek up to the Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal!
Where you can find Kaitlyn when she isn’t trekking or in the water: Kaitlyn loves dancing and has an emphasis on contemporary and jazz dance. On top of that, she loves photography and works as the Director of Photography for her college’s magazine, “The Continental.”
Other reasons why Kaitlyn is the bee’s knees: She spent a semester abroad in what is considered the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia, Argentina, and because of that is now fluent in Spanish! Kaitlyn also has a vast amount of experience of working with young people, including spending time working as a counselor and volunteer mentor at a camp for kids with type 1 diabetes in the Dominican Republic. Additionally, in 2021, she co-led groups of up to 20 girls ranging from ages 8-18 for a week-long sessions dedicated to outdoor adventure, team building, and leadership. Kaitlyn also has one of the most wild fun facts we’ve ever heard: she shares a birthday with her mom and her sister.
Leader Name: Will Titus
2023 Trip: Caribbean Service
Hometown: Pennington, New Jersey
School: Williams College, Class of 2023
Certifications: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Cycling, running, mountain biking, and skiing
Highlight of the past year: Will returned to the slopes to ski in Massachusetts and Colorado after a bit of a hiatus. He also had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC to interview policymakers for a public policy project!
Where you can find Will when he’s not playing in the snow or meeting changemakers: Will has served as a volunteer firefighter for the Williamstown Fire Department for the last three and a half years, so he can usually be found in a fire truck or leading training sessions for younger student firefighters in the department!
Other reasons why Will just absolutely rocks: In 2020, Will founded his own small business called Hopewell Helpers. He eventually grew the company to a team of more than 75 local high school and college students over the course of two years. His company helped complete more than 400 jobs over the course of the first two summers! Additionally, Will is fluent in Spanish and is excited to use this specific skill set while in Puerto Rico!
Leader Name: Saul Cuevas-Landeros
2023 Trip: Maine Coast College Essay
Hometown: Oakland, California
School: Bowdoin College, Class of 2023
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Hiking, backpacking, fishing, and ice fishing!
Highlight of the past year: This year, Saul wrote an op-ed piece about artificial intelligence and it was featured in Politico’s tech newsletter! He also was able to visit his family in Mexico and travel around Jalisco with them.
Where you can find Saul when he’s not fishing or being featured in news pieces: Saul loves to read and last year averaged about a book a week! (A perfect hobby for someone leading Maine Coast College Essay, we might add.) He finds himself reading all sorts of books, but especially focused on histories, memoirs, and many different novel styles. He also enjoys going to the gym and playing rugby!
Other reasons why Saul is phenomenal: He speaks Spanish and is learning Italian! Saul also spent a summer researching how metaphors shape our learning around new technologies like the Metaverse and NFTs. After working with Apogee, Saul will head to Senegal where he will be a Peace Corps Volunteer and work on environmental issues. While at Bowdoin, Saul also gets to mentor two middle school students!
Leader Name: Lily Horne
2023 Trip: Maine Coast College Essay
Hometown: Pownal, Maine
School: Carleton College, Class of 2023
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Cross country skiing, trail running, rock climbing
Highlight of the past year: This past November, Lily went on a road trip from Minnesota to Yosemite. She stopped at Devil’s Tower in Wyoming and South Lake Tahoe along the way! She also finished in the top 30 at the American Birkebeiner (a famous 55k cross country ski race) this past winter. Sounds like a packed year of wonderful things!
Where you can find Lily when she’s not crushing her cross-country skiing competition: Lily loves to play the banjo, read and write poetry, and also practice her slack-lining skills. She loves all things centered around being an endurance athlete and likes finding ways that her approach to her sports translate into her life.
Other neat nuggets about Lily and why we think she’s great: Lily has gotten to work with lots of different young people over the last six years. Along with working as a summer counselor at a day camp in Maine, Lily has also worked as an assistant coach for a high school nordic ski team where she teaches and mentors young students. Most recently, she spent last summer working with preschool-aged children at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network. On top of that, her family has six Nigerian Dwarf goats – two of whom are named after characters from the Narnia books!