Happy spring, Apogee world! The arrival of May means that the countdown to the Apogee summer is officially underway (36 days until Leader Training, for those of you keeping track) – and it also means that it’s time to start sharing our (incredibly qualified and impressive) summer staff with the world!
Our first batch of Leader Bios covers our multi-talented team headed overseas to lead our Alps Explorer and Pyrenees Mountains & Coast trips – check ’em out!
Leader Name: Maeve Dick (she/her) 
2024 Trip: Alps Explorer
Prior Apogee Experience: Costa Rica Mountains and Coast ‘21, Costa Rica Language and Community ‘21, Northwest Explorer ‘22, Alps Explorer ‘23
Hometown: Lexington, Virginia
School: Oberlin College, Class of 2021
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid & CPR
Highlights from this past year: Maeve’s highlights this past year include guest dancing in Richmond, VA and baking too-many-to-count batches of cookies with her family. And of course, exploring the Alps on her Apogee trip last year!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Stargazing, mountain biking, paddling, and, of course, sunrise hiking
Where you can find Maeve when she isn’t on an early morning hike: Maeve is an avid dancer and is constantly finding ways to move – whether that be climbing, hiking, or jump roping!
Other amazing facts about Maeve: Maeve has camped at least once a month for the past 7 years! She teaches almost all genres and ages of dance, and in addition to speaking Spanish (in which she has tutored elementary school students), Maeve is also working on ASL, Italian, and French. This will be Maeve’s fourth summer with Apogee, including leading in the Alps last summer, and she is thrilled to be heading back to Geneva with her good friend, Megan!
Leader Name: Megan McKeown (she/her)
2024 Trip: Alps Explorer
Prior Apogee Experience: Maine’s Downeast Explorer ‘22, New England Mountains & Coast ‘22, Alps Explorer ‘23
Hometown: Verona, New Jersey
School: University of Vermont, Class of 2020
Certifications: Wilderness First Responder & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Birding, biking, swimming, canoeing, backpacking, and looking for critters!
Highlights of the past year: Megan went looking for shore birds in Scotland, went on a bike trip in Colorado, and started the first birding club at the elementary school she works at!
What Megan is doing when she’s not outside: Probably playing any number of different games, from cribbage to Wingspan to cards. As a dedicated ornithologist, Megan keeps her eyes peeled for migratory birds, and is hoping to add a few more to her list of 355 species that she has spotted!
Why Megan is just one in a million: Megan has taught all over the country: she spent two years working at an outdoor preschool in Washington, taught at an outdoor science school in the Redwoods on the California coast, and most recently spent this past year as an outdoor science teacher at an elementary school in Vermont! Megan is so excited to get back on the Tour du Mont Blanc and eat some gelato, fresh bread, and salami with some rad kiddos and her co-leader, Maeve!
Leader Name: Will “Pitty” Pittman (he/him)
2024 Trip: Alps Explorer
Prior Apogee Experience: New England Support Staff ‘22, Maine Coast Photo ‘22, Cape Cod and the Islands ‘22, Iceland Mountains and Coast ‘23
Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
School: Washington and Lee University, Class of 2024
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid and CPR
Highlights of the past year: Will’s past 12 months were highlighted by exploring Iceland with his Apogee group this past summer and taking a solo canoe trip on the Suwannee River!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Climbing, walking, swimming, canoeing, bird-watching, and playing disc golf
Where you can find Will when he is not hiking or adventuring: Reading, playing basketball or tennis, or one of the many instruments he has mastered! Will says that he is always searching for new games and activities to learn.
A few more reasons why Will is awesome: He plays multiple instruments, including the melodica, the flute, piano, and harmonica! At Washington & Lee, he volunteered with the local daycare center’s after school program where he loves organizing games and tutoring. Before joining the Apogee team, Will also worked as a camp counselor in North Carolina. This summer, Will is excited to hike around Europe with his co-leader of three years, Kit, and their crew of Apogee students!
Leader Name: Kit Taylor (she/her)
2024 Trip: Alps Explorer
Prior Apogee Experience: New England Support Staff ‘22, Maine Coast Photo ‘22, Cape Cod & the Islands ‘22, Iceland Mountains and Coast ‘23
Hometown: Rochester, New York
School: Hamilton College, Class of 2022
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Swimming, hiking, and running!
Highlights of the past year: Kit taught 5th grade in New York City this past year, spent at least two nights in seven different cities while traveling this March, and walked past Harry Styles on the street in NY!
Where you can find Kit when she’s not teaching: Kit loves to take walks in Central Park and is currently on the hunt for the best bagel in NYC. Kit is also an avid thrifter and has been reading lots of mystery books recently.
Additional super awesome facts about Kit: She has spent the past two years teaching in New York and is enrolled to get her Masters in Social Work at the University of Michigan this Fall! Before her time with Apogee, Kit worked as a camp counselor and outdoor cooking specialist at a summer camp and also as a Resident Advisor at Hamilton. Kit is most looking forward to returning for another Apogee summer because she loved facilitating her previous groups’ tight-knit friendships, creating laughs and group memories with everyone, and eating a BUNCH of hummus – oh, and she can’t wait to explore the Alps with her co-leader of three years, Will, and their students!
Leader Name: Kaitlyn Bieber
2024 Trip: Pyrenees Mountains & Coast
Prior Apogee Experience: Caribbean Service: Puerto Rico ‘23
Hometown: Katonah, New York
School: Hamilton College, Class of 2023
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness Swim Safety & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Hiking, skiing, swimming, and swaying in her hammock
Highlight of the past year: Apart from leading Apogee’s Caribbean Service program in Puerto Rico last summer, Kaitlyn’s favorite experiences from the past year include volunteering as an adaptive ski instructor assistant, living in a tent throughout the fall, and wrangling over 300 cows and riding horses on a ranch in Utah!
Where you can find Kaitlyn when she isn’t skiing, hiking, or in the water: Kaitlyn loves dancing and has an emphasis on contemporary and jazz dance. She also loves watercolor painting, film photography, and picnicking!
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 thanks to that experience, she is now fluent in Spanish! Kaitlyn also has a vast amount of experience working with young people, and has now worked with kids in the outdoors in six different locations around the world: Pennsylvania, the Adirondacks (NY), Park City (UT), the Berkshires (MA), Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Kaitlyn also has one of the most wild fun facts we’ve ever heard: she shares a birthday with both her mom and her sister.
Leader Name: Will Titus
2024 Trip: Pyrenees Mountains & Coast
Prior Apogee Experience: Caribbean Service: Puerto Rico ‘23
Hometown: Pennington, New Jersey
School: Williams College, Class of 2023
Certifications: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Wilderness First Responder, Wilderness Swim Safety & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Cycling, skiing, hiking, and backpacking
Highlight of the past year: Will traveled to Costa Rica where he hiked, surfed, and spoke lots of Spanish. He also went on his first solo backpacking trip in New York and went skiing in Colorado this year!
Where you can find Will when he’s not out hiking or playing in the snow: Will has served as a volunteer firefighter for the last four and a half years, so he can usually be found in a fire truck or leading training sessions for newer firefighters in the department!
Other reasons why Will just absolutely rocks: In 2020, Will founded his own small business called Hopewell Helpers to help provide various household services to his community during the Covid pandemic. He eventually grew the company to a team of more than 75 local high school and college students over the course of two years. Will also spent this spring working for a Member of Congress in Washington, D.C., and he is fluent in Spanish!