Ellen developed her passion for the outdoors when she was a university student in Dunedin NZ, completing a degree in physical education. Personal experience during those years helped shape her belief in the value of outdoor and experiential education as a way to engender positive change in people. Since then she has spent most of her life working and playing in the outdoors.

Ellen also enjoys the challenge and learning that travel and experiencing other cultures provides. So any place she can do something in the outdoors, experience new environments and have a unique cultural experience is appealing to her. To these ends she has climbed, bicycled, skied, kayaked and trekked around the globe – including North and South America, Asia, Europe, Scandinavia, Antarctica and Australia.

Although she comes from Wanaka, a small town situated in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, Ellen now lives in Paradise Valley with her husband Drew and dog Stella.  She has become a keen fly fisher-woman and wildlife watcher, and also rows the family drift boat - when Drew can separate her from her fishing rod.

In her job as MYE Program Director, she is committed to helping create a high quality, safe, and 'real' experiential educational experience, that reaches well beyond the basecamp boundaries, and enables MYE staff and students to be their best version of themselves.

Irene was raised in Memphis, TN but has spent the last five years living and working in Costa Rica and California.

In Costa Rica, she co-owned a nation wide business that provided professional photography services for weddings, action/adventure and an assortment of other things. For the last three years, Irene has worked for Naturalists-at-Large, a California-based outdoor education company, and is currently employed with as their site manager on Catalina Island.

When Irene is not working hard in beautiful places, she likes to have adventures in other countries, scuba dive, ski in the winter, spend time with family and continue to explore her passion for photography.

Irene makes the most of her time off in the winter. In the last four years, she has traveled through SE Asia, honed her skiing skills in Tahoe, traveled south to explore Ecuador and Galapagos, and this past winter she adventured in Indonesia.

Irene has spent three previous summers instructing at MYE and has been appointed to a permanent position that will see her working in MT in the summer, and CA in the winter.

Ryan is an avid outdoorsmen from central Minnesota and received his bachelors degree in Outdoor Management from St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN.

He worked on a number of outdoor programs during his time in college. During the school year Ryan organized and ran trips for his university outdoor program - to Alaska, Texas, Utah, and Northern Minnesota. His summers were spent guiding month-long canoe trips into the Canadian wilderness for Les Voyageurs, Inc.

Ryan came to work as the Logistics Assistant at MYE in the summer of 2008 and his competance and organisational skills (not to mention his sense of humor) made him a integral part of the MYE team, and he quickly moved into the Logistics Manager's job.

When Ryan is not creating systems and spreadsheets and playing with outdoor gear, you are likely to find him on a river or in the mountains. He loves to kayak, canoe, snowboard, bike, and hike. Ryan’s biggest enjoyment currently is spending time with his black lab puppy, Greta.

Laurel was recently hired by the Orfalea Foundations as the Youth Development Manager.  She will be the link between the Orfalea Foundations and MYE.

Laurel went to college at Cal State University Monterey Bay. Upon graduation, she worked as the Teen Programming, Character & Leadership Development Coordinator for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County (CA). There she was responsible for creating and implementing activities that would get the teens involved with the Club and community while having fun.

Her husband got a job in southern California which brought them to Ventura, CA.  Laurel was accepted into the Youth Development Leadership Masters degree program at Clemson University. The Clemson campus is located in South Carolina. Thanks to the internet and other technology, this degree program operated as a “distance learning” program and she was able to participate in the program from Ventura.

She is excited about her work and being a part of a team that makes youth development real by engaging young people in exciting adventures.

Yasna (known as Yas) was bought up in a small New Zealand town, at the foot of a ski field (that is ski hill in some parts of the world). Her passion for the outdoors began there, when, at the age of three, she started skiing. Her love of skiing and the outdoor activities she discovered a little later, have shaped her recreational and professional life, and taken her to many different corners of the globe. Currently, when she is not at MYE, Yas lives in the Rocky Mountains near Banff, Canada and works on the management team of one the local ski hills.

After Yas gained her Bachelor of Adventure Recreation and Outdoor Education in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2004, she worked in various adventure education programs around the country, teaching a range of outdoor pursuits. In 2005, the travel bug began to bite, so Yas and her partner packed their outdoor toys into their backpacks, and ventured off to travel the world looking for more adventures. Nearly five years later, she is still enjoying travelling, and has many more adventures planned. The list just keeps growing!

Yas loves being outside, whether it is for work or play. Aside from traveling and being immersed in new cultures, she loves all outdoor activities, as long as the sun is shining. She is looking forward to returning to MYE and making some more amazing memories to add to the ones she has from last several years.

The outdoors being his stress reliever, James enjoys a variety of outdoor activities from hiking and backpacking to canoeing and kayaking. He can also be found throwing a round of disc golf, skijoring or long boarding with his dog Brutus (depending on the season). One thing he has never experienced, but would love to try some day, is to drive a team of sled dogs under the northern lights.

James went to school in northern Minnesota at Bemidji State University where he graduated with degrees in business entrepreneurship, philosophy and outdoor education. Realizing the outdoors should be his office, he decided to pursue a career in outdoor adventure education. James believes the outdoors to be a great environment in which to learn about the world, and one’s own potential.

Since making the decision to have a career to the outdoors, James has worked as a trip guide and outdoor educator in northern Minnesota, the Washington Cascades and northern Idaho and is thrilled to be returning to the Yellowstone area with MYE for another summer - this time as the Logistics Assistant.

Samantha was born and raised in sunny Santa Barbara, California. She is finishing her last year of high school and plans to attend the University of California Santa Barbara this upcoming fall. Samantha is really excited about starting the next stage of her life.

With hobbies that include playing basketball, racket ball, hiking and taking pictures of Santa Barbara's beautiful sunsets, Samantha keeps herself busy. Although she hasn't yet had much experience in the wilderness, she is really looking forward to exploring her new passion, the outdoors. This passion was unexpectedly encountered during her Wilderness Challenge Course (MYE 21!) this past summer.

Eager to satisfy her thirst for gaining knowledge about the outdoors, Samantha committed herself to MYE's 10-month internship in 2009/10 and is returning to MT this summer as the Basecamp Assistant. She is looking forward to the learning and unique experiences that will come with that, and to meeting new and amazing people.

Montana’s Humbug Spires are a seldom visited and mysterious area. Unexplained experiences and the discovery of strange objects are frequent occurrences for visitors. The Spires are one of Alex’s favorite places on earth—he has spent more than a hundred days there over the past five years. He is excited to explore this unique area with MYE participants and introduce them to the spectacular rock climbing there this summer.

Alex’s home is Bozeman, Montana, which is a great base for being a rock and ice climber, skier and wilderness adventurer. Over the past sixteen years he has led outdoor adventures and taught climbing in thirty-six U.S. states and foreign countries. Alex is the former Leadership Director for the Appalachian Mountain Club where he managed safety and leader training for over 9,000 outdoor trips each year. He is also a professional climbing guide and former Outward Bound instructor. This experience is the basis for his book, the AMC Guide to Outdoor Leadership.

Alex currently provides leadership training and risk management consulting for outdoor education organizations as a partner in Adventure Safety International, LLC. He has a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Macalester College.

Holly is from New Zealand, but currently calls Golden, CO home. She recently graduated with a degree in Outdoor Education, and has worked as an adventure tour guide in the New Zealand summers. She has also spent a lot of time instructing rock climbing with various different groups, and is a qualified rock instructor in New Zealand.

Most of Holly’s spare time is spent rock climbing and exploring new places – and she loves getting into the backcountry. This passion has taken her all over New Zealand and Australia, and now she is enjoying exploring the United States. Living in Colorado this past year, she has been loving the climbing, skiing, and hiking right out of her back door.

In her work, she is passionate about helping students to understand their earth and their place in it; all the while getting outside and having great adventures. Holly is very excited and looking forward to her third season at MYE - this season as the Rock Specialist - and all the amazing people she knows she will get to spend it with.

Andy was born and bred in Canterbury, in the midst of New Zealand’s ‘Great Outdoors’. He is a passionate outdoor enthusiast, and has a strong desire to share his knowledge and skills with young people. Andy believes that using the outdoors as a classroom gives him the ability to guide students and help them really explore their full potential.

In 2004, after four years of study, Andy gained his Bachelors Degree in Adventure Recreation and Outdoor Education. During these years, Andy specialized in instructing rock climbing, white water kayaking, wilderness bush craft and snowboarding.

After working and playing in the New Zealand outdoors, Andy and his partner ventured away from NZ to travel and seek out adventures in other places. Andy's summer love is moving on rock – with as much grace as possible - and he has recently climbed in Australia, Wales, Spain, France and Canada.

More recently, Andy has been working winter seasons as the Snowboard Technical Director at Sunshine Village Ski Resort in Canada. He spends his time teaching all levels of snowboarder from the first-timer through to training instructors to gain higher qualifications, and loves it all. He believes snowboarding is an amazing sport that offers numerous avenues to challenge everybody!

Andy is looking forward to his third season with MYE. In 2009 Andy worked on the specialist water team, and this year is returning to coordinate the MYE water program - another awesome adventure in this wonderful world!

Holt grew up down the river in Livingston in a family where normal weekend activities were backpacking or canoeing in the summer and skiing in the winter. Since graduating from high school, Holt has been studying Snow Science and Spanish at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. For his degree in Snow Science, Holt spends too much time in front of the computer looking at numbers and not enough time in the mountains looking at snow and snow avalanches. Still, between classes, he squeezes as much time outdoors as possible – skiing in the winter and on the river or mountain biking in the summer.

After spending the past three summers as a raft/canoe guide on the Yellowstone River, Holt is especially excited to be working with MYE this summer as a water specialist (he has helped guide multiple MYE canoe trips in the past). Holt loves the Yellowstone River and would be ecstatic to share his knowledge about this wonderful body of water – just ask!

Finally, Holt’s Spanish speaking skills are abysmal at best, so he would be grateful for any help you can provide him over the summer. This will help him avoid embarrassment when he returns to school in the fall to complete his Spanish degree.

Ken grew up along the coast of Connecticut (yes, they do have a coast) and went to college in Pennsylvania where he got his start in experiential education. During his time working for Gettysburg Recreational Adventure Board, Ken fell in love with backpacking, climbing and kayaking.  He graduated in May of '03 with a degree in Biology and a job working for MYE.

Ken now spends his time in spring and fall working for an outdoor education company called Naturalists-at-Large, in California - one of the most beautiful states in the US.

Ken likes to travel to exotic places in winter. Combining his need to travel and his love of the outdoors, he has spent time in Ecuador learning the language and climbing some of South America’s beautiful Andean peaks. He continues the search for the worlds best slice of pizza, unfortunately, Ecuador did not meet his standards in that sense, but he assures us all the amazing yucca dishes made up for it. Two winters ago Ken spent a month travelling on his own in Africa. This last winter he stayed closer to home - basing himself in Lake Tahoe, CA, becoming a proficient skier and having lots of adventures into the back-country that abounds in that area of the world.

Ken is very excited to be returning for a forth summer season at MYE and can’t wait to jump into a canoe and ride the wild Yellowstone river.

Bryan grew up out east in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. After high school, he spent four years exploring the gorges and waterfalls of upstate New York while earning a degree in Outdoor Adventure Leadership at Ithaca College.

In college, he took a 21-day sea kayaking course on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi through the Wilderness Education Association. Ostensibly, he was there to learn how to facilitate outdoor adventure experiences, but mostly he spent his time playing on beaches and paddling with dolphins.

For the past two years, Bryan has lived in Wisconsin working for an early release program with the Division of Juvenile Corrections. He has used adventure programming, service based learning and urban reintegration to provide his students with opportunities in which they could make positive choices and develop the skills they needed to earn an early release and be successful in their communities.

When he is not working, Bryan enjoys spending his time doing anything outdoors - his current obsession being rock climbing. He spent time last summer climbing in the Northern Cascades and is ready to check out other climbing destinations around the country. Back for a second year, Bryan is eager to teach, and to learn from, MYE’s students this summer.

Rebecca (Becs) Dryland comes from a small rural area in New Zealand, Puketaha, where she grew up on a farm around some cows and many brothers and sisters.

She has spent a number of years working in outdoor education, including an instructing stint at Outward Bound in Anakiwa, New Zealand. She really enjoys working with programs focused on personal and or social development, finding it rewarding and inspiring to help people to discover and realize their potential.

Becs is also a Registered Nurse and has spent time nursing in NZ, Australia and B.C., Canada, mixing this work in around working and adventuring in the outdoors. She has recently spent time working on a dairy farm, back in Puketaha, which has provided some great opportunities to hang out with her young nieces and nephews, and spend time playing in, and exploring, the outdoors with them.

She’s been known to enjoy adventuring of all sorts, and has done a fair bit of running about in the hills of NZ, along with white water kayaking, tramping/hiking and climbing. Becs has competed in many different events running, mountain biking, adventure racing, paddling etc, and finds this a great way to get a bit of exercise and challenge her self in some amazing locations.

Becs is very excited about the opportunity to work with MYE and it’s students over the upcoming summer, with a program and location that sound fantastic. She is looking forward to lots of learning and exploring.

Ann grew up in the great farmlands of western Massachusetts. She attended Hartwick College in upstate New York where she was grew passionate about outdoor education, sustainable living, and biology. 

She travelled to Madagascar, Thailand, and India during her college years and became interested in learning about the intricate connections between the environment and one's health and well-being.   After graduating from Hartwick in 2006, she continued her education and received her master's degree in nutrition science from UMass, Amherst in 2009.  She spent her valued free time hiking, bicycling, snowshoeing, and skiing.  

Since then, she has left the northeast and has been traveling, working, and playing in the great state of California.  Living in California has caused an onset of what has been described to her as a "bi-coastal disorder," -- a deep and conflicting love for both the east and west coasts of the country.   

Ann is looking forward to a fulfilling summer at MYE and can't wait to hit the trail!

Becky was born and raised in upstate New York, but feels most at home in the wild parts of Southeast Alaska. She recently completed a graduate program in Business and Environmental Policy at the University of Michigan with a focus on energy and climate change issues.

Becky’s experience working with young people includes leading trail crews in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, and working at a summer camp in New Mexico. She has also spent time as a hiking guide in Juneau, Alaska, working for the Alaska Legislature, and interning for the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change. Becky graduated from Brown University with a degree in Public Policy and Education in 2004.

She is thrilled to be spending the summer outside teaching and learning in a beautiful place

Rupert is from a mountain town in the South Island of New Zealand. He has been roaming the Southern Alps of New Zealand on ski and on foot since before he can remember.

Rupert is a passionate climber of all disciplines from rock to mountains to ice. His climbing has taken him rock climbing in Australia, ice climbing in Canada and mountaineering South America. He also likes to get out and enjoy skiing in his local backcountry and further a field in places such as Canada and France. He loves to share his passion for the outdoors by guiding and teaching people on the local rock faces and mountains of his hometown Queenstown, and by also working on the local high schools outdoor education program.

Rupert is a level two instructor for both Alpine and Rock climbing with the New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association. He believes the outdoors is place where people can learn about themselves and how to interact with their environment better. Along with this he is a member of the Queenstown Alpine Cliff Rescue Team, which often involves being slung to the bottom of a helicopter, and more hanging from cliff faces.

Any spare time he has he can be found riding the local single tracks on his Mountain Bike or cruising the lake by kayak