Darvin Ayre - Emeritus

Trestle Strategy Groups

Jennifer Bales

FMG Leading

Jennifer Bales is a senior consultant with deep expertise across a broad spectrum of Human Resources and industries and has experience working with a range of organizations, from non-profits to Fortune 500 companies. Before joining FMG Leading, she served as Senior Director of Human Resources for Vail Resorts, and earlier in her career, as Director of Human Resources for Starbucks. She is also a corporate coach and knows the power of Outward Bound in working with leaders to find new paths in reaching their full potential. She is an avid cyclist and lives with her family in Broomfield, Colorado

Gruffie Clough - Emeritus

Clough & Associates

COBS has been a part of Gruffie’s life for over forty years. Whether working as an instructor and course director or serving as a board member, she has a keen and insightful perspective on why and how an Outward Bound experience can impact a person’s life. Gruffie has incorporated Outward Bound principles and values into all of the work she does as an organizational development consultant and leadership coach and mentor. As a runner, cyclists, yogi, and mountaineer she also gets to play where she works, and work where she plays. 

John Crowley

Star Mesa Capital

Nic Eliason

DaVita

Nic Eliason is Group Vice President at DaVita.  He believes in the lifelong benefit of spending time in nature, and in the importance of passing that along to kids.  Nic, his wife Katie, their dog (Scout), and four boys enjoy road trips, camping, hiking, skiing and otherwise taking advantage of the great Colorado outdoors.

Rebecca Grant Zarret

Educator, Consultant, Coach

Rebecca Grant Zarret began her career as an outdoor environmental educator, and completed an Outward Bound course for educators while teaching middle school in New York City. Twenty five years later, connecting children with the outdoors and ensuring authentic, hands-on learning experience are accessible to all remains one of her key priorities. This value shapes Rebecca’s work as an educator, consultant, and coach.  She lives with her husband, two sons, abundant plant life, and backyard chickens in Denver.  She is a proud DPS parent and board member of the Denver Public Schools Foundation.

Elan Greenberg

DoorDash

Elan is a Senior Director & General Manager at DoorDash, a global technology platform. Over the last several years, he’s launched and led new lines of business expanding the company’s footprint into grocery, retail and other new verticals. He began his career in Mergers & Acquisitions at Morgan Stanley, served overseas in the U.S. Marines, and continues to serve in the reserves today. An active runner, skier and cyclist, Elan is a 2003 COBS alumni and a lifelong believer in the transformative power of expeditionary learning. He lives in Boulder, CO with his wife and son.

Neil Losacco

Accenture

Neil Losacco is a Colorado native and former Managing Director at Accenture, where he guided organizations through technology and business transformation using cloud, data, and AI. A lifelong outdoor enthusiast, he’s passionate about adventure, stewardship, and helping the next generation grow through outdoor exploration. An avid skier, cyclist, and high-altitude hiker, Neil has climbed Colorado’s 14ers, traveled to over 50 countries, and finds balance through photography, reading, meditation, and yoga. He strives to leave every place—and person—better than he found them, bringing curiosity, intensity, and joy to everything he does.

Rob McCary

Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP

Rob is a transactional attorney at Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP. His legal practice focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions, and day-to-day corporate governance for companies of all sizes across a wide variety of industries. Prior to pursuing his legal career, Rob served as the Backcountry Program Director at Teton Valley Ranch Camp, a nonprofit summer camp located outside Jackson, Wyoming. He now lives in Denver with his wife and three young boys.

Bobbi McPherson

Mendocino Farms

Peter Mueller

Pitkin County

Peter works for Pitkin County Public Health to support schools and municipalities’ efforts to decrease tobacco and substance use, and improve support for mental health.  Before his transition to public health, Peter served as principal of Basalt High School. Peter’s passion for education is rooted in his COBS experience where he served as an instructor and course director for over a decade.  Outward Bound’s mountaineering courses, Peter reflected, had an indelibly positive impact on countless students. From “No, I can’t,” to “Yes, I can,” the shift in students’ attitudes was inspiring.  Supporting schools like Outward Bound that lead students into adversity and adventure, he continued, is a sure-fire way of instilling resilience and compassion into all students.  He and his wife, Cindy, live in Carbondale, Colorado.

Bryan Mix

Goldman Sachs

Bryan Mix is a retired partner from Goldman Sachs where he ran various trading businesses in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and London.  Prior to this he was an officer in the United States Army.  He is a strong believer in the self-discovery and personal growth that is possible thru hard days in the outdoors.  Bryan lives in Denver with his wife and two of his three daughters.

Matt Nuñez

Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office

Matt Nuñez is a fifth-generation Coloradan who supports economic development and outdoor recreation initiatives around the state through his role at the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office. His work focuses on supporting rural communities to build sustainable outdoor recreation economies, and helping nonprofit and government entities to get more people outdoors. He started with COBS as a Marketing Intern at the Southwest Program in 2017, and attended two professional courses later on. Matt is a renowned landscape photographer, and his photo of Mt. Sneffels is the background of the state drivers license. When he's not helping others to get outdoors or adventuring himself, Matt is cheering on the Denver Broncos or reading a good book. 

Trey Overdyke

Xanterra

Trip Riggs - Emeritus

Aspen Skiing Company

Kathy Schwitzer

East West Hospitality

Kathy Schwitzer is a Chief Financial Officer at East West Hospitality, a Colorado based Hospitality company providing vacation rental and property management in CO, CA, UT and Hawaii.  Prior to East West Hospitality, Kathy was VP of Finance at Sage Hospitality, a Denver based hotel management company and has extensive experience with Vail Resorts and Hyatt Hotels. Kathy’s passions include cycling, skiing, live music and unlocking new experiences for her friends, nieces and nephews in their visits to Colorado and beyond. She has experienced her own growth from setting goals that at first seemed unachievable and the confidence that came with that, and enjoys supporting that mission for others with Outward Bound.  Kathy is originally from New Hampshire and now lives in the Vail Valley with her golden retriever.

Peter Sherman

EL Education

Peter has been involved with Outward Bound since he was an instructor at NCOBS and PCOBS in the 90’s and then as a public educator creating student-centered engaging learning experiences and environments for students and adults. Peter deeply understands the EL Education model with its strong roots in OB. He has served in leadership roles in multiple levels of our education system. He is committed to supporting COBS’ efforts to develop our Partnership Program with youth-serving organizations of all types. Peter lives in Denver with his wife and they enjoy biking, hiking, reading, singing, and exploring the world. Their two sons are in college!

Andi Stader

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

Andi is a real estate associate with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP.  Before joining Brownstein, Andi was an assistant instructor in the Rocky Mountain Program of COBS where she led a 22-day mountaineering course in the Gore Range.  Outside of COBS she also worked for a guide company in Estes Park, and prior to that taught rock climbing classes, lead intro-to-mountaineering courses and coached kids climbing teams in Oregon and Washington.  Andi’s other passions include cycling, mountain biking, snowboarding and skiing.  Andi lives with her husband and 3 young daughters, who she loves spending time outside with camping and exploring as much as possible year-round.  She hopes that all of her girls will be on an Outward Bound course of their own someday so that they can experience the transformative change that comes with challenge outside of your comfort zone!

Alex Sugahara

Southwest Program Instructor

Alex has been a Lead Instructor in the Southwest Program for several years and has been in the Outward Bound community for over two decades. She has served as a mentor for both students and staff and has served the Southwest Program in a variety of capacities including as a Staff Trainer, Course Director, and Instructor. 

Beale Tejada

Crane & Tejada, P.C.

Beale Tejada lives in Denver, CO and is originally from Durango, CO. He attended Colorado College and received his law degree from the University of Colorado – Boulder in 2012. He served as an attorney with the Office of the State Public Defender in Colorado Springs for nearly four years. After that, he joined his family law firm, Crane & Tejada, P.C., where he practices criminal defense and personal injury.

Beale loves the outdoors and serves on the COBS Board of Directors so that he can help others – of all colors, socioeconomic statuses, and backgrounds – enjoy and appreciate what the outdoors have to offer. He believes that the lessons learned and the skills gained from challenging oneself are invaluable to individuals and to society as a whole. Most importantly, he wants to ensure that all people have access to these benefits.

David Thurow - Emeritus

Prosono

David Thurow is a Principal at Prosono, a Denver based business strategy and social impact consulting firm.  With a background in both strategy and operational design and implementation, he provides agility  and operational improvement solutions to help businesses, non-profits and government agencies overcome their complex challenges and reach their outcomes. He is an avid outdoors enthusiast who spends all non-working (and some working) hours outdoors with his wife, two young daughters and vizsla.

Tarn Udall

Western Resource Advocates

Tarn Udall is an attorney at the Colorado Attorney General's Office. Before law school, she was an instructor and course director for COBS in Moab, UT where she led rafting, backpacking, and canyoneering courses.  Her desire to work for COBS developed while she was a student on a mountaineering and rafting course in Alaska.  She lives with her husband and dog in her hometown of Carbondale, CO.  

Kate Ridgway - Emeritus

Community Volunteer

Kate Ridgway is an avid environmentalist focused on environmental and outdoor education. She is currently working on the Environmental Task Force for Nueva School and is on the Advisory Board of the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm, the Haas National Advisory Board, and the Board of Ten Strands, an effective advocacy group focused on promoting environmental literacy in the California public school system for K -12.  She has also served on the Advisory Board of the Tuolumne River Trust which advocates for sane policies around Northern California’s water shed in an effort to protect fisheries and healthy riparian corridors. She is a longtime supporter of the World Wildlife Fund, WWF, and the Carter Center. she was also a founding member of the National Resource Defense Council’s (NRDC's) Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).

Kate was an instructor for Colorado Outward Bound School from 1982-1988 before receiving her MA in education from Stanford University. She resides in Woodside, California with her husband after raising their three children, two of whom are COBS alum. 

Emily Wattman-Turner

Academic Programs International

Peter Whitcomb

Tersus Solutions

Peter is the CEO of Tersus Solutions, a Denver-based company powering branded recommerce operations through its patented liquid CO₂ technology and full suite of textile logistics, reclamation, repair, and recycling solutions. Since joining in 2021, he has expanded Tersus’ brand partnerships and team to lead the way in remonetizing secondhand products. Previously, Peter held leadership roles at Trove, REI, and Amazon. He earned his MBA from UT’s McCombs School of Business and his undergraduate degree from Colgate University, where he captained the Division I lacrosse team. Outside of work, he enjoys all things outdoors, reading, and spending time with his wife and their three children.

Jon Woods - Emeritus

GFM|CenterTable

Jon Woods is a co-founder of CenterTable and a team member at GroundFloor Media, its sister agency. With a background in both traditional and digital marketing, he provides strategy and solutions to help clients achieve complex marketing and communications goals. He fell in love with Outward Bound when he took a sailing course in high school. He lives in Denver with his wife and young sons.

Alex Yu

Onward Energy

Alex Yu is currently a Senior Associate on the M&A team at Onward Energy where he focuses on investing in a variety of renewable energy and thermal generation assets. Onward Energy is a leading Independent Power Producer backed by J.P. Morgan's Infrastructure Investments Fund with 56 wind, solar, battery storage, and natural gas assets located throughout the U.S. Alex previously served as a Board Member on the Northwest Outward Bound School and was a former student at both NCOBS and NWOBS. Alex is a strong believer in the power of outdoor experiential courses, such as Outward Bound, to push students outside of their comfort zone, develop their confidence, and better equip them with the tools to handle all of life's challenges. An avid backpacker, skier, and general outdoor enthusiast, Alex can often be found plotting his next outdoor adventure or refreshing the snow forecast, likely at the same time.