Elizabeth Williams

RMP Program Director

Elizabeth joined the COBS team in May of 2018 as the Rocky Mountain Program Director. Elizabeth believes passionately in the power of the outdoors to change people’s lives and has spent her career getting young people outside on Wilderness adventures. Elizabeth has been a field instructor for several outdoor programs, ski instructs, and enjoys nothing more than watching someone stand on top of a mountain for the first time. Her time in the field fuels her enthusiasm for staff mentorship, development, and training. 

Before moving indoors as program staff, Elizabeth traveled to Nepal and India where she eventually stayed to teach English. A Colorado native, she is convinced that the mountains will always be home and she spends as much time as possible skiing, mountain biking, finding new adventures, and playing with her dog.

Elizabeth has a B.S. in Social Science and focused her studies on Psychology and Communication. 

Lance Plank

Southwest Program Director

Lance Plank, Southwest Program Director

Lance Plank started working for the school as an Assistant Instructor in 2011. With time, he advanced into the Lead Instructor and Course Director roles, and then moved into program management including Program Manager, Associate Program Director of Staffing, and now Program Director. Lance has become increasingly more passionate about the COBS mission and how important it is for students to have Outward Bound experiences.

Lance completed his Masters of Science in Sport and Recreation Administration in 2013 at Eastern Washington University. He has been working in the outdoor education industry over a decade and continues to seek out personal time to raft, kayak, rock climb, and canyoneer to name a few activities. 

Brandon Daun

Associate Program Director of Training and Development

Brandon works for the Rocky Mountain Program, based out of Leadville, CO. He began his journey with the school as an intern and has worked his way through the ranks as an Instructor, Course Director, and has been part of the Program Leadership Team for the past few seasons. He holds an educational background with a Bachelors of Arts in Outdoor Education from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Brandon is a Wilderness First Responder and CPR certified. Brandon has also been to the summit of all the Colorado's 14ers and absolutely loves romping around in the high country.

Brandon has a huge passion for what we do at Outward Bound and truly lives by its values and mission. He takes pride in setting people up for success and providing valuable mentorship to his staff and students. Creating safe and impactful learning environments for all our students along with promoting transference are just a couple of things that drive Brandon to a life dedicated to serve, to strive, and not to yield.

Dylan Johnston

Program Manager

Dylan is originally from the suburbs of New York City and is extremely grateful he migrated off the east coast. He graduated from Warren Wilson College, with a degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in Art. After years of random jobs, arborist work and traveling he landed in Leadville working for Uncle Kurt. Dylan enjoys being in the mountains, playing music and making art. His life ambition is to build his own house from timbers he harvests himself.

Olivia Trim

Logistics Manager

Olivia joined the Rocky Mountain Program in the summer of 2016 as a Field and Logistics Intern, and worked in various capacities in the Logistics Department in the consecutive years. She developed a passion for excellence in her role as a logistician during her intern summer and wished to pursue that work further. She now works as the Logistics Manager for the Rocky Mountain Program. She is extremely passionate about mentoring logistics staff into providing the best support for our courses.

Olivia holds Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science from Quest University Canada in Squamish, British Columbia. She focused her studies Outdoor Journalism, Outdoor Recreation History and Fine Arts. In her off time, Olivia loves to hike, backpack, and paint. She combines her passion for outdoor pursuits with her passion for art by bringing her paints everywhere she goes. You can often find her by an alpine lake, or in the woods somewhere using her watercolors to capture the beauty of the world around us.

Jared Fehr

Associate Program Director of Logistics

Mostly from North Carolina, Jared’s love of the outdoors began when he was at the age of 6 wandering the forests below Mt. Rainier and continued to grow in the mountains of North Carolina. After receiving a degree in education at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC he quickly resolved to spend as little time indoors as possible. He then hiked part of the Pacific Crest Trail and went on to work with conservation corps in Colorado, Montana, and Vermont. He enjoys running, jumping, and climbing up trees and depending on the season you can find him in the high country of the Rockies, the nooks and crannies of Utah, or any number of places in between with his dog Kona.

Emily Casebeer

Program Manager

Emily is originally from Snowmass Village, CO and got a degree in Natural Resources Recreation and Tourism with a concentration in Environmental Communication from Colorado State University. She started working for COBS in 2006 and since joining the school has worked as a logistician, field instructor, course director, and program manager. Her current role is as the program manager overseeing the remote base in Marble, CO.

When not working for COBS, Emily can be found ski patrolling, training her avalanche rescue dog, and teaching for NOLS Wilderness Medicine. In her spare time she appreciates good food, exploring in the mountains, snuggling her pup, family time, and working on her Airstream trailer.

Joanne Yankovich

Program Manager

Joanne grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, an ideal location for a little girl who loved to catch frogs, go fishing in a rowboat with worms for bait, and ice skate on frozen feet on the family pond in the winter.

Outward Bound is her second career after receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography at SUNY New Paltz, migrating out to Colorado, and spending 10 years as a community newspaper journalist. Running a rock climbing program for blind and visually impaired people for the National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park eventually propelled her to OB in 1991. Joanne has been a field instructor, course director and remote basecamp program manager in the Rocky Mountain Program, and worked for many years in Utah as a canyons instructor and CD. Her enthusiasms particularly lie in staff mentorship and development, service, and risk management.

 Joanne also is in her third decade as a fully certified ski instructor at Vail. She enjoys traveling internationally, playing electric bass, climbing, skiing and writing.

Ashley Saupe

Program Manager

Ashley holds a BA in Outdoor Leadership from Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska. After doing a year of Service with AmeriCorps, she started with the Outward Bound School in 2011 as an intern and moved her way through the ranks as Field Staff, Course Director and Staff Trainer. For the past couple years, Ashley has been Program Manager for the Alaska program. She is deeply passionate about the Outward Bound values and how those have impacted her life. 

During the off season, Ashley teaches wilderness medicine, volunteers for the Alaska Avalanche School and is the proud creator/producer of the Sharp End Podcast. 

When she isn't working, you can find her split-boarding in remote corners of the Earth and spending time with her 11 nieces/nephews at the family lake house in Alaska. 

Nick Rushford

Program Manager

Nick started at the Rocky Mountain Program in 2015 as an Assistant Instructor and has moved through various roles within the school. Originally from Vermont, Nick fell in love with the mountains and vastness of the west. He is passionate about the work done at Outward Bound and aims to help staff and students develop to be the best version of themselves.

Nick holds a Masters of Science in Experiential Education from the University of Utah where he focused research on Outward Bound course types and related processes and outcomes. In the winter, Nick teaches avalanche education course and loves to be skiing in the backcountry.