Colby grew up in nearby Keene, where he worked as a bike mechanic and Judo instructor prior to arriving at Kroka in 2026. In addition to his work as Gear Manager, Colby also leads school programs and assists with campus care as a member of our Facilities Team. He's passionate about mountain biking, paddling, forging meaningful connections with people in the outdoors, and mac n' cheese.

Dave is passionate about spending time with young people in wild places. Before coming to Kroka in 2020, he accumulated more than 150 weeks in the field as a Senior Staff Course Leader for the National Outdoor Leadership School, teaching Rock Climbing, Canyoneering, Backpacking, and Backcountry Skiing. He has taught 100 courses for the Wilderness Medicine Institute, and has coordinated semester long wilderness programs for both NOLS and St. Lawrence University. Dave was the Executive Director of Pok-O-MacCready Camps from 2022 until 2024, and is a past President of the NOLS Instructor Association.

Emma has spent most of her time in New Hampshire and North Carolina exploring the outdoors, foraging for mushrooms, and playing at every adventure sport she can get her hands on. With a dual degree in psychology and outdoor leadership from Warren Wilson College which is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Emma is inspired to be at Kroka to share her expedition expertise and love for community living.

A New England native, Ezra grew up in an intentional community in Amherst, Massachusetts. Highlights from his childhood include a semester abroad in the Basque country in northern Spain, making maple syrup, and building forts in the woods. Ezra attended Kroka’s Ecuador Semester as a high-school student and studied sustainable food systems at Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, VT. He completed an MA in Regenerative Economics at Schumacher College (UK) in 2021. Since 2016 Ezra has worn many hats at Kroka including expedition leader, summer program registrar, basecamp manager, Managing Director and now as the Executive Director.

Our chief carpenter, Hugh is a venerable master of precision and a man of few words.

Jae spent her formative years befriending the forests and watersheds of the Midwest. At age seven, she attended her first sleepaway summer camp in the Ozarks and became enchanted by the magic of a community built around singing, crafting, swimming, and sleeping under the stars. Since then, she has spent more than 20 summers attending, teaching, and managing at outdoor education organizations from California's High Sierra to New York's Hudson Valley. After studying International Studies and Peace & Conflict Studies at Portland State University, Jae worked as a farm-based educator and Waldorf teacher. Whether on expedition or at home, Jae finds joy in traveling under her own power. She loves bikepacking and backcountry skiing through the rolling hills of New England, drawing the flora and fauna she encounters, and pausing to appreciate interesting cloud formations along the way.

Jessie has lived in the Monadnock region with her five children since 2017. A native to Southern OH, Jessie spent her undergraduate years in Flagstaff AZ studying theatre arts before moving to Austin Texas to raise her children. She holds a Masters in Waldorf Education and is former class teacher. Her bliss moments in life include romping in the woods with her children and dogs, enjoying the company of friends and loved ones, and being with children of all ages.

Raised in Long Island, NY, and a longtime Marlow resident, Linda manages the daunting jurisdiction that encompasses all of Kroka’s non-living nouns. From the camp store, to machinery and vehicles, to hardware and lumber, to tools and all the non-digestible things that eventually run out, Linda keeps on top of this nearly-interminable laundry list. When not at Kroka, Linda can be found on archeological expeditions and local digs.

Liz grew up exploring the woods and waters behind her house in the D.C. suburbs, rehabilitating injured animals, and donating all of her allowance to conservation groups. In college she dove into outdoor education and began leading trips and managing gear for VCU’s outdoor program. After college, Liz worked for the Student Conservation Association as an Americorps volunteer in the Adirondacks then as a trail crew leader. She led a variety of wilderness and service trips in California, Washington, Alaska and all around the East coast. Liz worked at North Country School for over a decade as a farm intern, science and English teacher, houseparent, coach, trip leader, 9th grade team leader, secondary school placement coordinator, and reading specialist. She earned her MA in Applied Educational Psychology as a Reading Specialist from Columbia University, and received her teaching certifications for English and as Reading Specialist. Liz has managed a high altitude farm and goat cheese cooperative in Telluride, Colorado, ridden her bike 1500 miles across the West, and was a field researcher for a loon conservation program in the ADKs. She lives in Westminster West, Vermont with her husband and two kids where she tends to her two very wily goats and her beloved 3-legged dog.

Prior to landing in Marlow and coming to work at Kroka, Mary lived all over the US, including seven years in Alaska, where she enjoyed the wonders of the Northern Lights and the occasional back yard moose sighting. Mary brings a long history of management and HR experience in the retail sector to her current position as Kroka's Buisness Manager. Outside of Kroka, she is the owner/operator of Marlow Breeders, and keeps busy nurturing several litters of adorable puppies each year.

Nathan has enjoyed a variety of roles at Kroka during the past 18 years, including Summer Director, Capital Campaign Coordinator, Cartographer, and Managing Director. Prior to coming to Kroka, he had served as a communications officer in the US Navy, taught English for a year in Nicaragua, and worked as a 4th grade classroom teacher in rural New Hampshire. He loves his work at Krokam which spans technical IT systems (fixing the internet), community development (dance band leader), morning chores (firewood stacking and pancake making), outreach (fundraising and newsletter design) and the teamwork of so many talented people of extraordinary character who make up our unique educational community.

Sarah Doran has lived in numerous towns across Vermont throughout her lifetime. Highlights from her childhood include exploring the woods and pastures, swimming in rivers, and caring for animals. Sarah currently resides in Westminster, VT, with her husband, two goats, and her dog. She is a proud mother of two daughters who actively participated in several Kroka summer communities. As a parent of Kroka summer program alumni, she has seen the meaningful impact Kroka has had on her daughters’ lives and how their experiences have helped shape who they are as young adults. Sarah is an experienced education and nonprofit professional who cares deeply about supporting students, families, and communities. With a background in admissions, communications, marketing, development, and events, she enjoys bringing people together and building meaningful relationships with schools, donors, and community partners. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new places, camping, attending live music events, kayaking, and spending quality time with her family and animals.

Annika first came to Kroka as a stand out student on the inaugural Adirondack Mountain Expedition. She recently finished her freshman year at Vassar, where she is an active participant in the Outing Club and plays rugby. She considers herself a jack-of-all-trades with a special interest in backpacking and bike packing.

Aria first came to Kroka in the summer of 2022. Since then she has completed both a Capstone and Semester program. One of Kroka's finest vocalists, she is excited to share her passion for singing, community, and the outdoors with children this summer as an Apprentice.

Chris Knapp has been with Kroka since 1999. He spent many years as a student of Ray Reitze, and as a teacher at Earthways School of Wilderness Living. He has a wealth of wilderness knowledge and experience to share. Chris and his wife Ashirah have been an integral part of Kroka’s development, designing and creating curriculum, as well as teaching the Winter Semester Program on and off since 2004. Chris and Ashirah live with their children at Maine Local Living School. Based on their homestead in Temple Maine, the school teaches a blend of folk arts, wilderness crafts, permaculture, and sustainable technologies.

A father, a rambling rock climber and a builder, Davicho originates from Colombia, but has lived and raised his beautiful daughter, Violeta, in Ecuador for the last decade. At the age of twelve, he earned enough money selling hot dogs on the street to buy his first pair of climbing shoes. He has gone on to become a professional mountaineering guide as a member of the IFMGA International Federation of Mountain guides Association. In Ecuador, he works as a high-altitude mountaineering guide for Nahual Expediciones. Around Kroka, Davicho can be found collecting poison ivy, while exploring new heights and terrain.

Dev lives in community in a small town in Colorado. He runs educational programs, builds houses, plays a lot and dances often. Dev is most passionate about creating moments and connections that help people change and grow.

From the lush countryside of Kent, England, Ellie empowers students to build a relationship with wildness; whether through learning the bushcraft of a bow-drill fire, or the reverence of a granite crag hundreds of millions of years old. Ellie is an expert trad climber and an instrumental founder of the Women's Trad Festival.

Eliot grew up in a tight-knit co-housing community in Western Massachusetts. He first came to Kroka as a summer student on Expedition Pre-Columbus, and has moved through the ranks from semester student to apprentice to staff for five full summer seasons. Eliot holds a Masters in Education from Antioch University and works as an early childhood educator at the Perkins School in Marlow. Eliot especially enjoys fishing, singing, canoeing, and loves to tell a good story.

Emma graduated from Warren Wilson College in 2026 with a degree in Environmental Science and Outdoor Leadership. She is returning to Kroka for her third season as a wilderness trip leader. Emma loves to be outside and is especially passionate about climbing, paddling, sunsets, and sharing the natural world with children.

Emma came to Kroka as a Wilderness Leader in the spring of 2026. Prior to that, she chased her passion for teaching outdoor education across California, working for non-profits in Santa Cruz, Pescadero, Boulder Creek, and Livermore. She enjoys cultivating curiosity in her students, and helping them to push past their comfort zones.

When not working as a Program Apprentice at Kroka, Eva lives in an off grid log cabin in Viroqua, WI. She enjoys morning hikes, yoga, playing music, and writing. She is passionate about farming and creating meaningful connections with children.

Evan was born and raised in the hills of East County San Diego. He began riding and racing mountain bikes as a kid in these hills. Evan has a professional mountain bike license and road racing license, and has raced for colleges and continental development teams. For the past six years he’s been a professional bikepacker, riding around the world and writing articles for magazines. His journalism has been featured by National Geographic, The BBC, and the International Center for Photography. He’s been a staff writer at Bikepacking.com for five years, where his work has focused on cultural immersion via the bike, borderlands regions, sustainability and community building. He’s ridden on five continents and spent over 1000 nights camped next to his bike. Evan believes the bike is a powerful tool for personal growth and connection to the world.  Evan has a B.S. in math from UCLA, and has also taught math in high schools, and volunteers at an educational bicycle co-op. He also plays the drums, loves to dance, is an avid reader, fly fisherman and surfer. It’s his first year at Kroka. 

Fiona has four seasons of experience guiding remote wilderness whitewater with Chewonki, and is the graduate of a NOLS instructor course. This is their first summer at Kroka, where we have already put them to work helping train staff in swiftwater rescue. We are happy to have them lending their expertise to our expeditionary whitewater program in the summer of 2026. Fiona starts graduate school in Ottawa, Ontario this fall.

Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Giovanna “Gia” Bialoglowka’s enthusiasm has brightened the Kroka campus for many years. A whitewater kayaker and scholar of the 2023-24 BOLD Women’s Fellowship, Gia’s sunny temperament is highlighted by her (classic Capricorn) resolute will-force.

Gracie comes to us from the land of towering redwoods and foggy seaside grottos, where she graduated from University of California Santa Cruz. Born and raised in the Golden State, she currently lives in Philadelphia, PA, where she works for Outward Bound. At Kroka, Gracie loves leading wood carving crafts, whitewater kayaking, cooking with students, knitting for fun, making music, and hanging out with trees.

Grant has been both a Semester Student and Apprentice, and returns now to lead programs in his own right. He grew up in Southern Maine with his four siblings building forts and crafting in his backyard. As a young homeschooler he began studying with Chris and Ashirah Knapp at Koviashuvik Local Living School, where he apprenticed and worked, furthering his wilderness and crafting skills.He enjoyed three years of summer trips at Kroka as a camper before becoming an apprentice and completing the Winter Semester. He has a strong belief that everything he uses should be beautiful as well as functional and strives to apply this philosophy to all of his pursuits. Grant enjoys canoeing down quiet rivers, carving wood, tanning hides, blacksmithing, and singing songs. He can often be found wandering the wild woods, a handmade knife on his belt and an axe in hand, throwing a song to the wind. A masterful craftsman, he infuses every project with a reverence and wonder which are felt by all around him.

Hanah was born in a country below sea level and grew up befriending elves, invertebrates and amphibians in the Himalayan jungles of Nainital, the hedgerows of Surrey, the waterfalls of the Berkshires and the austere Dakota plains. She sent down roots in the Finger Lakes, explored the North Cascades and earned a B.S. in Plant Science and Rural Sociology (Reed College and Cornell University). Pausing in the midst to work on a tall ship and pedal the country from San Diego to Bar Harbor. Hanah leaned into a life of environmental, science and wilderness education in Maine, straying briefly to earn her M.Ed. at Lesley University and since 2002 has worked and played in schools throughout New England—public, private, formal, informal and somewhere in between. Hanah has also been a surveyor, coach, cook, activist, guide, social worker, massage therapist and muralist. She is passionate about sharing her love of wild places and the inherent wisdom of the earth; she prefers travel by foot, ski, canoe and bicycle and has been leading expeditions with Kroka Expeditions since 2010.

Havah started going to Kroka when she was 13. After graduating from the 2018 Winter Semester she went on to get a degree in outdoor education and ecology at Sterling College. Her Kroka specialities include singing, bike packing, and sniffing out seldom seen swimming holes, and she has brought those talents into her work as an assistant instructor on Kroka's semester programs in 2025 and 2026.

Hazel first came to Kroka in the summer of 2018. Since then she has graduate from the Legends on the Southwest Semester, and will start at the Rhode Island School of Design in the fall. As an apprentice this summer, Hazel specializes in singing and crafts, and is a budding whitewater canoeist.

Jasmin is a graduate of Thompson Rivers University where she completed their Adventure Studies Program. She is also a graduate of two Kroka Semesters. She is passionate about whitewater, ocean expeditions, and handcrafts.

Born in Indiana and a longtime resident of Peterborough, New Hampshire, Jennifer makes sure that the hundreds of Kroka students and staff have food in their bellies and food on their plates. From ordering and inventorying the expedition pantry, to preparing on-campus meals every day, to pulling out all stops for formal dinners, festive feasts, and weekly burrito night, Jennifer will somehow always remember to make something special for a staff member’s birthday.

Jessi lives in Oakland, CA where she welds large public art pieces, hikes, bikes, skis, and of course climbs giant coastal redwood trees! Jessi is a guest teacher for the Tree Tops program. She has a background in experiential education with a variety of demographics and is passionate about the big insights that tree climbing can offer us about our courage and capabilities, and how it can be a window into a rarely encountered part of our natural world.

From the accordioned valley-and-ridge country of east Tennessee, Joseph brings his love of outdoor education to the woods of New Hampshire. He is a bard of the banjo, can-jo, and harmonica, and makes the campfires of Kroka ring with the foot-stomping melodies of southern Appalachia.

Jo grew up skiing in the woods of Maine, paddling the lakes and rivers of Northern Ontario, and living under the trees on a retired salt-marsh farm on the coast. She has spent the past fourteen summers in a canoe, typically guiding sixteen-year-olds on summer-long whitewater canoe trips through the Canadian bush to Hudson Bay, and recently with Kroka in the lakes of Maine. After studying ancient languages, linguistics, and poetry at Amherst College, Jo returned to the forest as a wilderness therapy guide with True North Wilderness Programs, skiing nooks and crannies in the snowy mountains when not on shift and beginning a life of year-round outdoor living. Jo has a great love for the transformative powers of extended travel through wild spaces, and is often found skiing the trails around campus, singing in circle, and writing.

Kaia just finished her freshman year at the University of Vermont, where she was an active member of the whitewater club. She has been spending summers at Kroka for half of her life, and is a graduate of the Legends of the Southwest Semester. This summer she is a second year Apprentice specializing in teaching whitewater canoeing and kayaking.

Kati is an active NOLS field instructor from Chilean Patagonia, where she specializes in teaching Leadership to adult participants. In 2026 she'll be joining the Kroka Team as a Course Director.

Kathryn was raised in Massachusetts, but her real homes are the mountains and rivers of New England. Prior to coming to Kroka she led trips for the Maine Bound Adventure Center at the University of Maine-Orono, and Mahoosuc Guide Service. Kathryn enjoys whitewater paddling, swimming, skiing, playing music, and long walks in the woods.

Keane recently graduated from the University of Vermont where he studied Education and spent his last year teaching in a middle school. He first came to Kroka as a summer student many years ago. Keane loves skiing, backpacking, canoeing, and spending time with family. As a returning wilderness leader this summer, he is excited to share his passion for alternative education and to help his students build resiliency and identity in nature.

Larissa commutes to Kroka each summer from southern Brazil, where she considers the ocean to be her natural habitat. She is a sea kayaker, sailer, hiker, and biker.

Lily comes from Ellicott City, MD where she lives and hikes along the banks of the Patapsco River. This year she will begin studying Biology at Bard College. Lily completed the 2024 Full Circle Winter Semester and has returned this summer to Kroka as a wilderness leader. An accomplished baker, she loves ecology, primitive skills, and living in relationship to the land.

Mackenzie joined the Kroka team as a Garden Apprentice in 2026. A graduate of a two week Kroka program during COVID, Mackenzie lives full time right here in Marlow. She is passionate about teaching young people where their food comes from and supporting local agriculture.

Marcea (BA, Marlboro College) is a native Vermonter. Growing up immersed in nature, she developed an understanding of the beauty, forms, and cycles of the living Earth. While traveling, she developed her expression through crafts, music, and art. Marcea moved to Ecuador in 2006. She lives with her partner Thomas Dammer and their three children Naya, Nina and Timo in their hand built wood and adobe house at Palugo Farm. She has worked at Kroka since 2005, teaching students the beauty of nature through leaves, flowers, and roots, both as a teacher during the summer and for the Ecuador Semester. In addition to teaching Marcea started a medicinal herb company called Yuyos Medicinales.

Marga comes to us all the way from Cuenca, Ecuador to share with us her amazing talents on the cliff face and in the kitchen. She is one of the top climbers in South America, and is always looking to share her knowledge.

Mia has lived all around the Northeast working as an outdoor educator and ceramics artist. Mia loves the ocean, running through the mountains, and reading literature about the natural world with her students.

A lifelong family friend of the Kroka community, Tashi now helps teach our Ecuador Semester. Though widely traveled, Tashi finds the heart of the “wilderness experience” to be not merely in the remote corners of the earth, but as an immediate and powerful quality intrinsic to our existence as moving, breathing, deeply wild human beings.

Olive was born and raised in Wisconsin. Since joining the Kroka community in 2022, she has lived in North Carolina, Maine, and California, where she's stayed busy farming and teaching at various outdoor facilities. Olive is a bringer of music. Her joy and love for the earth, her community, and her students shines through the brightest when she is sharing her voice.

Orlando Geovani “Geova” Guatemal hails from the Indigenous community of San Clemente in the highlands of Ecuador. Both hardworking and easygoing, Geova’s mastery in mountain biking is surpassed only by his mastery of making beautiful stone and wood carvings. A lifelong student of the air, earth, water, and fire that composes our world, Geova helps us learn how los naturales can be our wisest teachers.

Roberto’s seasonal migration habits resemble that of Piranga olivacea– the scarlet tanager dividing his time between the Kroka village and his family in the Indigenous community of San Clemente, Ecuador. Many-time winner of the all-staff Kroka Adventure Race, Roberto’s strength, stamina, wits, and expedition expertise stand out even among our most seasoned leaders.

Hailing from central Vermont, Russell has spent the past few years doing as much backpacking and as little high school as possible. A graduate of the Full Circle Winter Semester, and a Kroka summer student since he was nine years old, Russell is stoked to return to the staff team in 2026. He looks forward to bringing his photography and musical skills to Kroka and he can't wait to get back out in the wilderness!

Hailing from Colorado’s Front Range, Sam is a tall-ship sailor, mountain biker, backcountry skier, and homemade sauerkraut savant. As a semester teacher for Kroka’s Full Circle Winter Semester, Sam’s expeditionary wheelhouse includes telemark skiing, whitewater canoeing, and road biking. When not at Kroka, Sam can be found working on a masters in outdoor education and social work at New Hampshire College.

Saskia enjoys all things outdoors and is up for any adventure sport! A former, Caves, Cliffs and Waterfalls Kroka student herself, she nows lives and works here to support our school and summer programs.

Soleil hails from Chester Springs, PA. She is a recent graduate of Eastern University, and spends her free time painting, hiking, biking, swimming, and writing both poems and songs. She first came to Kroka in 2016 as a summer student, and is joining the staff team in 2026 as a Program Apprentice.

When not working at Kroka as a Program Apprentice, Sophie Jo lives in Sacramento where she works at a Waldorf School and volunteers at a Bike Collective. She is a former Raft Guide on the American River, and is excited to teach paddling, backpacking, and sustainable food systems this summer.

Thomas was born and raised on horseback at Palugo Farm. Through wrestling his brothers, roping horses, climbing trees, hunting, shooting bows, and racing wooden boats, he developed an understanding of community and a love for nature. He has an independent personality and a great talent for different sports; he is a passionate paddler, climber, biker, and an overall adventurer. He has done much traveling and has dedicated a great deal of his life to being outdoors, guiding, and working with young people in nature. The practice of permaculture encompasses much of his interests, with bio-construction as part of it. Thomas has been teaching at Kroka since 2004.

Ulises has rock-climbed mountains and cliffs across the western hemisphere, and now brings his climbing talents to the granite crags of New England. Ulises comes to us from Mexico City, Mexico, and is passionate about helping his students build confidence and community while climbing in nature.

When Vivek is not at Kroka, he works as an outdoor educator in Hong Kong, teaches ice-climbing, and competes with a team in adventure races. He is returning to Kroka as a wilderness leader. A skilled instructor in climbing, backpacking, bike packing, and expedition education, Vivek is excited to share his love for simple living and feeling at home in the wilderness.

Will is a student at Wheaton College, MA, studying liberal arts, psychology, and math. He attended many Kroka programs as a student at the Montclair Co-op and during multiple summers through high school. He is a true lover of the natural world and its creatures.

Zach keeps Kroka fed and provisioned, from the farm kitchen to the trailhead. He cooks for groups of 20 to 150 or more, sources from the farm and nearby growers, keeps the kitchen safe and inviting. He came to Kroka from The Mountain School of Milton Academy, where he taught culinary arts and mindfulness to high school juniors. He grew up on the coast of Maine near Blue Hill Bay. He believes a shared meal is one of the best ways to slow a group down and bring it together. Outside the kitchen, Zach is a long-time zen-yogi-adventurer who spends his free time in the mountains, trails, rivers, bikes, and skis.