YEAR-ROUND STAFF
Alex Stroshine
He/Him/His
Marlow, NH
Bookkeeper & Forester in Residence
Alex (also known by some as “Coach Stro”) is a veritable renaissance-man of the Kroka community. When he is not keeping the books, Alex can be found leading whitewater expeditions, or coaching the local youth baseball team. Born and raised in Keene, New Hampshire, Alex has shredded the whitewater knar from New England to Ecuador – and has the Spanish fluency to prove it. Alex lives year-round in a woodstove cabin in the Kroka village.
Liz Jordan
She/Her/Hers
Putney, VT
Director of Education
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, mask maker, costumer, 9th grade team leader, secondary school placement coordinator, and reading specialist. She pursued graduate credits from Goddard College, 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 (one of her all time favorite jobs). She lives in Westminster West, Vermont with her husband and two kids, is a student and teacher of yoga and meditation, and tends to her two very wily lady goats and her beloved 3-legged dog.
Emily Sherwood
Marlow, NH
Director of Expeditions
Emily was born and raised in the town of Starksboro, VT. She first came to Kroka at the age of 11 and has been a devoted Kroka-ite ever since. She completed the 2004 Vermont Semester and was the first ever Kroka Apprentice. She then took time to study at Fosen Folk School in Norway, where she lived for three years shoveling manure, sailing boats, and strapping her skis to her bicycle so she was always prepared. Her time abroad continued for another three years spent living outside of London studying theater, and exploring Europe as a traveling milk maid. In 2011 Emily rejoined the full-time Kroka community as the School Programs Coordinator.
Ezra Fradkin
Marlow, NH
Managing Director
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 went on to graduate from Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, VT where his studies focused on sustainable food systems. Before returning to Kroka as a member of the year-round team in 2016 Ezra spent time in Ecuador, Israel, Mexico, and Lopez Island in Washington’s Salish Sea. When not working in the office, you can find Ezra exploring the underground world and performing in a local theater group. Ezra recently completed an MA in Regenerative Economics at Schumacher College (UK).
Hugh Landis
Jaffrey, NH
Campus Carpenter
Our chief carpenter, Hugh is a venerable master of precision and a man of few words.
Jack Faustinoni
They/Them/Theirs
São Bernardo do Campo, SP
Semester Teacher
Jackie is passionate about rocks and loves reading them as a geologist, rock climber and mountain biker. They started working with Outdoor Education in Brazil in 2017, when they first learned about Experiential Learning. The quest for more meaningful ways of being and career path brought Jackie to Kroka Expeditions. Since then, Jackie has been working at Kroka as Program Leader and Semester Teacher.
Jennifer Case
She/Her/Hers
Peterborough, NH
Food Manager
A local to Peterborough, New Hampshire, Jennifer hails originally from the fair, flaxen-colored fields of Indiana. Jennifer comes to us from the community of the Plowshare Farm not far from our own NH route 123, and we are both proud and blessed to have her as such a valued part of our community as well.
Katia Knight
She/Her/Hers
Paris,
Community Steward
Part of our administrative team, Katia comes to us from Devon, England and hails originally from France. Based solely off of her last name, I suspect she may be a direct descendant of Sir Bedevere the Wise of Arthurian legend.
Linda Fuerderer
She/Her/Hers
Marlow, NH
Facilities Director
Linda Fuerderer always steps up to do many tasks above and beyond her job description around the Kroka campus. Until it’s sale in 2007, she worked alongside her family in the family business, Jack’s True Value Hardware in Keene, New Hampshire. While working there, she received a Bachelor’s Degree at Keene State College, where she deepened her passion for archaeology. Linda has participated on many digs and regularly volunteers with the New Hampshire Archaeological Society. She is a resident of Marlow, NH and sits on the conservation commission as well as ARLAC (Ashuelot River Local Advisory Commission).
Lindsay Moon
She/Her/Hers
Marlow, NH
Program Coordinator
Lindsay is a master of silversmithing and leather-working (as well as an enthusiastic disciple of wool garments) with deep roots in the southern New Hampshire-Vermont region. Before coming to Kroka, Lindsay worked as a jewelry-making teacher in Pennsylvania, and as a therapeutic guide in Vermont. Lindsay loves making things with her hands, rock climbing, and helping others grow into their fullest selves through introspection, challenge, and exposure to try new things.
Nathan Lyczak
Keene, NH
Executive Director
Nathan has enjoyed a variety of roles at Kroka during the past 14 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 is the proud parent of two Kroka semester program alumni, and partner of long-time expedition leader and educator Hanah LaBarre. He is thrilled to be returning to full time work at Kroka at this unique moment of transition in the organization.
Tricia Bennett
She/Her/Hers
Alstead, NH
Outreach Coordinator
While studying at UNH, Tricia went on a NOLS semester in Patagonia that changed her life. She was not only exposed to the harsh elements on extended sea-kayaking and mountaineering expeditions, but the magic that comes from living in nature with community. Driven to be a part of and create these transformative experiences for others, Tricia went on to guide groups of students with Windsor Mountain, Global Routes, True North and NOLS before finding her perfect fit with Kroka Expeditions. Tricia joined the Kroka team in 2018 and has worked as the school program coordinator, interim food manager and has coordinated and led the Fall Semester Program since 2020. Favorite Things About Kroka: The thought, care, love, intention that goes into EVERYTHING at Kroka. The community of supportive, creative, passionate staff. Raw milk & yogurt, pressing cider, skiing on winter lunch breaks, exploring wild places together. The students and children that fill this place with JOY! Personal Passions: Wildflowers, swimming in alpine lakes, laughter with co-leaders 100 days into semester, learning about plant spirits, all the magical seasons of New England, learning new crafts, mountain biking, a cup of tea by the fire, making a beautiful meal with loved ones
SEASONAL STAFF, GUESTS, & VOLUNTEERS
Aaron Knight
Acworth, NH
Chief Engineer
Kroka’s indispensable handyman, Aaron is also a landscape painter and possibly a long lost relative to our administrative staffer Katia.
Anna Bellows
She/Her/Hers
Cambridge, MA
Assistant Leader - 1st Year
The sound of harbor buoys and the smell of Atlantic cod from the Boston Fish Wharf are carried up the Mystic River to Anna’s childhood home. A semester alumni and an experienced whitewater paddler, Anna now studies law and political science in Philadelphia: the Cradle of Liberty. Anna loathes no vegetable, but is wont to feign disdain for pickles when she is pressed to express superficial individuality.
Carina Bontia
She/Her/Hers
Nutley, NJ
RUTGERS INTERN
Carina is part of our administrative team this summer, as well as being a valuable factotum in Kroka’s teeming community, expeditious programs, and thriving camp village. When not at Kroka, Carina is studying public and nonprofit administration at Rutgers University. Carina is also an alumni of Kroka’s “Rutgers Expedition”. Carina hopes to one day be a part of an environmental organization or an international human rights organization.
Cate Oswald
She/Her/Hers
Tappan, NY
Assistant Leader - 1st Year
A fall semester alumni and longtime Kroka student, Cate loves living in the Kroka community – where hand-darned wool, wholesome local ingredients, and a richness of cross-cultural backgrounds mix and mend together. Cate is a student and farmhand at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
Cecilia Crowe
She/Her/Hers
Mendham, NJ
Farm Educator
Currently studying studio art and environmental studies at New York University, in Manhattan’s buzzing and bustling canyons of glass and concrete, Cecilia is working this summer on the Kroka farm. While originally from the Garden State, Cecilia’s stoke for agriculture is most salient in her love for our Kroka chickens. Only Gonzo the muppet has been known for greater affection for these feathered pals.
Chris Knapp
Temple, ME
Leader
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.
Chrissy Turk
She/Her/Hers
Cooper City, FL
Wilderness Leader
A professional adventurer, Chrissy gathers no moss. You can find her leading Kroka canoeing expeditions in Utah and California, or off on her own exploits teaching skiing and snowboarding in North Carolina or Montana, rock climbing anywhere from Squamish to the Red River Gorge, dog sledding and canoeing on the Canadian Shield, or spending time at her childhood home in south Florida.
Colton Francis
Wilderness Leader
Coming to us from Burlington, Vermont, Colton brings to Kroka a love for living in community and a contagious joy for the wild world. When he is not fighting oil pipelines in British Columbia, teaching at Crow’s Path, or running ultra marathons, Colton can be found leading Kroka students on laughter-filled forest romps.
David Silva Alvarez
Seasonal Senior Leader
David Silva Alvarez, a father a rambling rock climber and a builder, originates from Columbia, 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.
Ellie Fuller
She/Her/Hers
Alstead, NH
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.
Elena Cherkasov
She/Her/Hers
West Berlin, VT
Assistant Leader - 3rd Year
Born in the Novgorod Oblast of western Russia, Elena spent her childhood and adolescence ranging Vermont’s eponymous green mountains. An alumni of three (3) back-to-back-to-back Kroka semesters, Elena is no stranger to expedition life. When not at Kroka, Elena studies outdoor & environmental education at Prescott College, rambling the red rimrocked mesas and ponderosa pines of Arizona.
Brother Elijah Greiner
He/Him/His
Chicago, IL
Full Circle Winter Semester assistant teacher
Proudly born and raised in Chicago’s South Loop, “Brother Elijah” is a greenhorn druid and a full-time swashbuckler. From the Sargasso Sea, to the Natchez Trace, to Hudson Bay, Elijah loves to peacefully retrace the historic routes of pre-industrial marauders. Elijah is also enamored with the preternatural and fey forces that dance in the wilderness, and loves sharing this wonder with Kroka students.
Emily Barr
She/Her/Hers
Marlow, NH
Leader
Nobody really knows for sure where Emily comes from. Some say she was raised by a pack of river otters somewhere in those foggy, sasquatch-ridden jungles between the Columbia and the Fraser. I’d believe it too. Emily is an avid whitewater kayaker (in both North and South America), a skilled carpenter. Her eclectic resume includes raft guiding, substitute teaching, cat-breeding, floral artistry, and building giant castles made of ice.
Emily Bisaga
She/Her/Hers
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
Farm Educator
Originally from New York state, Emily comes to us from the steep crags and arid chaparral of southern California. Having rock climbed from Joshua Tree to the redwoods, Emily’s adventures have now brought her to Kroka, where she shares with students her love for the bountiful and dynamic earth.
Emma Smith
She/Her/Hers
Plaistow, NH
Assistant Leader - 1st Year
Though born and raised in the Granite State, Emma resonates more with a “Live Free and Let Live” ethos. An experienced climbing instructor, and an alumni of two Kroka semesters, Emma studies outdoor leadership and psychology at Warren Wilson College – in the heart of North Carolina’s fabled yon blue mountains.
Fin Hewitt
He/Him/His
Greensboro Bend, VT
Guest Assistant Leader- 3rd year
Fin brings raft-guide energy to the kayaking world. This rapid-fire quip-spitting hardcore over-stoker is always ready to shred some serious gnar. Fin came to Kroka to do two things: eat kasha and surf holes… and he’s all out of kasha.
Gia Bialoglowka
Newark, NJ
INTERN
Gia absolutely loves the wilderness. Her home is amongst the trees and she is always eager to learn more about the natural world. A Kroka alumni, Gia loves the spirit of awakening that is salient in expeditions and on the Kroka campus.
Gracie Mendoza
She/Her/Hers
Sebastapol, CA
Assistant Leader - 2nd Year
Gracie comes to us from the land of towering redwoods and foggy seaside grottos, where she recently graduated from University of California Santa Cruz. Born and raised in the Golden State, she enjoys sea kayaking, backpacking. At Kroka, Gracie loves leading wood carving crafts, knitting for fun, making music, and always brings the sunshine of “like, such Cali vibes, you know?”
Grant Hawkes
He/Him/His
Gorham, ME
Guest Leader
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 LaBarre
Guest Leader
HANAH LABARRE was born in a country below sea level, learned to play on the flanks of the Himalayas, carve out fortresses in English and New English thickets and, after a detour in the jungles of New Jersey, set out running on The Great Plains. She gained full height and began growing her roots in the fertile Finger-Lakes region of New York State, sailing the mighty Hudson River and rambling deep shale ravines. Reed College pulled her west, but she pushed east again (on her trusty bike) to study eclectically at Cornell while honing expedition skills. She commenced to working with Longacre Expeditions, The Chewonki Foundation and The Shackleton School. After earning her M.Ed. at Lesley University, she embarked on a decade of teaching middle school sciences in beautiful Vermont. Now Hanah can be found nourishing or being nourished by the amazing community of Kroka or tending her small garden and family in Keene, New Hampshire.
Harry Rosenbaum
He/Him/His
Brooklyn, NY
Semester Marketing Support
Psychologists have debated whether or not the adolescent psyche ever molders into a loamy, ph-neutral, earthy, fragrant, nutrient-rich catalyst for all things bold and growing. Harry, with his dual passions of compost science and ritual theory, empowers students to enrich the world with a thriving energy and renewed identity.
Hope Macke
She/Her/Hers
Marlow, NH
A year-round denizen of the Kroka village, Hope is a seasoned Kroka teacher and an expert skier. Whether on the river or in the mountains, you can find Hope leading school-groups and summer expeditions, cooking delicious food, and reading high fantasy (occasionally all at the same time). When not at Kroka, Hope can be found nearby ski-instructing as many as fifty kindergarteners at once.
Jamie Coulter
He/Him/His
Kealakekua, HI
Guest Teacher
Jamie has worked at Kroka since the year 2000. He also has Waldorf class teacher certification from Antioch University, is a capoeira angola teacher (Afro-Brazilian dance/fight/game), and a yoga teacher trained at the Himalayan Institute for Yoga Science and Philosophy. He has worked on small organic farms in Vermont, on wheat farms in Oklahoma, and did inspection work for the Northeast Organic Farming Association. He has worked with 'at risk' youth in residential settings, school settings and outdoors. He has been a restaurant manager, waiter, and cook in Greenwich Village, NYC, and went to cooking school. As a teenager he went to Interlochen Arts Academy, a fine and performing arts high school and has performed in many plays. Originally from Minneapolis, he now lives in Hawaii!
James Fishman-Morren
He/Him/His
Orfordville, WI
Assistant Leader - 1st Year
James joins us from central Wisconsin where he enjoys time spent working on his family farm. After completing a Kroka winter semester, James went on to study at Lewis and Clark College in Oregon. He can often be found riding his bike or playing ultimate frisbee!
James Long
He/Him/His
Wayzata, MN
Farmer & Technician
When he is not systematically unraveling the mathematical mysteries of the cosmos, James basks in a cerebral sabbatical here at the lush, loamy, flourishing world of the Kroka farm. James can be seen stewarding the pastures, tending the gardens, engaging with our students, and caring for our cows and chickens – as well as managing Kroka’s credit card finances.
Jo Moore
She/Her/Hers
Mahopac, NY
Semester Teacher
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.
Josh Carter
He/Him/His
Crestone, CO
Resident BeeKeeper
Josh first applied to Kroka looking for a chance to take tourists on freshwater crocodile sightseeing excursions. After arriving, he realized his homophonous blunder, but decided to stay after being welcomed into such a beautiful community.
Lael Cashen
Hudson, NY
Wilderness Leader
An alumni of two Kroka semesters, Lael is also a graduate of adventure studies at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia. Lael is one of 18 million people who, when she says she is originally from “New York”, does not (believe it or not) mean Manhattan. She enjoys skiing, mountain biking, and rock climbing. In the winters she can be found chilling in Canada.
Landon Sheaffer
He/Him/His
Cottekill, NY
Facilities Assistant
A seasoned Kroka semester teacher, Landon hopes that nobody will try to read his bio.
Lilah Rose Poston
She/Her/Hers
Bethel, CT
1st Year Apprentice
A semester alumni, painter, and enthusiast of nordic, downhill, AND telemark skiing, Lilah comes to us from the woods and dales of the Connecticut countryside. Her appreciation for traditional indigenous knowledge (and its perseverance, despite the desolation of manifest destiny) is reflected in her love and fascination for the passenger pigeon.
Luke Webb
He/Him/His
Greenfield, MA
Assistant Leader - 2nd Year
Luke ”the Drifter” is the rootin’est tootin’est cowboy this side of the mighty Mississip’. Between reindeer-wrestling in Norway, bull-riding in the Lone Star State, and sword-fighting in Poland, there is no adventure too daring for this rawhide wayfarer. You can catch Luke sharing jokes around the campfire, and recounting colorful tales from his many whitewater, caving, and snowboarding adventures.
Maeve Bennett
She/Her/Hers
Greenfield, NH
School and Camp Nurse
Be it a whittling-knick, mysterious rashes, or homesickness, there is no ailment or injury too severe or too obscure for Maeve's expert care.
Marcea MacInnis
Pifo,
Seasonal Senior Leader
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.
Margarita Cardoso
She/Her/Hers
Cuenca,
Seasonal Senior Leader
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.
Max McCrory
He/Him/His
Montclair, NJ
Apprentice- 1st year
An amateur filmographer, prop and costume builder, and an outdoor enthusiast, Max hails from the lively urban sprawl of Montclair, New Jersey. At Kroka, Max can be found captivating students with a fable around the campfire, or a nighttime tale inside our earthen “hobbit hole” lodges.
Monica Marshall
Keene, NH
Lead Volunteer
Monica is a nationally recognized Waldorf Teacher Trainer and consultant with 40 years of Waldorf classroom teaching experience. As a class teacher on countless school field trips, Monica helped develop Kroka’s progressive outdoor curriculum for Waldorf schools. Now retired from full-time teaching, Monica runs a curriculum development and evaluation consultancy for schools worldwide. For many years Monica has been an advisor, mentor, and trainer for Kroka staff, and in 2020 she joined Kroka as the main lesson teacher for our Community School. Monica’s passionate and disciplined teaching has brought strength of quality to our programming. Outside of the classroom, Monica enjoys singing, gardening, and bicycling with her husband Ken – including an impressive resume of bicycle tours of European cities!
Tashi Diamondstone-Kohout
She/Her/Hers
Dummerston, VT
ESP Assistant Teacher
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.
Nick Paul
He/Him/His
Marlow, NH
Semester Teacher
Nick lives the old-time traditional bushcraft lifestyle that beard-oiled, flanneled hipsters on the internet merely play at. From woodworking to leatherworking to basketry, Nick is a wellspring of knowledge, expertise, and excitement for all things concerning simple New England living. Nick studied outdoor leadership at University of New Hampshire and is a seasoned Kroka teacher.
Olivia Heese
She/Her/Hers
Plover, WI
Assistant Leader - 2nd Year
Olivia, also known as “Olive”, was born and raised in the heart of America’s Dairyland (That’s Wisconsin in case any Vermonters are confused). Olive has done environmental work in the United States and Ethiopia before coming to Kroka. During the school season, Olive studies outdoor leadership at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina.
Geova Guatemal
He/Him/His
San Clemente,
Wilderness Leader
Geova hails from the Indigenous community of San Clemente, Ecuador, nestled between the salt spray of the Pacific and the austere highlands of the snow-capped Andes. Following the migration path of his younger brother Roberto, Geova first came to Kroka in 2022. An avid mountain-biker, Geova also plays the guitar and piano.
Patricia Ribeiro
She/Her/Hers
Taubaté, SP
Wilderness Leader - 1st year
Patricia, better known as “Pati”, brings the warmth and spirit of her coastal Brazilian homeland to the mountains of New Hampshire. Before coming to Kroka, Pati studied sustainability in the British Isles, oceanography in Brazil, and guided ocean excursions. Whether steering a voyageur canoe on the Maine coast, or snorkeling at her native beaches of Sao Paulo, Pati loves to share her admiration and fascination with the sea.
Rachel Foucher
She/Her/Hers
Harrisville, NH
Wilderness Leader
Rachel grew up in southern New Hampshire and spent her childhood romping around the woods and climbing anything in sight. She started her Kroka journey as part of the MC2 wilderness leadership team. After spending three years with this program, she apprenticed with Kroka in the summer of 2018 and then went on to work as an intern for Kroka’s year-long community homeschool program. She has returned to teach in the summers since then and is an alum of the 2020 Winter Semester Program.
Rebecca Walton
Lake Forest Park, WA
WSP Coordinator
From Mount Rainier's frosty summit to the temperate rainforests of Cascadia, mountaineers and lumberjacks alike share legends of this stalwart adventurer. Before coming to Kroka, Rebecca has worked with middle-to-high-school age students both on backpacking and kayaking expeditions as well as in the classroom, teaching math and science. Always curious, and always active, both Rebecca’s cognition and physical endurance seem to know no bounds.
Roberto Pupiales
San Clemente,
Wilderness Leader
Roberto’s seasonal migration habits resemble that of Piranga olivacea – the scarlet tanager – dividing his time between the Kroka village and his home in the Indigenous community of San Clemente, Ecuador. Roberto has been making the summer journey to Kroka since 2009, first as a semester student and now leading mountain biking and hiking expeditions.
Ruby Pinyuh-Derovan
Cottekill, NY
Guest Teacher
Ruby grew up exploring the hills and surfing the coast of Northern California. Her experiences as an outdoor educator in California began at a young age, and include: teaching summer and afterschool nature programs; working as a forest preschool teacher; contracting with Waldorf Schools to lead backpacking trips; teaching in a Kindergarten; and teaching surf clinics and lessons in the summers. An educator by day and an artist by night, Ruby spent six years professionally crafting handmade and custom leather shoes, as well as making her own clothing, experimenting with local plant dyes, and dipping innumerable beeswax candles. Always passionate about food and agriculture, Ruby worked on farms and at farm stands in the Bay Area, cooked for several families, and volunteered her time at Salmon Protection and Watershed Network. After teaching her first semester at Kroka Expeditions (Roaring Canyons 2019) Ruby had a brief sojourn working full-time on farms in Santa Cruz and the Big Sur Mountains: tending bees, milking goats, and harvesting rows and rows of lettuces. Upon returning to Kroka, Ruby taught summer programs and designed and taught the humanities curriculum for the Legends of the Rio Grande 2020 Semester. When she’s not teaching (and sometimes when she is!) you can find Ruby dancing on her longboard in the waves, munching on wild edible foods in the woods, or playing irish fiddle tunes somewhere with a view.
Sam Cohen
He/Him/His
Boulder, Colorado
Assistant Leader
Originally from Colorado’s Front Range, Sam crewed aboard rolling decks and hemp-n-timber rigging of the bounding schooner Shenandoah, as well as guiding wilderness therapy programs in the San Juan Mountains, before dropping anchor here at Kroka. In addition to teaching traditional crafts and leading forest explorations on Kroka expeditions, Sam is a savant when it comes to making homemade sauerkraut.
Samuel Foucher
He/Him/His
Guilford, VT
Guest Teacher
Samuel can do much more than play a mean accordion, but the ill-equipped narrator tasked with writing these staff bios laments that their meager and brief interaction with this captivating individual was insufficient to elucidate more.
Sarah Warnecke
She/Her/Hers
Bennington , VT
Assistant Leader - 1st Year
Born and raised in Chester, Vermont, Sarah is at home in these verdant, mossy New England backwoods. In the cooler months, Sarah studies outdoor and environmental education at University of Vermont in Burlington. A Vermonter to the core, Sarah’s appreciation for cheese is as rich as it is nuanced. Cabot? Please, we’re talking maple-smoked aged Oma from the Von Trapp’s Jersey cows.
Sophia Cable
She/Her/Hers
Amherst, MA
Sophia loves skiing, biking, backpacking, ultimate Frisbee, and running. She is a graduate of Kroka's Winter Semester Program. She has attended College of the Antlantic and she plays a mean banjo!
Thomas Dammer
Pifo,
Seasonal Senior Leader
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.
Tom Rosenberg
Hammond Ranch, CA
Guest Leader
Tom Rosenberg is a senior Kroka instructor and has guided many advanced expeditions including the George River and Uapishka Canadian expeditions. Tom is a graduate of American Eurythmy School and is a professional carpenter. He has guided dog sledding trips at Mahoosuc Guide Service in Maine and in Alaska for Arctic Wild. Tom and his wife Lily (also a veteran Kroka instructor) live with their daughter in Northern California at the foot of Mount Shasta.
Vivek Mehta
He/Him/His
Kumaon,
Assistant Leader - 1st Year
Vivek comes to us from the indomitable summits of the Hymalayas, in Uttarakhand, India – where the heavens themselves snag on the venerated peak of Nada Devi. A connoisseur of vintage trucks, Vivek came to America for the automobiles, and stayed for the coffee culture. On expedition, Kroka students scaling the granite cliffs of New England will find nowhere else a more encouraging teacher.
William Devine-Golub
He/Him/His
Montclair, NJ
Assistant Leader - 1st Year
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.
Zefram Fransen
He/Him/His
Goshen, IN
Assistant Leader - 1st Year
Not unlike Lightning McQueen, Zef found himself chasing fame and glory in the fast-lane to the Disc Golf World Championships. From the Crossroads of America, Zef stopped to ponder, and took the road less traveled instead. A Kroka semester alumni and proud Hoosier, Zef now lives a humble life of farmwork, craft-making, hiking, whitewater paddling, downhill skiing, and rock climbing here at Kroka.
Zoe Daigh-Flagollet
She/Her/Hers
Volunteer
Zoe grew up in the woods of Guilford, VT, and first came to Kroka as a summer student at the age of 13. She is a graduate of the 2017 Winter Semester and joined the staff community in 2018. Zoe has worked at Kroka in many different capacities including summer and Winter Semester staff, and is excited to continue her work with Community School. Zoe has spent two years living and studying linguistics in France and enjoys traveling alone. Her favorite thing to do is contra dance with friends, and loves feeling the magic of the music as she spins across the dance floor.