Wildland Administrative Team

Co-founder

Steve, co-founder, worked as a natural resources specialist for federal and state governments before discovering his passion for leading people into wild places. After this revelation, he spent his working life as a wilderness counselor for at-risk youth in Utah and as an outdoor educator and hiking guide, before co-founding the Wildland Trekking Company. Steve is a personable and attentive owner and guide who is dedicated to seeing that his guests get as much out of their wilderness hiking experience as possible. Also an avid rock climber, he can usually be found scaling the cliffs of his usual haunts when not in the office or the field.

Co-founder

Scott, co-founder, grew up hiking and backpacking with his family in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. He’s sure backcountry hiking fever is severely contagious and doesn’t have any known cure, because once afflicted with it, the constant desire to “get out” has plagued him his whole life. He has a B.A. degree in English and Professional Communication and worked in the ski industry, outdoor retail world and leadership and personal development domain before Wildland. In 2005, along with partners Steve and Brad, Scott co-founded Wildland Trekking with a mission to enrich guests’ lives and contribute to conservation.

Co-founder of Wildland Llamas

Beau teamed up with Steve, Brad and Scott in 2014 to begin offering llama-supported treks in Wyoming. His company is the largest breeder of pack llamas in North America, and he is a co-founder of Wildland Llamas, a sister company to Wildland Trekking. His family has been making a living off the lands of Utah, Idaho and Wyoming for over 100 years and he wanted to see these special places preserved for years to come. With a common goal of preservation by conservation he believes that together we can protect use on public lands, the heritage of the West, and the pack llama breed used for millenia by the Incas and others.

Director of Domestic Operations

Chris grew up in New England hiking, biking, boating, and exploring the great outdoors. After college, when faced with the ‘what do I do with my degree’ question, Chris took a summer job working as a whitewater rafting guide. He never looked back. Turns out working in the great outdoors and leading amazing people on adventures in the wildest parts of our planet was exactly what he was looking for. Since then, he has worked as a ropes course instructor, rock climbing guide, backpacking guide, and whitewater rafting guide in more than a dozen states across the country. Chris transitioned to in-town roles some years ago to spend more time with loved ones but he still relishes his time in the great outdoors and loves that his job is to help others spend time in the wilderness connecting with nature. When Chris isn’t working you can find him hiking or running on a trail or boating a river with his wife and three dogs.

Director, Wildland Sales and Product

Ashley grew up in Tucson, AZ, spending her childhood exploring the Sonoran Desert. She was a competitive runner which took her to Southern California for college. After graduating with a degree in Sustainable Food Systems, she moved to rural Arkansas as an AmeriCorps volunteer and started running a small farm and teaching sustainable agriculture. This eventually took her to Costa Rica where she earned her MA in Environment, Development, and Peace from the United Nations mandated University for Peace. From there she became a Course Director for Where There Be Dragons and taught for years throughout Central America and Senegal. After being away from home for so long, she made her way back to Arizona where she currently raises her young family and they enjoy going on mini adventures hiking and camping around Northern Arizona.

Regional Operations Manager

A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jake’s love for the outdoors started at childhood. Every summer he would head north and go hiking and camping with his dad and brother. After a 15 year career as a chef, Jake wanted something different. He quit his job, packed up, and headed west. Jake has been in California now for 9 years and has hiked and backpacked all over the state. His most notable and favorite hike was the John Muir Trail, which he hiked in only 11 days. Jake oversees the Sierra Nevada program which includes Yosemite National Park, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, Lassen Volcanic National Park, the Eastern Sierras and the Lost Coast.

Staffing Manager

Ken’s passion for the outdoors was born at the age of 10 when he first visited his grandfather in Arizona; they went hunting together and it opened up a whole new world to him. Soon after that trip his family moved to Arizona, his father’s home state (the Parkers have lived in Arizona for 5 generations and a love for the Sonoran deserts is deeply ingrained). Ken’s love of the southwest wilderness continued to grow, and eventually he graduated from Arizona State University in 2009 with a BA in Psychology. He worked as a mental health professional for several years, and felt his greatest successes came when he and the patients participated in outdoor activities together. His dream is to one day combine his expertise in guiding (on hiking and backpacking trips), his love of the outdoors, and his passion for helping the mentally ill with a customized wilderness therapy program in Arizona.

Business Systems Specialist

Tyler’s passion for the outdoors started as a kid from Ohio with family vacations to National Parks in the Rockies. While earning his B.A. in Computer Science from Ohio University he spent summer breaks working in National Parks building his ever-growing love for all things wilderness related. After graduation, he decided he wanted to be as close to the outdoors as possible and spent the next decade-plus working in various National Parks, Recreation Areas, and ski resorts throughout the American West enjoying all the great recreational activities that the natural landscape has to offer. He now resides in Northwest Montana just outside of Glacier National Park crushing spreadsheets and spending his free time picking his banjo and searching for the next mountain top, river, or high alpine lake to take his breath away.

Philanthropy Director

Doug is a Santa Fe native and was raised in New Mexico and Oklahoma. His first backpacking adventure was in the New Mexico mountains when he was 10 years old. A Grand Canyon guide since 2008 (with Wildland Trekking since 2009) he has guided over 175 treks into “the Canyon”. He is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and the Canadian Outward Bound Wilderness School and earned a degree in history from Penn State University. In addition to guiding for Wildland Trekking he coordinates the company’s Philanthropy Program, is a Santa Fe area tour/hiking guide and since 2008 has instructed field courses for NOLS. He is a passionate wilderness educator and enjoys sharing with others the unique natural and human history of the Colorado Plateau region. Doug resides in Albuquerque.

Greater Grand Canyon, Deputy Operations Manager

Stefan grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He moved out west to attend NAU in Flagstaff, and graduated with a degree in Parks and Recreation Management, with an emphasis in Outdoor Leadership and Education. Since moving to Flagstaff he has fallen in love with the southwest. He is also an Eagle Scout, NOLS alumni, avid rock climber and backpacker. He is an attentive guide who cares about the safety and enjoyment of his guests, and he’s extremely knowledgeable about being in the outdoors and about the natural and cultural history of the Colorado Plateau and the Southwest. Stefan’s goal with leading any sort of trip is to inspire a sense of stewardship and appreciation in others around him.

Greater Grand Canyon, Senior Operations Coordinator

Cody’s love for the outdoors bloomed in his youth in Clarkdale, AZ, with the magic red rock country of Sedona nearby. After an honorable service to his country, he was enticed enough by Northern Arizona University’s climate, proximity to family, and captivating wilderness to attend school there. After discovering guiding in the process of obtaining his bachelor’s degree, he chose to take root in the arid highland town of Flagstaff. A modern-day scholar of the outdoors, fueled by the pursuit of joy and adventure, Cody is passionate about his lifestyle. In his veins courses excitement, and in his heart a joyous rebellion against the mundane.

Utah, Deputy Operations Manager

Lura was born and raised in Northern Arizona, right on the Utah border, and has spent a lifetime exploring the remote corners of the Colorado Plateau. She began guiding in 2008 and loved her years spent sharing the majesty of the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce and the Grand Staircase while leading hiking, canyoneering, river trips and Jeep tours. Her time teaching as a Naturalist in Zion National Park helped her realize her dedication to education and conservation. She is passionate about responsible recreation and stewardship of the places she loves. She lives outside Zion National Park in Southern Utah with her husband and her cat, and in her spare time enjoys reading about Colorado Plateau geology and immersing herself in that geology on long hikes.

Utah, Senior Operations Coordinator

Fletcher was born and raised in Southern California, exploring the nearby coasts, mountains, and deserts. While earning a BS in Environmental Sciences and Ecology, Fletcher found a love for introducing others to the outdoors and crafting personalized outdoor experiences through his school’s outdoor recreation program. He then transitioned to full time guiding, getting his start on the rivers of the southwest and California for three seasons, and hiking in the winter. However, after his first backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon he couldn’t look back and began working as a full time hiking and backpacking guide in Flagstaff, AZ. Fletcher now resides in St. George UT, expanding his love of the desert through exploring Southern Utah’s canyon country. When he’s not in the field, you’ll find him mountain biking, deep in a canyon, or rockhounding around Southern Utah.

Deputy Operations Manager, Eastern US

Kyle grew up in Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains and developed a love for the outdoors on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail, and James River. He graduated from The Golf Academy of America in 2012 and worked in the golf industry for several years before leaving to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 2014. After completing the thru hike, he realized how passionate he was about backpacking. In 2016 he traveled to the Pacific Northwest exploring several national parks and wilderness areas. He has now settled down in Asheville to guide in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Guest Support Director & 24/7 Team

On his first mountain climb near Yellowstone, at eight years of age, Scott decided anything worth doing is worth doing on foot. That decision, made more then 30 years ago, sparked a passion in him to extensively explore the fantastic mountain ranges near his hometown of Bozeman, Montana. Eventually his passion for hiking the mountains led Scott to a career working with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). His next leap landed him at the Wildland Trekking Company doorstep, where he now shares his love of hiking and outdoor adventure with all who are willing. Scott is our Screening Director and in the past has guided trips in the Grand Canyon, Utah and Yellowstone, as well as managed operations for multiple programs.

Adventure Consultant

Michelle is a globetrotter with a passion for wildlife and active outdoor adventures.  She has a degree in Travel & Tourism and over 36 years of experience booking clients on adventure tours worldwide.  Michelle loves running, water sports, scuba diving, and hitting the trails with her family every chance she gets.

Destination Product Specialist

Ann grew up in the shadow of the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. She spent most of her free time adventuring around her family cabin or skiing at the local ski area. Ann enjoys helping others enjoy the great outdoors and loves recreation so much she has two degrees in it! Ann spent some time in the Pacific Northwest and then returned home to Wyoming where she now hikes with her sister and nephews and helps her mom add to her bird count. If she’s not exploring the great outdoors she is probably reading.

Marketing Manager

Danielle became fascinated with the natural world when she found a fossilized fern as a young child. As an undergrad, she participated in two study abroad programs in England, Vietnam, and Cambodia. In 2014, she received her Master’s Degree in International Literature, writing her thesis on the return to nature in early 20th century novels. Danielle took her first Wildland Trekking trip to the Grand Canyon in 2017 and joined the Wildland team in late 2021 as Marketing Manager. When not planning her next adventure, Danielle can be found knitting, cuddling with her dog, or learning more about home maintenance.

Marketing Coordinator

Marlo grew up “unschooled” outdoors in an off-grid solar home, but by 30 was working a higher ed desk job in social media, burnt out and suffering from cognitive dissonance. Taking a leap she enrolled in a Career Transition Expedition with the National Outdoor Leadership (NOLS) and has been employed in the industry ever since. Passionate about people, words, and wilderness, Marlo found guiding to be a natural fit. Today she combines work as the Wildland Marketing Coordinator with time spent guiding trips in the field, and summers teaching for NOLS.

Revenue and Treasury Accountant

Shelly grew up in Colorado in a tiny farming and ranching town (she graduated high school with 7 other people!) As an avid athlete, she went to college in Wyoming on a full ride scholarship for basketball and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Business. In 1996 she hiked the length of the Appalachian Trail. In the following years she completed multiple thru-hikes in Colorado’s San Juan mountains. Today Shelly heads up accounting, payroll and human resources at Wildland, and is a member of the leadership team.

Human Resources Manager

Laura E is an Arizona native and enjoys all things outdoors. She likes to go hiking, dirt bike riding as well as doing archery in her spare time. Laura, her husband, and their two dogs live in the mountains of Northern Arizona near the beautiful Mogollon Rim. Laura has always loved working with people and loves being a part of the Wildland Team. Please reach out to her as she is happy to help you with all of your HR needs!

Human Resources Coordinator

Matt was born and raised in the beautiful landscapes of Minnesota. He earned his B.A. in guitar construction, but these days his main hobby is photography. Matt helps with all things HR, payroll and accounting related.

Accounting Associate

Elaine was raised in Arizona and has spent much of her time hiking and backpacking in the southwest.  Elaine has been a professional guide for over 20 years. She started with Wildland in 2007 making her one of the original guides for Wildland. In 2018, Elaine moved from Grand Canyon, AZ to Northern Idaho and continued to guide at the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. Prior to pursuing her dream to become a hiking guide, she did Accounting for many years in the hospitality industry.  With joining the Wildland accounting team, she is able to blend both her guiding and accounting knowledge together.  Elaine continues to enjoy hiking, biking and time with her family and dogs.