Abby Taylor (She/They)

Associate Program Director - Logistics

Abby left her home state of Georgia in 2013 to join the Northwest Outward Bound School as an intern. During the season, she fell in love with the central Oregon sunshine and sagebrush, and most of all, with Outward Bound. That fall, she participated in the last new staff training out of Outward Bound Alabama and worked courses for struggling adolescents out of the Scotsmoor and Key Largo bases. Throughout this time, Abby showed a knack for expedition logistics and honed those skills at different locations. She even worked as Logistics Manager and instructed courses for a stint at the Voyaguer Outward Bound Twin Cities center in Saint Paul, MN.

Aside from Outward Bound, Abby has worked in the world of outdoor recreation in a variety of ways and locations: Four years at her college outdoor program based in Southern Georgia. A variety of therapeutic recreation settings from a New York summer camp to a South Carolina boarding school. Three winters working and skiing in Alta, Utah. Two years managing a large climbing gym in Minnesota. Coordinating climbing competitions in between, and even spending one summer as a "sponsored athlete" on a cross-country bicycle tour. One thing has always drawn her back, and that is the Northwest Outward Bound School. After filling the roles of Intern, Logistics Coordinator, Assistant Instructor, Head Logistics Coordinator and Lead River Instructor, Abby is excited to return as Oregon Logistics Manager for the school.

When not ordering mass amounts of food or wandering around the Odin Falls warehouse, Abby likes to climb Oregon choss, row a boat down most any river, and ski on storm days.

Ami Violanda Adams (She/Her)

Oregon Program Director

Ami spent much of her formative years exploring the woods, tidal creeks, and marshes of the East Coast before travelling to Arizona to attend Prescott College. While studying environmental science, marine biology, and adventure education, she fell in love with the mountains, deserts, rivers, and vastness of the West. Not a hard thing to do when you’re canoeing in the Arctic or the Southwest, backpacking in the Grand Canyon, or traversing the intertidal zones of the Gulf of California. She has also had the privilege of learning from incredible and inspiring mentors who helped to provide direction.

Ami first worked with Outward Bound as a research advisor and assistant watch officer for semester and high school courses onboard HIOBS’ Sharpie Schooners. She later served as the director of a HIOBS partnership program in the Bahamas. 

Ami has been lucky to spend much of her career interacting with the natural world. Aside from work in the outdoor industry, her professional background includes: field biology, intersectional curriculum development, risk management, and many years spent teaching high school and college science. Additionally she has worked as a high school learning specialist and the director of both gap year and expeditionary programs.

Ami deeply values experiential education, and has always admired Outward Bound’s commitment to teaching students and staff to lead with compassion. She is thrilled to be stepping into the Oregon Program Director role at NWOBS, and is excited to begin a new adventure in the Pacific Northwest with her partner Alec and dogs Seb and Ruth. 

Anne Morrison (she/her)

Senior Director, Programs and Safety

Born and raised in Vermont, with roots tracing back to the 1700s, Anne has been exploring the outdoors from a very young age.  Throughout college, Anne began her migration west and fell in love with rivers by guiding on the Arkansas River in CO.  In 2006 Anne began her Outward Bound career with the Colorado Outward Bound School in the Southwest region of Utah.  Falling in love with the desert through canyons and rivers, Anne worked as an Instructor, Course Director, Trainer and Associate Program Director for Utah’s Southwest Program.

In 2014, Anne swapped desert sun and sand for the lush forests of the Northwest with a move to Portland, OR.  During her time in the “big city”, she worked as a Course Advisor and urban Instructor with NWOBS.  She took a brief hiatus from outdoor education, in 2015-2017 to complete her masters in school counseling and worked with high school freshmen just south of Portland.  Since mid-2017, Anne has worked in various program and safety admin roles with NWOBS, mainly with the Odin Falls program.

Anne believes deeply in the power of connection to change lives and build community.  The outdoor classroom is uniquely suited to this work and Anne is constantly in awe of the transformations she see through expeditions.  Facilitating connection between individuals has been foundational to all of her professional work and she is continually pursuing opportunities learn and grow.  Anne has most recently learning through wrestling with her power and privilege as it relates to her career path and overall experiences in the outdoors. 

Anne is so grateful and fortunate that she can often be found exploring the mountains, rocks and rivers of Central Oregon from her home in Bend.  She loves spending time outside with her partner, Rob, and two silly dogs, Freya and Salix.

Cauri Hammer (she/her)

Course Advisor

Cauri grew up riding horses in the rolling hills of Northern California. Spending much of her time outside with animals during her formative years, she became deeply connected to the outdoors and the role she plays in the landscape around her. She graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Environmental Management and Protection. While at Cal Poly, she discovered a community of athletes through the Cal Poly Triathlon Team and became infatuated with challenging herself physically.

After graduating, she embarked on a solo, 18-day hike of the John Muir Trail, which further deepened her interest in stepping out of her comfort zone and connecting with the natural world. Her experience has served as inspiration for spending most of her professional life working outside. She has worked as a naturalist, wilderness therapy guide, horseback riding instructor, mountain biking camp leader, plant care specialist, and barn manager. 

She loves giving her energy to causes she is passionate about and spending time with her dog Juniper. She can usually be found running, skiing, or climbing in the many amazing areas Central Oregon has to offer. She is excited to be a part of the NWOBS team and to play a role in setting up students for meaningful experiences in the outdoors. 

Chris Bartram (he/him)

Washington Program Director

Growing up in Stamford, CT, Chris was not raised as an avid outdoors-person. However, when he went on his first outdoor education experience as a first year going to Plymouth State University he instantly fell in love with the outdoors and dove in head first into outdoor education. He began volunteering as an instructor for the Outdoor Center at Plymouth State and earned a Bachelor's in Adventure Education. After gaining a little more experience he started working for Colorado Outward Bound School as an Instructor where he spent a couple of years developing his skills and experience.

Chris, devoted to affective development through outdoor education experiences, decided to then pursue a Masters Degree in College Student Development. Through his degree Chris explored how the amazing experiences we offer transform students as well as how to make these experiences inclusive and accessible to all who wish to experience it. Chris believes that outdoor education experiences provide a catalyst for positive change in people's lives and that through this we can make positive change in the world.

When not delving into changing the world through outdoor education, Chris can be found playing in the mountains with his partner Hannah and their dog leaf.

Jenny Huq (she/her)

Director of Business Operations

Jenny joins Northwest Outward Bound School after working extensively with international education and experiential learning programs. She has been fortunate throughout her career to work with values-driven organizations that promote transformational learning and social impact. She is honored to join this incredible Outward Bound community.

As former Executive Director of Carpe Diem Education in Portland, OR, Jenny managed gap year programming on 5 continents and in 18 countries. Her work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Singapore Management University created opportunities to deepen student engagement through service-learning and cultural immersion experiences. In 2010, Jenny was awarded Civic Engagement Professional of the Year from North Carolina Campus Compact. She holds a B.A. in Global History and a M.A. in International Studies.

Jenny learned to explore different parts of the U.S. at a young age as her family relocated. She attended college in the northeast and took her first professional position as a paralegal in Boston. Feeling unfulfilled on the corporate path, Jenny traded in her suit for hiking boots and headed to the Dakotas. There she found her passion for purposeful, community-based initiatives as a full-time volunteer on the Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River, and Standing Rock Reservations. While exploring other countries and cultures will always be on her list, Jenny and her family are becoming rooted with the natural beauty and grandeur of the Pacific Northwest. She is proud that both her sons have served as AmeriCorps members working on conservation, disaster management, and wildland firefighting.

Jenny enjoys photography, hiking, biking, and hosting people from all over the world in her Airbnb. A fun fact about Jenny is that one of her first homes was a converted cable car along the Great Highway in San Francisco and she and her husband currently live in a 200 sqft tiny home on wheels.

Kristin Kanan (she/her)

Business Operations Manager

Kristin grew up Los Angeles. She discovered her passion for photography at an early age and spent her days exploring every corner of her world, seeking to capture images of the beautiful and interesting things around her. That has never changed. Kristin has held marketing and project management jobs in industries including film, video games and social media. In 2015, it was time for a new adventure. Her love of nature and community drew her to Portland. Her wish was to find job working for a non-profit, one that helped people and had something to do with nature. That dream came true for her in June 2018.  Kristin enjoys exploring and capturing the world around her, from the forests to the quirky neighborhoods. She also loves cooking plant based meals and learning new crafts. And you may even see her in the Timbers Army supporting her beloved Portland Timbers. 

Marc Heisterkamp (he/him)

Executive Director

A Washington native and now Oregon resident, Marc’s life and career has a foundation in outdoor and experiential leadership education. A strategist and growth leader at heart, Marc is always mission driven, choosing to focus his attention on creating positive impact in people, communities and our environment. He is honored to be able to do this in his home communities in the Pacific Northwest. Marc believes strongly that future success of individuals and communities is based on emotional intelligence, people-centric leadership and other skills best developed and honed through experiential education. A lifelong learner, Marc works every day on these same skills, knowing that the best teachers are always learners first.

Marc holds a bachelor’s degree in biology & Natural Resources and a master’s in business administration. In addition to a stint in the financial sector, he spent many years building the U.S. Green Building Council and the LEED program, one of the world’s most successful and impactful industry-led environmental movements.

While not working to make amazing Outward Bound experiences available to people of all backgrounds, Marc spends his time with his family, making sure his young son grows through outdoor experiences, whether in the backyard sandbox or splashing in an alpine lake. In his house “a dirty day is a good day”. For more, please visit Marc's Linkedin account.

Mariah Chapman (she/her)

Development Manager

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, lands of Cowlitz, Mariah has been surrounded by the beauty of the Cascade mountain range and is thankful for the opportunity to explore its dense forests and vast landscapes. The outdoors is Mariah’s outlet to get more connected to herself and learn valuable life skills from nature. Mariah is passionate about creating inclusive outdoor spaces and increasing access for all individuals to get outside and enjoy the benefits of nature. 

After graduating Washington State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, Mariah felt called to work for a non-profit organization. She worked in communications at a local food bank, but soon realized she wanted to make an impact in the outdoor community. Mariah was happy to join NWOBS and combine her interests in non-profit work and the outdoors. 

Outside of the office, Mariah enjoys adventuring with her partner Josh and dog Ruca. Never leaving her dog behind, Mariah loves being outside rock climbing, camping, hiking, mountain biking, trail running, and sleeping in hammocks. Mariah is grateful to have the privilege to recreate in the outdoors and she is excited to continue exploring the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. 

Morgan Oyster-Sands (She/Her)

Student Services Director, Equity, Inclusion & Diversity Specialist

Throughout high school and college, Morgan, had many opportunities to experience the outdoors combined with service in the states and abroad. After completing her degree in Intercultural Studies and Urban Studies she worked in both education and the Outdoor Industry. Wanting to combine her passions, she moved to the Pacific Northwest and began working for NWOBS first as a Logistical Coordinator, then as a Portland Programs Instructor and now Student Services Director. New to the Pacific Northwest, you can find Morgan and her family discovering the rich landscapes by foot, bike and kayak any chance they get!

Rachel Johnson (she/her)

Course Advisor

Rob Healy (he/him)

Portland Program Director

Rob is a lifelong Northwesterner originally hailing from the greater Seattle area. His background in outdoor education has spanned collegiate recreation and athletics, classroom and field based environmental education and mountain guiding as well as over a decade of volunteer work in Search and Rescue. Crediting the lessons he learned in the high country as some of the most profound in his life, Rob now directs the Portland Programs seeking ways to provide greater access to these experiences and opportunities in the Portland Metro area. When he is not working, Rob can be found exploring the outdoors, working on his expansive tabletop miniature collection and spending time with his wife, cat and chickens.

Sierra Farrell (she/her)

Alumni Engagement Coordinator

Hi, my name is Sierra Farrell and I am the Alumni Engagement Coordinator at Northwest Outward Bound School.

Sonja Renner (she/her)

Director of Marketing & Communications

Sonja has worked in education and communications for more than 15 years and is excited to be part of the outdoor education community in the Pacific Northwest. Growing up in the Midwest, she came to love the outdoors by exploring the muddy rivers, overgrown trails, and wildflower fields. During her pursuit to visit all 50 states, Sonja fell in love with the magical PNW and moved here in 2016 to spend more time outside. Since then, she has been exploring nonstop and is always ready to discover a new trail. 

She was introduced to hiking, climbing, and outdoor skills later in life and is inspired by the Northwest Outward Bound School’s mission to change lives through challenge and discovery. She hopes more students will learn outdoor skills at a young age and more adults will be inspired to jump into outdoor recreation at any point in life.

Sonja loves working with students and is proud to have a history with organizations that put students and equity first. She’s served in marketing and communications roles at Drury University, the Kansas City Art Institute, University of Washington, and North Seattle College. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications (Journalism) and Master in Education from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri.

Valerie Plummer, CFRE (she/her)

Development Director

Valerie is a passionate advocate of inclusion, and the power of bringing people and resources together to change the world. She served as the executive director of the Oregon Microenterprise Network for eight years, building Oregon’s statewide financing and service infrastructure for underserved entrepreneurs. Most recently, Valerie served in a development role at Harper’s Playground, and prior to that, completed a $9M capital campaign at Community Vision, building a collaborative one-stop location in Portland that serves families and individuals experiencing disabilities. Valerie believes that the outdoors should belong to everyone, and is excited to work alongside the Northwest Outward Bound School team to ensure equitable access to life-changing Outward Bound experiences for all.

Valerie holds a bachelor’s degree from Macalester College, and a CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) certification from the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  In her free time, she enjoys skiing, hiking and spending time with her two children, Sophie and Zach. Valerie currently chairs and has served on the Board of Livelihood Northwest since 2010, helping entrepreneurs of color access financing and successfully start and grow their businesses.