Marc Heisterkamp

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.

Kristin Kanan

Administrative Assistant

Kristin grew up on the SoCal beaches in Santa Monica and Venice. 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. When Kristin isn't working, she is still out there exploring and capturing the world around her, from the forests to the quirky neighborhoods. She also loves cooking and DIY crafting. And you may even see her in the Timbers Army supporting her beloved Portland Timbers. 

Kate Rafter

Platform & Content Administrator

Nicholas Drushella

Development Manager

Nick was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. He grew up camping, backpacking, and volunteering with youth development organizations throughout the region. After spending several years abroad in South Africa and completing a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies with the Rotary Peace Fellowship in Australia, he decided to return home to focus on addressing structural violence and opportunity gaps in local communities. He is passionate about social justice and is excited to grow NWOBS’ innovative leadership development programs. On weekends, you can find Nick exploring new outdoor areas, hiking, and playing (or watching) sports. 

Amanda Brockman

Sales Manager, Custom Programs

After growing up in northern California, Amanda was ready for something new. She ventured to Colgate University in upstate New York for college, where she took an outdoor education class on a whim and discovered a passion for rock climbing. After completing her BA in Philosophy she went on to a graduate program in Philosophy at the University of Colorado. Besides getting to live in the beautiful city of Boulder, Amanda's favorite part of her grad school experience was spending her summers as a rock climbing and backpacking instructor in North Carolina, Colorado, and Montana. Since moving to Portland in 2015 she's happily worked in nonprofit administration, first serving as Development Director at XRAY.FM before joining the NW Outward Bound team in 2019. Outside the office you can usually find Amanda hanging out with her retired racing greyhound, playing volleyball in the local rec league, or at one of Portland's many vegan bakeries.

Morgan Oyster-Sands

Student Services Director, EID 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!

Paula Shilton

Senior Course Advisor & Medical Screener

After many years of work in nonprofit organizations in Athens, Georgia, Paula and her husband recently relocated to Portland to take advantage of its outdoor and cultural opportunities. Her background in psychology (AB – Oberlin College; MA – Western Michigan University) led to a career focused on positive youth development, primarily at Prevent Child Abuse Athens and the Clarke County (GA) Mentor Program.

Paula grew up hiking California trails with her family, and as a camper and camp counselor. Her three children continued the tradition in the mountains of western North Carolina. Since arriving in Oregon, she and her husband have hiked in the Gorge and the Mt. Hood area, participated as Wilderness Volunteers doing habitat restoration in the Mt. Hood Wilderness, and backpacked across the Grand Canyon and in the Superstition Mountains (AZ.) Paula has also served as a volunteer trail guide in the Athens area, introducing public school children to the outdoors. She is delighted that part of her work with NWOBS involves supporting outdoor experiences for groups who haven’t had that opportunity.

Monica Hescheles

Course Advisor

Monica brings to Northwest Outward Bound School the knowledge from degrees in Outdoor Education and Environmental Education, and eight years of experience working in customer service! Monica also has experience as a student in the back country and recently took a WFR through our Mazama, WA Outdoor Educator course.

Anne Morrison

Oregon Program Director

Anne started her Outward Bound career in 2006 with the Southwest Program of the Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) as an Assistant Instructor.  During the eight years she worked with COBS, she worked in a variety of roles including Associate Program Director in 2011 and 2012.  As an instructor, course director and trainer, Anne was fortunate to experience diverse course areas throughout Utah - rafting the Colorado, Green, Yampa and San Juan rivers, backpacking the LaSal Mountains and canyoneering through the canyons of the Robbers Roost and Dark Canyon plateau.

In addition to her years with Outward Bound, Anne also brings varied experience working in education with youth and teens.  She has worked with both a wilderness therapy organization and an alternative education program with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps in her native Vermont.  This past April, Anne completed her Master’s in Education with a School Counseling license from Lewis and Clark College.

After leaving COBS in winter of 2012, Anne began her work with the Northwest Outward Bound School.  Starting as an instructor with the Portland Programs, she has also worked with Student Services and as an instructor and trainer with both the Odin Falls and Mazama bases.  Witnessing the personal growth that happens for students on course and within school settings, continues to fuel Anne’s passion for the work Outward Bound does.

When not sharing her passion for Outward Bound with others, Anne can be found exploring wild places by raft, foot, ski, bike or rope with her partner, Rob, and her dog, Freya.

Cori Callahan

Oregon Associate Program Director

What began as a summer love affair with getting paid to be outside has turned into a lifelong commitment to character development and the pursuit of striving, serving, and not yielding in the face of great challenge. Cori started her career in the outdoor industry in 1999 as a backcountry trail crew member and crew leader with youth conservation corps in Oregon, Colorado and New Mexico. After that, she worked diligently on being the best dirt bag outdoor educator one can be, working for Outward Bound and other outdoor education programs in Utah, Colorado, California, and Oregon. Since 2005, Cori has worked variously as a logistics coordinator/intern/admin/course director/trainer/instructor at Outward Bound. She currently finds herself at the Oregon Base as associate program director.

When she is not at work, Cori can be found on long wanders with her dog Spatula, biking through desert landscapes, running whitewater wherever she can find it, and sipping delicious beverages while coloring in coloring books.

Abby Taylor

Oregon Logistics Manager

Joel Reid

Washington Program Director

In 2008, 12 years after taking a 22 day Outward Bound course, Joel started working for Northwest Outward Bound School in Mazama, WA as a sea kayak and mountaineering instructor. Joel's current positions include Staff Trainer, Course Director, and Instructor. He spends his off season shooting photos and traveling around the country, teaching wilderness medicine classes.

Cam Alford

Washington Associate Program Director

Emily Nelson

Washington Logistics Manager

Emily comes to the position of Logistics Manager with a sincere desire to change the lives of staff and students the way that Outward Bound changed hers. She was born and raised in San Francisco, where she largely focused on music as a pianist and trumpet player. She graduated from Lewis and Clark College with a degree in Music, and went on to pursue arts management with the Kennedy Center and then the San Francisco Symphony, working in Education, Special Events, Artist Management and Community Engagement.

When she completed the Washington Outdoor Educator Course in 2015, she knew she had discovered an organization with a mission she believed in and a community she wanted to join. She started the next summer as an intern and subsequent summers as an LC and HLC, where she found a sense of place within the logistics department and a bizarre affinity for fiberglass repair. Whether trailer training, climbing at Washington Pass, kayaking the Methow or working on spreadsheets, Emily is thrilled to be part of the NWOBS family.

Robyn Gelfand

Portland Program Director

Robyn’s Outward Bound experience began with a Leadership Mountaineering course in the Colorado Rockies during college. That experience had a huge impact on Robyn, and inspired her to move to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to teach skiing after graduating from the University of Virginia. From there, she began a career in marketing that took her to Denver, Chicago, and Portland, working on brands including Adidas and Coors Light. After earning an MBA from Portland State University, she co-founded a peer-to-peer outdoor adventure business. Robyn is thrilled to be part of the Outward Bound community again and to provide students and professionals in the Portland area with personal growth and leadership development opportunities. Robyn is a volunteer alpine patroller on Mt. Hood Ski Patrol and enjoys hiking and camping with her family.