Adventure Treks consistently has the highest repeat rate of any similar program for both students (60%) and instructors (70%).
“In just a few days’ time, strangers turn to friends, friends to family, and on the last day you WON’T want to leave.”
– Sierra Cocoziello
Cedar Grove, NJ
We are extremely proud of our 2010 staff team. Once again, we have a 70% return rate, so our professional instructors also have previous Adventure Treks experience. Read the biographies of every single 2010 instructor here.
Over 70% of our instructors return every summer, several for their fifth, sixth, or seventh season. This provides our students with the same continuity and great experience when they return year after year. Our returning instructors know the wilderness areas that we visit and have the skills necessary to run safe activities. This allows us to use fewer outfitters, enabling us to control the quality of our program.
All instructors attend 8 - 14 days of specific Adventure Treks pre-course training. In early summer, the senior staff converge for additional training.
Our instructors bring diverse experiences and great accomplishments such as:
Adventure Treks is the only wilderness program to feature 24 students with 6 instructors on most trips. Six instructors ensure that there is always an instructor available to do what's most important: be actively involved with our students and to get to know them as individuals.
You can also download a complete list of our 2009 Instructor Biographies.
Our Director, John Dockendorf
Our Director, Dock, is an integral part of hiring and training our instructor team. Dock used to lead every Adventure Treks Trip. Fifteen years later, he still spends time in the field, where he meets every student.Learn more about Dock on the Meet Our Director page.
Dock is available to speak with your personally at 888-954-5555, or click here to email Dock.
Kyndra Luce
Kyndra is our Program Director and coordinates our programs from the office when she is not in the field. Kyndra earned her Master's of Education in Recreation Administration and certificate for Management of Non-Profit Organizations from the University of Georgia. She also brings several years of outdoor experience including working with teens in a variety of outdoor programs. She and her husband, Bryan, hiked the entire Appalachian Trail in 2003, and they recently cycled 500 miles across North Carolina. Kyndra is a certified Wilderness First Responder, open water diver, and triathlete.
Click here to email Kyndra
Dave “Dmac” McGlashan
Dave “Dmac” McGlashan –Originally from Western North Carolina, Dmac has whitewater kayaked all over the country and world and we’re thrilled to have him join us for a his third year as a Trip Leader and as our Educational programs director. He received a Master’s in Recreation from the University of Tennessee and graduated from the National Outdoor Leadership School. He ran the kayaking program at Camp Arrowhead for several years before working as their Program Director. He spent the winter in Maine Dave has lived in Southern France, is a certified Wilderness First Responder, Swiftwater Rescue Technician, and ACA Kayak Instructor.
Click here to email DMac
Holly Robinson
Holly Robinson joined us in 2003 as an Instructor and again in 2009 as Marketing Director. Holly graduated from Salem College with a degree in design. Her outdoor experience and accomplishments include: sea kayaking guide in Tybee Island, Georgia, and Rafting Guide, Big Sky Montana. Holly supported a Thru Bike on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Trail Thru Hike. She is a key organizer in the Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race. Holly spends her free time mountain biking and snow skiing with her husband Rodney and child Walker.
Click here to email Holly
Dan Flynn
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Dan joins us for his sixth summer as a Trip Leader from the slopes of Mammoth Mountain, CA where he is a senior member of the ski patrol. He graduated from Vassar College with a degree in Sociology, completed a NOLS semester in the Rockies, and has been a Wilderness EMT for ten years. As a lead instructor for Wilderness Medical Associates, Dan teaches wilderness medicine to outdoor professionals. Dan also ran the Outdoor Living Skills program for the Farm & Wilderness Camps in Vermont, managed a lodge for the Green Mountain Club, and is a Leave No Trace trainer. His current projects include climbing and skiing California's 14,000' peaks and training his Golden Retriever, Sammy, to be the best backcountry skiing dog ever.
Chrissie Monaghan
Chrissie joined us for four summers as a student and we’re excited to have her for a fourth summer as a Trip Leader and as our Marketing Director. Chrissie graduated with Distinction from the University of Virginia with a degree in History. She currently serves as an assistant crew coach at the University of Virginia. While at the University of Virginia, Chrissie was a member of boats that won the NCAA Division I National Championships in 2005 and 2007. Chrissie recently completed her first Ironman Triathlon and is an avid road cyclist and runner. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder.
Eric Sanderson
Eric joins us for his third year, after working this past fall as a senior instructor with our school group programs. Eric has a degree in Outdoor Education from Georgia State College, where he was facilitator for the Outdoor Education Center. Eric was the Program Coordinator for Ultimate Zone and has been a wilderness instructor for Adventures Cross Country. Eric has also led therapeutic wilderness trips with Blackwater Outdoor Experiences. He is certified as a Wilderness First Responder, Leave No Trace Educator, Open Water Diver, and Swiftwater Rescuer.
Liz Golembeski
Liz is very excited for her fourth summer with Adventure Treks. Liz previously worked at Summit Achievement, a wilderness therapy program in Stowe, ME. She is a graduate of Greenfield Community College’s Outdoor Leadership Program and also has a degree in Mass Communications from Boston University. Liz currently lives Flat Rock, NC where she is working with children with Autism, Teaching a Social Skills class and working part-time in the Adventure Treks office. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder.
Stephen Gardiner
Stephen is back for his seventh summer; he is a graduate of Lewis and Clark College and has been a PADI Underwater Naturalist in Hawaii as well as outdoor educator in Washington and Oregon. He is currently a site director for the NWRESD Outdoor School and leads freshman expeditions for his alma mater. Stephen spent two summers leading trips in Hawaii. When he is not in the field, Stephen can be found surfing, volunteering for trail crews, or helping schools develop service-oriented programs. He is a Wilderness First Responder, Lifeguard, and Swiftwater Rescue Technician.
Clayton Peirce
Clayton grew up on a family farm in Kansas, has hiked the entire 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, and summitted both Mt. Kilimanjaro and Denali. He has taught natural history, environmental education, skiing, and chess in one form or another over the past eight years. Clayton earned his degree from Pomona College and followed it with several rock climbing, alpine mountaineering, and rescue courses. He is a Wilderness First Responder, and returns for his fifth summer as a Trip Leader. Clayton studied perma-culture while traveling in India in 2006. He is currently in Argentina on a climbing expedition of Mt. Aconcagua.
Check our Adventure Treks Employment page if you are interested in learning more about our hiring process or are interested becoming an Adventure Treks instructor.
