Nate Furman, Ph.D.
Program Director
Assistant Professor of Adventure Education
(802) 287-8347
Thayer Raines, Re.D.
Professor of Recreation & Outdoor Studies
Youth Development & Camp Mgt. Program Director
(802) 287-8324
Andrew Bentley, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Adventure Education
(802) 287-8326
Adjunct Faculty
Candice L. Corcoran Raines
Adjunct Instructor of Adventure Education & Youth Development & Camp Management
Candice L. Raines has been owner and director of Roaring Brook Camp for Boys in Bradford, Vt. since 1985. For the camp she is an expedition director and trip leader for wilderness backpacking and canoeing trips, and she also handles tasks including camper recruitment, marketing, financial planning and program evaluation. She received her Re.D. from Indiana University at Bloomington and her M.S. in recreation administration from Pennsylvania State University. Candi is also a competitive athlete; she has been selected for the U.S. Ski Orienteering team seven times and has competed at World Championships in locations such as Russia, Austria and Japan. She is a competitive Nordic skier and has twice been selected for the U.S. Archery Biathlon team.
Bruce Saxman
Adjunct Instructor of Adventure Education, GreenMAP Program Director
Since 2005 Bruce has been the Director of Adventure Programming at Green Mountain College and is also a part time whitewater instructor for Zoar Outdoor and climbing guide for Vermont Adventure Tours. He enjoys cycling, paddling, running and skiing the mountains of the Northeast and is occasionally seen falling off a surfboard on the New Hampshire coast. Bruce calls Castleton, Vt. home with his wife Zana and two man-cats Dexter and Lewis. He holds a master of arts degree in health, physical education, and recreation with a specialization in recreation administration from University of Nebraska-Omaha, and a bachelor of science degree in parks, recreation, and tourism management with an emphasis in resource management from Clemson University.
Field Instructors
Marisol Sullivan
Marisol is an enthusiast of movement and education, and has been teaching for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) since 2006. She holds a B.A. in Spanish Literature from Western Washington University and enjoys climbing, mountaineering, running, yoga, traveling and sleeping in. In addition to teaching backpacking and climbing for NOLS, Marisol has taught for the High Mountain Institute, University of California at San Francisco's Outdoor Program, Montana Yellowstone Expeditions and Lick-Wilmerding High School.
Marisol's passion for climbing and backpacking has taken her from Patagonia, Fontainebleau, the Cordillera Blanca and Squamish to the Shawangunks, Mt. Kenya, the Front Range, Indian Creek and the Tetons.
After a 2-year stint teaching physical therapy-based Pilates in New York City, she can be found back in the West teaching for NOLS.
Jane Anderson
Jane Anderson graduated from GMC in 2007 with a B.S. In adventure recreation. Since then she has worked as a lead instructor for Outward Bound in Colorado and as a patrol leader for The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) based in Lander, Wyoming. For NOLS she instructs rock climbing, mountaineering and hiking courses for up to 35 days in length, and also instructs backpacking, mountaineering and climbing courses for Outward Bound. While at GMC she served as a Wilderness Challenge leader and a backcountry trips coordinator.
Josh Beckner
Josh is owner and director of the School for International Expedition Training. An AMGA certified rock climbing guide, he has honed his craft while working as a NOLS Mountaineering and Rock Climbing Instructor, an alpine guide for Exum Mountain Guides, and as an instructor for rock climbing seminars throughout the country. During his years with NOLS, Josh was integral in developing the NOLS rock climbing program in Argentina and served as a program supervisor for the mountaineering and rock climbing program in the U.S. He helped develop the high angle rescue program and protocols and has authored numerous articles for the institution. During the past few years, he has focused on instructing technical trainings for mountaineering and rock climbing instructors at NOLS. Josh received his B.A. in environmental studies from the University of Montana.
Rachael Finley
Born and raised just outside Detroit, Michigan, Rachael earned her undergraduate degree at Central Michigan University. After completing an internship in Oregon, she pursued her master's degree in campus recreation leadership from James Madison University while serving as the graduate assistant for adventure. She supervised adventure student staff and completed an outdoor educator course with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Career highlights include graduating from a NOLS course with an "A," and leading student participants and rising student leaders on various trips and trainings in the backcountry. Rachael has completed the Shenandoah 100 - a 100 mile mountain bike race - and finished 14th overall in a 24 hour adventure race with a team of three other women.
Lauren Edwards
A native of New Jersey, Lauren now spends her summers as a mountaineering ranger for Denali National Park and climbing guide for Alpine Ascents. In the winter she works as a ski patroller and avalanche expert for The Canyons Ski Resort in Park City, Utah (she even has her own avalanche dog, Tucker!). She has worked for the National Outdoor Leadership School since 2004. Lauren holds a Bachelor's Degree in Chinese Philosophy from the University of Iowa. She has multiple international expeditions, including the 2004 Long Walk Expedition, where she retraced the footsteps of Polish refugee SLavomir Rawitz from Moscow to Siberia, then through Mongolia, China, Tibet, and Nepal.
Sandra Townsend
Hailing from Maine, Sandra's recent travels immersed her in the glaciers and sea coast of Alaska, where she worked for MICA Guides as an ice climbing guide and for Exposure Alaska as a sea kayaking guide. Sandra is a recent alum of Green Mountain College, where she graduated with dual degrees in Adventure Education and Youth Development and Camp Management. Sandra is a registered Maine guide, Wilderness First Responder, PSIA telemark instructor, AIARE Avalanche Level 1, Red Cross instructor, and is a certified lifeguard.
Kel Rossiter
After stints in the military, the corporate world, and a Zen monastery, Kel began his climbing career in the Cascades back in the 90s with a summit of Mt. Adams. Since then he has climbed and guided rock and ice in twelve different countries on four continents. Based in Vermont most of the year, Kel owns and operates Adventure Spirit LLC, a rock, ice, and alpine guide service specializing in Northeastern climbing destinations. Kel holds a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies. He is complementing his university studies with AMGA training, having become both a Certified Rock Guide and Alpine Guide Aspirant. In between his stints in the mountains, Kel serves on the board of CRAG-VT, Vermont’s climbing access organization, and is an avid home-crafts enthusiast and meditation practitioner.
Chuck Domenie
A passionate environmental educator, Chuck began his outdoor career with a semester with the National Outdoor Leadership School in 2005. Since then Chuck has developed into an expert telemark skier, sailor, and telemark skier. Chuck has served as the GreenMAP Environmental Education Coordinator, the Conservation District Watershed Educator for the GMC Watershed Alliance, and the instructor for the Adventure Education program's Outdoor Living Skills course. Chuck is leading the sea kayak section for the 2012 Fall Block.
Intern
Summer Reed
As a Keene Valley native, Summer grew up hiking and backpacking in the High Peaks of New York State's Adirondack Mountains. As a part of her internship she will be instructing 40+ days in the Fall Block, assisting the instruction of the GMC Backcountry Cooking course, planning and executing the logistics for all field programs, and sharing her enthusiasm for and knowledge of climbing with students. Summer holds certification as a Wilderness First Responder, Avalanche Level 1, PSIA Level 1 Telemark Instructor, and is pursuing AMGA Single Pitch Instructor certification this fall.
