Our Team

Leadership Team

PETER MAYFIELD

Executive Director

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Peter has been a successful leader, pioneer and innovator in mountain sports programs for the last 35 years.He has started three innovative businesses: CityRock, Yosemite Guides, and Gateway Mountain Center, through which he has designed and delivered creative and successful outdoor educational programs for thousands of California youth.  Peter has served as Chief Guide for the Yosemite Mountaineering School, and as Chief Examiner for the Professional Ski Instructors Association (Far West). As the founder and General Partner of CityRock Gym, the first large urban climbing gym, Peter was a catalyst for the growth of indoor climbing in North America. As a consultant Peter has designed and developed adventure programs for Disney, Discovery Communications, and Posades Resorts.  As a creative mountaineer Peter has succeeded on first ascents on Yosemite’s El Captain and Half Dome, climbed new routes in Peru, Patagonia, and the Alaska Range, and pioneered difficult snow board descents.  In addition, Peter has competed in sport climbing World Cups, Cross Country Skiing US Nationals, and performed for ten years with the aerial dance/climbing troupe, Project Bandaloop.

Liesbet Bickett

Whole Hearts Program Manager

As a professional coach and trainer Liesbet has been using Restorative Practices to help community organizations, community leaders, businesses, families and individuals in the Truckee area since 2014. While working as the Whole Hearts, Mind and Body Program Manager she is also studying for her MS in Restorative Practices. Liesbet has over 20 years experience in the wellness industry on both the practitioner and operational ends of the business. She started and successfully operated 3 different Bay Area wellness businesses before moving to North Lake Tahoe in 2014. In Liesbet’s words, “I imagine a place where we are all engaged at our highest capacity, having our gifts received & appreciated by others, knowing by living with truth, authenticity, love & courage, the world is a better place. This is a place of united peoples, where every voice has an eager audience, where love & compassion are given & received in every connection. In this place we are all safe. It is my calling to create this sacred place.”

Sharon Schrage

Administrative Director

Sharon comes to Gateway after a long career of volunteer work and her most recent professional post as a Business Manager in Incline Village. As a volunteer, Sharon was most recently the President of the Incline High School Boosters where her team broke fundraising records two years in a row in order to provide every Incline High School student with a laptop during their tenure at the school. With a multitude of previous stints at various school related volunteer organizations in the Chicagoland Area as well as her native San Francisco Bay Area, Sharon was ready to devote her full-time energy to the Gateway mission of helping youth learn, heal and thrive! In her spare time, Sharon likes to hike and snowshoe with her dogs and family. She is also currently an inaugural volunteer with the NV Promise Scholarship.

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Nancy Minges

Wellness Program Director / Communications

With an M.A. in Holistic Health Education, Nancy has been our Wellness Program Director since 2009. With a B.A. in Communications, she facilitates communications and the integration of our vision/mission, culture, and core values across our organization. Nancy builds curricula, programming and provides staff trainings.
In Wellness, she guides students in connecting with their innate well-being, igniting the joy and empowerment of self-discovery. She specializes in customizing wellness or healing plans for youth, adults, or families engaged in growth and healing.
Certifications: Trauma-Informed Professional, Mindfulschools.org, Mindfulness-based Substance Abuse Treatment, Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Pranayama, Massage/body-work.
Multi-year mentorships/studies: Gestalt Awareness Practice, Somatic Experiencing, Continuum, Healing Arts, Sound Healing, (NVC) Non-Violent Communication, Transpersonal Psychology, Vipassana, and Nutrition. She’s a senior teacher in Angela Farmer’s Inner Body yoga.

Greg Bernstein

Director of Special Ops / Addiction Recovery Specialist

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Greg shot documentaries for over two decades. Traveling all over the world, he promoted Environmental Justice and Human Rights with Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, Amazon Watch, Sea Shepard Conservation Society, and many others. As a Guide/Mentor for youth, he opens hearts and minds with peak experiences and dynamic adventure-learning in nature. Greg believes that flow states, wholistic system-based critical thinking, nature immersion and meditation are the pillars for healing and thriving.

Advisory Board

Jan Holan

Advisory Board Member

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Jan has been an entrepreneur in the Tahoe area for over 20 years. His strengths include entrepreneurial finance and leadership development – huge assets for Gateway’s vision of growth and expansion. In addition to his service on Gateway Mountain Center’s board, he is also a Tahoe Food Hub board member and serves as a strategic advisor and investor for several food businesses in northern California.

Mark Servis, MD

Advisory Board Member

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Mark Servis, M.D. is Vice Dean for Medical Education at the UC Davis School of Medicine, with responsibility for all undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education.He is also a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He has occupied the Roy Brophy Endowed Chair for 12 years. Mark has won several national awards for his teaching and mentoring, has served in a variety of leadership roles at the National Board of Medical Examiners, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training, and American Association of Medical Colleges, and has published over 70 peer reviewed articles and book chapters on medical education and in the field of psychosomatic medicine.

Mike Sabarese

Advisory Board Member

Mike has been coming to Tahoe for over 40 years and bring some level of financial and business experience to our board. Not only is he a CPA but he has been the president of a number of different companies in San Francisco. He served on the board of the Tahoe Truckee community foundation for almost 10 years and currently also serves on the Truckee Donner land trust. He has worked with young people mentoring and giving guidance for many years.

Sally Gardner

Advisory Board Member

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Sally Gardner has lived in the Lake Tahoe area for more than a decade. She is active in the Lake Tahoe community, where she founded the Tahoe Mothers’ Club, is a member of the Truckee Sportsmen’s Association, and serves on the board of directors of the Squaw Valley Ski Museum Foundation. As a supporter and advocate of the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, she was a founding member of the Queen of Hearts fund and established the Gardner Family fund. Gardner maintains a connection to the Bay Area, where she once resided, as a sustaining member of the Junior League of Palo Alto-Mid Peninsula. A mother of three active boys, she enjoys many of the outdoor activities the Lake Tahoe lifestyle offers, including sailing, hiking, snow skiing, water skiing, and paddleboarding. An entrepreneur at heart, Gardner previously worked in the airline industry, and founded a Bay Area Internet-based business early in the dot-com era. With deep real estate experience including land and commercial development, finance, marketing, new home sales specialties, commercial, and residential leasing, and new construction management, Gardner built Dashel Mills Distinctive Properties, a full-service residential brokerage. Today, as the Pacific Union International, Inc. Executive to the Lake Tahoe Region and principal of Dashel Mills, she finds herself leading the charge for Pacific Union’s northern expansion. .

Thom Handley

Advisory Board Member

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Thom has a diversified career background. His initial education enabled him to become a public accountant and his subsequent graduate academic work saw him transition to his long term career in developing organizations. After leaving the Case Western Reserve Doctoral program in the Behavioral Sciences he spent 10 years as an executive with the Rouse Company, the builders of the City of Columbia, MD. This was followed by being a senior executive with the Bank of Montreal. In 1986 he started a consulting company which consulted to major companies around the globe, including a 23 year long contract with Saudi Aramco, the worlds largest oil company. Much of the recent focus of his practice was in helping turnaround failing companies. Thom also has been involved in a number of start up ventures in the medical technology and and high tech world. He has been active in a prison ministry program which works with Juvenile offenders. Thom moved to Truckee three years ago with his wife Christine to take advantage of the variety of outdoor activities available year round and is excited to be supporting Mountain Gateway in their efforts to use the outdoors as the primary venue for its ground breaking work with the youth in the larger Truckee community.

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mentors

Daniella Di Piero

Mentor

Daniella_Di_Piero

Daniella has taught in public schools, women’s prisons, juvenile detention centers, charter schools, grassroots community organizations, and nonprofits. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Movimiento, an organization that works with underserved teens and young adults in Oakland and Nevada County. She holds a Masters in Teaching from Brown University, a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Meridian University, and is a Marriage and Family Therapist Intern.

Gamalier Gonzales

Mentor

peter_mayfield

Gamalier A. Gonzales, began his career as a Personal Care Assistant assisting patients of all ages. Growing up with a younger brother with disabilities, he realized his calling to help those in need. After five years, Gami went back to school. After receiving his Associates of Occupational Studies of Medical Assisting, he worked for Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services for 2 years as a Mental Health Technician. He continued to work with the severely mentally ill in various institutions including high security facilities. Gami is currently enrolled in school perusing a BS in Nursing with a minor in Psychology and is currently working in a Wellness office caring for Medicare patients. Gami’s unltimate goal is heal those in need; be that need physical or mental.

Marco Mora

Mentor

peter_mayfield

Marco has worked with children of all ages ranging from kindergarten to highschool for 17 years. He began his career in 1998 as a tutor and mentor for inner city at-risk kids for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Youth Foundation. Marco holds a B.A. degree in Behavioral Science with a minor in Criminal Justice from Cal Poly Pomona. He earned his M.A. in School Counseling with a Pupil Personnel Services Credential from Loyola Marymount University. Currently Marco works for the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District as a School guidance counselor where he spends his time helping students with social, emotional and academic support. In addition to counseling, Marco is also the co-director for the Tahoe/Truckee Aim High program. When Marco is not busy fulfilling his many extensive professional roles, you can find him at the local plant nursery, as he is a Bonsai enthusiast. He also loves doing anything outdoors with his new puppy, Nickel and going on off-roading adventures.

Oscar Perez

Mentor

peter_mayfield

A writer, martial artist and transformational alchemist, Oscar helps people transform negative emotional and mental states into positive forces for growth and healing. He’s been guiding teens and adults through difficult transitions and traumatic experiences for the last 12 years. Oscar received his doctorate from Brown University in 2011 where he studied ritual and storytelling to increase resiliency and personal growth..

Rob Zimmerman

Mentor

greg_bernstein

A nearly life-long student of traditional healing arts, Rob first began healing work as a Reiki practitioner at age 15. During his senior year of high school, he began his work with children as a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Further pursuing his passion for healing, Rob enrolled at the University of New Hampshire, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Psychology and Interpersonal Communications. In his adult years, he has volunteered in numerous settings, including assisting learning-challenged youth at The University of New Hampshire’s Center for Academic Resources, leading meditation workshops for the YMCA, and helping people of all ages one-on-one as a mentor. In the for-profit sector, Rob has many years of experience in operations management, overseeing teams as large as 45 in multi-million dollar enterprises.

Rob Steffke

Mentor

Rob Steffke

Rob Steffke has worked with at-risk teens for 15 years as a mentor, teacher, adventure guide, and counselor. His work has centered on creating community hubs that support young people in living from their gifts. Rob has been a teacher in alternative high schools and has created and implemented several activity-based mentoring programs. He founded and directed the San Luis Obispo Sober School, which serves high school and middle school students in recovery. He leads community discussions that support cultural transformation by re-imagining how we care for our youth. Rob has a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Meridian University, holds a Secondary Teaching Credential from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

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guides

John Littleton

Guide

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John Littleton is a native of Chicago Illinois but has called the Sierra Nevada his home for too many years to mention. He discovered his love of the mountains at an early age while taking family trips out west. He credits these experiences as being the sparks that opened his eyes to the wonders of the outdoors. As a professional outdoor educator John thrives on providing that same opportunity and exposure to his students. When John is not guiding for Gateway, you may find him ski touring or rock climbing in what he calls his “backyard”.

Chris Kelly

Guide

Chris_Kelly

In 2000, I started teaching with Naturalist at Large 5th -12th graders. Natural History and science were taught as well as fun group games and ropes courses/team building programs. I taught throughout California including: Joshua Tree, Catalina Island, Point Reyes, Malibu State Park and Sequia National Park. In 2001, I settled in Lake Tahoe where my outdoor adventures brought me to Squaw Valley as a board patroller and in summers I started guiding local trips with Tahoe Trips and Trails, working with Elderhostel and Corporate groups. I have worked with Gateway Mountain Center since 2007. During the school year I am now a Teacher’s Aid in the 4th grade. I enjoy mtn. biking, skiing, snowboarding, and hiking.

JP Donovan

Guide

Rob Steffke

JP is a member Washoe County Search and Rescue HASTY Team. He teaches Lifeguard, 1st aid/CPR Instructor for the American Red Cross and is also a Certified Swim Instructor and has taught swim lessons for over a decade. He has Coached swimming, Downhill mountain biking, Alpine skiing, High school Cross country running, and Nordic skiing. He has been Beach Patrol,Downhill Bike Patrol, Ski Patrol, a rescue diver and a conservation diver. JP is an elite endurance athlete at the international level, spanning a wide array of disciplines; most notably mountain running, off road triathlon and multi-sport.

Stephanie Hynds

Guide

Stephanie Hynds

Lemon moved from Florida to California in 2013 to follow her passion for being in wild and beautiful places. She holds a masters degree in counseling from Webster University and a 200 hour yoga teacher certification. After years of counseling and working with families in Florida, Lemon embarked on a six month journey hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2011. When she came home she felt called to change her path and began teaching yoga and seeking more experiences in the outdoors. Lemon is an avid rock climber as well, and she enjoys blending the challenges and mindfulness that yoga and climbing create into her life, as well as into her guiding.

Chris Kelly

Guide

Chris_Kelly

In 2000, I started teaching with Naturalist at Large 5th -12th graders. Natural History and science were taught as well as fun group games and ropes courses/team building programs. I taught throughout California including: Joshua Tree, Catalina Island, Point Reyes, Malibu State Park and Sequia National Park. In 2001, I settled in Lake Tahoe where my outdoor adventures brought me to Squaw Valley as a board patroller and in summers I started guiding local trips with Tahoe Trips and Trails, working with Elderhostel and Corporate groups. I have worked with Gateway Mountain Center since 2007. During the school year I am now a Teacher’s Aid in the 4th grade. I enjoy mtn. biking, skiing, snowboarding, and hiking.

Daniella Di Piero

Mentor

Daniella_Di_Piero

Daniella has taught in public schools, women’s prisons, juvenile detention centers, charter schools, grassroots community organizations, and nonprofits. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Movimiento, an organization that works with underserved teens and young adults in Oakland and Nevada County. She holds a Masters in Teaching from Brown University, a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Meridian University, and is a Marriage and Family Therapist Intern.

Gamalier Gonzales

Mentor

peter_mayfield

Gamalier A. Gonzales, began his career as a Personal Care Assistant assisting patients of all ages. Growing up with a younger brother with disabilities, he realized his calling to help those in need. After five years, Gami went back to school. After receiving his Associates of Occupational Studies of Medical Assisting, he worked for Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services for 2 years as a Mental Health Technician. He continued to work with the severely mentally ill in various institutions including high security facilities. Gami is currently enrolled in school perusing a BS in Nursing with a minor in Psychology and is currently working in a Wellness office caring for Medicare patients. Gami’s unltimate goal is heal those in need; be that need physical or mental.

Marco Mora

Mentor

peter_mayfield

Marco has worked with children of all ages ranging from kindergarten to highschool for 17 years. He began his career in 1998 as a tutor and mentor for inner city at-risk kids for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Youth Foundation. Marco holds a B.A. degree in Behavioral Science with a minor in Criminal Justice from Cal Poly Pomona. He earned his M.A. in School Counseling with a Pupil Personnel Services Credential from Loyola Marymount University. Currently Marco works for the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District as a School guidance counselor where he spends his time helping students with social, emotional and academic support. In addition to counseling, Marco is also the co-director for the Tahoe/Truckee Aim High program. When Marco is not busy fulfilling his many extensive professional roles, you can find him at the local plant nursery, as he is a Bonsai enthusiast. He also loves doing anything outdoors with his new puppy, Nickel and going on off-roading adventures.

Oscar Perez

Mentor

peter_mayfield

A writer, martial artist and transformational alchemist, Oscar helps people transform negative emotional and mental states into positive forces for growth and healing. He’s been guiding teens and adults through difficult transitions and traumatic experiences for the last 12 years. Oscar received his doctorate from Brown University in 2011 where he studied ritual and storytelling to increase resiliency and personal growth..

Rob Steffke

Mentor

Rob Steffke

Rob Steffke has worked with at-risk teens for 15 years as a mentor, teacher, adventure guide, and counselor. His work has centered on creating community hubs that support young people in living from their gifts. Rob has been a teacher in alternative high schools and has created and implemented several activity-based mentoring programs. He founded and directed the San Luis Obispo Sober School, which serves high school and middle school students in recovery. He leads community discussions that support cultural transformation by re-imagining how we care for our youth. Rob has a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Meridian University, holds a Secondary Teaching Credential from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

JP Donovan

Guide

Rob Steffke

JP is a member Washoe County Search and Rescue HASTY Team. He teaches Lifeguard, 1st aid/CPR Instructor for the American Red Cross and is also a Certified Swim Instructor and has taught swim lessons for over a decade. He has Coached swimming, Downhill mountain biking, Alpine skiing, High school Cross country running, and Nordic skiing. He has been Beach Patrol,Downhill Bike Patrol, Ski Patrol, a rescue diver and a conservation diver. JP is an elite endurance athlete at the international level, spanning a wide array of disciplines; most notably mountain running, off road triathlon and multi-sport.

Stephanie (Lemon) Hynds

Guide

Rob Steffke

Lemon moved from Florida to California in 2013 to follow her passion for being in wild and beautiful places. She holds a masters degree in counseling from Webster University and a 200 hour yoga teacher certification. After years of counseling and working with families in Florida, Lemon embarked on a six month journey hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2011. When she came home she felt called to change her path and began teaching yoga and seeking more experiences in the outdoors. Lemon is an avid rock climber as well, and she enjoys blending the challenges and mindfulness that yoga and climbing create into her life, as well as into her guiding.

Cali Bowman

Guide

Cali Bowman is a happy energetic forest enthusiast who spends her time exploring various ways to enjoy her environment. After graduating from UCSB with a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish Literature, she traveled extensively throughout the world before settling in the beautiful Tahoe Basin. In her free time Cali enjoys hiking the Sierra Nevada which she calls her home while looking for new potential spots to rock climb and bike in the summer and possible mountains to ski for winter adventures. During winter months she works as an EMT Ski Patroller at Sierra-at-Tahoe. During summer she guides groups of enthusiastic youths with Gateway Mountain Center and teaches yoga outdoors.

Julie Royall

Guide

Rob Steffke

Julie grew up on the east coast, and after her first trip to the Sierras knew she had found her new mountain home. Her passion has been guiding students in the outdoors for almost a decade. She worked as wilderness therapy expert in the desert southwest, and an environmental and adventure guide in the Sierras for several years. She is pursuing her masters in Sustainability alongside her studies in plant biology. Julie climbs, runs and snowboards all over the Sierra. Her love for ecology and outdoor play fuels her spirit. It is her joy to share this connection with nature with all the students in Gateway.

Parker Selby

Guide

Rob Steffke

Parker Selby is a veteran of the Ohio Air National Guard and a childhood of camp and experiential education. He has spent the last 4 years working in the outdoors educating and partaking in conservation projects across the US from Arizona, to North Carolina, Minnesota, and finally to the Lake Tahoe Region. In addition to guiding with Gateway he works for the TRCD, working on conservation projects throughout Lake Tahoe. But Parker’s best attribute is the enthusiasm with which he belts out all your favorite camp songs from the 80’s, 90’s, and Today.projects throughout Lake Tahoe. But Parker’s best attribute is the enthusiasm with which he belts out all your favorite camp songs from the 80’s, 90’s, and Today.

Jared Moore

Guide

Jared grew up in small town Indiana but knew in his heart the West was where he belonged. After earning a Bachelors Degree in Wildlife Science from Purdue University, he ventured far from home, trying to figure out where he would eventually settle down. Through good fortune, Jared found himself in beautiful Lake Tahoe, with no plans on leaving anytime soon. Jared’s passions lie in nature and the outdoors, and sharing it with others (especially our youth). From leading nature hikes and catching snakes, to rock climbing and skiing, Jared has a well-balanced skillset and a desire to pass on his knowledge and skills to the next generation.

WHMB Clinical Supervision: Under Construction – Check back soon!