Leadership Team
Kelly Bathgate
Interim Executive director
Kelly joins Gateway Mountain Center in the capacity of interim executive director. As a seasoned leader in the social sector with over 20 years of experience, Kelly has a deep commitment to creating equitable opportunities for all people to thrive. Her career spans roles in direct service, policy advocacy, academic research, and philanthropy.
Prior to founding her social impact consulting practice, Kelly served as chief program officer at Tipping Point Community, a foundation focused on alleviating poverty in the San Francisco Bay Area. In that role, she oversaw all of Tipping Point’s program investments and served as a strategic advisor to both corporate partners and nonprofit grantees. Kelly started her career in the social sector working in youth development. She ran a multi-site out-of-school arts education program in East Palo Alto, working with kids ranging from 6 to 18 years old. She remains passionate about providing opportunities for young people and has served on a variety of advisory and leadership boards in the education and youth space, including Year Up Bay Area, San Francisco Education Fund, and Mindful Life Project, for which she currently serves as board chair.
Kelly was recognized in 2020 as one of San Francisco Business Times’ Most Influential Women in the Bay Area. She holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in education policy, organization, and leadership studies from Stanford University. When not helping her clients realize their impact visions, you can usually find her skiing in the winter, paddleboarding or hiking in the summer, and showing off her mixology skills for friends all seasons of the year.
Peter Mayfield
Founder/Director of Expansion and Strategic Initiatives
Peter Mayfield 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, 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 Capitan and Half Dome, climbed new routes in Peru, Patagonia, and the Alaska Range, and pioneered difficult snowboard descents. In addition, Peter has competed in sport climbing World Cups, Cross-Country Skiing US Nationals, and performed for 10 years with the aerial dance/climbing troupe, Project Bandaloop.
Alex Humenetskyj
Chief Operating Officer
Alex Humenetskyj developed his love for the outdoors growing up in New York’s Catskill Mountains. After completing his psychology graduate program in 2007, Alex immediately put his skills to work as a clinician at Northeast Parent and Child Society. It was at NPCS that he found a disconnect in the traditional approach of on-the-couch, indoor therapy. Soon after, Alex convinced the agency to approve bringing youth into nature — to encourage them in opening up while exploring the natural world. He went on to create and develop an outdoor experiential learning program for NEPCS.
Longing for more adventure, Alex moved to Tahoe in 2008. He continued his career as the director of therapy at Nouveau VIe, a residential treatment center for youth with eating disorders. In 2010, Alex became the program director of Hand Up Homes For Youth (HUHFY), a specialized residential therapeutic treatment facility for at-risk youth in Reno, Nevada, where he managed daily operations, leading a diverse team of skilled psychiatrists, consultants, MFT’s, and mental health associates. Alex joined the Gateway Mountain Center team in 2022 and is excited to help lead this innovative nature-based organization to its full operating potential.
When not in the office, Alex can be found adventuring with his wife, Alison, and daughter, Abigail, or running along the local trails. Alex is an accomplished ultra-runner who enjoys pushing the limits of human potential. He has completed five prestigious 100-mile endurance run events in the U.S. and abroad.
Kate Frankfurt
Director of Philanthropy
Kate Frankfurt has spent her career addressing pressing social issues through the development of healthy systems, particularly as they relate to children and families. With a master’s in social work from Hunter College in New York City, and post-graduate institute training in family systems from the Ackerman Institute, Kate gained her early experience working in New York’s South Bronx, in areas related to substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and youth development.
Seeing the negative impacts of poorly functioning systems Kate turned her problem-solving skills farther ‘upstream’ serving as the founding director of advocacy and public policy for GLSEN and ultimately as an advocate in the children’s rights division of Human Rights Watch. Kate has served as a philanthropic consultant to numerous nonprofits, and as chief development officer for the San Francisco Zen Center, Safe & Sound, Truckee Donner Land Trust, and Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation. She has been a board member at the Mind Body Awareness Project and currently serves on the board of the Shane McConkey Foundation. Kate moved to Tahoe in 2018, and can be found hiking, mountain biking, and doing yoga in her free time.
Lisa Hussar
Administrative Director
Lisa Hussar comes to Gateway Mountain Center as the administrative director with a career of experience in youth programs ranging from aquatics to residential camping for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations, from the Midwest to her home here in the Sierra Nevada. From program development and implementation to management and administration, she has been involved in recreation and nature-based organizations at every level. Lisa is excited to use her skills and experience to make a positive impact on the youth and staff alike of Gateway Mountain Center. Her passion for people, especially young people, and the power of nature to connect us to our common source and make us aware of our common connection, made Gateway a natural fit.
Crystal Cunning
Whole Hearts Program Director, Truckee
Crystal Cunning brings over 30 years' experience working with children and their families to her role as program director for the Whole Hearts, Minds & Bodies program at Gateway Mountain Center. She has been an educator, program developer, training mentor, and student of developmental youth, and has a passion and heart for teaching, training, and assisting children in every capacity. Crystal’s time as lead director of two schools saw them thrive under her guidance. Incorporating her love of nature, she has led wilderness hikes and crafted educational programs aimed at teaching children to appreciate the world's beauty through their own unique lenses. Raising five children in the Truckee/Tahoe area forged a powerful connection to her community and a commitment to helping it in every way she can. A lifelong learner, Crystal is continuing her education in the field of psychology, with a keen interest in play therapy. When she is not at work, you can find her tending her garden, working her beehives, or coasting Donner Lake on her paddleboard.
Joody Marks
Whole Hearts Program Director, San Francisco
Joody Marks is the program director of Gateway Mountain Center's Whole Hearts, Minds, and Bodies program in San Francisco. She has a diverse background in scaffolding operations, strategic planning, and program development that is driven by a strong commitment to health equity, skillfully addressing complex trauma, meditation, and nature-based therapeutics. Joody has over a decade of professional experience steering projects in nonprofit and higher education settings, including at UC Berkeley’s Center for the Science of Psychedelics, Farm to Crag, Alchemy Community Therapy Center, California Institute for Rural Studies, and UC Merced’s Health Science Research Institute. She loves collaborating with networks of therapists, educators, public health professionals, and social workers who are representative of the communities they serve. She spent years leading groups of Central Valley youth, much like herself, on life-changing backpacking trips in Sierra Nevada wilderness areas, and worked as a Yosemite Park Ranger for seven years.
Tonya Semas, LMFT, RN
Whole Hearts Interim Clinical Director
Tonya brings to Gateway over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, in which she has served under two hats: as a hospice nurse and as a registered nurse when she worked as a trauma nurse in a level II trauma center. She has a graduate degree in counseling psychology and is a licensed marriage and family therapist. Tonya has worked as a therapist for almost 20 years and is a certified grief counselor. She authored and launched a children’s grief support group, The Bridge for Hospice, and managed it before starting her own private practice. She has also served as an adjunct professor for USF, teaching in their MFT masters program.
When she is not working, Tonya can be found on the summit hiking or running trails with her husband and dog, Fig, mountain biking, and skiing in the winter. She is a believer in the healing power of nature and the ability of nature to help regulate our nervous system. She incorporates being in nature every day and is excited to be a part of Gateway to help others utilize this philosophy.
Melinda Malher, LPCC, BC-DMT
Clinical Director, San Francisco
Melinda S. Malher (she/her) has worked in leadership as a clinical director, educator, community organizer, and board member. She holds a master’s degree in expressive therapies with an emphasis in mental health counseling and dance/movement therapy Melinda is a licensed professional clinical counselor (#3329); board-certified dance/movement therapist, and certified synergetic play therapist.
Working with youth has been a passion and over the last dozen years, Melinda has worked in special education, inpatient acute psychiatry, community mental health, recreational services, and eating disorder recovery with a variety of young clients and presentations. She was named Leader of Tomorrow and received the Outstanding Achievement Award for her contributions to the American Dance Therapy Association over the years. In addition to her work with Whole Hearts, Minds & Bodies, Melinda teaches in a counseling master’s program, takes dance classes, does CrossFit, escapes to nature, and reads often. She is grateful to live and work in San Francisco, where there is always adventure to be had.
Cali Fraser
Sierra Experience Director
Cali Fraser is an 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 the winter months, Cali has worked as an EMT ski patroller at Sierra-at-Tahoe. During summer seasons, she has guided youth groups for Gateway Mountain Center and taught yoga outdoors.