STAFF MEMBERS
Jared Alden
Mentor/Climbing Guide/Senior Adventure Guide
Jared Alden has been engaged with children for over 17 years in variety of professional settings, including an acute psychiatric inpatient and residential lock-down hospital for adolescents, an outpatient wraparound program for the state of Pennsylvania, the Fitzsimon Middle School in north Philadelphia, an orphanage in Kathmandu, Nepal, the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Children’s’ Center, a preschool in Doylestown Pennsylvania, and some remote villages and nomadic tribes of northern Mali, West Africa. In addition to serving as an outdoor education guide and rehabilitation mental health specialist, Jared enjoys relating to children and youth as a professional AASI snowboarding coach, mentor, and instructor, as well as engaging children as a rock climbing instructor, coach, and USA Climbing judge. He is an AMGA SPI climbing guide.
Nicole Benter
Lead Mentor
Nicole Bentor loves to share her delight for life. With 20 years of experience working in experiential education (Outward Bound and Yosemite Institute) and leading organizations, such as the Sierra Business Council in the Sierra Nevada, she is passionate about making a positive impact. Nicole loves to learn and grow. She holds a master’s in business and sustainability, a master’s in teaching (plus two teaching credentials), and a Bachelor of Science. Passionate about balanced and healthy living, she also is a certified integrative holistic health coach, optimal living coach, and has studied compassionate communication. At a young age, Nicole became hooked on outdoor adventure and sharing it with others, as she realized its power to provide challenge, joy, achievement, and a powerful vehicle for personal growth and discovery. Nicole loves to spend time with her two young girls and husband, biking, climbing, back-country skiing, and jumping in alpine lakes.
Richard Bruener
Mentor
Jacquelyn Campos
Mentor
Jacqui Campos is grateful for growing up in Truckee, where she has had the privilege of being surrounded by nature’s beauty and close-knit community. Her parents and family instilled in her a love for the outdoors through activities like biking, camping, hiking, and nature walks. Programs like Aim High and Adventure Risk Challenge, in which she first experienced backpacking, deepened her connection to nature and the power it brings.
In 2019, Jacqui graduated from Truckee High School and went on to attend Pitzer College, becoming the first in her family to earn a degree. She graduated with a major in human biology, with an emphasis on cross-cultural health and healing. After college, she served as a community health fellow with Project Horseshoe Farm in rural Alabama. There, she discovered her passion for working with youth and promoting health and well-being. This transformative experience inspired her to return to her roots and serve her community. As a proud Latina of Mexican descent, she is especially committed to supporting the Spanish-speaking community in Truckee.
Haley Congistre
Mentor
Haley Congistre grew up in San Francisco. She is passionate about sharing her love for nature and instilling a sense of aliveness in those with whom she surrounds herself. Her upbringing in Waldorf education cultivated an appreciation for nature and the arts, influencing her decision to pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology and adventure education at Prescott College. As a certified yoga instructor and Himalayan Kriya Breathwork facilitator, Haley is dedicated to helping individuals discover their inner strength and potential. She has experience teaching art and English to youths in China, leading young people on outdoor expeditionary experiences throughout the Southwest and Sierra Nevada, and incorporating yoga and mindfulness into backcountry experiences. Haley seeks to spark curiosity in individuals about the natural world and themselves. She spends her free time immersed in nature, the creative arts, yoga and breathwork, mountain biking, backpacking, backcountry skiing, dance, and herbalism.
Marc Davis
Lodge Manager
Marc Davis grew up in the High Sierra in the uniquely small town of Bear Valley. With a background as a wilderness adventure guide and a passion for work in supporting, mentoring, and nurturing teens and adolescents with mental health, addiction, family dynamic, and life's other challenges, Marc was drawn to Gateway Mountain Center. Professionally, he enjoys sharing his love for nature and primitive skills hobbies with anyone who shows interest. He also strives to incorporate his education in psychology and anthropology by combining natural experiences with environmental, emotional, and personal learning for students in Gateway’s programs. Outside of work, Marc loves roller-skating, skiing, tracking, building tree nets, and — when possible — spending extended periods abroad so as to experience the different cultures of the world.
Juliana Demarest
Communications Manager
Juliana Demarest is a Jersey Girl with ink in her blood, having fallen in love with journalism at the young age of 7, when her Uncle Tony used to bring her to “work” at his weekly newspaper. While still a journalism student at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, she joined with three others to prove the lackadaisical Gen X stereotype wrong and co-founded the Pascack Press, a weekly newspaper based in Westwood, New Jersey. After leaving journalism to become a farmer’s wife in 2004, she and her husband, PJ, and their two kids moved to Truckee in 2010. Although she never stopped sharing her gift of the written word, Juliana realized just how much she missed journalism when she joined Truckee independent newspaper Moonshine Ink in 2018. Twenty-seven years of experience has had Juliana on all sides of the communications industry, from behind-the-scenes roles as an editor and copywriter to marketing and working publicity, and it was through her work with Moonshine Ink that she was first introduced to Gateway Mountain Center. When she’s not busily scribbling notes in longhand, she’s out with her dogs, Bodhi and Kua, or on-the-go shuffling her teenagers, Sierra and Kai, here, there, and everywhere, as she wishes time would slow down.
Brody Dwyer
Mentor/Peer Program Coordinator/Certified Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist
Brody was privileged to grow up in Truckee, California, graduating from Truckee High School in 2004. Growing up, he delighted in the wilderness and being outdoors, where he could be found camping, backpack camping, fishing, fly-fishing, skiing, and snowmobiling. Following his passion for cooking after working a corporate job, Brody graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Portland, Oregon, in 2011 — with high honors and perfect attendance. After experiencing a mental health crisis in 2016, Brody fervently began seeking out ways to advocate for mental health while learning about his condition(s). Thus, he walked away from his successful career in the restaurant industry to continue to pursue his new passions of mental health advocacy, trauma healing, and crisis intervention. Being certified in crisis intervention, mental health first aid, and trauma informed care allowed him the honor to work as a homeless outreach coordinator in Truckee and North Lake Tahoe, and now he puts his skills to use serving youth in his community. He aspires to become a licensed practitioner of the healing arts after attaining his bachelor’s in psychology.
Caroline Grossman
Sierra Experience Program Manager
Caroline Grossman is excited to have started her role as a Sierra Experience program manager in June 2024! Caroline relocated to the Lake Tahoe area upon earning a bachelor's degree from American University in Washington, D.C., in 2022. She then embarked on a year-and-a-half-long journey of public service in AmeriCorps, where she served at the Tahoe Rim Trail Association and the Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation. Upon completing her AmeriCorps service, she worked as a Northern Nevada Regional Organizing Director with For Our Future Action Fund. In her free time, Caroline enjoys hiking, rock climbing, cold plunges, meditation, music, and crafting gifts for her loved ones. Her favorite part of her job is helping youth discover new hobbies and passions outdoors.
Allison Hester
Mentor/Certified Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist
Allison Hester is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. Allison has experience working in nonprofits, serving in various roles to promote a healthier environment through education, research, and policy. She has been working with youth as an educational tutor since 2020 and as a therapeutic wilderness mentor since July 2023. As a tutor and mentor, Allison has helped students and mentees learn new concepts, complete tasks, and reach their educational and personal goals. She believes that every child, regardless of background, should have access to quality education and public mental health supports, because both are essential to their success and well-being.
Kenny Kehoe
Camps Coordinator
Mackenzie Kingston
Mentor/Sierra Experience Assistant Director
Mackenzie Kingston is drawn toward working with youth in order to create more equitable, welcoming spaces for growth, inclusion, and curiosity. After graduating from Connecticut College with a bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience and a double-minor in environmental studies and anthropology, she first moved to California from Vermont to work with newcomer and refugee youth in Oakland. Feeling the pull of the mountains, she moved to Truckee, California, in 2022, and now works for Gateway as a Whole Hearts Minds & Bodies mentor and as assistant director for Sierra Experience. Mackenzie likes to spend her free time outside hiking, backpacking, swimming, paddling, skiing, or just reading by the river.
Theresa Loewen
Climbing Coordinator
Theresa Loewen is the climbing program coordinator at Gateway Mountain Center. She has a Bachelor of Science in recreation, parks, and tourism administration from Sacramento State and is an AMGA certified Single Pitch Instructor. Theresa is an avid climber, skier, and backpacker, but really, she loves any activity that lets her get outside. She has a passion for connecting people with the outdoors and stewarding responsible recreation. After many years of teaching indoor climbing programs and running a climbing gym, Theresa is stoked to be guiding at Gateway, getting to spend more days outside, and helping more youth connect to the natural world and themselves through climbing.
Luis Lopez
Mentor/Peer Support
Raised in San Luis Obispo, Luis Lopez grew up on the West Coast of California where one can find beaches, mountains, and valleys. After graduating from Cal Poly SLO with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Child Development, he went into the mental health field by supporting high-needs youth through county mental health and foster youth programs. Growing up while facing life’s challenges, Luis took every opportunity to be at one with nature. He soon realized this was a coping skill others could benefit from. Whether he's hiking trails, dipping in the lakes, or running in marathons, you will most likely find Luis exploring the Tahoe area.
Spencer McCune
Mentor
Spencer was raised in Ojai, California, surrounded by beautiful mountains, in close proximity to the beach. During his childhood, he developed a love of nature, devoting his free time to surfing, climbing, and backpacking. He supported these outdoor interests by tutoring and giving surfing and climbing lessons. Finding that he had an affinity for working with children, he attended UC Santa Barbara, where he studied Spanish and education. After spending some time teaching in elementary schools, he felt that his skills and passions lent themselves to social-emotional development with youth.
After leaving teaching, Spencer decided to take a road trip to different ski destinations and found himself couch-surfing in Truckee, falling in love with snow sports. He enjoys sharing his love of outdoor activities and nature with others, hoping that they will find the same fulfillment and wonder that he derives from his time in the mountains. He strives to meet everyone with empathy and holds that those who are able are ethically compelled to help others.
Jared Moore
Senior Climbing Guide
Jared Moore’s passions lie in nature and the outdoors, and sharing those with others, especially young people. From leading nature hikes and catching snakes to rock climbing and skiing, Jared has a broad skillset and a desire to pass on his knowledge and skills to the next generation. He is a certified AMGA Rock Guide. Jared spends his winter ski-patrolling at one of the most avalanche-prone ski areas in the country, Alpine Meadows.
Anna Patterson
Mentor
Anna Patterson grew up in the mountains of Colorado and has loved the outdoors from a young age. She spent time working in a child development research lab while earning her bachelor's degree in psychology, which is where her desire to work with young people began. She is now pursuing a master's in counseling psychology, with a concentration in expressive arts therapy, at CIIS. Anna moved to Truckee in 2023 and is incredibly excited to be a part of this community. She loves art-making of all kinds, skiing, hiking, and any activity that involves the lake. Most of all, Anna loves sharing her passion for art and nature with others.
Luis Rubio-Aguilar
Senior Adventure Guide
When Luis Rubio-Aguilar was 10 years old, he migrated from his birthplace in Jalisco, Mexico, to the Lake Tahoe area. Growing up there was an awesome experience for a kid: He got to ski, camp, ride bikes, play ball, and enjoy the beach. At 12 years old, he started skiing at Homewood Mountain Resort, where he fell in love with it. He has now worked in the ski industry for more than 10 years, and with his PSIA Level 2 Alpine certification, Luis enjoys coaching and teaching kids one of his favorite sports. He is also a camp guide (bilingual), mentor, and musician. He spends a lot of his free time in woods and meadows identifying plants, flowers, and mushrooms, and learning about their uses and their roles in nature. Time in the woods gives him peace of mind, an opportunity to reflect, and a sense of how complex life is. The more he learns about that, the more in touch Luis feels with himself and with life’s challenges. Having faced his own share of challenges, both when growing up and as an adult, Luis hopes the experiences he can share with students and peers will offer both knowledge and understanding.
Keith Tom
Guide/Sierra Experience Program Manager
Keith is an Oakland, California, native. Since moving to Lake Tahoe in 2007, he has attended Lake Tahoe Community College and earned a degree in environmental sustainability and technology. Moving from the city to the mountains gave him a personal perspective on the benefits of being in nature, and he loves to get urban youth excited about nature by leading them on educational excursions throughout the Tahoe area. He is also programs manager for the Sugar Pine Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to save the natural biodiversity of Lake Tahoe’s forest through education and hands-on experiences.
Erika Veidis
Mentor
Erika has a background in environmental policy and education – focusing on the intersections of sustainability and health and on the deeper structural and cultural questions underlying today's environmental challenges. Originally from New Jersey, Erika moved to Tahoe from Boston for a winter of skiing – and has stayed ever since. Erika loves exploring mountains, skiing, trail running, and paddleboarding with her dogs – as well as playing music and writing. Before her life in Tahoe, Erika worked as a farmhand in Wisconsin, ran track, and studied political science, mind/brain/behavior, and environmental economics. She is passionate about her Latvian heritage, its nature-based culture, and all-night singing and dancing events with the Latvian community.
Lindy Winter
Mentor
Lindy Winter was drawn to mentorship and guiding as a natural response to her own personal growth. She has found healing in nature countless times and delights in seeing young people overcome their perceived limitations as they climb a rock face or splash around in a kayak. As a single mother of two teens herself, she has compassion for families presented with overwhelming challenges. Lindy’s professional background is in architecture, where she has taken particular interest in mentoring junior colleagues by leading training and development programs. Her dream is to combine these worlds by facilitating design-build service projects within the framework of nature-based therapeutic experiences. Calling Tahoe home since 2000, Lindy loves Nordic and backcountry skiing, wind sports, and hiking with her dog.
Cody Wollitz
Grants Manager
With three years as grants manager, Cody Wollitz provides a firm foundation for Gateway’s efforts to improve youth mental health in the Truckee/Tahoe region and beyond. His endeavors contribute to the development of leading edge programming that positively impacts public health systems. He holds an MBA from University of Nevada, Reno, with specializations in social entrepreneurship, leadership development, and international business. Cody has been a lifelong servant leader in youth development, leading cross-cultural experiential learning programs in the U.S. and abroad. He grew up in Reno and is an avid sports participant in soccer, baseball, basketball, skiing, hiking, and climbing. He holds a certificate in outdoor leadership, and explored Utah as a wilderness therapy instructor. Whether in the role of mentor or as Gateway’s grants manager, Cody is elated to share his appreciation of nature, mindfulness, systems thinking, and embodied peak experiences.