Introducing our AdventurUs Women Escape to Bend, OR Instructors

As we look forward to May's Escape to Bend, AdventurUs Women is privileged to introduce the amazing women we have the opportunity of learning from while surrounded by Oregon's beautiful mountains, rivers, rock formations, and caves. These women will be our community for the weekend and beyond as we leave the Escape with newfound strength, connection, and growth. Here are the awesome guides for our Escape to Bend, Oregon this coming May.

Adina Crawford: Instructor, REI Partner

Adina Crawford is a certified Yoga Teacher who specializes in teaching Meditation and Mindfulness.She is also a certified Aqua Bootcamp Instructor and RRCA Certified Run Coach. She is a mentor, motivator, advocate, and community influencer.

Her calling to teach yoga has been about diversity and community, understanding that each person is unique and at a different level and growth. Diversity is the community together. She is a contributor to Fleet Feet Sports, LiveStrong and Self Magazine. Her specialty in yoga is Vinyasa, Sculpt, and Restorative. She has collaborated and taught at various companies such as Lululemon, Athleta, Oiselle, and many other local and community events.

Currently, she is an Ambassador for OOFOS, Pacers, Trek Bicycles, Black Girls Run, Terry Bikes, Honeystinger, Garmin Fitness, Alto Running, and Nuun, Emcee for Girls on the Run DC, and REI Co-op Partner. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Black Girls Run Foundation.

In 2016 she completed her first Marathon in Chicago and the Boston virtual Marathon in Boston in October 2021 and the NYC Half Marathon x3, since then has completed numerous half-marathons, triathlons, and cycling events.Her goal is to bring more diversity and awareness to the mat and spread the love of all the benefits of yoga coupled with other activities is beneficial. YOGA IS FOR EVERYBODY

Alysia Littleleaf (she/her): Guide, Littleleaf Guides

I'tukti'wigwa "Good day to you" (Wasco/Kiksht language)

My name is Klick'ump (Cascade name). My legal name is Alysia, Aguilar, Littleleaf. I am enrolled in the Warmsprings confederate tribes of Oregon. My ancestors are spread all throughout the pacific northwest. Starting up in Sea bird island, right across the Bellingham, Washington border. I am a descendant of Warmsprings, Wasco, Yakama nation, Sto'lo nation, Ute, Goshute, Shoshone, and Filipino. I am a descendant from chief Billy Chinook.

I am an advocate for our precious water, first food's, and treaty rights. I advocate as a concerned tribal member and as a small business owner of a fly fishing outfit.

To our knowledge, myself & my husband Elke Littleleaf who co-owns and operates Littleleaf Guides Outfit with me are the only married indigenous fly fishing outfit in the U.S. As a fly fishing outfit, we target trout, bull trout, steelhead, for now, salmon and sturgeon in the future.

Littleleaf guides educated many of our fishing family (clientele) on our culture and heritage, history who we are, where we originate from. We teach them to connect with mother nature's bounty and that it's not all about the largest catch nor how many fish you caught.

Not to forget to mention all the advocacy we do as an outfit. Littleleaf Guides, donated to multiple conservation organizations through donating donated our guide services for guided tours to help raise funding to help with restoration on our tributaries and lands. We also do a lot of volunteering whether it be teaching fly fishing 101, trash pick up's, and doing documentaries to raise awareness. Conservation goes hand in hand with fishing. In these times if you want to keep enjoying outdoor recreation you have to give back.

My passion in life is being connected to my roots and protecting our way of life, as my ancestors have done since time immemorial.

What I mean by that is, it is my/all our duty to find our way back to who we are as indigenous. It's never too late to find your connection, your voice, find who you are, and grow and help others grow and heal with mother earth.

"TO HAVE SOMETHING WILD YOU HAVE TO GIVE BACK"

~Mrs. Littleleaf

Candace Bell: Instructor, Littleleaf Guides

Always eager for a fishing adventure, Candace brings over two decades of skill and experience to each trip. She is an excellent, patient teacher who shares her love of fishing in a way that makes unskilled individuals and whole families feel comfortable. Also, as a professional hair stylist for over thirty years, Candace is great at making new friends and bringing fun to every experience.

Courtney Braun: Guide, Wanderlust Tours

Originally from Upstate New York she graduated from the University at Buffalo and spent her free time hiking in the Adirondack Mountains. She left NY for a 145 day thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail where she fell in love with Central Oregon and its High Desert! In her free time you can find her exploring the great outdoors by way of trail running, kayaking, rowing, climbing mountains, and skiing. Her dog Clementine found her in Bend and now enjoys frolicking in the outdoors almost as much as she does. Courtney is excited to share the knowledge, passion and excitement she has for the outdoors with others!

Deanne Clark: Event Medical, AdventurUs Women

I am an RN, retired in March of this year. I worked as a nurse for about 45 years, mostly in the field of Emergency Medicine. I grew up in Northern California, lucky enough to have parents who took us out into the beauty of the mountains and beaches. I am currently living in Florida, still enjoying to get out to nature when I can get away from home maintenance! My hiking and cycling adventures have taken me all over the world including New Zealand, Everest Basecamp, and the Tour du Mont Blanc. This year I completed a Wilderness First Responder Course.

Eylene Pirez: Event Photographer, AdventurUs Women

Eylene is an astrophysicist and adventure photographer. Her role in entertainment is to create social impact and educational resources whether is through education, storytelling, or photography. While her photography career started operating the cameras on NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft, she nows takes her cameras into her own adventures and challenges here on Earth. She has worked with many brands like Arc'teryx to bridge the gap between outdoor exploration and science.

Halle Enyedy (she/her): Event Manager, AdventurUs Women

Halle is an outdoor enthusiast for all seasons. She can be found mountain biking and hiking in the dry months and skiing/snowshoeing in winter. Being outside is where she feels most at home. She enjoys teaching and empowering others, especially women, to find their passions. While Halle has been teaching and guiding for over 25 years, she continues to be a life learner and loves taking on new challenges. " The awkward time when we try something new is when we grow."

Jill Rose: Instructor, The Gather Experience

Jill is a nurturer at heart and empowering people to recognize and embrace their potential, gifts and inner wisdom is her greatest joy. She is a certified Yoga instructor (RYT 200), a skilled and passionate facilitator of groups, and the creator of several female-focused organizations.In addition to teaching diverse yoga classes, she founded Yoga Haven, a studio nestled in Seattle, Washington. She is the founder of Spark! Yoga and Creative Arts, a program designed to empower middle school girls, where she wrote and taught the curriculum using yoga and art as forms of empowerment and expression. Most recently, she is the co-founder of The Gather Experience, a cooperative with the core belief that we are better together and is dedicated to creating connection and community among women through dinners, retreats, experiences, and more.In leading numerous retreats, classes, and individual sessions, Jill's warmth, presence, instinct to nurture, and sense of humor, invite her participants to show up authentically and access true joy.Off the mat, Jill is a devoted mother of three (four, if you include her goofy Lab, Izzy), a foodie, book-lover, walk-taker, sister-friend, seeker, the occasional knitter and always loves a good laugh.

Katie Hubbard: Guide, Wanderlust Tours

Katie spent her childhood along the banks of the Mississippi River in Western Illinois. She spent summers at her grandparents cabin, where she learned to navigate the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota realizing early on, a career in the great outdoors was what she wanted. She graduated from Western Illinois university with a degree in recreation, parks, tourism administration with an emphasis in outdoor recreation. While in college she studied recreation in Alicante, Spain. Directly after college she began working in all walks of recreation. Teaching both fishing and crabbing on the Atlantic Ocean in Hilton Head Island. From there she moved to the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania to be a high ropes and zip line guide. Now she calls Oregon home for her newest adventure. Katie is always looking to share her passion for the outdoors and all that the world has to offer with everyone she meets.

Kelli Wittman: Guide, Tumalo Creek

Kayaking for me is one of the best ways to get outside and connect with nature. Similar to many stories that you have heard; being in nature removed from technology and the distractions of our busy lives we find happiness and joy. I started Sea Kayaking five years ago and have not looked back since. Learning technical paddle strokes and edging has opened up my experiences on the water and turned my time paddling from a cardio grind to an art. As time continues to move forward I have found myself focused to push longer and longer distances with my eye's set on on the 70/48 2020 (70 mile race in 48 hours). I love sharing paddling with others. I can't wait to teach you the comfort and peace I have found between myself, my boat and the water.

Latasha Dunston: Artist/Instructor, Jitterbug Art   

I am a young freelance illustrator originally from Baltimore City but now based in Denver, CO. I love being outside whether it be gardening, hiking, camping, or snowboarding. My artwork is heavily inspired by my adventures and attempts to capture the fleeting joyous moments we experience. With my work, I hope to inspire others, like myself, to explore more and to try new things!

Liz Arollo: Mountain Bike Coach, Ladies All Ride, Grit Clinics

Liz (she/her), currently lives in Bend, OR. Her mountain biking journey began when her wife started taking her mountain biking when they lived in Flagstaff, Arizona. As a beginner mountain biker, she, unfortunately, broke her arm while riding on a trip in Moab. This accident made her realize how much she would benefit from instruction and ultimately signed up for the Ladies AllRide camps. In addition to honing her skills, she loved the supportive community and mission that Ladies AllRide provided and decided to start her journey to becoming a mountain bike coach. She is very passionate about coaching and is currently a coach for Ladies AllRide, Grit Clinics, and for Cog Wild Tours. She has also taken on a new role as the program coordinator and head coach for the Girls AllRide Program. If that isn’t enough to keep her busy, when she isn’t biking, she also works as a nurse for St Charles Health System.

Nora Harren: Guide, She Moves Mountains

Nora grew up in the mountains of Idaho. Her love for the outdoors began with family river trips, night skiing at the local ski resort, and going on adventurous backpacking trips with her twin brother. Nora discovered climbing and mountaineering while in college in Bellingham, Washington. After summers of climbing in the North Cascades, the Enchantments, and Washington Pass, she knew that outdoor recreation and sharing her love for the mountains was her passion.

Nora has climbed all over Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Utah. She has a special love for alpine climbing and long days in the mountains. If presented with the opportunity to go on an adventure, whether it be a day of cragging or a 20-mile long ridge traverse, Nora will always be a yes.

Nora began her journey as a guide in Moab, Utah, where she worked as a canyoneering and rock climbing guide and instructor. There is nothing that lights Nora up more than empowering folks to find themselves in outdoor recreation. Nora recognizes that climbing has much to teach us and that climbing can help us believe in ourselves, connect with others, and become the badasses that we all are. Climbing can get us through hard times and bring us community. Nora’s focus is on ensuring that climbing is a positive and fun experience that encourages growth and curiosity.

Nora provides instruction in outdoor climbing basics, climbing movement, trad climbing, lead climbing, and concepts such as anchors and rappelling. She also provides recreational climbing days. Nora is dedicated to ensuring that your day out climbing is centered around your goals!

Certifications:

AMGA Single Pitch Instructor

Wilderness First Responder

Whitewater Raft Guide and Swiftwater Rescue Technician

Rosa Padilla: Guide, She Moves Mountains

Rosa fell in love with rock climbing over 8 years ago and has just started her career as a climbing instructor and outdoor educator. When she isn’t instructing climbers at Smith Rock with She Moves Mountains, she works as a Trip Leader for Explore Austin and an instructor for Outward Bound. She volunteers her time as a math tutor and as an advisor for Post 58, a non-profit based in Portland which helps organize student-led expeditions.

Rosa grew up in Florida, but has lived in various parts of the country where she has spent much of her time climbing, biking, hiking and exploring with her pup. She attended college at Georgia Tech in Atlanta where she graduated with a degree in Biomedical Engineering, and she spent over eight years in the medical industry, designing orthopedic implants such as Spinal rod/screw systems and Shoulder Replacement systems.

She moved to the Pacific Northwest to pursue her passion for climbing and guiding. Rosa aspires to learn and grow as an alpine climber and is always eager to gain new experiences and to instruct others, as they do the same.

Saveria Tilden (she/her): Event Director/ CEO, AdventurUs Women

Saveria is the CEO and Founder of AdventurUs Women. She is also a passionate educator and has taught in various capacities for over 20 years, both in the classroom and in the field. Her work with REI’s Outdoor School as an instructor in climbing, navigation, SUP, cycling, hiking, and backpacking, gave Saveria the opportunity to combine her love of teaching and the outdoors. Saveria also channels these passions into giving back to her community serving on the Board of Director for the American Hiking Society and as a Sierra Club trip leader.

Saveria's love of adventure and travel has taken her to five continents and twenty countries… with the hope of visiting many more. She has finished three Ironman Triathlons and has summitted notable peaks including Mt. Rainier and three summits of Mt. Whitney, 2 via the mountaineers route.

Certifications: AMGA Single Pitch Climbing Instructor | Wilderness First Responder | CPR/AED | Sierra Club I-Rated Leader | Leave No Trace Master Educator

Education: MA in Education from Pepperdine University, BA in Psychology from Claremont McKenna College

Sheryl Olson (she/her): Instructor, AdventurUs Women

My passion for outdoor adventures began when I was old enough to go camping and fishing with my Dad. As a teenager, I went on short backpack trips taking girlfriends along with me. In my 20s I was the lead backpack guide during the summers taking teenagers on week-long backpack trips for 10 years. During that time, I had completed my nursing degree in college and balanced working a few hospital shifts on weekends with the summer backpack trips.

Nursing and medicine was indeed my passion. I worked in ICU and CCU critical care for 10 years. Beginning in 1988 and for the 18 years following that, I was a helicopter flight nurse. During this section of my professional career, I started a survival program for my flight program which rapidly expanded to the flight programs throughout the Rocky Mountain Region.

I also had the opportunity to provide outreach educational programs for rural prehospital medical services. In the mid 1990s, I was invited to speak at a Wilderness Medicine conference put on by the University of California at San Diego. Teaching opportunities snowballed and I am now in my 23rd year of teaching wilderness medicine. I speak at conferences stateside and guide and teach wilderness medicine on adventure trips throughout the world. These trips include adventures such as a climb of Kilimanjaro, a trek to Everest Base camp, rafting the Futaleufu River in Chile, scuba diving in Fiji, and exploring the Darwinian evolution of the Galapagos Archipelago.

I am a firm believer that combining one's passion with a profession creates a fulfilling journey of opportunities throughout life. Knowledge is key. Learn everything you want to learn and then take the first step. Take the risk. It is worth it.

Sue Fox (she/her): Guide, Tumalo Creek

Sue Fox has been in the outdoor recreation and retreat industry for over a decade bringing people of all ages and abilities to the water, both locally and world-wide. She first fell in love with her favorite water activity, paddleboarding, while living in Maui, HI. There, when not paddle surfing in her free time, she brought clients out to the water to experience the physical and emotional benefits of connecting with the water. She integrated this with a variety of wellness classes taught on the beach, including yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates. These days her personal passion and favorite discipline to teach, is whitewater SUP…a small but growing niche.

After 14 years away, Sue made her way back to Oregon where she settled in Bend, working with Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe, an “all things paddling” center. There, she has had the opportunity to support and instruct literally hundreds of people wanting to get on the water. As an ACA certified instructor, her focus starts with fun, yet always has an eye toward safety.

In addition to working with TCKC Sue guides water-based adventure retreats, integrating her past work in wellness and paddleboarding, to bring clients a comprehensive experience of fun and adventure. These retreats have brought her to various locations including Mexico, Panama, South and Central America.

Tina Brubaker (she/her): Mountain Bike Coach, Grit Clinics

Tina "Earthquaker" Brubaker started racing cyclocross and mountain bikes in Portland, Oregon in the 90's. Tina is a Jackie of All Trades on a bike, with race experience that ranges from road and track, to cyclocross, cross country, and enduro. Her versatility on two wheels has made her a force to be reckoned with in the Pacific Northwest, where she's been crowned OBRA's "Best All Round" rider an impressive 4 times.

Tina currently lives in Bend, Oregon and rides and races for the Speedvagen Family Racing team. As a PMBI certified mountain bike coach for Liv/Ladies All Ride, SRAM Gold Rusch Tour, Grit Clinics, and the Bend Endurance Academy, she mixes a lifetime of racing experience with an incredible knack for helping any level rider. Tina especially loves to share her passion for mountain biking with women. The transition from tears of frustration to tears of joy in accomplishment is what makes this job her all-time favorite.

Tristin Vaughn: Guide, Wanderlust Tours

Tristin grew up in the mountains of Colorado and has been exploring wild places since she was little. After receiving her degree in Biology from Northern Arizona University, she spent the last decade traveling and guiding all over the western United States. Her heart has found its home in the high desert of Bend and all the adventures it offers. In her free time you can find her trail running with her dog Henry, playing outside in some fashion with friends, or creating things at home.

Zita Mazzola (she/her): Event Camp Host, AdventurUs Women

Zita Mazzola is a production supervisor and coordinator active in the film industry since the mid-1980s. Over the years, she has been responsible for setting up large scale production offices throughout the U.S. and Central America and for the international traveling logistics of hundreds of cast and crew members. Her responsibilities include securing housing and services on location to support the production of movies, television series, and television commercials.

In 2017, Zita volunteered at an outdoor event for women. Once on site, her organizational skills were quickly recognized, and she became involved in the processing and admission of hundreds of participants registered to attend the event. While at the event, she was able to participate in many programs available to the attendees and experienced firsthand the joy and exhilaration of being outdoors (outside her normal comfort zone), with women of all ages and backgrounds. The comradery of the attendees under the guidance of professional outdoor leaders brought her to a newfound love and respect for the outdoor life. Recently, she tried rock climbing for the first time at an AdventurUs Women Weekend Event and plans to do it again. She looks forward with great delight to being a part of the AdventurUs Women team.

Based in Seattle, Zita was born in Hong Kong and moved to Los Angeles when she was 12. She still surprises people with her fluent Cantonese.

AdventurUs Women is so stoked to bring such an incredible group of women together this May. See you there!