Staff and Board of Trustees

Camp has always been part of Adair’s life since she attended overnight camp for the very first time as a four-year-old. Drawn to the transformative wilderness experiences and community-building that camp provides, she became a full-summer counselor and outdoor adventure program leader for the first time at age 19, and found it to be the most fulfilling work she had ever done. In fact, that summer led her to transfer to the University of Oregon in order to pursue her goal of becoming an outdoor educator, majoring in Environmental Studies and Outdoor Leadership.

After graduating, she taught preschool, and went on to hike 800+ miles of the Appalachian Trail, where she met her husband, also a lifelong “camp person”! She became the climbing program director and a year-round leadership team member at Camp Lochearn and was later connected to Farm & Wilderness by her very first outdoor adventure mentor and former Executive Director, Ridge Satterthwaite.

Adair is an avid musician and visual artist, and spent many years in the theater, performing in musicals, plays, and later improv groups and standup comedy competitions. Adair and her husband are parents to a sweet little adventurous boy, Salix, and are usually accompanied by their trusty hiking dog, Sina.

Kate Kyros, F&W’s Director of Teen Program, is a former camp counselor, leadership educator, wilderness trip leader, school administrator, and therapist. Kate grew up with a strong connection to both farms and wilderness and is surprised it took her well into adulthood to find her way to F&W! In her own words, “I believe magic happens when we are in community, immersed in the natural world, and doing meaningful work.” Kate holds an interdisciplinary BA in psychology, gender studies, and farming from Hampshire College, and an MSW from Smith College School for Social Work. She completed two years of post-masters study with The Mill River Institute for Dialogic Practice. Kate is an avid gardener, an aspiring meditator, and mother to two often-muddy children.

Emily has recently spent summers at the Barn Day Camp as Support Staff, as well as being a BDC/IB/TL Parent. In the early 2000s, she was a Cabin Counselor and Assistant Director at Tamarack Farm and Outdoor Education Program Coordinator. In addition to her work with Farm & Wilderness, she brings years of experience directing programs for high school students and young children in Austin, Texas. Currently, in the off-season when she's not preparing for camp, Emily provides support for families as a Parent Coach in private practice in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Clarissa started her career at F&W at the age of 19, working as a cabin counselor and dishwasher.  She went on to spend most of her 20s at camp, wearing many different camp hats: swim instructor, Lodge Head, Fair Chair, and recruiter. Learning from her time at camp, Clarissa knew that teaching and education work of one sort or another was where she wanted to land. After graduating from Wesleyan University with a degree in English, Clarissa taught high school for ten years.

She went on to get a Masters from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a PhD in Teaching and Teacher Education from the College of Education at the University of Washington. Most recently, she has worked as a professor at the University of Maine at Farmington, where in addition to teaching college students, she did lots of student advising, served as First Year Class Dean, and directed the Early College program. Clarissa believes in the power of experiential education, the importance of developing and nurturing relationships, and the value of a vibrant community.  She enjoys skiing with her two sons, biking up and speeding down small mountains, writing letters, and making cakes.    

Jarod Wunneburger (“W”) has been a part of Timberlake since 2007. He grew up in small-town Texas before taking a chance on Los Angeles, where he attended the University of Southern California and was recruited to be on TL staff. He graduated with a degree in business and sociology before moving (sight-unseen) to NYC. There he has worked in suicide prevention for The Trevor Project, event planning for Scholastic, and worked in several charter schools as a teacher and administrator. He received his Masters in Special Education at St. John’s University and a Masters in School Leadership at Harvard University. He is now full-time in Vermont and lives with his therapy-dog-in training, Atlas. 

Truman Bates joined Farm and Wilderness in 2015. He was recruited by the current Sustainable Resource Director after officially retiring from 20 years in customer service at the local hardware store. A self-taught Killington VT local, Truman has never been idle. At the age of 10 he was home alone and needed the tractor that was not functioning. When his family came home, he had the tractor up and running and was repairing their road. At the same age he also began working for his father’s construction company. He drove a local school bus route in his senior year at Woodstock High School (VT), and had 50 driveways he plowed in Pico. In 1969 he was building race cars. Truman drove for Vermont Transit (VT-NYC) for 3 years. He has been on the Sherburn Riverside Cemetery Commission since he was 18 years old. Truman served on the Sherburn Volunteer Fire Department on and off for 25 years, and was recognized several times for his service. At F&W Truman keeps the vehicles in safe operating standards, and can trouble shoot just about any mechanical problem out there. He loves his dog T.J, and has a fondness for dancing.  

Before becoming the Marketing Manager in 2020, Tulio was the Director of Timberlake from 2009 to 2018.  Tulio was staff at TL for five years in the 1980’s which inspired him to found and direct a network of six summer camps in the Basque Country of Northern Spain. Tulio attended Colorado College and then University of Texas at Austin, where he got a Masters in Community and Regional Planning. He is grateful for whatever leisure time comes his way such as playing vintage board games and trail running.   He loves spending time with his English wife Jools (who he met when they were both working in Nicaragua) and his children Luna, Kaila and Olly.

Tori is a Texas Tumbleweed who first blew into Farm & Wilderness in 2002. Although she would’ve been happy to be a BDC Butterfly for the rest of her life, she hopped her way along as an FSer and eventual BDC group counselor, content so long as there were weeds to pull and trees to climb. Camp taught her how to lead by the heart, cherish dirty elbows, and never pass up on a challenge. In spring 2021, Tori graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BS in Advertising Media & Analytics. A storyteller at heart, she leapt at the opportunity to join the team after graduation. She loves shorts weather, musicals, and exploring Austin watering holes. 

Melanie joined Farm & Wilderness in 2006 as School Year Program Coordinator and quickly expanded into the world of F&W summer camp program operations. Before coming to F&W, she spent seven years working at Kieve Affective Education’s Leadership School in Maine, teaching and developing experiential and adventure education curriculum for school students, teachers, and school administrators. She also spent several years working in summer camp programs running wilderness trips, archery, and art.  

Melanie comes to us from Australia, where she received a bachelor’s degree in Economics and a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies/ Japanese from the Australian National University. She studied non-profit management at Marlboro College in VT and is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School. Melanie volunteers with the local  Plymouth Emergency First Response team, and is a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician and Wilderness First Responder; She is also a representative for the town of Plymouth as part of  the TRORC (Two River Ottauquechee Regional Commission) Regional Emergency Management Committee.  

Along with her love of Vegemite and Tim Tams, Melanie has tons of energy and a store of extraneous knowledge of 1980’s pop-culture. She loves to hike, snowboard, and spend time wrangling her two friendly cats, Sid Vicious and Boo-Boo.  

Sam Green first came to Farm & Wilderness in 2011, when her (then) fiancé, Meghan invited her to Fair. Sam swore that day to never use a kybo, but the next summer joined the staff at the Barn Day Camp, joyfully teaching four-year-old campers how to use kybos, among other skills. Sam eagerly returned summer after summer, becoming the head of work projects, and eventually an assistant director of the Barn Day Camp. Working for Farm & Wilderness year-round, Sam loves getting to know and work with all our campers and their families as well as the bonus perk of year-round goat visits! Sam also appreciates investing their work in an organization that celebrates one’s whole self and their many multitudes, actively to fostering spaces for all to gather as they learn, grow, and have fun. Sam grew up in a suburb of Rochester, NY, studied Theatre Arts & Philosophy at Hartwick College, and received a Master's degree in Arts Administration from Castleton University. They are fluent in American Sign Language (as a child of deaf adults), an avid thrift store shopper, tabletop roleplaying game enthusiast, renewed Lego fan, and technology tinkerer. Sam & Meghan live just over the ridge from the Woodward reservoir in Shrewsbury, VT with their cats, Willow & Kitten.

Anna grew up in Killington before attending Castleton University earning a BS in Environmental Science. Following graduation she traveled in Germany, Austria and Hungary before working for the Vermont State Parks and US Army Corps of Engineers as a park ranger while completing a Master’s in Business Administration and graduate certificate in Nonprofit Leadership at Southern New Hampshire University in 2016. Anna most recently was working in the development departments of Rutland Regional Medical Center and VNA and Hospice of the Southwest Region. 

She lives in Belmont with her husband Erik, sons Johnny and Connor and their two dogs Bailey and Skylar. 

Jay grew up in the Adirondacks and attended the State University of New York at Potsdam, with a concentration on race & environmental issues. He has since attained an M.S. in Management from Marlboro College.  For years, Jay was a self-employed carpenter, mostly building custom homes. He’s also been a rock climbing instructor for 12 years, leading trips for universities and community groups. Before becoming a carpenter, he worked in the automotive industry as a manager. We’re very excited to have all of Jay’s skills here, caring for our many buildings and vehicles! Jay rock and ice climbs, and has travelled around North America and Europe to get to great climbing spots. He also tele-mark skies, mountain bikes, and serves as a board member at Rutland Homeless Prevention Center & Town of Plymouth Planning Commission. He lives in Plymouth, VT with his partner Melanie.

Lara is originally from Maryland and moved to Vermont in 1996 from the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC. She spent 25 years in the food and beverage industry as an entrepreneur and finance and operations leader. Lara and her husband, Jim, started a local natural foods mobile kitchen in 2001 and later co-founded a natural botanical soda business based out of Waterbury, VT. Lara joined The Alchemist brewery in 2009 and enjoyed the exciting growth of of a philanthropic benefit corporation for over a decade, working in operations and financial management and later CFO. Most recently, Lara worked in tax credit finance and CDFI lending within the affordable housing and community development sector.

Lara was active in forming the Alchemist Foundation on behalf of connecting local youth to continuing education and has served on several boards and coalitions within affordable housing, land conservation and wilderness advocacy. She joined Farm & Wilderness in 2023 and is grateful to be part of an intentional community with a mission centered around interdependence and social and environmental equity.

Frances brings over 25 years of experience leading nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, primarily in the education sector. She has deep experience in program development and assessment, marketing, fundraising, and building internal culture.

Prior to joining Farm & Wilderness, Frances ran her own consulting and coaching practice for a wide range of clients including the Asante Africa Foundation, Equal Opportunity Schools, the Ford Foundation, Pahara Institute, and Wildflower Foundation.  Before that Frances served as the President of Education Pioneers, and was a senior director at The Broad Foundation.  Earlier in her career she held marketing and program leadership roles at the Council on International Educational Exchange and EF Education. She has also served on the boards of the Waring School, the First Religious Society (UU) in Newburyport, MA, School Leaders Network, KIPP: Massachusetts, and CSIET.

Frances is an avid gardener, fair-ish weather hiker and skier, eager traveler, small farm supporter, recreational artist, and student of good governance and Yoga philosophy. Frances is an advocate for increased social, educational, and economic equity; new approaches to learning; and the arts.  She is married to William Nourse, whose family owns and operates Nourse Farm in Westborough, MA, the 10th oldest business continually operated by one family in the United States, and they have one daughter, Georgia, who is eager to spend more time in Vermont!

Born an "army brat", Jenny grew up all over the place, spending time in Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and even a few years in Germany before landing in Vermont for high school. She graduated from Rutland High school before joining the Army as a combat medic. After her tour, she had two gorgeous babies and got two undergraduate degrees simultaneously in Psychology and Elementary Education from Northern Vermont University (formerly Johnson State), and years later, a Masters degree in Curriculum Development from Arizona State University. A blinding passion for social justice, and equality has driven her work over the years including at a domestic violence agency developing and implementing preventative education programs geared towards youth. She later became a board certified behavior analyst and worked with a high needs disabled population for 6 years. Jenny lives with her floofy haired gamer husband, Nate, and her two teenagers, Kate and Ty, both of which are infinitely cooler than her, as well as her frenchton Dorito. She loves hiking, reading Twilight ironically, and anything that contains powdered cheese product.

Julie feels right at home at Farm & Wilderness, joining us in April, 2014. She grew up in Connecticut where she loved playing outside and her passion for the outdoors has continued through adulthood. She earned her degree in Outdoor Education and Leadership at Sterling College in the Northeast Kingdom and moved out West to Oregon. She lived there for six years working in wilderness therapy, teaching people of all ages the joys of skiing and snowboarding, and sharing the wonders of backpacking in Yosemite National Park with visitors. She is happy to be back home in the Northeast. In April, 2015, she received her M.B.A. with a specialty in Managing for Sustainability degree at Marlboro College. Julie loves all animals, and you can often find her hanging with the pigs on breaks from the office!

Alisha has been involved with Farm & Wilderness in some capacity for over 30 years. A Proud Latinx from Staten Island, NY, she attended Saltash Mountain through the 1199 Ann Shore Program. She also proudly served as an 1199 delegate during her healthcare career. 

Alisha currently works for Northwell Health within the Revenue Cycle & Technology space and dedicates much of her time to corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Alisha is the former Vice President of Community Education Council 31, which oversees the public schools of Staten Island and advises the Chancellor on the needs of the district and its constituents. As Vice President, Alisha focused on advancing initiatives centered on DEI. 

As a Trustee of Farm & Wilderness, she has taken on a wide range of responsibilities. In addition to Clerking the Conservation Committee, Alisha serves on the Finance and Board Stewardship Committees, and focuses on making F&W an organization where everyone belongs.

Karlan joined the Farm & Wilderness Board in 2020 after many years of being a camper (BDC, TL, and TF) and event support staff. He’s a volunteer EMT and is frequently the sensible health person at work weekends and Family Camp. In the outside world, he works as a software engineer at a healthcare technology company, improving the experience of patients searching for a new provider. He also loves music - you can often see him leading singing at camp events. Farm & Wilderness was a hugely influential part of his childhood, and remains one of his favorite places; he’s looking forward to supporting it in a new way.

Art lives in Hanover, New Hampshire and in Hyde Park, Vermont. He is a retired lawyer who practiced in a firm in Washington, D.C. for 30 years and then on his own for 25 years from offices in his New England homes. He served in the Agency for International Development for five years. His solo practice involved counseling two not-for-profit investment companies. He attended Timberlake as a camper in the late 1940s and as a Junior Counselor helping Sukie Webb in the horse barns in 1950. His parents were friends of Ken and Susan Webb and Sukie was a life-long friend. Three of his five children and one of his grandchildren (so far) have gone to the camps. He served on the Farm & Wilderness Board and as Chair thereof, in the late 1980s. The Farm & Wilderness philosophy has been important in his life. He wants to see it flourish and is looking forward to serving with that purpose.

Judy started going to Farm & Wilderness camps when she was ten and was an IB and Tamarack Farm camper for many years. She was a counselor at both camps for a long time as well. She was the mental health consultant at SAM and TF for over 14 years. She has been a Licensed Psychologist in Vermont for over thirty years and specializes in trauma and international mental health. She loves her work and feels honored to be able to be useful at this time on the planet. Chocolate and mountains sustain her, as does her wonderful family, friends, music, laughter, silliness and volunteer work. Some day, she will get to travel again, which she also adores. She is looking forward to being on the F & W Board and working together with some great people on important and meaningful work.

Em is a longtime member of the Farm & Wilderness community. She spent many happy summers as an IB camper and staff, including one as Assistant Director in 2004. She practices medicine in Northampton, Massachusetts where she specializes in gender-affirming care and family medicine. When she is not working, Em is busy raising her young daughter. She has a deep love of the outdoors, which she attributes to her experiences at Farm & Wilderness, a childhood growing up in Vermont, and her Quaker upbringing. Em is a member of the Bethesda Friends Meeting and attends meetings with the Northampton Friends. She is honored to be serving the Farm & Wilderness community as a Board member.

Dave joined the Farm & Wilderness Board in 2021 and serves on its Conservation and Finance Committees.  He was a camper at Timberlake and Tamarack Farm and then for more than 20 years a counselor and director at Timberlake.  He served on the board of the Ninevah Foundation and its predecessor the Wilderness Corporation.  Dave did budget work for the New York State Ways and Means Committee and provided public financial management assistance to governments in Moldova, the Republic of Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan and South Sudan.  Now he has retired to his home in Mount Holly where he can admire the view of Saltash Mountain. He is co-clerk of the Wilderness Friends Meeting.

Having spent a significant part of his life as part of the Farm & Wilderness and Ninevah community -- from camper and counselor to director and now, parent -- David Nichols joined the Farm & Wilderness Board in 2019.   David (“Listening Songbird”) was a camper at Timberlake, Flying Cloud, and Tamarack Farm, then became a counselor and director of Flying Cloud. His two sons have attended the Barn Day Camp and Timberlake (as third generation members of TL). When he’s not at camp, David is a middle school English and History teacher in suburban Boston. Many of David’s favorite activities were inspired and influenced by his time at Farm & Wilderness -- spending time in nature, woodworking, making music, and pursuing social justice.

Andy joined the Farm & Wilderness Board in 2018 and serves on its Conservation and Finance Committees.  He has served on the Board of the Ninevah Foundation, a land and lake conservation organization, since it was established in 1996, and was its founding President.  The Ninevah Foundation joined forces with Farm & Wilderness in 2018 to steward more than 4,800 acres of land and associated waters that they jointly own.  Andy spent many summers on the Long Trail as a Timberlake camper and counselor in the 1960s and 1970s. Andy worked as a health care lawyer in New York until he retired in 2017.  He and his wife now divide their time between Vermont, Brooklyn and Austin, Texas.