Our Leaders

Ashley Dawn (she/her) - Class of 2026
Ashley tripped and fell into the crunchy life in college. Naturally, she had to change her major to Environmental Science and Public Policy, buy Tevas, and become the Kirkland recycling monitor. She's happiest while hiking, lifting, swimming, thrifting, chilling, and professing Massachusetts supremacy, the state from which she hails. Her ghost will haunt the kitchen of the Cabin.

Conor Meyer - Class of 2026
Conor Meyer is a first year student with a planned concentration of Mechanical Engineering. He originally hails from Los Angeles, California. Prior to attending Harvard, Conor spent 5 years in the military as a special operations team leader. In between his 3 tours of duty to Afghanistan, Conor also underwent arduous training and combat first responder courses. His time in the military is what fostered in him a passion for the outdoors. Conor has also worked as a surf instructor. He is happy to talk to anyone about his service, get more people surfing and into the outdoors, or about several other interests: Survivor, Football, or really any competition!

Terry McCafferty (he/him) - Class of 2026
Terence Michael McCafferty II hails from the best city in the world: Cleveland, Ohio. As the son of a daughter of the rolling hills of wild and wonderful West Virginia, he has from a young age been instilled with fierce love of John Denver and DiCarlo's Pizza. Although Terry is a friend to many creatures big and small, his mortal enemy is the mosquito which finds his blood delicious. One day, he believes in the depths of his heart that he will be able to outrun the mosquito. But alas, the mosquito finds him again and again. His name? Mosquito Montoya. Terry killed his father. He wants Terry to die.

Amaka Ihejirika (she/her) - Class of 2027
Hailing from Northern California (No, not the Bay Area, that’s Central. She lives in a “census-designated place” called Antelope (with a disappointing lack of actual antelopes)), Amaka’s first experience outdoors was a Girl Scout camping trip in the pouring rain. Despite that freezing introduction, she loves spending her time outdoors talking over a fire with her friends and climbing inactive volcanoes. When she’s not wandering in a shallow creek, Amaka spends her time shouting at code (what could possibly be missing! (a semicolon)), sitting next to her mini heater, being an amateur singer and guitar player, and knowing too much about obscure pop culture.

Caleb Thompson - Class of 2027
Caleb hails from a small town called New Castle in Western Colorado. Spending time outdoors runs in the family–his Dad recently finished climbing the 200 highest summits in Colorado and his older brother is on pace to finish the 500 highest summits before he turns 25. When he’s not out on the trail, Caleb enjoys playing the piano, learning new languages, and traveling. Whether it is hiking or talking about foreign policy, exploration and curiosity about the world are what unite his passions.

Daniel Morales Rosales (He/Him) - Class of 2027
Daniel hails from the Sun (Tucson, Arizona), where he slowly but surely grew into his appreciation for all things nature. Nature truly seized his heart on a 3-week long backpacking trip in high school to the far and vast mountains of Alaska. Under the perpetual sunlight there, he learned (but promptly forgot) FOUR proper knots, how to fall kneedeep into mud with style, and the most effective bear calls (very loud singing). Who needs bear repellent when his loud and proud singing horrifies any animal within a 1.3-mile radius? When he’s not in the backcountry, he’s trying new baking recipes (and takes great pride in his claim of the best chocolate chip cookie recipe), fanboying over the new Marvel/Star Wars project, or chasing down sunsets with his camera, affectionately named Shutter. On the trail, expect Shutter to accompany him, even in the wettest weather.

Erica Ho (she/her) - Class of 2027
Hailing from the Land of Enchantment, Erica takes enormous pride in her high-elevation, mountainous backyard and cheap, underappreciated New Mexico skiing. Her desolate home, chosen as the site of the Manhattan Project, upholds its untouched, natural beauty and wide-open spaces waiting to be explored. You can find Erica raving about the West or traversing national parks in her hiking shoe of choice: the Nike Air Force. Though Erica's spent many a night sleeping outdoors, she's never owned her own camping tent, but could provide great advice on how to effectively make friends who own camping tents, and then convince those friends to go camping. As an Econ and ESPP major, Erica could talk your ear off about carbon tax or very small, very modular, very nuclear little power reactors.

Fiona Brainerd (she/her) - Class of 2027
Fiona came to Harvard, hailing from the green oasis of New York City. From a young age she was forced to spend weekends on her grandparents’ (wifi-less) farm in Connecticut, where she became an outdoor enthusiast and climbed many a tree. She has since fallen in love with outdoor climbing, backpacking, skiing, and all types of camping, and dedicated her gap year to the pursuit of these interests. In the wild you can find Fiona cuddling her backcountry bread dough, hunting for good hammock spots, and fiercely debating which clif bar flavor is superior (it’s cool mint chocolate). In the front country she can be found sailing, reading trashy books, and still adamant about clif bars.

Hannah McLaughlin (banana) - Class of 2027
Hannah hails from Seattle WA, where she often adamantly claims, “really doesn’t rain THAT much.” Hannah has lived in every region of the contiguous US and can tell you the best five burger places in each area. Hannah’s favorite hiking gear is her pair of blue hiking boots, which she dunks in every stream she comes across to prove their water-proofness. You’ll never find her without a packet of fruit snacks or three up her sleeve, and she’ll proudly tell you about the time she sampled every single plant she could find in her yard in Illinois and didn’t even get a little sick. Hannah studies Integrative Biology, and will assail you with countless fun (and sometimes weird) facts about biology and rocks while on the trail. In her spare time, Hannah takes long walks on the beach and stares off into the sunset contemplatively. She also has an incredibly rational fear of sharks.

Hannah Wilkoff (she/her) - Class of 2027
Despite her anaphylactic lobster allergy, Hannah hails from the great state of Maine, where she grew up splashing along the rocky coastline, bombing down sheets of ice on a pair of skis, and picking more wild blueberries than she could feasibly eat. Hannah is a fan of (almost) every outdoor activity that involves skates – pond hockey, skate skiing, and roller skating – although she is still working on her skateboarding capabilities. When she isn’t rallying her friends for a Sunday morning long run or a sunset stroll to Weeks, she can be found making HUDS Oatly milkshakes (recipe available upon request) or perfecting the art of the bed rot.

Kaia Thomas (she/her) - Class of 2027
Kaia hails from the land of maple syrup and plastic money, born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, but has now proudly embraced American culture and will emphatically sing Hamilton on trail. Still, she stereotypically loves winter and snow, having cross country ski raced throughout high school. Now she has traded in her skis and poles for an oar and can be found row-row-rowing her boat down the Charles for the Harvard-Radcliffe women’s rowing team (she can’t seem to escape the spandex-uni sports). Despite having been vegetarian for five years, Kaia maintains that salami is the BEST trail snack (begging for GOOD fake meat recs). On campus, Kaia’s favourite place to soak up the sun is the Adams House courtyard (#gonuts). When not outside, she can be found studying earth and planetary science (which rocks) and econ (she doesn't have a pun about this one).

Kendall Brady (she/her) - Class of 2027
Kendall is a proud Pfoho resident, hailing from Alexandria, Virginia. She has a humiliating amount of medical horror stories, including the one (and only time) she went mountain biking with her family,
and got her mouth stuck in a water bottle, and the emergency patrol had to come and relieve her. She escapes to Boston Public Garden (and its older and significantly less impressive cousin, Boston Common) as much as she can and wouldn’t survive college without collaging every night.

Lucille Komar (she/her) - Class of 2027
Hailing, snowing, raining, and shining from the sandy shores of Cape Cod, MA, Luci loves going outdoors, weather that be to engage in a sweltering summer bike ride, or positively piercing polar plunge. Growing up so close to the ocean instilled within Luci a love for nature and for recreating in it. A proud resident of Cabot house here at Harvard, Luci studies rocks, and fuels her geologic obsession in her free time through skipping stones (no rocks hurt in the process), creating ceramic substitutions for everyday items, broadcasting late-night radio DJ sets (indie-rock), and bouldering (an unfortunately indoor experience which allows her to “touch plastic”). Going outdoors? It totally rocks. If you run into Luci, weather on campus or in the wilderness, ask about her take on the flat earth theory (100% backed by science) or which backstreets of Somerville have the prettiest front gardens.

Malachi Christopher Miller (him) - Class of 2027
Malachi hails from the highest and driest state in the union, Colorado. Growing up frolicking, climbing, and biking through prairie and 14er, he didn’t think particularly much of mountains until he realized that having them in your backyard is not a universal experience. He has an affinity for tumbleweeds, quaking aspens; ponderosas and the lark bunting, but has come to also love hiking through the comparably wet and green landscapes of the Northeast, and now even enjoys large bodies of water (#justlearnedtoswim), and walking around them. He walks a lot, but also eats a lot, sings a lot, thinks a lot about art (furrowed brow, elbow-to-knee type thinking), and listens to furious and other-wordly music in his Adams House villa. Also likes: green, orange, yellow, brown, bananagrams, books, grapes, horses, and mountains.

Myriam Rahmoun (She/her) - Class of 2027
Myriam hails from Damascus, Syria, and she got to climb her first snowy mountain when she joined a HOC trip during college. She was then enlightened! Now she spends her time planning hikes, going on hikes, or dreaming about hiking. Maybe not always in the snow, as she still appreciates the sunny and warm days of the Middle East.
At Harvard, she's doing a joint in CS and Math. She likes to hit the gym, practice martial arts and cook delicious meals at the Dudley Co-op (where she lives). Despite outdoor stereotypes, she's very much a cat person, who of course loves dogs. Ask her about her cats, give her movie recommendations or tell her about your favorite hike!

Olive Nye (She / Her) - Class of 2027
Olive hails from Bend, Oregon (hippie name should've told you this), Harvard house of Adams, and soul and heart full of HOC LOVE. When she's outside, she better be knees dip in mud hunting for salamanders, on a surfboard (in the ocean AND at Bend's river wave!), or on a grueling rock climb to a freezing alpine lake. In the town she hails from, she grew up skiing, mountain biking, and doing any and all activities involving the Deschutes River including but not limited to crawdad hunting (PNW term for crayfish, same freshwater crustacean), snorkeling for rainbow trout, and floating down with a life jacket diaper.

Olive once despised the grueling backpacking trips she was dragged on as a child but has since fallen in love with them through the HOC community. She now has to admit to her parents just how fun it is to walk endlessly with a heavy backpack while eating dehydrated food.

Favorite HOC memories include a legendary surf trip to Nahant beach & sliding down a snow covered (no dash between snow and covered because Olive wrote this not chat) trail on her winter training trip. She's ready to make more memories with YOU this year!!

Rachel Akinla (she/her) - Class of 2027
Rachel hails from New York (no, not the city but an hour north. And no, it’s not Upstate). Her town is pretty quiet and rural– something she realize she very much misses after coming to Harvard. Despite being heavily surrounded by nature for most of her life, she tended to stay away from the tick ridden, poison ivy riddled, mosquito infested world that she saw as the outdoors. However, after she began working at her local nature conservancy and becoming more “one with the outdoors,” Rachel realized that maybe a tick bite or two wasn’t too bad. She is happy to say that she is now a nature lover and will launch into an unprompted explanation on why sassafras leaves smell like froot loops. And why black birch is unequivocally the best smelling tree in the Northeast. On any typical afternoon you may find her yapping, SolidWorks-ing (okay outdoors women in STEM), or browsing REI’s website for miscellaneous outdoors gear that she definitely does not need.

Sam Dhungana (he/him) - Class of 2027
Sam (Samrat) hails from Pokhara, Nepal (haven’t climbed Everest yet), a beautiful city from where you can see the majestic mountains (again not Everest, but Annapurna–one of the Eight Thousanders in meters). Spending time outdoors has been a part of his and his family’s life. His parents used to hike to bring water from a spring to home in the village in their early life until they moved to Pokhara. Raised in Pokhara, Sam started hiking the nearby hills to see the city and get a close view of the mountains from the hilltop. Once into college, he started hiking the White Mountains on weekends to allow himself not to miss his hometown. When he’s not outdoors, you can find him blasting Gregory Alan Isakov’s music in his room.

Sarah Thomas (she/her/hers) - Class of 2027
Sarah hails from a small town near Plymouth, MA, so naturally her biggest disappointment as a child was visiting Plymouth Rock for the first time. Luckily, this did not deter her from exploring other, more exciting rocks—namely, the mountains of New England. Sarah’s most prized skills are breath control (singing terrible karaoke on trail) and motivation (telling everyone “we’re almost there” 10 minutes into a 3-hour hike). Her favorite snack to bring on trail is dried mango, but she probably won’t share with you. When at Harvard, Sarah enjoys searching for the best hot chocolate in the Square and bragging about her dorm cat (her name is Lily and she's super awesome). She is a pfroud resident of Pfoho and double concentrates in Neurobiology and History of Science.

Sasha Berger (he/him) - Class of 2027
Sasha hails from a painfully sea-level suburb of San Diego, though he spent most of his time in high school trying to convince people to drive hours with him to the mountains of California. His preferred outdoor activities are rock climbing, backpacking, and barely-controlled downhill trail running which has only resulted in a few sprained ankles. While he spends too much of his time procrastinating on psets in the Science Center, his other hobbies include obsessing over unreasonably expensive climbing gear, optimizing his latte technique at the Biolounge coffee machine, or mapping the tunnels and bridges of campus as a substitute for outdoor exploration.

Seager Hunt - Class of 2027
Hailing from a family-owned cattle operation, Seager’s childhood was characterized by frolicking in the open fields, stacking fifty-pound feed bags, and making friends with the cows who only loved him back for said feed. In high school he could most likely be found honing his competitive dance skills, but now in college he has found ways to express himself by repeatedly wearing his collection of Patagonia baggies (three pairs and counting!), keeping the most OCD planner you’ve ever seen (you should ask about his math notes after that), and trying to memorize all the words to Zach Bryan’s newest album. Backpacking is the name of Seager’s game, and if you ask about his experiences in Alaska and Yosemite, be prepared to hear extensive stories about almost dying from an explosive propane tank, every kind of rock and fossil you can find in the Talkeetna Mountains, and The Kid That Got Sent Home.

Skye Tanzmann (she/her) - Class of 2027
Skye hails from the (mostly flat) South Fork of Long Island. Obsessed with all things saltwater and sand, most of her outdoor time prior to college has been at the beach… surfing, sand crab catching, reading, catching some z’s. But now thanks to HOC, Skye is making up for lost hiking time! Skye loves whales, nature documentaries, chocolate ice cream, the fun facts under Snapple caps, skiing, her 3-year old yellow lab Teddy, and the Australian outback. After working at a farmstand for the past four years, Skye considers herself an expert at picking out the perfect watermelon — the hollower the ‘knock,’ the riper it is :). She gleefully listens to all sorts of music, and often steals her friends’ music playlists (warning: Skye's an Apple Music user). Skye will also tell you everything you'll ever need to know about oysters.

Sylvie Wurmser (she/her) - Class of 2027
Proudly hailing from the great state of New Jersey, Sylvie was well accustomed to beautiful natural places (like the Jersey turnpike and the Garden State Parkway) before coming to Harvard. Despite this, she was still blown away by her first time in the White Mountains on a HOC trip as a first-year, even though the bagels were worse than in Jersey. When not hiking, like every Jersey girl Sylvie plays soccer, is a bagel fanatic, and loves to spend time with friends.

Theo Tobel (he/him) - Class of 2027
Theo hails from sunny and sandy Santa Monica, California, where he spent a significant part of his childhood biking and hiking in the nearby mountains. His favorite hobbies include slapping the bass guitar, woodturning random logs into pens, bowls, and a variety of other round objects, and reading anything he can get his hands on. Due to his SoCal upbringing, you can likely find Theo underneath six layers of clothing – or, in warmer weather, sporting a bucket hat playing frisbee in the yard or foraging for mushrooms in the Arnold Arboretum. Theo’s favorite television show is Curb Your Enthusiasm (he can do a pretty, pretty good Larry David impression) and if you see him with his AirPods in, he’s almost surely listening to Stevie Wonder.

Thomas Cardenas (he/him) - Class of 2027
Throughout his life, Thomas has found joy in electrocuting and making a fool out of himself (not necessarily in that order), so naturally he's found himself pursuing electrical engineering and performing arts as major academic and career interests - sadly though, because one pays so much better than the other and he [will] need to provide for his family, it seems that capitalism has forced him to eventually become an actor. But as recently as two years ago Thomas found his third love: wading through swamps while mosquitoes eat him alive in 105° heat, or as non-Floridians call it, hiking. Hiking in his natural habitat has granted him a huge advantage at the expense of one major weakness: Thomas is an excellent gator fighter, but a grossly inexperienced altitude climber. In spite of this, Thomas is quite proud of his highest Florida, the state from which he hails, hike, where he and the most elite outdoorsman he knows (his buddy Kyle) managed a -2 foot gain! A few of his hobbies include challenging chess players rated at least 1000 ELO higher than him, singing musical theatre songs, making fun of people who sing musical theatre songs, and most recently, maxing out the toppings on the super nachos at Jefe’s.

Tobias Elbs (he/him) - Class of 2027
Tobi hails from Kaufbeuren, a small, traditional, and famously unfunny town in Bavaria. Like every average German boy, he grew up hiking the Alps from inside his parents' backpack, and later - after learning to walk - on his own feet.

After high school, he traded the Alps for Australia, where he spent a gap year farming mangoes, figs, and blueberries, and drove the coastline around the entire continent living out of a car. He raved with kangaroos at night, fought spiders heroically, retreated from snakes decidedly unheroically, cowboy-camped in the red heart of Oz, broke down in the desert, survived skydiving, and hiked an unreasonable number of kilometers in flip-flops - becoming, by most accounts, a little too one with nature.

If you see Tobi around campus, he's running: for office, to the lab to make a new superconductor, or along the river to commune with nature and quietly regret ever leaving the Bavarian Alps behind. Ask him about his adventures and his "accent-free" English (he will not stop yapping) - but be warned, this long away from Kaufbeuren, he has been known to be accidentally funny.

Tom Nelligan (he/him) - Class of 2027
There are moments in life where you look back and remember exactly where you were. For Tom, this happened when he climbed Helmet Peak in the La Plata Mountains for a fifth-grade field trip. His love of the outdoors started when he took a family road trip across the country when he was six. Seven years in the Army later, and he found himself showing up to Harvard College hoping to find that same joy from the Outdoors. Tom generally finds himself lost in thought and in practice when he goes anywhere in Boston, but can reliably find North without a compass. He believes the only thing in the world better than peak-bagging with friends in the beautiful Northeast is peak-bagging with friends in the Rockies, the mountains from which he hails. Tom is an enthusiastic enjoyer of life, and hopes to enjoy it even more soon.

Anda Bilder (she/her) - Class of 2028
Anda hails from a part of Berkeley, CA that is so far up in the hills it almost qualifies as the wilderness. She was unknowingly shoehorned into the Norcal hiker stereotype at the age of 9 when she was enrolled in a local backpacking program, from which she gained 9 years of fun memories and learned valuable lessons like how to dig cactus spines out of someone's back and not to use bug repellent that is 96% DEET. If you’re looking for her, you can probably find Anda at any and all flea markets, reading sci-fi, or unsuccessfully trying to convince herself that $5 per bottle of kombucha is absolutely not worth it. If she convinces you to come on a hike with her (please come on a hike with her!) be prepared to stop for EVERY newt you see and do your best to avoid commenting on her 6-year old hiking boots, because at this point she’s emotionally attached.

Aya Schwartz (she/her) - Class of 2028
Hailing from the in-betweens of rural, urban, and suburban life of northern Westchester and Fairfield counties (NY, CT), Aya grew up loving to let her imagination run wild in the outdoors. From passing horse stables on her bike rides to the quaint local library to building forts in the woods with her friends (property ownership of said land remains ambiguous…), being in nature has always been a way for Aya to better know herself. Nowadays this gal spends more time climbing fake rocks then hiking real ones but nonetheless loves the outdoors dearly. You may see her zooming by in the wild on one of her micro mobility options: cruiser board, bicycle, scooter (tandem with roommate); if you do, give her a holler! You may also find her in any of the following scenarios: going to cafes to pretend to lock in, rapping about Lamont, table hopping in the dining halls, or even getting a haircut in her bathroom.

Benjamin Alden Abbott (He/him) - Class of 2028
Before turning to amateur short wave radio engineering and ham salad consumption, Ben’s grandfather hailed from the hills of New Hampshire and began a long lineage of Abbott outdoorsiness in the White Mountain National Forest. Some of his father’s earliest memories consist of hiking with this elusive R & H (radio and ham) enthusiast and eating SPAM. Since coming to Harvard, Ben has sought the outdoors, but has not sought SPAM or short wave radio, leaving that behind, and hopes to soon be the third generation of the Abbott family to finish his 48 4000-footers.

Brady McNamara (she/her) - Class of 2028
Brady grew up in rural Pennsylvania, in fact hailing from the only town in the state (true!). Her horse girl phase and grandparents’ corn farm got her into the outdoors as a kid and she hasn’t stopped soaking up the sun and dirt and trees since. Nowadays, Brady is an ecological and naturalist nerd (currently reading a book about moss), so come hike with her to learn about the wonderful world that surrounds us! In her time off-trail, Brady enjoys drawing with oil pastels, innovating ridiculous slang, scavenging in the trash for her junk journal, and wasting far too much time in the Berryline-line. Hoc luv!!!!

Elena Ferrari (she/her) - Class of 2028
Elena “not-Elayna” Ferrari is a little bit from a lot of places, but has spent most of her life right in brick-filled Cambridge, Massachusetts. She loves being thoroughly surrounded by life, especially in larger than average bodies of water and on larger than average rocks. She first found her love for the outdoors swimming in the Atlantic (it stole her shoe once, but they’ve made peace since then) and hiking in northern Italy (where half her family hails from) with her cousins. Being outdoors has often combined three passions of hers: staring contemplatively into the distance, being silly with silly people in cool places, and that hit of crisp air about half an hour into a hike. Other debatably useful skills include: hands that function as ice packs in a pinch (poor circulation for the win!), an oddly expansive knowledge of bioluminescent marine creatures, various word-nerdery, and the skill of thoughtfully hugging trees (learned from her grandmother). Ask her about Xenopus frogs!

Grace St. Laurent (She/her) - Class of 2028
Grace hails from a small town in western, no, central, no, southern, no, decidedly not Boston but Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Singularly famous for having a living history museum (of which Grace denies any affiliation with), Sturbridge is where Grace fell in love with the outdoors because, well, there wasn’t much else. When she was a wee lass, Grace’s ex-army father would take her family on “forced marches,” of which she selectively heard “forest marches,” and has been hooked ever since. Despite despising Dunkin’ and being a suspiciously decent driver, Grace is the loudest and proudest proponent of New England this side of Connecticut. When she isn’t frolicking through the finest foliage on the face of the Earth, Grace can be found coercing her friends to get a sweet treat, collecting trash for her junk journal, and wondering if fish can see air.

Hanley Poyer (she/her) - Class of 2028
Hanley sprouted (she felt an insurmountable amount of pressure to say hailed?!) straight out of the vast farmlands of Deansboro, New York. Since then, she has exchanged her horse and buggy for the digital age and the MBTA. She found her love for adventure as a thunderous and tactical toddler by painting the front of her beige family home bright red (she’s still apologizing today). Soon after, she graduated to backyard hiking trails and New York’s High Peaks, and she can be found there ever since! Ample arenas of greenery (aka the woods) are what feel most like home to Hanley, and she is grateful that the secret tunnels of FOP and HOC launch you right into the bellowing beauty of the outdoors. Off the trail, she can be found listening to The Lumineers on repeat, making a new pasta recipe, or gallivanting through Boston with friends.

JiaLian Mackey (she/her) - Class of 2028
JiaLian is a junior who hails from outside Los Angeles, California. She has loved the outdoors ever since she was a 4-year-old running around her neighborhood “birdwatching” with a pair of plastic kids’ binoculars; she has (luckily) since outgrown those plastic binoculars, but never her love for the outdoors. She still loves birdwatching, as well as hiking, backpacking, and running, and since starting college, she has discovered the joy of winter hiking! (Having spent most of her life in southern California, she credits winter hikes with HOC with teaching her how to not only survive but in fact enjoy the New England winter.) Aside from the outdoors, she enjoys reading, making things with her hands, and playing guitar with far more enthusiasm than skill.

Joshua Schultzer (he/him) - Class of 2028
Hailing from a town called Shirley in the middle of Long Island, New York, Josh has come to find the great outdoors as his favorite place for physical activity, reflection, and multi-hour-long conversations. While not sitting or chatting in the beloved giant Maple tree by his house, Josh’s love for the outdoors was watered (get it?? Watered?? Like a tree?!?) through his involvement in Boy Scouts and his natural love for animals and plants. During his time spent at his second (figurative) home, Harvard Forest, he has learned to read a forest like a book and has developed a crippling addiction to identifying plants and increasing his species count on iNaturalist. Studying Integrative Biology, Josh hopes to better understand plants and animals as a research ecologist, while helping others find their place in and deepen their appreciation of the natural world. When not in the trenches at some random study spot, you can find Josh debriefing with his friends, drawing, journaling, and making amateur short films and music videos.

Kyra Richardson (She/her) - Class of 2028
Kyra hails from all over the South East, but currently calls College Station, Texas home. Go Aggies! (She is not quite sure about that, she just moved there a month ago) Growing up in Alabama, she was never more than thirty minutes away from about 300 acres of random forest. She spent most of her time frolicking through these forests, learning about wildlife, survival skills, and poison ivy, which she did discover the hard way. Kyra’s biggest outdoor accomplishment is completing a twelve-day backpacking trek at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. This really just translates to her being proud of not showering for twelve days while hiking upwards of seven miles each day. Kyra loves being outside, whether that means lying on a picnic blanket or summiting a mountain (just don’t ask her to run a mile for fun).

Malena Galletto (she/her) - Class of 2028
Malena hails from Mt. Washington Heights! So instead of growing up hiking trails, she spent her time trekking the hill on 159th St. On campus you can either find her spending too much time picnic-ing in the yard when she should be doing work, yapping to her friends about (not HOC related) drama, or sporting one of her many long summer skirts. In her free time (nonexistent), she likes to read Agatha Christie, listen to Hunger Games Movie Score, or take copious naps in her beautiful, one of a kind, luxurious, deluxe, Dunster house double!

Matteo Markel (he/him) - Class of 2028
Matteo hails from chocolatey, cheesy Switzerland (some stereotypes are true!). Having grown up in a little rural village with originally more cows than people, his outdoor endeavors started at a young age with wallowing in the muddy stream near his house. The fun persisted year round, and he developed a shelter building mania, with igloos being the go-to in the winter and leaf shelters in the fall. Matteo also loves swimming long distance, gardening and frolicking in mossy fields. He can be found watering his dorm plants or cooking up sustainable business ideas.

Megha Khemka (she/her) - Class of 2028
Megha hails from the great city-state of Chicago (the city part, not the villages). While in Massachusetts, she has been known to drag her friends on walks around Camberville at unholy hours and excitedly exclaim “wow, a mountain!” every time the incline of the street is above zero. Thanks (?) to HOC, she is now possessed by the spirit of the outdoors. When not attempting to change her entire courseload halfway through the semester or walking around in a sweatshirt during subzero temperatures because “the flu is a mindset,” she can be found using her FindMy location which she has apparently shared with everyone.

Micah Aaliyah John (She/Her/Hers) - Class of 2028
Hailing from the woodsy corner of Boston - Jamaica Plain, Micah has forever been a nature-loving girly at heart. The summers of her youth have been spent swimming in any body of water she can find (notable favs include Walden Pond, Tully Lake, and Crane Beach), backpacking and hiking all over the Northeast, and camping at music festivals. On one *special* backpacking trip (circa 2013) her pink M&M GORP got snatched by a mama bear, and she’s been a diligent bearbagger ever since. Homeschooling in early elementary school entailed many hours of sitting in the Arnold Arboretum, checking off a fair few of the 48 in the Whites, and making fairy houses with her siblings in the trees of Johnson park. She is a recent survivor of FOP-19 (yup the COVID trip), and is attempting to survive freshman year with a whole lot of help from sunshine, hammock naps, the Charles, and Trader Joes. You might find Micah sleeping in the sun on the quad lawn, playing folk music out and about with her duo, dragging buddies on river walks, wintertime cold-plunging in the Boston Harbor and Walden Pond, or journaling by (faux) candle light in Thayer. M is always up for spontaneous adventures, chasing the aurora and meteor showers, and losing sleep for sunrise adventures (give her 5 minutes notice and she’ll be there) <3

Raina Wang (She/her) - Class of 2028
Raina hails from a small town in New Jersey, which lives up to its name as the Garden State. Her love for the outdoors developed recently while she was lying, face down, in her backyard, and thought, “wow, I actually love the sun!” (It was quite revelatory for her, since up until that point, she only enjoyed going outside when it snowed and she was hitting the slopes with her snowboard). And from there, she started loving the smell of grass, then the color green, and finally, buying plants. Taking care of them? She’s still getting there on that one. When she’s not obsessing over Derek Shepherd or “how much water am I supposed to be giving these plants???”, she enjoys sprawling on a picnic blanket, soaking in the sun, and reading a good book. In the summer, you will find her chasing after all her friends at 5AM to hop in her car, listen to “Backyard Boy” by Claire Rosinkranz, “Strawberry Sunscreen” by Lostboycrow, and “Sleep on the Floor” by The Lumineers, before filling the car with laughter at anything and everything while watching the sun rise.

Sam Capehart (she/her) - Class of 2028
Hailing from Charlottesville, Virginia, Sam grew up homeschooled and spent every day frolicking in the Appalachia Piedmont. After eighteen years of catching crawdads, splashing in branches, and treating her many injuries with homemade herbal poultices, Sam came to Harvard to study Chemical and Physical Biology. She is very spooked by Bostonian city life and loves escaping into the woods to return to her natural state of feraldom and ominousness. On campus, she passes time by racing buses on her bike, crashing out over yet another chemistry pset, and crocheting unusual creatures. You can usually find her Lamonstering, pipetting tiny volumes of clear liquid, or listening to MCR (it’s not a phase, mom!).

Sam Holtz (she/her) - Class of 2028
Sam hails from the cornfields of north-east Ohio, parting rows of sweetcorn like some midwestern Moses, banjo in hand, in the other: a jar of pickles clutched like a holy relic (I'm from suburbia). Growing up where the only peaks were ominous highway billboards, Sam fell in love with the outdoors on trips beyond Ohio, where she discovered mountains, trails, and the liberating thrill of nature’s bathroom. While home, she spent her childhood outdoors napping in hammocks, falling off of bikes, and forcing her sister to eat dirt pies (mud in a frisbee garnished with pinecones). She plans on studying environmental engineering if she doesn't go bald and grow a beard first. In her spare time she enjoys playing silly tunes with her roommates on guitar, pondering the purpose of life, and formulating nearly perfect Spotify playlists. Happy to yap to anyone interested in the political-economic state of the world or what cool bugs you've seen as of late!

Sidhi Dhanda (She Her Hers) - Class of 2028
Sidhi Dhanda is left handed, flat-footed, and stands proud at 5 feet short. She hails from Hopkinton, MA which is 26.2 miles away from Boston and the start of the Boston marathon. Although Sidhi grew up going on chill day hikes and camping with her dad, she didn’t completely fall in love with the outdoors until her FOP trip. She now realizes the complete beauty of walking around in the woods, taking a nap on the grass after eating lunch, and “just add water” food. Some fun facts about Sidhi: She’s been skydiving, she shares birthday with Johnny Appleseed, and she loves New England country aka Noah Kahan. In her free time, Sidhi enjoys playing guitar, making and eating pizza, writing, playing golf poorly, and most notably, procrastinating her work by walking along the Charles.

Weston Fox (he/him) - Class of 2028
Weston "Weston" Fox hails from the sunny and concrete encased Los Angeles. His love of all things outdoors began with escaping the traffic to take trips down to the glimmering ocean where he would pretend to be an H2O mermaid. You can often catch him getting teary eyed over a very cute animal photo (he will always share them for the offering of a Nature Valley bar). Nowadays he has returned to his first and true love - the sea - through scuba diving, snorkeling, and sailing, and is doing great at avoiding scurvy by drinking so much orange juice and lemonade (lemonade is the best drink btw). In his free time you can find him cultivating calluses by playing guitar, nerding out over dungeons and dragons to anyone who will spare a glance towards his sparkly dice, reading cozy sci fi books to the sounds of some upbeat tunes, or using too many adjectives.

Zoe Macaluso (she/her) - Class of 2028
Hailing from northern Michigan, Zoe will use her right hand as a map if you ask "whereabouts." She grew up in the middle of a beautiful nowhere, so there was always another outdoor adventure to find when there was nothing to do (so all the time). Her favorite hikes have been on Isle Royale and in Haines, Alaska. Although, recognizing a common denominator between the two locations, maybe her preference is more telling of her love of ferries as a mode of transportation. A proud Harvard Currierite, Zoe is planning to concentrate in social studies in her time not spent in the woods, finding good coffee, running around Boston, crying over Airtable, and spending all of her money on concert tickets.

Abby Ives (she/her) - Class of 2029
A proud Kiwi (not the fruit or the bird), Abby hails from the land of rugby, sheep, Lorde, and well, hail - also known as Aōtearoa New Zealand. She grew up tramping (that’s “hiking” in American) through New Zealand’s native bush, mountains, and rivers, which explains both her love for the outdoors and the permanent sock tan lines on her ankles. In her free time, you can find her studying American slang (ts is difficult), listening to ‘90s rock, or planning vacations that never make it out of Skyscanner.

Abigail Hudson (she/her) - Class of 2029
Child of the snowy lake-laden land where one day can hold weather from all four seasons, Abby hails from Minnesota (which is in the United States, not Canada btw). She grew up canoeing and camping with her family and has been enamored with the wilderness ever since. Some of her greatest trips include hiking in national parks, sighting a bear in Yellowstone, canoeing in the Boundary Waters, and hosting a Viking funeral with her Scouts troop for a dragonfly who dropped dead from the sky. When not romanticizing a life frolicking in the forest, she is having crises over choosing a concentration while furiously writing and devouring whatever game, book, or series has presently captivated her attention.

Daniel Weir (He/Him) - Class of 2029
No Leader Bio

Henry Cayce (he/him) - Class of 2029
Henry hails from Decatur, Georgia, home of the beautiful Woodlands Garden, where white magnolia petals sprinkle the grass, and cicadas sing songs of peace. While Henry grew up fly fishing for orange-bellied brook trout in the north Georgia mountains and catching green trout out of humid ponds on topwater frogs, he eventually ventured out to Whale Pass, Alaska, to spend some time fishing with friendly black bears and bald eagles, more than two hours away from the nearest store. Then, Henry came to Harvard, where he plays on the club soccer team, hopes to get better at rowing, and enjoys playing random sports with friends. Henry hopes to complete an Ironman race before graduating.

Jolee Kuo (she/her) - Class of 2029
Hailing from Los Angeles (County), Jolee is a BIRD lover! She searches for them 23/7, with the remaining 1/7 spent missing her dog back home, spending too much money on food, and chilling with her friends. Despite her inability to hike without copious amounts of mental and physical struggle, she also loves being in the outdoors and can't wait to explore more of the Northeast!

Liam Krol (He/Him/His) - Class of 2029
Liam hails from the wonderful state of Washington (No he does not live in D.C. please stop asking if he is from D.C. or that you never knew D.C. had mountains to hike). He loves the outdoors and humbly asks that upon his passing, his body be placed in the middle of nowhere to decompose. Hopefully, he will achieve a more noble ending by attempting some first ascent in the Himalayas instead. When not outdoors, Liam loves to waste time scrolling on Instagram reels or giving back to his community through various service organizations!

Scott Chun Zhi Yamaoka (He/Him) - Class of 2029
Scott Yamaoka hails from California. Though not from Los Angeles, San Diego, or the Bay Area, his last name “Yama” means “Mountain” and “Oka” means “Hill”! The “mountain-hills” he calls home are the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and South Lake Tahoe. Nestled in the elbow of California, growing up in Lake Tahoe he probably ate more dirt and climbing chalk than the average person. From climbing to running, hiking to biking, wake surfing to downhill & cross country skiing, and night to day, time outside is always time well spent for Scott. Living in the heart of the Sierra Nevada’s, Scott’s love for the outdoors comes from the fact that whenever he was having a hard time, the “rock” in his life was his surroundings and the literal granite beneath his toes, dirt under his nails, and trees above his head. Though now living in a new environment, if you catch Scott looking up, you can bet he’s looking to see the same sky and stars that bring us all together! If there’s trash on the ground, don’t think twice if Scott spontaneously starts to do a trash pickup, but while not getting grass-stains and ashy knees, Scott is bound to be doing one of his next favorite things, including: 1) eating 2) spending time with the fam/friends or 3) eating WHILE spending time with fam/friends!!!

Sierra Pape (she/her) - Class of 2029
Sierra hails (i guess I’m supposed to say this?) from midtown Atlanta, GA, currently being proclaimed as Atlantis by some (which Sierra would prefer as she could live out her childhood dream of being a mermaid). From a young age, time in nature with family has been a big part of Sierra’s life (thank you to the 9 Eagle Scouts in the Pape lineage woop woop) and she never turns down the opportunity to be immersed in nature, whether it is being covered to the hip in horse manure during a cross country meet, jumping in every stream while hiking the Camino de Santiago, and even attending a fish funeral since she arrived on campus! With triple-jointed fingers, unmatched eyebrow control, doll eyes (iykyk), and a big heart, Sierra is well equipped to handle any challenge the great outdoors presents!

Sophia Liao (she/her) - Class of 2029
Sophia Liao hails from sunny California where it does not hail. Cold things do not usually fall out of the sky where Sophia lives, but she has learned to love the endless New England winter thanks to HOC! She loves hiking in the Whites in any weather, especially fall and winter!

You can usually find Sophia psetting in Mather library, projecting slab climbs at Central Rock, or more likely, in the Berryline line.

	Lily Farden (they/them) - President lfarden@college.harvard.edu Lily hails from a town by the ocean on the south shore of Massachusetts, where as a child she quickly developed a knack for getting “lost” (exploring in my 6 year old opinion) in the outdoors. (Seriously. The adults at a neighborhood block party once spent two hours searching for her only to find her in the woods swinging on a makeshift tarzan jungle rope). While her navigational skills have improved, her love for the outdoors has remained a strong part of her life, especially over the past 4 years, where she developed a healthy(?) obsession with the hiking challenges of the New Hampshire white mountains. She is known for giving superior advice on outdoor adventure, such as, “it’s so easy to stay warm if you just don’t get cold,” and, “you won’t realize you’re tired if you just don’t stop.” Her biggest outdoor accomplishments include being the sweatiest person on every hike she’s ever done, and creating her world famous “post hike energy” playlist. Hiking, backpacking, camping, camp-firing, cliff jumping, and beach games are some of Lily’s favorite outdoor activities. When she’s not busy touching grass in some form or another, she enjoys playing guitar, seeing live music, trying new food places, supporting her favorite Boston sports teams (sorry), and watching stand up comedy. As an intended psychology concentrator, she’s looking forward to learning more about what it really is within her that draws her so strongly to the outdoors.
	Nate Marinaccio (He/Him) - Vice President nmarinaccio@college.harvard.edu Nate hails (why does every bio use this word?) from New York City. He started his outdoor adventures climbing mountains like Everest and Denali at the age of 4 (and by mountains, he means small mounds of Manhattan bedrock in Central park). From then on, Nate has been in love with the outdoors. After getting his drivers license and showing it off to his NYC friends, he left the city to find hikes in the Hudson River valley. Nate is fond of alpine skiing and long distance biking having once biked over 100 miles to get a cup of mac and cheese from his favorite cafe (it was worth it). You might find him locked into his work in the SEC or biking up and down the Charles listening to 90s hip-hop, folk/country, or EDM!
	Hanalei Nesti (she/her) - Treasurer hanaleinesti@college.harvard.edu An avid painter, hip hop dancer, tree-hugger, and flower-appreciator, Hanalei hails from the cozy and lush valley of Pālolo on Oahu, Hawaii. Growing up on the island, she loves to snorkel, hike in the rainforests by her house, and make lei. She is passionate about environmental conservation, especially of endangered and endemic flora and fauna. If not hiking a mountain or tanning on the beach, Hanalei can likely be found studying for an environmental engineering or evolutionary biology exam. While she may not feel the most comfortable in three feet of snow (or in any temperature below 70 degrees), she loves pushing her own comfort zone and is excited as she takes the most out of the seasons of the mainland!
	Aiken Stribling (he/him/his) - Gear Manager aikenstribling@college.harvard.edu Hailing from the great outdoors of Anchorage, Alaska, Aiken (an apparent alliteration aficionado) grew up surrounded by mountains, ice, snow, and, ironically, enough sunburns to single-handedly keep the sunscreen industry afloat. Recess at -40°F, the Northern Lights, and the midnight sun prepared him for a life of living on the edge (studying in Cabot library for 7 hours straight listening to nothing but folk music and Jack Johnson). Aiken's love for the outdoors originated from a little hill in his hometown called Flattop, which does indeed have a flat top, but not before a death-defying rock scramble ascent which could be more accurately described as anything but flat. Schwacking (verbiage courtesy of Casey Murray) upwards through wild blueberry bushes and cute little ...presents... left behind by Flattop's local meese (mooses?) inspired within Aiken an ardently alliterative affection and appreciation for alpine adventures and all things outdoors! When he isn't shredding the gnar in the backcountry of Denali national park (snowboarding > your favorite winter sport) or contemplating whether that last squish under his foot was poop or blueberries, you can find Aiken doing 30 second handstands, solving chess puzzles, or stargazing and pondering the mysteries of the universe.
	Patterson James Frazier (He/Him) - Gear Manager Pattersonfrazier@college.harvard.edu Hi I'm pat and i didn't write a leader bio
	Khaya Dryden-Peterson (she/her) - Trip Manager kdrydenpeterson@college.harvard.edu Khaya hails from the oldest house in Jamaica Plain (built in 1716 by a family of Puritan farmers, ask her about it!), which is in the Great City of Boston. She is proudly a city girl or a middle of nowhere girl. She is very proud of her Canadian American dual citizenship and insists on traveling to Canada on her Canadian passport. She’s also an avid crafter, you will often find her sewing or collecting fun things to use in projects (spoiler alert: she often just collects and doesn’t use). Out of all of the outdoorsy pursuits, her favorite is canoe tripping, which she was lucky enough to spend most summers after she was ten doing in Northern Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba. Fun fact, she also hiked the goldmining trail that runs from Alaska to Canada, called the Chilkoot trail, at age nine with a broken foot (her parents would like her to note that they did take her to the ER pre-trip and they were told it was likely her foot was not broken…). Ask her about trees, thrifting, crafting, mycelium, canoeing, her hatred of bananas, photography, and almost anything ever, I am sure she would have something to say!
	Aster Dean (She/Her/Hers) - Diversity and Inclusion Chair adean@college.harvard.edu A fish hippie that hails from small town Astoria, Oregon: home of the Goonies. Since she was little, she was either hiking in the evergreen woods in her backyards with her dogs or running in a cross country race in 90 degree weather (which feels lethal to a west coaster). She also likes kayaking, biking, raising salmon, and drawing. She wants nothing more than to provide a fun and eventful time with people in the outdoors, and you better believe she will bring a communal hammock if there are two trees above eight feet tall on the trail.
	Katharine Weiner (She/Her) - Social Chair katharineweiner@college.harvard.edu Katharine hails from the great New York City, but maybe don’t use the word hail around her because she’s been caught in a few too many traumatic hail storms on the top of 12,000 ft mountains while backpacking in Wyoming…ask her about it if you see her #she’satype2funfanatic. While Katharine might disguise as a city person, her inner outdoors person comes out every time it rains. She is caught in her full gear: of course goretex hiking boots, rain pants, and even her school backpack has a rain cover. Katharine lives by the saying “there is no such thing as bad weather, just wrong clothing.” No bad weather will stop her. She will walk fifteen miles in the rain, and she’ll do it with a smile on her face. Katharine takes great enjoyment in identifying species, spontaneous dance parties, and riff offs. Katharine is also an avid polar plunger: Starting in January 2024 she polar plunged in the icy ocean of Maine every Saturday morning until summer.
	Michael Panara (He/him) - Social Chair michael_panara@college.harvard.edu Michael is a first year student hailing from the great state (not the city) of New York. He has been a hiker as long as he has been a walker, and he loves plodding through the snow even more than strolling down a summer trail. If you stumble upon a campsite with a random makeshift lean-to that is probably falling apart or you hear the timeless music of Billy Joel, you’ve probably found Michael. He loves building weird shelters to sleep in, from tarp hammocks to quinzees (a type of igloo). Also, whether it's snapping Bear lines backpacking in New Mexico or breaking an oar canoeing in the Florida Keys, he is always running into mishaps and misfortunes on the trail. This has never dissuaded him from planning ever more extravagant adventures, such as aspiring to be his family’s first Adirondack 46er (though he still has a few mountains to climb to catch his dad), or trying to convince his friends to go to Patagonia with him. When Michael is reluctantly indoors, you will find him watching the Buffalo Bills: his ride or die football team, or nerding out over Star Wars, Game of Thrones, or a random piece of ancient history. If you see him, ask Michael about his time at Philmont Scout Ranch or the ridiculous pose he insists on doing after every summit. You won’t be disappointed!
	Steven Silvers (he/him/his) - Secretary stevensilvers@college.harvard.edu Steven hails from the far-off land of Norwell, Massachusetts, where the closest thing to a mountain is the 5-foot incline on the driveway up to his house. As a result, Steven has come to love the 3-hour drive to New Hampshire to do anything from conquering his fear of cliff jumping to waking up at 4 am for a sunrise hike. His favorite NH landmark is not a mountain but the Common Man rest stop, where you can get the best bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich that money can buy. When relegated to the mountainless eastern Massachusetts, Steven enjoys slapping his bass guitar and sending low frequencies throughout the best house on campus, the Eliot DOME. He’s always down for a long run in the crisp October air, and he has a passion for finding good words to describe the October air. Crisp is just so fitting, right?

Board Members

Trip Leaders

Trainees