Our Leaders

Board Members

	Hannah Adler (she/her) - President hannahadler@college.harvard.edu Hannah is from Massachusetts, but not (!) from “just outside of Boston.” Rather, she hails from the distant region of western mass, which she affectionately refers to as “Bestern Mass.” Her favorite pastimes include accidentally skiing off cliffs in the backcountry of Vermont, taking her dog Meru for walks in the woods, and saying “hi buddy!” to every dog that she passes on the trail or elsewhere. Her outdoor wishlist for this year includes running her first trail race and hopefully going on her first outdoor climbing trip! She thinks everybody should have clementines on hand for a trail snack, but she also recommends cheese and salami for ski or snowshoe trips (charcuterie at high elevation?? What could be better?). On campus she studies Environmental Science and Public Policy and plays the violin.
	Grace Benkelman (she/her/hers) - Vice President gbenkelman@college.harvard.edu Grace is old and withered but still gets out there from time to time. She hails from Montana and loves to be outside, whether hiking, running, climbing, or going on long wandering walks. She particularly likes to look at clouds or trees with nice leaves. Do not ask her to ride a bike. She is always excited to show off her cool rock-climbing scar, her favorite color is yellow, and her favorite views are peak views!
	Tyler Shelton (He/Him/His) - Treasurer tshelton@college.harvard.edu Tyler is a Marine's brat hailing from the sticks of Iowa (which he loves). He came to Harvard for a journey; he found it with HOC. Tyler ran cross country, played saxophone, and survived 11 different schools growing up, but he hadn't hiked until joining the club. Since then, Tyler cares most about providing the same incredible journeys that he experienced outdoors to other students, whether on campus or on a faraway peak. Ask him anything personal physical, or philosophical.
	Nate Marinaccio (He/Him) - Gear Manager 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!
	Sam Davidson (He/Him) - Gear Manager samdavidson@college.harvard.edu Sam hails from the very flat, very indoors but gloriously beard-filled Brooklyn, NY. To try to match the facial hair of the hipsters and hasidim back home, he started venturing into the great outdoors on his gap year where he heard you can grow a killer beard. All he got was some bushy scruff that his (very loving) mom called evocative of Ted Kaczynski, but it turned out that mountains were pretty cool too. On the trail you can find him whistling out of key or doubled-over panting on a so-called “trail run.” On campus you can find him doing the slow parts of a fartlek run (trust him, he just did some sprints), listening to his bangers-only hiking playlist on the stairmaster, or hiding in the basement of Lamont away from the sun’s harsh rays. Ask him (or don’t) about poles (hiking, magnetic, or otherwise), his love-hate relationship with baby powder, or his middle-school khaki addiction.
	Lily Farden (she/they) - Trip Manager 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.
	Daniel Morales Rosales (He/Him) - Diversity and Inclusion Chair danielmoralesrosales@college.harvard.edu 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.
	Andrew Nober (He/Him) - Social Chair andrewnober@college.harvard.edu To hail which way from here, friend?
	Fiona Brainerd (she/her) - Social Chair fbrainerd@college.harvard.edu 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.
	Thomas Cardenas (he/him) - Secretary thomascardenas@college.harvard.edu 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.

---

Trip Leaders

	Arielle Frommer (she/her) - Class of 2025 Arielle hails from southern Connecticut (the jewel of the Northeast!) where she enjoys swimming in the Long Island Sound and exploring the quaint New England towns scattered along the coastline. Arielle’s love for the outdoors began with her grandparents, who would take her on hikes along parts of the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire when she was young. On campus, when she’s not giving tours at the Harvard Art Museums or writing for Sky & Telescope, Arielle likes reading, visiting niche art museums, and sampling the best coffee shops in the greater Boston area. She is majoring in Astrophysics and Physics and lives in Lowell House. Arielle is interested in studying exoplanets (worlds that orbit other stars) and hopes to one day name a planet after her cats.
	Avery Gardner - Class of 2025 The youngest of four outdoorsy siblings, Avery was introduced to hiking at a young age. Through hiking with her siblings, Avery learned some of life’s most important skills, such as how to negotiate a proper candy trade (Reese’s over M&Ms always) and dump out pasta gray water when no one is looking. Avery soon caught the hiking bug and loves it so much that she spends her summers running around the Adirondacks hiking with 12 year olds. When not planning her next trip, Avery can be found photosynthesizing on the Quad lawn from where she currently hails, trying not to kill her precious dorm plants, hoarding apples from the dhall, or inventing new slang words.
	Casey Murray (he/him) - Class of 2025 Casey “no longer a newt” Murray was reared just north of Chicago, and this upbringing gave him a love (or bad case of Stockholm syndrome?) for the cold and unparalleled access to the great indoors. He finally realized what he’d been missing on his first trip to the North Woods of Wisconsin, and since then the great outdoors have given him scratches, sunburns, tick bites, mosquito bites, frost nips, and a deep-seated fear of geese. Of course, he’s ignored every sign that his love for the big outside is an unrequited one. When not dreaming of future expeditions, he can be found buried somewhere under his problem sets or hunting for star clusters in the Loomis-Michael Observatory. Casey is a senior studying Astrophysics, Earth and Planetary Science, and Physics, and he is a proud Currier resident and Cronkhite Center expatriate. He does not believe in skyglow, swimming pools, hail, or Liechtenstein.
	Eddie Dai (he/him) - Class of 2025 Listening to folk and acoustic music, buying more plants than he can afford or care for, and wearing Chacos when people didn’t ask to see his toes—Eddie will do anything to maintain an outdoorsy aesthetic aside from actually stepping foot into nature. Kidding. Originally hailing from the appropriately rated but nevertheless beautiful state of Kansas, Eddie enjoys the incomparable serenity of doing anything outside. When he’s indoors, Eddie likes cooking and baking, pretentiously making a cup of pourover, and reading the first five pages of books he’s had on his bookshelf for months. Eddie lives in Dunster House and plans to study Statistics, Sociology, and Environmental Science.
	Eden Fisher (she) - Class of 2025 Eden hails from Rhode Island! Eden loves Rhode Island! Ask her about pizza strips! Besides spreading RI propaganda, Eden is a woman in STEM (Shenanigans, Tomfoolery, Escapades, and Mischief), which generally corresponds to spending as much time frolicking outside as she can. This manifests in many forms: meeting on the MAC steps at 4:45pm on weekdays, climbing trees in the Yard while avoiding Securitas, and escaping to the mountains. She went to NH 7 times last fall and is excited to repeat that. Eden spends too much time at the Arboretum and is a Quad lawn supremacist.
	Emily Schanzer (she/her) - Class of 2025 Emily is a strong believer that leave in conditioner is a scam perpetuated by Big Conditioner (tm) to make you buy multiple conditioner products (you can just leave your normal conditioner in, guys). Other things she is passionate about include the Quad lawn, making homemade dressings to elevate HUDS bowls/salads, overalls, that one part of the i-93 highway when you get close to Franconia Notch, and the Davis Square goodwill. Nothing else in life is all that deep. Emily hails from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, currently resides in Cabot House, and spends too much time in Science Center Hall B on her way to a degree in Human Evolutionary Biology.
	Finn Crawford - Class of 2025 Hailing from a mere stone’s throw away in Boston, Finn failed miserably at his one goal of leaving the Boston area behind after high school. Resigned to remain in Beantown for the foreseeable future, Finn consoles himself with regular excursions to the nearby White Mountains he grew up hiking with his dad and brother. When he isn’t clambering up those frosty mountainsides or birdwatching via his trusty kayak, Finn enjoys playing hacky sack, speedrunning jigsaw puzzles, and soundly defeating those unwise enough to challenge him at Harry Potter trivia.
	Genna McQuillan (she/her) - Class of 2025 Genna is a second-year who hails from Connecticut now living in Cabot. Just about everything she does connects back to food and the outdoors in some way: cooking, environmentalism, kayaking, photography, beekeeping, picnics, etc. She has spent many hours talking about the restorative powers of almond butter, dark chocolate, and homemade trail mix, and she thinks hikes are the perfect opportunity to bond over such obsessions. Genna loves to thrift and is actively searching for secondhand stores in Boston (in addition to restaurant recommendations of course.) She is always down for a sunrise hike, a night spent stargazing, or a refreshing swim.
	Izumi Vazquez (she/her) - Class of 2025 Izumi (“Zoom-Zoom” or "zuzu") hails from San Antonio, Texas (city girls rise up). Yes, she says “y’all.” No, she does not own cowboy boots (though she wishes she did). It, unfortunately, took Izumi 19 years to realize she loves the outdoors, but she is forever grateful for an 8-day backpacking trip in New Hampshire's White Mountains she went on in May 2022 for sparking her granola girl era. She spends way too much money on Sweetgreen and consumes an excessive amount of overnight oats and Chobani non-fat vanilla blended greek yogurt. She is a Swiftie, appreciates em dashes, and loves sarcastic emoji usage. After graduating, she plans to solo-backpack across Europe and experience what it’s like to work on a farm in Southern France. Fun fact: Izumi has recorded a second of her day every day for a little over a year! (If only her commitment to curing her TikTok addition were that strong…)
	James Glaser (he/they) - Class of 2025 Hailing from a family of car campers in Missouri, James discovered a love of longer hikes and turtle-biomimicry (backpacking) during his gap year. Besides loving and leading in the outdoors, he enjoys buying new books before reading the old ones, and coming up with story ideas before writing the old ones. He purchased a physical subscription to the New Yorker over the summer (not for the free tote bag) and, while he will feel self-conscious about it, will bring up any article or story he reads several times in the following week. He has a mustache. He likes running. On trail, he is liable to introduce a lateral thinking game on the descent which he’ll explain beginning with the example “a brunch dish and a traitor” ==> “eggs benedict arnold”. You’ll like it more than you think.
	Katherinne Fox - Class of 2025 Growing up in what is not mid, midwest and hailing from Minnesota, Katherinne grew up learning to love the bitter cold, rejoicing at any day when it wasn't below zero. She has always loved being outside, playing sports with friends and family, kayaking, or swimming in one of the 10,000 lakes. But since being in college she has truly embraced her granola side, through hiking, skating, biking, and wearing a bajillion colorful bracelets. Do be warned that she is a dog-lover so she will stop every single person on the trail and ask them if she can pet their dog, emphasis on EVERY. She has an extreme hatred towards ticks and their cruel existence and meaningless role in our ecosystem and will in fact go on and on for hours about it. Her favorite meal is a good ol pb&j sandwich, (mostly because she cannot make anything else) because of the protein right? Katherinne lives in Leverett and is studying Integrative Biology!
	Lillian Krcmar (she/her) - Class of 2025 Originally hailing from the southern coasts of North Carolina, Lil's relationship with nature began through a coexistence with water, in every way, shape, and form. Studying environmental science and public policy, Lil hopes to one day take her love of water and the outdoors to study environmental toxicology. Outside of her studies, you can find her water coloring outside, scrounging around for vegan food in the dhall, and sipping iced hazelnut lattes with oat milk. Apart from an enthusiasm for nature, her enthusiasm for Kirkland House rises above all other personality traits. Come by any time to see her extensive plant collection and new terrarium!
	Maggie Buckley (she/her) - Class of 2025 Hailing from the Bay Area of California, Maggie has always found solace in nature but nature rarely finds solace in her. She has routinely found herself altitude sick, most notably with a throw-up incident about 1,500 feet from Mt. Shasta’s peak. She can make a mean camp coffee and has the craziest trail rizz out there. It took her 10 years to replace her sleeping bag and she's still using the same mug from her first camping trip when she was 8. Ask her about her lemurian conspiracies or the nature cults that live along the upper Sacramento River. When she’s not outside, she can be found in the basement of Sever editing film or swimming in Blodgett pool across the river.
	Sarah Cao (she/her) - Class of 2025 Sarah hails from Connecticut is basically one (1) grocery store plus a bunch (5000??) of trees. Therefore, though Price Chopper has many things going for it, she has spent much of her life outdoors and is an avid hiker, runner, kayaker, and skier. During hikes and climbs, you can find her chomping on honeycrisp apples, showing off her cute Nalgene bottles, and taking summit selfies in 0.5x. Some of Sarah’s other favorite things include bucket hats, Quest bar taste tests, vlogging (aka taking impressively low-quality videos of her friends), and Ikea. On campus, Sarah can be found making nerdy puns or learning to Rickroll people on the piano.
	Shay Li (she/her) - Class of 2025 Shay used to hate the outdoors and thought hikers were weirdos but after seeing the light in college (read: getting on meds) they are now one of those weirdos. Rivers! Willows! Hills! The world is so beautiful it moves them to tears, and they can’t quite do it justice in their drawing but they sure as hell will try. They hail from Ohio and will rep the Midwest proudly. Shay is doing a double concentration in both Computer Science and English, which means that they love to read and coding is okay, I guess. They love biking, playing guitar, rewriting the beginning of the same novel for the nth time, and head-banging at concerts so loud that the bassline thrums through your whole body. Their favorite things include: udon, denim vests, and Charli XCX.
	Sophia Ludtke (she/her) - Class of 2025 Sophia hails from a small town in New Jersey called Gladstone (also known as Happy Rock) but grew up in Paris where she spent more time talking to her imaginary friend Douglas than any actual Parisians. Despite some unfortunate animal encounters (ask her about the time she was chased by a wild pig) and some unfortunate temperature encounters (ask her about the time she almost got frostbite backpacking in Colorado), her love of the outdoors has persisted. She enjoys exploring new trails in the Blue Ridge Mountains and around her home in New Jersey, attempting to cross country ski, taking care of vegetable seedlings, and journaling in beautiful places. She studies ESPP & Earth and Planetary Sciences and is a proud Quincy House resident.
	Tali Wong (she/her) - Class of 2025 Guess where Tali comes from... you got it! She hails from just outside of Boston, and has literally never lived anywhere else. Tali is studying Environmental Science and Engineering and will likely tell you it is the best department (ask her about ESE retreat). Spot her around campus rocking an aggressively rolled beanie or five panel at all hours. Growing up a nordic skier meant rain, wind, snow, hail, and literally any weather, she is outside (except for thunder of course – gotta stay safe out there). Clearly nothing changed because she is still outside every single day, usually sitting in the Quincy (best house) courtyard. On a hike catch her jumping up and down looking for the best vistas and singing atrociously out of tune on trail.
	Thea Chung (She/Her) - Class of 2025 Hailing from the home of the (Great) Blue Hills (emphasis on hills), Thea and the outdoors have always been buddies. Her eighth birthday party consisted of decorating low quality t-shirts from Michaels with the words (prepare to cringe…her mom chose the name) “Power Girl Hikers”™ and climbing up to a lookout where she and her friends ate smushed, dry carrot cupcakes. Her family remembers her childhood self by her dirt-caked feet, her collections of shells, and the holes in her pants that marked her victorious (and creative) descent butt-sliding down Mt. Monadnock. And yet she continues to get her feet dirty, collect nature’s souvenirs, and ruin clothes on longer hiking and camping adventures. Aside from these excursions, Thea can be found drinking coffee (at any and all points), photographing on her dad’s old Nikon F2, fermenting foods (or alone in the library), zooming around on her free Facebook marketplace bike, learning to rock climb, or gabbing about her love for wool socks.
	Uzma Issa (she/her) - Class of 2025 Hailing from the one and only sweet home Alabama, Uzma always heard comments about how weird Alabama is. Fun fact: incest is banned in Alabama but actually legal in New Jersey and Rhode Island. Go search it up, she's not even joking. She joined scouts which may or may not have felt like a cult but at least she got her hiking merit badge. And then she got to canoe in Louisiana with some gators and go horseback riding in New Mexico (yeehaw). When not hiking, you can find her blue biking around Boston, knocking off things from my senior year bucket list (she's in a play somehow), psetting in Widener, or playing IM flag football, frisbee, volleyball, basketball, broomball, tennis (okay seriously someone needs to tell me to get off this IM grind). Ask her about how awesome her dorm decor is or what the best house is. It's Lowell, duh. (cue "Get Lowell")
	Vikram Singh (he/him) - Class of 2025 Vik could hail from the San Francisco Bay Area, Waimea, Hawai’i, or Seattle (but definitely not England) depending on what time of day you ask him. Coming from a family of homebodies, his big teenage act of rebellion was to occasionally sit outside. His parents still think that he chooses to hike outside, bike outside, swim outside and sleep outside as some kind of plea for their attention. Vik can usually be found biking some of Massachusetts's incredibly well-paved roads, holed up in the basement of the physics department building lasers, or in Mather house defending brutalism with every fiber of his being. When god’s wrath (read: Massachusetts winter) forces him to be indoors, he enjoys watching Coen brothers movies, overengineering solutions to problems that don’t exist (eg. the time he built an electronic lock and security system because his roommate kept losing their key), or counting down the days until he can go to grad school somewhere with perpetual summer. Ask him about growing a beard, his love-hate relationship with the coffee snob community, or his addiction to triadic sentences.
	Zach Bartel (he/him) - Class of 2025 A proud Colorado resident and originally hailing from Arizona, Zach was lucky to grow up immersed in a vast array of natural landscapes. Throughout his youth in the outdoors, Zach survived numerous alpine tummy aches induced by expired Cool Milt Chocolate CLIF BAR®s. Beyond this, he is also an aspiring arborist (owns one tree identification book) and has an ongoing love affair with the ponderosa pine. Zach has an infatuation with bears of all kinds particularly the North American Brown Bear but only when seen from a distance of at least 500 meters and from the safety of a car or structure (his mom says they’re really fast and also scary). If he isn’t binging backcountry ski videos on youtube, he’s probably playing the air guitar to a Steve Lacy song and brewing coffee in his room (not to drink, just to smell).
	Andrew Zhao (he/him) - Class of 2026 Hailing from the exotic town of Wayland, Massachusetts, Andrew promises everyone that he is not a masshole. He was initially thrown into the welcoming arms of the outdoors as a boy scout. From there, Andrew's love of the outdoors flourished through camping, hiking, and skiing. He also claims to be an amazing backcountry chef, backed up by his wonderful gato gato. Off the trails, Andrew enjoys playing soccer, eating good food, and only wearing brown and green clothes.
	Anna Collins (she/her) - Class of 2026 Anna’s love for the outdoors stems from her childhood in Northern California, where she hails from. She grew up hiking in redwood forests, lovingly memorizing different fern species along the trails, and night-swimming in bioluminescent coves. If it weren’t for her magical freshman seminar Tree, she’s not sure she would’ve survived the transition to Harvard’s urban campus (ask her about her sugar maple). Perhaps controversially, she believes nothing hits the spot after hiking quite like mass amounts of HUDS cornbread. In her free time, you can find her rewatching Pride and Prejudice 1995, painting on any surface that looks vaguely paintable, going for long barefoot walks in the rain, buying the same book in several different editions, and DIYing projects completely beyond her range of ability and/or skill. Turns out watching a twenty-second Tiktok about building a desk does NOT qualify you for building a desk. She is shocked and aggrieved by this discovery.
	Carly Brail (She/Her) - Class of 2026 Hailing from the incredibly challenging terrain and biological diversity of the Concrete Jungle, Carly loves running, walking , biking, and literally anything outside. She will talk for hours and hours about country music, is obsessed with Jason Isbell, and loves to “adventure” in the vaguest possible sense.
	Charlie Ryan (He/him) - Class of 2026 Hailing from the wooded-ish (depends where you are) wonderland that is Wisconsin, Charlie developed an extreme appreciation for things like canoeing, the Packers, camping, fishing, skiing (which is “EXTREMELY” difficult in Wisco), and somehow the flavor of mango sticky rice. Nowadays, you can often find Charlie running around the river in the middle of the night or perhaps doing some semi-leisurely laps in the pool. He is perhaps best described as a connoisseur of literature (pretty much just fantasy novels), a moderately solid chef, and an aspiring actor. He loves creating random tier lists as well as having deep or wacky conversations. His goals right now are to run an Iron Man and perhaps complete the World Marathon Challenge. A resident of Cabot (Semper Cor!!!) studying applied mathematics, he is happy to have a conversation with anyone. So say hi if you see him!
	Colette Tesoro (she/her) - Class of 2026 No one has hailed Colette in many moons. It is rumored that she is either stuck in quicksand or fell into a bog. Surely she will update her leader bio if or when she makes it out of either situation.
	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!
	Elodie Sinclair - Class of 2026 No Leader Bio
	Jonathan Chen (he/him) - Class of 2026 When Jonathan was 7, he faced great disappointment; as his family continued their journey up Mt. Lassen, he instead had to hurry down the trail lest his bowels make an untimely, unwanted, un-solid appearance. This childhood despair perhaps fueled Jonathan’s passion upon introduction to the modern wonder of catholes and trowels— a passion so fierce one might mistake him to be studying the “Vitality of Fibrous, Dehydrated Fruit for Daily Dietary Needs” rather than CPB and Statistics. Most recently hailing from Houston TX, but harboring a deep affection for his previous homes in Pennsylvania, California and Western Australia, Jonathan might often be found complaining about heat and humidity and marveling over the existence of seasons. Jonathan loves to talk, so please ask him to wax un-poetic about his rules for salad construction, growing collection of unused teabags, and an unfulfilled desire to be a competitive speed puzzler!
	Josh Rooney (He/Him) - Class of 2026 Josh likes to take naps in public. He also likes to take naps in private. Because he hails from Ohio, Josh’s favorite outdoor activity is sledding down a hill on pumpkin guts in a baby pool. On campus, Josh is often found decomposing (doing his psets) in the Widener stacks or convincing his friends that Noch’s buffalo chicken pizza is the real body of Christ. Josh is convinced that inhaling chlorine during his years as a competitive swimmer gifted him his mathematical abilities, which is why he spends his free time as Harvard’s Club Swim captain. Don’t ask him what skibidi means. Please. He doesn’t know why Ohio is involved.
	Josh Rosenblum (he/him/his) - Class of 2026 Josh Rosenblum hails (most recently) from Phoenix, Arizona, where he has spent the past 6 years acclimating to 120-degree summers and attempting, with only moderate success, to avoid getting impaled by cacti. Josh has been an avid outdoors person for as long as he can remember, having fallen in love with nature adventures as a toddler on an idyllic farm in West Chester, New York. Despite the intervening 15 years, Josh has kept his toddler-like excitement and fascination for nature walks and funky-looking bugs, while expanding the ways he engages with the outdoors to include rock climbing, backpacking, and skiing, among other activities. When not exploring the outdoors, Josh can be found fan-girling over John Mayer, making killer salads in Annenberg, and fervently rooting for his *looks around nervously* New York Yankees.
	Kaija Mara Vitins Hornburg (She/They) - Class of 2026 No Leader Bio
	Kainoa Paul (he/him) - Class of 2026 Kainoa hails from Honolulu, Hawai’i where he ignored the advice of TLC and decided to go chasing waterfalls. Although his rainy pursuits didn’t always pan out, Kainoa found himself in love with Hawai’i’s incredible outdoors. The mountains had everything he needed: quality time with friends, incredible views, and an excuse to fuel his Belvita addiction. Here in New England, Kainoa plans to continue eating Belvita (cinnamon, of course) and can’t wait to explore the vastness of North America. He’s heard some mixed reviews, though. Apparently there’s large carnivorous mammals? And seasons?
	Katie LeBuhn (she/her) - Class of 2026 Hailing from the wooded wonderland of Westchester, New York, Katie grew up constantly being confused for a tree due to her 6’3” stature. Legend has it that her parents watered her every night to help her grow! A proud 12-year product of sleepaway camp, Katie’s favorite memory of her camp days is “fighting” (scaring) a “bear” (chipmunk) away from her “shelter” (shelter) on Mount Greylock. Additionally, Katie is known for her medical allergy to cold (yes, the temperature) which has confused many, who wonder how she survives the Boston winters. Katie enjoys hiking, canoeing, and kayaking, serving epic meals (and looks), and once the sun goes down she won’t stop identifying her favorite constellations (no matter how much she is begged to stop). When not gallivanting around in the forest, Katie can be found wandering aimlessly through the streets of Cambridge, listening to Paul Simon or Charli XCX.
	Kennedy Hackett - Class of 2026 Meet Kennedy Hackett, the prodigy who hails from Pasadena with a heart as big as California because Texas is not the only big state! and a love for country music that runs deeper than a muddy riverbed. When it comes to twangin’ tunes, she’ll tell you it’s “not just Morgan Wallen, honey, there’s a whole honky-tonk universe out there!” But don’t let those cowboy boots fool you; Kennedy’s not just a two-stepping country connoisseur. She’s also a bona fide wilderness warrior, thanks to her Quad cred. Whether it’s conquering mountains or just heading to Science center B for the second time of the day, Kennedy knows how to hike like a pro. When she’s not crooning along to her favorite country ballads or scaling peaks, Kennedy is hard at work on her biomedical engineering degree, all while riding the pre-med rollercoaster. Yup, she’s the kind of person who finds serenity in the chaos of complex equations and lab experiments. For Kennedy, being outdoors is the calm in the storm of her life, where she can recharge and prepare for the next verse in her epic journey. So, if you’re ever in need of a hiking buddy who can break down the science behind a perfect campfire s’more or if you want to debate the merits of classic versus contemporary country tunes, Kennedy Hackett is your go-to gal. She’s as witty as a stand-up comedian at a rodeo and as sharp as a scalpel in the OR – a true force of nature, y’all!
	Mia DiLorenzo (She/Her) - Class of 2026 Undeterred by sub-zero temperatures and a crippling case of Raynaud’s, Mia “I hail from Minnesota” DiLorenzo embraces the aforementioned frozen tundra and seldom stops discussing her love for the Midwest. She’s successfully avoided all indoor responsibilities this spring and is extremely stoked to be spending the next semester hiking (technically, studying mountain ecology) in the Himalayas. When she isn’t basking on sunny outdoor surfaces or disassociating on a long run, Mia will be spotted dodging peakbagger allegations en route to the Whites and chanting “Live Free or Die” while crossing the MA/NH state line. Known to have her finger on the pulse of reality, Mia remained convinced that Martha Stewart owned Martha’s Vineyard and was similarly shocked to discover that jaywalking wasn’t merely “walking in the shape of a J.” Ask about her aptitude for collecting nearly fatal injuries (her favorite was the collapsed lung, her least favorite was the femur fracture) or how to perfect the one-peel orange. Or email her (mdilorenzo@college.harvard.edu) with ideas for potential band names. Mia’s not starting a band, she just likes coming up with things like “Baroque Obama,” “M for Mnemonic” or “Chutes and Latter-Day Saints.”
	Natalie Weiner (She/Her) - Class of 2026 Natalie hails from the concrete jungle of NYC, yet somehow has embraced the crunchy, granola girl lifestyle. A self-proclaimed walking fiend, Natalie is in her happy place roaming the streets and parks of NYC. Natalie is infamous among her friends as the “one that never gets cold and always wears shorts while running in the dead of winter.” Due to her cold-bloodedness, inclement weather does not deter Natalie in the slightest from getting outside. 12 degrees and snowing? Put on some snow boots and layer up! Torrential downpour? I’ve got my raincoat, rain pants, umbrella and an extra set of clothes/socks in my backpack! Natalie is an extreme peanut butter enthusiast and will often talk about her intense craving for an apple with peanut butter as the hunger hiker hits while summiting a mountain. Besides her love for extremely long walks/hikes, Natalie is an avid road biker. Despite not being able to ride a bike till age 10, she somehow managed to bike across the country the summer before her senior year and will not stop talking about her overwhelming love for the great state of Kansas ?
	Raunak Daga (he) - Class of 2026 Raunak hails from Northern Virginia, but born in good ol’ Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a whopping 15 minute drive from Harvard (maybe it was a sign). Growing up in the abundance of national parks that is the mid-Atlantic (NOT!), Raunak learned to hike in the wonderful Shenandoah Valley, tackling Old Rag and Raven’s Rock amongst many others as his first adventures. When he’s not hitting a new state park, you can find him lamenting the lack of common rooms in Currier (WHY!!!), road biking and fighting bad drivers in downtown Boston, or thinking of getting rich.
	Robert Lawrence (he/him/his) - Class of 2026 Hailing from the perpetual flatlands of Louisiana, what Robert lacked in mountain vistas he made up for with Cajun food and Mardi Gras. A car-camping kid by birth, he became a backpacker convert over his gap year. After traversing the granite peaks of the High Sierra and perfecting his mozzarella-making skills on an organic farm, Robert came to Harvard with a healthy disdain for all things resume-related. Now, readjusted to life with plumbing, he lives in Cabot and is mulling over a concentration in hist & lit. Robert’s preferred procrastination methods include running along the Charles, drinking copious amounts of black coffee, and clicking on targeted ads for backpacking gear.
	Talia Kahan (she/her) - Class of 2026 Talia, hailing from in New York City, is a loyal fan of many things, among them sunsets, full 12-hour nights of sleep, and Noah Kahan. Though she loves to prank people that she is Noah Kahan’s long-lost cousin, she has no relation to him, despite their eerily similar love of Orange Juice (iykyk). A resident of the quad, she is ecstatic about her new bike (named Maren) and frequent nights spent wandering the tunnels of Cabot house.
	Tatum Richardson - Class of 2026 Tatum hails from the North Shore of Chicago, IL, with a woefully indoorsy family. To their dismay, she decided to take a gap year (having no prior outdoor experience) during which she slept outside in Colorado for 2 months, worked at REI, lived out of a Subaru in National Forests, and in a variety of hostels abroad chasing beaches and mountains. To this day she still thinks about where in Cambridge she could manage sleeping outside, because she definitely prefers it to four walls and a roof. Thus far she has been unsuccessful (with the exception of Quad lawn naps). When she’s not mulling over the constraints of modern architecure, you can find her in various spaces around the Quad, waxing poetic about how much she loves the Quad, or with her River friends secretly hoping they will transfer to the Quad. (The grass-to-people ratio is just so much better).
	Vinson Martin (He/him) - Class of 2026 Hailing from the vast canyons and valleys of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, Vinson realized his passion for nature at a young age. After spending his formative years fishing with his grandparents, Vinson's love of water and water sports translated into an obsession with surfing. If you are familiar with Georgia's geography, you will notice that Atlanta is nowhere near the ocean, but he tries his best. Hopping on the "wave" (haha) of post-covid gap years, Vinson spent the 2021-2022 school year backpacking the West Coast of South America and is now ready to meet the awesome people at HOC.
	Zion Dixon (he/him) - Class of 2026 Zion hails from the great big state of Texas and calls Houston home. Though he always enjoyed getting into rambunctious fun outside, it wasn’t until college where he was introduced to the New England mountains and backpacking. You can typically find him anywhere outside wearing bright orange, draped in an ice spice flag, and making animal noises. His FOPpers famously call him ‘Zice Spice’ He has become an avid runner in college and is looking forward to adventure into more hiking this year.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	Sheerea Yu (she/her) - Class of 2027 Nothing makes Sheerea happier than being outdoors, which has been helpful in grounding her college experience so far—it has mostly involved spinning in circles because there are so many options and paths to consider. She was super happy to see that there is a Trader Joe’s ~1 mile away from Harvard Yard, since she has been known to make trips there just to obtain a single bag of chocolate covered plantain chips. As a PSA, on her conscience as someone who hails from Tennessee, she wants to let everyone know that Great Smoky Mountains National Park has no entrance fee.
	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. Theo has spent his last nine summers at sleep-away camp, where he has cherished the opportunity to disconnect from technology and enjoy the simplicity of the outdoors with his closest friends. 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.
	Aiken Stribling (he/him/his) - Class of 2028 Hailing from in 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 playing the trombone in the HUB (it’s as cool as it sounds), solving chess puzzles, or stargazing and pondering the mysteries of the universe.
	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!
	JiaLian Mackey (she/her) - Class of 2028 JiaLian is a first-year 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–and after nearly a lifetime of birding the West, is super excited to bird New England!–as well as hiking, backpacking and camping, and running, especially on the trails near her home. Before starting college, she took a gap year and spent most of it outdoors: on a three-month NOLS semester in the Rockies, and on a field research crew that camped throughout the Southwest doing bird monitoring for the NPS. It was one of the best experiences of her life, even (especially?) the fly camping in blizzard conditions on Thanksgiving night after a glorious Thanksgiving dinner of soggy tater tots, the surprise standoff with a bear (who may or may not have been blind), and the miles of bushwhacking through extremely dense Gambel oak thickets. Aside from the outdoors, she enjoys reading, making things with her hands, and singing karaoke (especially Taylor Swift) with far more enthusiasm than skill.
	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).
	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.
	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.

---

Trainees

	Sofia Mikulasek (She/her) - Class of 2026 Sofia Mikulasek is a transfer student from Deep Springs College, a rock ‘em sock ‘em, real legitimate, fanatically Socratic cowboy college just east of the Sierras. There, she learned to listen to the Voice of the Desert while resting on top of the Druid and gazing into the endless black skies that cup the valley at night. Having been transplanted to Boston, she is learning that leaving behind your tent is not an effective weight-saving strategy and to stop asking where the mountain is when someone points to a hill. The daughter of a diplomat, she has probably lived somewhere that you have (please don’t ask her where she’s from) but has most recently hailing from Poulsbo, WA and has fallen in love with the Olympics. On the trail and off, she enjoys reading, thinking up new variations on the fist bump, and singing the same song over and over again very, very quietly.
	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.
	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.
	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