Jessie

Instructor

Jessie hails from California and still calls the Golden State home. This spring, she’s working for Wildland Studies in New Zealand as a teaching assistant; with Wildland, she also led a program in Iceland. Jessie has been an after-school program leader for students in elementary school, and she spent several years leading climbing, paddling, and backpacking trips for the University of San Diego’s outdoor program, Outback Adventures. She was a counselor at Camp Putah in California, and she was also a basketball and ultimate frisbee coach for kids!

Education

University of San Diego, bachelor’s degree in communications

Certifications

Wilderness first responder

Favorite hobbies

I love playing ultimate frisbee! I played all four years in college and captained the UCSD women’s team in 2023–24. I love to play pick-up frisbee with friends in San Diego, and I surf and hike in my free time.

Favorite outdoor achievement

I think my favorite outdoor achievement so far is summiting Mount Shasta! This spring, I hiked up the Fuego volcano in Guatemala.

Favorite outdoor memory

My favorite outdoor memory was on an expedition kayak trip in Mexico. Our team kayaked to a beach in the Bay of Los Angeles called Don Juan. When we got to the beach we went clamming, and we caught SO MANY. We cooked the clams in a big paella dinner that night, and it was so much fun!

Favorite place in the world

Desolation Wilderness is my favorite place because I grew up backpacking there with my dad and my younger brother. It’s the place that introduced me to backpacking and the outdoors. It is also incredibly beautiful!!!

What are you most looking forward to this summer?

I’m looking forward to the family we’ll build in the outdoors! Some of my favorite parts of outdoor adventure trips are the inside jokes, goofy moments, and strong friendships that grow from the hard work, beautiful views, and shared experiences along the way.