Tacoma Leadership Conference Presenters
For the first time ever, we are excited to offer two in-person days of professional development - one in Seattle and one in Tacoma - dedicated to thanking, inspiring, and empowering The Mountaineers current and aspiring volunteer leaders. Both conferences will offer equivalent content, with a similar line-up of presenters, expanding our reach and giving volunteers the flexibility to select the program that is most convenient for them.
Join us at one of our Leadership Conferences!
Breakout sessions
- Click here to view a list of the Seattle Leadership Conference breakout sessions
- Click here to view a list of the Tacoma Leadership Conference breakout sessions
Presenters
- Bam Mendiola
- Ben Brown
- Betsy Robblee
- Conor Marshall
- Liz McNett Crowl
- Lori Heath
- Lyra Pierotti
- Moleek Busby
- Tom Unger
Bam Mendiola
Bam Mendiola (they/them) is an award-winning anti-racism facilitator who has facilitated hundreds of trainings and gone on dozens of Mountaineers trips. Their work is informed by their lived experience as a non-binary person of color and has been featured by NBC, REI Co-Op, and Mountainfilm Festival. Bam is the recipient of the Outdoor Industry Associations’ Together We Are A Force Award and lives on Duwamish land with their four-legged teacher, a ragdoll cat named Mitzi.
Ben Brown
Ben Brown has worked in K-16 public education for more than a decade and has volunteered with The Mountaineers since he graduated Basic Alpine Climbing in 2016. He currently works as the Professional Learning Specialist in Child Nutrition Services with the OSPI, supporting the development and facilitation of effective training and professional learning opportunities. Ben is ABD on a Doctorate in Education in Instructional Systems Design and Technology and loves helping to design and improve teaching and learning practices
Betsy Robblee
As The Mountaineers’ Conservation & Advocacy Director, Betsy Robblee leads The Mountaineers conservation and advocacy programming, including driving partnerships, executing advocacy campaigns, and supporting fundraising efforts that result in long-term outcomes to protect public lands and the outdoor experience.
Betsy joined The Mountaineers in 2020 with ten years of experience in policy, advocacy, and community engagement experience. She previously served as the Policy and Outreach Manager at the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, where she led advocacy campaigns in support of funding for conservation and recreation projects in Washington state. Earlier in her career, she spent six years in Washington, DC as a legislative aide to Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Rick Larsen.
As an outdoor enthusiast and an advocate for our wild places, Betsy is honored for the opportunity to engage The Mountaineers community to protect public lands.
Conor Marshall
As The Mountaineers’ Advocacy & Engagement Manager, Conor Marshall is helping to deepen The Mountaineers conservation and advocacy impact through education, stewardship, and advocacy. Using conservation communications, he educates and inspires our community on policy issues that threaten our beloved landscapes, driving members towards increased action and engagement to help protect our public lands and the outdoor experiences they provide.
Conor joined The Mountaineers in 2021 after returning to his hometown of Seattle after 14 years in the Washington, D.C. area. He previously worked on digital advocacy for the Sierra Club on lands, waters, and wildlife issues - just the latest stop on his 10+ year journey through conservation policy, advocacy, and communications. Previously, he led the American Bird Conservancy’s advocacy communications program and provided federal and state-based policy support across the organization.
Conor’s personal and professional pursuits draw on extensive grassroots engagement experience. His six years of service at a local county parks and recreation commission underscored for him the importance of outdoor equity, access to nature, and the important connections between recreation, stewardship, and conservation.
LIZ MCNETT CROWL
LORI HEATH
Lori Heath has been practicing mindfulness since a relative introduced her to the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh over 20 years ago. Since then, she has slowly shifted her priorities from achieving goals to enjoying experiences, from striving for a result to being more fully present in each moment. Lori has been a member of The Mountaineers since 2016. She is currently the Secretary and Communications Chair of the Foothills Branch, a hike leader, and an urban walk leader. She is also a yoga teacher and leads the Foothills “Yoga for Hikers, Backpackers, and Trail Runners” course. She studied with the Kripalu School for Mindful Outdoor Leadership and is a certified Kripalu Mindful Outdoor Guide. Lori tries to bring some mindfulness into each Mountaineers activity she leads and hopes to lead more Mindful Outdoor Experiences with The Mountaineers.
Lyra Pierotti
Lyra Pierotti is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Lyra is a Functional Range Conditioning Mobility Specialist, has trained with the Postural Restoration Institute and studied movement through Anatomy Trains. In the realm of guiding mountains, Lyra is also an AMGA Rock and Alpine Guide, certified through the American Mountain Guides Association, as well as an Assistant Ski Guide. She holds her Pro 2 Level Avalanche Certificate from the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE). She is a Course Leader for recreational avalanche courses, and on staff with AIARE as an instructor trainer.Lyra has guided expeditions all over the world, including Yosemite Valley, the North Cascades, and several of the Seven Summits. Her long resume also includes working in technical field support for scientists in Antarctica, as an Adjunct Instructor for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and teaching mountaineering skills to high school girls with the Inspiring Girls Expeditions program. On “rest” days, Lyra works as a freelance writer and coaches climbers and mountain athletes at local climbing gyms to help them improve movement economy and mobility.
Moleek Busby
Moleek Busby is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. A jack of all trades and master of some, he started his career in trail work with the California Conservation Corps. After college and music projects in Chico, CA, Moleek returned to conservation, working nine years for the Student Conservation Association and moving up the ranks. As the Field Operations Senior Manager for the Washington Trails Association, he has oversight of the trail maintenance risk management information system. Moleek is also on the Wilderness Risk Management steering committee, the North West Outward Bounds safety committee and an ambassador for the Mountain Mind Project. When he is not making public lands safe for Washingtonians, Moleek enjoys creating music, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, archery, car "glamping" and getting some trail work in. He is a life-long advocate for marginalized people to have ownership in their space and to feel safe volunteering and recreating on public lands.
Tom Unger
Tom Unger grew up in Michigan, family camping and messing around in small boats on rivers and big lakes. In 1989 he moved to Seattle to be near mountains and the ocean. In 1993 he joined the mountaineers, got equivalency for basic climbing, completed the intermediate climbing course, and became a climb leader. That started his 3 decade carrier of exploring the outdoors in various modes, including:
- hiking and backpacking, especially traverses in the Sierra
- crag and alpine climbing
- backcountry skiing
- canyoneering in Utah
- sailing in the great lakes and Salish sea
- scuba diving in Puget sound and the tropics
- flying small planes here and in the Idaho and Utah backcountry
- canoeing and packrafting locally and in the arctic
- sea kayaking in the Salish sea and the coast of Candida and Alaska