Kate Peters - Riekes Nature Director and Nature Instructor

The most satisfying moments in my life have always involved nature and sharing the mystery and wonder of the natural world with other people. I love teaching and watching sparks of curiosity and excitement light up someones eyes as they learn something new!

My history with the Riekes Nature department goes back to 2001 when I was a student in the first Riekes Nature teen program. During my time in the Riekes Nature program, I also had the opportunity to learn from the Bay Area Tracking Club, the Wilderness Awareness School summer Wolf Tracking programs, the Kamana Naturalist Training Series, Art of Mentoring workshops, Bird Language workshops, the MAPOM primitive skills courses, a 14-weekend wildlife tracking intensive hosted by Mark Elbroch and Jon Young, a California Natural History Field Semester hosted by the Riekes Center, and the CyberTracker International Tracking Evaluation. I am forever grateful to all of the amazing mentors and educators who gave so much of themselves to share all of this awesome knowledge with the world. 

I earned my B.S. in Environmental Science from Humboldt State University, while also experiencing the gorgeous northern ecosystems of giant rivers, salmon, bears, huckleberries, and elk! 

After my time in college, I took a detour into the world of being an EMT and then a Paramedic for several years in the Bay Area and then in Fresno. I learned so much from seeing into the lives of all of my patients and came out of the experience with a much deeper love and appreciation for human beings. 

It is a joy and a privilege to be working with the Riekes Center!

Lindsey VanderMolen

Lindsey grew up in Renton, Washington, not far from where she graduated college at the University of Washington, Seattle where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science. After graduating, Lindsey worked for the US Forest Service in Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument where she explored post-volcanic ecosystems and learned about bats. Her next field season was spent as a Wilderness Ranger in the Eastern Sierras where she backpacked and helped visitors navigate backcountry.

After working in the mountains, she returned to the coast and moved to San Luis Obispo where she enjoyed rock climbing and going to the beach. She later served a term with AmeriCorps teaching young people in the Central Valley about sustainable agriculture and natural spaces in their community. In her free time, Lindsey enjoys rock climbing, drawing, and exploring the wilderness.

Sarah Mohn - Nature Instructor

Born and raised in San Jose, I grew up exploring the santa cruz mountains and eastern sierras and cultivating my love for the earth and desire to work outdoors. I later moved to San Francisco, where I graduated SFSU with a degree in Child Development and a minor in Women and Gender Studies. I was an art teacher for a while and loving it, but I realized the city was no longer serving me, so I turned to Santa Cruz-and am now livin my best life working part time as an outdoor educator and a part time artist. 

My main goal working in outdoor ed is cultivating a love for the earth in kiddos, and in turn helping them understand the importance of and value in protecting and forming a deep connection with nature. I thrive outside because there’s always something to learn, explore, investigate, and experience with all of your senses. I am so grateful to work with amazing families in the fresh air! Woo! 

When I’m not teaching kiddos, on the hunt for birds and mushrooms and dead stuff and wildflowers, petting any dog I can find, or creating art. I’m currently working on getting a business license for my art, but still find it necessary to work outdoors too so I can continue my personal growth and get kids stoked to be outdoors. 

Greg Williams - Nature Instructor 

Hi Y’all! I’m Greg, I grew up not far from here in a small farming town called, Los Banos. My yearly camping trips to Big Basin, Yosemite, and Kings River are the foundation of my love for nature. I have been teaching or coaching in some form since I was in 5th grade when I started to help instructing karate. After high school I left California to get a B.S. in Biology from a small school in Kansas. My time in Kansas opened me up to entirely new ecosystems and greatly expanded my knowledge of the outdoors. 

After graduating, I returned home to try my hand in public school teaching, where I quickly discovered that it was not a good fit for me. I then moved to the bay area and worked in a Microbiology lab, until I realized I needed to find a job that let me be outside. That is when I found Riekes, and my passion for teaching was instantly reignited. I can’t wait to share some of my experiences with you, and to make many more great ones! 

Valentine Hemingway - Nature Instructor

I have a varied background, from farm laborer to working with non-profits to education and many things in between. My undergraduate education is in anthropology and graduate research is in ecology and evolutionary biology. While I was in my grad program I heard glowing reports about the Riekes Nature program from a colleague whose child was in the program. When my child was ready, I enrolled him and he loved it. Over the next few years I was pulled in more and more until I became an instructor. 

I love teaching and being outdoors, witnessing people flourish, and helping others explore the wonder of nature. I also spend a lot of time homeschooling my own children and enjoying this very full season of life.

Austin Balfany

“The things I value most in life are my people and my places. I connect to people in places I love and experience places with the people I love”

Originally from a suburb of Minneapolis, MN, I graduated with a degree in Outdoor Education from Northland College in 2017. Since then there have been very few days I have not been able to put my passion for the outdoors and building community to good use.

My career in the outdoors has grown from teaching classes with Smokey the Bear in Colorado, to leading month-long backpacking trips in Big Sur, to living in the Oregon desert with a wilderness therapy program. The lessons I've learned from these people and places have given me the knowledge I needed to thrive in the Riekes Nature program.

I continue to learn from the people I meet here and the places I’m in every day.

Amanda Bell - Santa Cruz Forest School Manager and Nature Instructor

Passionate about child-led early education and connecting with nature, I find great joy working with forest school. My favorite parts include slowing down on the trails, looking for mushrooms, bugs and flowers with the children. I also enjoy watching the kids grow more comfortable and confident, learning to communicate with their peers.

My love of being outdoors developed at an early age with a big backyard playspace and family camping trips in southern Missouri. During college I studied geology, and was fortunate to explore many parts of the country-from the National Parks in the desert southwest to glacier-covered mountains in Alaska to coral reefs in the Florida Keys-all from the perspective of learning about the natural environment and geologic history. I bring my love of science to the children at the Santa Cruz Forest School in a natural, wonder-inspired way.

Since college I've worked at a natural foods co-op, a hands-on science museum, and in the elementary schools of Ohio. After starting a family, I taught Environmental Science online to college students while enjoying time at home with my own two children. Forest School came along for me just as my children (now teens) were settling into their own school routines. I'm excited to join the Riekes Nature team to bring more forest school to young children!

Bryan Keohane - Nature Instructor

Hello hello! I am thrilled to be a nature instructor for the Riekes Center! I was born and raised in Palo Alto, CA and attended the University of Oregon where I graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and double-minored in Geology and Geography. I have always had a deep affinity for the outdoors and the wonders that can be found in them. I am enamored with all forms of outdoor recreation and spend much of my free time outside. 

While in highschool, I began commercial fishing for salmon both in the Aleutian islands and southeast Alaska. It was a tough but beautiful existence, although the hours were grueling, the landscapes, sunsets and creatures eclipsed the tiredness. After graduating from college, I decided I wanted to try my hand at field research, more specifically stream science. I worked three summers in the Pacific Northwest, one summer in Montana and most recently one summer in South Lake Tahoe. Bushwhacking and backpacking to these amazing streams and rivers was magnificent, however I felt like something was missing. 

In between my seasonal jobs I worked for Hidden Villa as an outdoor instructor, and the missing piece was found. Whether it was romping through streams, kissing banana slugs, or investigating scat, they were always in wonder and awe of the environment they were within. Working with the kiddos gave me so much joy, and I realized that these little ones were the key to preserving our natural landscapes. I am ecstatic to be able to teach again and can not wait to do some exploring!

Isaac Boss - Nature Instructor

Growing up, Isaac was a shy, homeschooled kid and didn’t really like doing any group activities. Then, one pivotal day in 2009, he joined the Riekes Kestrels program and fell in love with it. Kestrels helped Isaac to spread the wings he didn’t know he had and lay down the foundation for who he is today. 

Following the trail he was now on, he joined the Teen program to continue his life-long journey. On one of the Teen campouts, an instructor challenged the whole class to make a fire-by-friction kit without using a knife. Isaac took that to heart and set it as a goal for himself. Three years later, he had finally completed his goal and he became one of the first Riekes students to become a “Paleo” Fire Keeper without first becoming a Fire Keeper. That moment became one of his proudest accomplishments to this day.

While still in the Teen program, Isaac started to work as an assistant instructor for the Nest-to-Fledge Riekes Nature program in 2014. The semester after he graduated from the Teen program, he decided to give school a try. Skipping grades K-12, he first stepped foot into a "proper" classroom in 2019 at City College of San Francisco, studying part-time with the goal of transferring to get a Bachelor's degree in Earth Sciences. But still wanting to pursue his nature studies, he also became a part-time instructor for Riekes Nature Awareness.

Chunyao Huang: Since I was young, I developed a passion for nature. As a child, I spent my holidays in my hometown with my sister and cousins and here we climbed the hills, ate wild berries and caught small fish and shrimp in canals where bananas were planted.

I earned my B.S. in environmental science at UC Berkeley and there I also acquired knowledge about natural history. I love to interact with youth groups and I always play with and take care of my cousins at home. I have a passion for delivering nature knowledge to youth and I enjoy engaging with them as they grow and learn in nature!

Derek Webb

From all the numerous hobbies available to me as a child, my love for nature was immediately recognized by my parents, and I was whisked away into cub scouts. That love grew as I continued up through Boy Scouts and ultimately wound up leading the entire troop as Senior Patrol Leader. Through this time I garnered great experiences teaching younger kids and inspiring them with my starry-eyed appreciation for the great outdoors.

Although my love of nature called to me and I strongly considered becoming a marine biologist or anything else related to biology, I also needed to understand what made humans work the way we do. I thus earned my BA in Psychology at the University of California Davis.

A few years after college I learned that I am able to form a mutually respectful rapport with kids very effectively and decided to become an educator. I worked for the Palo Alto School District for several years, joining the behavioral team early on. At the same time I learned about our educational system and how neuroscience tells us how humans learn best through my partnership with the non-profit organization the “Kuriosity Lab.”

Through the combination of my love of nature, my ability to work with students, and my disillusionment with the ‘traditional’ education system, I have found what feels like a perfect fit here at Riekes. I honestly have a dream that I may find a way to change education for the better. It’s no small thing for me to say that I feel Gary Riekes has built a dream that aligns so well with my own.

Thank you Gary!

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” - John Muir