2019 Admin Leadership Team
Meet our 2019 Admin Leadership Team
Katie Christensen
Unit Leader / Unit 1, 3rd Year Staff Member
Utah State University — Elementary Education
Katie is back for her third summer at Roughing It! She has been an amazing counselor for the KP group for the past two summers and is excited to be coming back! This summer we’re excited to have her join our Admin staff as a Unit Leader! Katie just finished her junior year at Utah State University studying Elementary Education. Over this past school year she was put into an elementary school classroom and gained some great experience in teaching. In the past she has also helped raise guide dogs as well as participated in youth events with her church. Welcome back Katie!
Samuel "Sam" Anderson
Unit Leader / Unit 2, 4th Year Staff Member
University of Colorado, Boulder – Journalism, Political science minor
Sam is coming back for his fourth summer at Roughing It! He started in 2015 as our Outdoors counselor and did a great job stepping up to the group counselor role when we needed it. The next summer he came back as the B1 group counselor and did an amazing job! In 2017 he joined our Admin staff as the Unit 1 Leader and was a great role model for staff and campers with his high energy and camp spirit. Sam graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a degree in Journalism with a minor in Political Science. He’s excited to be back at camp this summer as our Unit Leader again! Welcome back Sam!
Danni McDonagh
Assistant Program Director, 3rd Year Staff Member
University of San Diego — Political Science, minor in English
Danni is coming back to camp this summer! This year will be Danni’s third year on staff here at Roughing It but before that she was part of our Junior Counselor program for a year. We are really excited for her to join our Admin staff as the Assistant Program Director this summer! The previous two summers she was the G3 Group Counselor and did such an amazing job. Her high energy and camp spirit really reflected on her camper group and other staff members as well. This spring she is graduating from the University of San Diego with a major in Political Science and a minor in English on a Pre-Law track! Congrats on graduating Danni, and welcome back!!
Isaac Fayman
CampPlus Coordinator / 1st Year Staff Member
Loyola Marymount University – Psychology major
Welcome to the Roughing It staff, Isaac! A former Roughing it camper, he is bringing his best camp spirit to the staff as this year’s CampPlus Coordinator. Isaac attends Loyola Marymount University, where he is a founding father of the LMU Delta Upsilon Chapter. This summer, he aims to help the office run smoothly!
Trevor Nelson
G.R.I.T. and Assistant Unit Leader, 2nd Year Staff Member
Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo — Parks, Recreation and Tourism Administration
Trevor is coming back to camp this summer! This will be his second summer at Roughing It and as a group counselor. Last summer he was the B3 group counselor and did a great job! He really encouraged teamwork and collaboration between his campers and helped them accomplish a lot of great GRIT challenges together! Trevor currently attends Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo studying Parks, Recreation and Tourism Administration. Trevor has worked with kids in the past with his church youth group. In his spare time he loves playing music, he plays eight different instruments! He also really enjoys sports mainly lacrosse, basketball and football. Welcome back Trevor!
Rose Tuttle
Group Counselor (Assistant Unit Leader), 2nd Year Staff Member
Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo — Business
Rose is coming back for her second summer at Roughing It! She was the G4 group counselor last summer and is so excited to be back! With her past experience in child care and leadership skills through nannying and coaching swimming it came to no surprise she was an amazing counselor. Rose just finished up her 2nd year at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo studying business and made the Dean’s list for her high GPA. She was also recently made VP of Membership Recruitment for the Cal Poly Entrepreneurship Club. She’s happy and excited to be back at Roughing It this summer and we are so happy to have her on staff again!
Anna Hennessy
Swim Director, 4th Year Staff Member
Willamette University — International Studies, Economics minor
Anna is back for her fourth summer here at Roughing It! We are excited to have her as our Swim Director after her amazing job as Assistant Swim Director and Swim Club Director the past two summers. She recently graduated from Willamette University with a major in International Studies and a minor in Economics. In her spare time she loves singing and spending time with family and friends. She can’t wait to get back to camp to help campers keep working on their strokes and to help keep the pool safe and fun!
Jenna Olson
Assistant Swim Director & Swim Club Director, 3rd Year Staff Member
Humboldt State University — Soil Science & Rangeland Resources
Jenna is coming back to Roughing It for her third summer! The past two summers Jenna has done an amazing job as a swim counselor and we are so lucky to have her back. She’ll be stepping up this summer into an Admin position as the Assistant Swim Director and the Swim Club director as well! Jenna just finished her 3rd year at Humboldt State University studying Soil Science and Rangeland Resources. She loves being outdoors and spending time with family. Jenna is excited for camp this summer and to see all the returning campers and to meet all the new ones too!
Benjamin "Ben" Coburn
Waterfront Director, 2nd Year Staff Member
University of Colorado, Boulder — Business Administration
Ben is returning for his second year here at Roughing It! Last summer he was a Group Counselor and this summer he’s joining our Admin staff as Waterfront Director! His previous experiences in student government and varsity sports during high school translated well into leadership and teamwork skills fit for camp. Ben just finished his sophomore year at the University of Colorado, Boulder where he studies Business Administration with an emphasis in finance. In his spare time he likes to go skiing up in the mountains and play basketball with his friends.
Jeffrey Witney
Waterfront Assistant Director / Kayak Counselor, 2nd Year Staff Member
Carleton College — Biology
Jeffrey is coming back to camp this summer! This will be Jeffrey’s second summer on staff here at Roughing It but his sixth year total! Before joining staff last summer he was a camper for four years including one year as a junior counselor. Last summer he was part of our swim staff and did an amazing job, and this summer he’ll be coming back to be our Waterfront Assistant Director and the Kayaking Counselor for older campers! Jeffrey just finished his first year at Carleton College studying biology with intent to become a doctor. He is passionate about baseball and has played for a lot of his life. He currently plays for the Carleton baseball team! We can’t wait to have Jeffrey back on staff this summer!
Joanne "JoJo" Peterson
Horse Programs Coordinator, 5th Year Staff Member
CSU Fresno — Agricultural Studies
Welcome back Jojo, an Alumni Ride Staff member. Jojo was the Saddle Club Director for two summers when she was in college. She has continued to be active in summer camps and in the riding world. She brings years of camp and horse experience. We’re excited to have her help with our riding program, supporting staff in the summer, and overseeing the care of the horse herd year round. Jojo lives in Martinez with her husband and son, Adam.
Sarah Nelson
Horse Day Camp Director, 6th Year Staff Member
UC Davis — English, Latin minor
Sarah is coming back to Roughing It for her sixth summer! She has been an amazing addition to our ride site covering many different positions over the years. She has been our horse groom, Assistant Riding Director, Riding Director and is coming back again as our Horse Day Camp Director! She’s done a great job as the Horse Day Camp Director in previous summers, and at the ride site in general, and we can’t wait to have her back! Sarah graduated from UC Davis with a degree in English and a minor in Latin. She’s worked as a tutor, substitue teacher and an intern at a publishing company and now currently works as a first grade teacher! She’s always had a passion for horses and took riding lessons for six years. Besides horses, she also loves to read, write and play the piano. Welcome back Sarah!!
Katya Sadek
Riding Director, 3rd Year Staff Member
Widener University — Nursing
Katya is coming back to camp this summer! This will be Katya’s third summer at Roughing It and second year on our Riding Staff. Her first summer she was a riding counselor, and last year she stepped up to take on the Outdoor Explorer Director position in our administration staff. She performed very well in both roles and we expect her to do great as our Riding Director this summer! Katya just finished her 3rd year at Widener University as a Nursing major. She plans to become a Trauma Nurse Practitioner after graduating! Welcome back Katya!
Rebecca "Becky" Visser
Assistant Ride Director, 1st Year Staff Member
Utah State University — Veterinary Science
Welcome new staff member Rebecca! We’re really excited to have Becky join our Admin staff as the Assistant Riding Director this summer! She has great experience working with children from her time at her church’s summer camp where she attended for six years then was a counselor for three. She chaperoning around 15 girls of a variety of ages and helped plan, coordinate and execute camp activities. In addition to that, Becky also has extensive experience horseback riding! She has experience across numerous different styles including western, English dressage, English saddle seat, English show jumping, and hunter jumping. She began trail riding when she was just five years old and grew up riding on the trails of Iowa’s country side. She has competed in numerous shows including the Iowa Dressage and Combine Training Championship Show, Schooling Shows, and the Iowa Games. She even received six championship first place awards in English dressage and combine training! We are so excited to have Becky join our Ride Staff and to have her extensive experience with horses and children make a great impact at Roughing It this summer!
