From ice climbing to canyoneering, Berkeley is happiest when trying a new outdoor activity and soaking up some sunshine. Before joining the AAC team, Berkeley worked in fundraising and program management for women's empowerment related nonprofits and got degrees in physics, history, and public service. Now that she's at the AAC, she's stoked to combine her love of climbing with her experience in fundraising, and is excited to support the climbing community through our grants program

Aaron is originally from Southern California and now resides in upstate New York managing the Gunks campground. Even with over 15 years of climbing experience all over the country, you can still find him at the crag just as stoked as ever. Aside from climbing, he is also an avid skier, backpacker, and swimmer. Stop by the Gunks campground and say hi!

Allyssa Burnley, originally from Rochester, NY, serves as the Lodging Director at the American Alpine Club, bringing with her a wealth of transferrable skillsets from her previous seven-year tenure in Human Resources. In her role, Allyssa oversees facility operations across the club's six national locations, with a strong emphasis on creating welcoming environments that foster a sense of community among visitors and guests alike.

Outside of work, Allyssa enjoys all forms of outdoor recreation and finds joy in various forms of climbing - though she holds a special fondness for aesthetic sport climbs. Places that hold a special place in her heart include a myriad of places in the Adirondacks, Rumney, Ten Sleep, Grand Tetons and El Potrero Chico. Outside of recreation, she finds solace in the simple things like throwing the ball for her dog, Colden, the smell of rain on the trees or hot pavement, and sipping coffee to the sound of the birds during slow mornings.

Gabe was born and raised in Colorado Springs. From a young age, Gabe developed a sense for adventure in the mountains while following his dad on wild mountaineering and extreme off roading escapades through the Colorado backcountry.

As a young adult, Gabe studied physics and eventually pivoted into data and software where he worked for half a decade with large corporations and technology starts ups. After shifting his career to be more outdoor recreation focused, he enjoys helping other people take part in what the mountains have to offer and loves combining his background in sciences and mountaineering as a way to explore our natural world and as a method for gaining perspective in life.

Eddie started at the AAC as volunteer, leading the Cascade Section in Washington State. He has a strong background in the outdoor industry both in the non-profit world and retail sector. As a former guide/instructor, brand manager, and outdoor program director, he has a diverse set of professional experiences and instinctively seeks to make the climbing world inclusive to all.

He cut his teeth climbing in the North Cascades while at Pacific Lutheran University, and has subsequently climbed throughout the world. Eddie is based out of Seattle, Washington and loves climbing everything including sunny boulders, tall mountains, and frozen waterfalls. Much of his time now is spent adventuring with his two sons Evan and Anderson.

After growing up in the climbing desert that is the Chicago suburbs, Katie fell in love with climbing on Missouri choss and Arkansas sandstone during undergrad at the University of Missouri, where she studied mass media communication and Spanish. Following a yearlong cross-country journey driving the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, she fulfilled a lifelong dream of moving to Colorado and settled in Golden, where she worked in the brewing industry for a few years before finding her way to the AAC. In her free time, she enjoys (almost) all disciplines of climbing, traveling to climb new rocks and occasionally strapping into skies or hopping on her bike.

Elias is an avid mountain biker and splitboarder/telemark skier whose passion for adventuring outdoors is deeper than a healthy cascadian snowpack. He calls the pacific northwest home, and when it's not snowing you'll find him on his skis in the rain.

Byron is a life-long climber that holds a Juris Doctor from The University of Tulsa College of Law. He spent over 23 years as an officer in the U.S. Army, and draws heavily on those experiences to advocate for outdoor recreation opportunities with governmental agencies. Having lived all over the world, he now lives in the heart of Cherokee Nation calling Tahlequah, OK home. Byron and his wife and kids spend their time exploring the Ozark Plateau looking for new climbing and mountain biking adventures.

Ila was born and raised in the Midwest. Her need for adventure stemmed from traveling and backpacking around Central and South America with her family from a young age. Years later, after graduating with a BA in Medicinal Plant Chemistry, she packed her bags and moved out West to pursue her passions in backcountry exploration. Working seasonal jobs in the Tetons has led her to an inspiring community of outdoor enthusiasts, allowing her to fulfill these mountainous ambitions through climbing, mountaineering, and trail running. Her love for Grand Teton National Park paved her way to the AAC where she gets to share the park's unique beauty and epic adventure offerings with everyone who passes through the Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch.

Shane Johnson—Vice President Marketing & Communications

Shane grew up in Columbus, Ohio and was exposed to climbing at an early age through trips to the local climbing gym and a mentor that taught him to climb in the Red River Gorge and New River Gorge. During high school, a summer long trip to Colorado cemented his love for the outdoors and solidified his goal to move "out West." After graduation from Syracuse University with a B.S. in Marketing Management, he moved to Golden, Colorado to pursue his passion for climbing and the outdoors. Since moving to Golden he has developed a penchant for long, demanding days in the mountains. Before joining the AAC, he worked as a manager at Bent Gate Mountaineering and the Marketing Coordinator at Rab. If he's not out climbing during his free time, he's focused on spending time with his wife, two sons and two dogs.

Jane started rock climbing in 2018 and almost immediately moved to Miguel’s pizza for the climbing season. Aside from the captivating movement, and the joy of being outdoors, she fell in love with climbing for the communities that gather around it. Now that she has a permanent home in The New River Gorge, Jane is thrilled to be serving that community through her work with the AAC.

Dougald MacDonald—Executive Editor

Dougald MacDonald has been a full-time climbing journalist since the mid-1990s. In addition to writing a book about Longs Peak and countless print and online articles, he has worked as Editor and Publisher of Rock & Ice magazine, Editorial Director for Climbing and Urban Climber, and now Executive Editor of the AAC. In this position, he is responsible for the American Alpine Journal and Accidents in North American Climbing, as well as the club's publications website. Dougald has been climbing for more than 35 years and still enjoys just about every aspect of the sport, from bouldering to long alpine routes. He especially loves putting up new routes in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming.

Heidi McDowell - Vice President Development

Heidi hails from sunny California where she was climbing, rafting, and backpacking guide at U.C. Davis. From there she expanded her climbing repertoire in the great PNW, learning actual footwork on slippery basalt and clipping runout bolts at Smith Rock. From 2012 to 2015, she was the AAC Oregon Section Chair, while simultaneously working at the Mountain Shop, the oldest mountaineering gear store in the country. For the past few years, she's crafted events for the AAC. In her downtime she can be found clipping bolts, shredding powder, mountain biking, or hiking in the mountains with her pooch and AAC office dog, Gradie.

Sierra is from upstate New York, where she learned to rock climb, ice climb, ski, and backpack in college. Before working for the AAC, She worked as an ice climbing guide for a season in Alaska and as a freelance writer. Nowadays, she can be found in the Colorado shredding powder and exploring the Rockies. Outside of the Club, her work has been published on Climbing.com and Adirondack Explorer.

Ashlee enjoys spending time outdoors, with her partner and their dogs, drinking tea, smelling all the flowers and trees, nerding out with games, and especially likes trying all the foods. She has worked in management in recreation and the outdoors for nearly ten years. She first began climbing in the Red River Gorge where she later served as the RRGCC's Executive Director. Eventually, she began practicing aerial acrobatics and ran off to join the circus, before nature called her back to the AAC where she has sense remained, her passions and work aligned.

Francine is an enthusiastic professional with a wealth of experience in the outdoor industry, fundraising, and relationship building. Armed with a degree in Environmental Science from Montana State University, she channels her passion into environmental policy advocacy and connecting individuals with the mission of the AAC. Francine enjoys climbing, trail running, backcountry skiing, and engaging in friendly cribbage games when not immersed in her work.

Growing up in rural New York, Chris often escaped to his local crag – the Shawnagunks – to go rock climbing. What began as a strong interest soon blossomed into a full-blown passion and later into a career in the outdoor industry. In the 1990s, Chris worked as a sales manager at Sterling Rope and later as a category buyer at Eastern Mountain Sports. In 2005, he purchased the Boston Rock Gym – the second oldest climbing gym in the United States –which he operated until its closure in 2020. Since then, Chris has served as a consultant to the climbing industry, a climbing guide/instructor and has been helping at the AAC Rumney campground since the 2022 season.

Karyn Perdue - Events Manager

Kelly Pittenger - Vice President Finance & Operations

Kelly joins the American Alpine Club as its Operations Manager and looks forward to bringing her years of experience in nonprofit operations to the Club. She enjoys collaborating with all members of the AAC team and strives to improve operational excellence within the organization.

During her time at Colgate University (Biology, Environmental Studies) and the University of Pennsylvania (Master of Environmental Studies), she explored her passion for wildlife biology and conservation. Here, she utilized her capstone project to research the use of detection dogs for noninvasive wildlife monitoring, spending time tracking moose populations through Adirondack Park. She’s excited to bring this environmental conservation and sustainability background to her work at the Club.

Kelly couldn’t be happier to be living somewhere that aligns with her love for the natural world. When she isn’t working, you’ll likely find her skiing, mountain biking, cooking, and exploring new places with her golden retriever, Bear.

Leigh grew up in Syracuse, New York and attended nearby Hamilton College, where she studied Environmental Science and Geosciences and quickly found her passion for rock climbing and outdoor education. She moved to Colorado in 2018 in search of larger mountains and more sunshine. Her professional background ranges from nonprofits and environmental law to climbing gyms and outdoor education. When not at work, you can find her being active in the mountains (skiing, biking, running) or eating cheese.

Hannah grew up in Concord, New Hampshire, and initially fell in love with the outdoors through hiking and skiing in the White Mountains. She started climbing in the tiny converted racquetball court that was the University of Notre Dame’s bouldering gym, and with her first trip to the Red River Gorge, she was hooked. Since then, she has become even more obsessed with climbing, vacillating between bouldering and sport climbing, and throwing trad into the mix when she is stoked on adventure. Before working for the AAC, she was a writing teacher, and received her master’s degree in Literature and Social Justice from Lehigh University. When she’s not editing commas, hosting the podcast, or crafting articles for the AAC, you can find her at her latest crimpy project or out trail running around Golden, CO.

Alex is a choss goblin that enjoys climbing routes that are 3 stars or lower in quality. He can be found roaming the cliffs and foothills of the Gunks on the days that he is not occupied with caring for the Facilities & Grounds at the Gunks Campground. On his days off he likes to code, shoot his bow at the range or go for a small road trip to Hanging Mountain for some sport climbing or a trip up to Rumney. He was brought to the club after working for 3 years as an Environmental Engineer in the waste Management Industry.

Zak moved to the New River Gorge, from Chattanooga, in 2010. He was drawn by the multitude of unclimbed, world-class routes along the New, Meadow and Gauley rivers. He has developed scores of routes and over a thousand boulder problems across the WV region and the world, with first ascents in 10 countries. He helped organize both the PsicoRoc Competition as well as the NRG Boulder Bounty and was part of the core group who helped design and build the NRG campground. Zak is forever grateful for climbing as it has brought him many lifelong friendships and unforgettable adventures that helped shape who he is and what he believes.

Katie Sauter—Library Director

Katie started volunteering at the AAC Library in 2011 and joined the staff in 2013. She serves as librarian, archivist, and curator for the Club and for the American Mountaineering Museum. She holds a BA in History and Russian Studies from CU-Boulder and a Master’s in Library Science from McGill University. She is also a Certified Archivist. Born and raised in Colorado, she loves exploring the state, its history, and its mountains. Katie enjoys everything found in the AAC Library collections. Her favorite collections are the photographs from early exploration of the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks, the Colorado Mountain Club Collection, and the Nicholas B. Clinch Collection with its many incredible treasures. Here are some recommended books.

Shane is originally from Birmingham, AL and has been living in Colorado since Winter 2020. He obtained his CPA license and spent time at PwC, LLP/Embark People, LLC providing finance and accounting services to public and private clients before joining the American Alpine Club. He was drawn to the American Alpine Club by their longstanding relationship with climbers across the globe and overall impact since inception of the organization. Shane's current hobbies are spending time with family/friends; adventuring throughout Colorado and surrounding states; sport climbing and bouldering.

Shara Zaia is a first-generation Assyrian-American climber, educator, and community organizer based in Denver, CO. After nearly a decade of teaching and advocating for underserved students in early childhood classrooms, she is focusing her advocacy efforts on the climbing community. She is co-founder of Cruxing in Color, a local 501(c)(3) that supports self-identified climbers of color in the Front Range of Colorado. She also works full-time as a Programs Manager at the American Alpine Club where she works with other affinity leaders across the country to continue to shift the culture of climbing towards inclusivity and joy.

Eric is from Pennsylvania where he discovered climbing. He started climbing after a friend took him to a gym about a year after graduating high school. He’s been sold on climbing ever since and even ended up working at that gym. Seven years later and he’s living across the street from Rumney, one of his favorite areas to climb. Eric is also passionate about skiing.