EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

daniela@elevateherco.org

Daniela Wohlwend was born in the Principality of Liechtenstein and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1990. She attended primary school in southern New Hampshire and spent much of her childhood playing in the White Mountains. Daniela received her Bachelors of Art in Photography from Montserrat College of Art, located on the rugged north shore of Boston. While in Boston, Daniela worked for Cerebral Palsy of Massachusetts, which turned into a formative experience that shaped her future career in human service non-profits. Daniela moved to Colorado to attend the University of Denver's prestigious International and Intercultural Communications program and received her Master's in 2010. For the last decade, Daniela has worked in direct service non-profits, most recently as Program Officer at Mountain Resource Center. She is thrilled to be a part of the Chaffee County community and excited to have the opportunity to shape the future of elevateHER.

PROGRAM COORDINATOR

jenny@elevateherco.org

Jenny has been with elevateHER since the fall of 2020. This desert rat hails from Arizona, where she grew up exploring majestic saguaro-filled landscapes and natural wonders like Humphrey’s Peak and the Grand Canyon. She graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in Psychology and Sociology. In 2019 she moved to Colorado and has fallen in love with the small-town charm of Salida.

Jenny is driven by a deep passion for working with youth. She aspires to be a positive role model and a trusted adult in the lives of the individuals she serves. She feels lucky to do work that helps young people build their self-esteem and confidence; seeing elevateHER as a program she needed when she was a young woman navigating middle and high school.

When Jenny first joined the team, she didn't have any prior professional experience working in the outdoor recreation industry but was eager to learn! From rock climbing to white water kayaking, she has had the opportunity to plunge into exhilarating activities, growing and learning right alongside participants, and has cherished every second of it.

When she is not running programs, you can find Jenny traveling, watching stand up comedy that nobody else thinks is funny, whipping up way too much homemade soup or on the trails biking or running with her dog and best friend Sampson.

OUTDOOR MENTOR

alycen@elevateherco.org

Alycen first joined the elevateHER team in 2023. She grew up in Bend, Oregon shredding the PNW powder at Mt.Bachelor and spending summers enjoying the beauty of the Cascade Lakes. She attended Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction where she received a degree in Environmental Science and Outdoor Education with an emphasis in Education. Post-grad she worked in the magical Northern Minnesota landscape of the Boundary Waters expeditioning in canoes, then moving down south to paddle the Rio Grande in Big Bend, Texas. Wanting to be back in the mountains, Alycen fell in love with the small community of Salida, a dream home since first moving to Colorado

Her first experience working with students was in high school, where she was a part of a student advisory council developing and teaching sex-education for the state of Oregon. This led towards a passion of working with students, being a trusted individual that she would have wanted growing up. Being an instructor with Outdoor Wilderness Lab in Gateway, Co opened her eyes to the magic of exploration when learning with the natural environment as another instructor.

While working in the outdoors for most of her professional career, working with ElevateHER has taught Alycen the power of compassion and joy in the outdoors when working with female groups. She has taken the chance to explore new hobbies and learn how to live life with more fun with the students around. There is nothing a smile, sing-along, and glitter that can’t turn any day around.

When not working, Alycen is passionate about rummaging through thrift stores, riding her mountain bike Veruca Salt, learning a new craft, and cooking meals with locally sourced produce!!! She is so thankful to have found a home in the community of the Arkansas Valley.