Quality Leadership
Our competitive hiring process ensures ARCC students receive the finest quality leadership in the industry. Our leaders inspire, motivate, and set a positive example that lasts far beyond the summer’s end.
Leadership
ARCC boasts over a fifty percent return rate for staff, which speaks highly for the quality of leadership, students, and programs. Ranging from 21-32 years old, our leaders have extensive experience in team leading, adventure travel, marine biology, service, and language.
Selection
ARCC’s outstanding reputation in the adventure travel industry brings us hundreds of staff applications each year. We take careful steps to ensure we hire the most qualified leaders with extraordinary character and experience. Leaders must pass rigorous background checks in order to work for ARCC.
Training
Each ARCC leader has a minimum of 80 hours of training in Emergency Wilderness Medicine and many of our leaders are Emergency Medical Technicians with over 120 hours of emergency medical training. In addition to the multitude of experiences our leaders bring to ARCC, each leader is required to attend our nine day intensive staff training which focuses on safety, group dynamics, logistics, communications, protocols, and emergency procedures.
Meet Some of our Leaders
Carson Christiano
- Leader Since: 2005
- Trip as Student: Australia/Fiji
- Trips as Leader: Southern Europe, Fiji Service, Peru Service
- Education: New Trier High School, Northwestern University, University of California, Berkeley
As a high school student, Carson participated on ARCC’s Australia/Fiji program. This experience not only sparked her interest in the outdoors, but also gave her a new passion for world travel and cultural exploration. After graduating from Northwestern University in 2005, she spent two years teaching English in Thailand. Carson began a Masters of Public Policy program at UC Berkeley in the fall of 2007.
“One of my very favorite ARCC memories took place during our last night on Amantani, a remote inhabited island in Lake Titicaca, Peru. We had grown close to our host families there, and our entire group was sad to say farewell to the beautiful men, women, and children whom so graciously shared their lives and customs with us for three nights. For our final celebration, our hosts dressed us each in authentic and colorful Andean attire and put on a spectacular dance and music show, giving us the taste of real Peruvian culture. Our entire group beamed with smiles, realizing that this was an experience most are not lucky enough to experience in a lifetime.”
Zach Gilford
- Leader Since: 2003
- Trips: Alaska Expedition, Hawaii, California, Western, Australia/New Zealand, British Columbia, Costa Rica Service
- Education: Northwestern University
Zach’s summers leading ARCC students help prepare him for his starring role on NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” as a high school junior. Zach plays the Dillon Panther’s quarterback, Matt Serason, on this popular prime-time show that airs Friday nights. Zach earned a degree in Performing Arts and Education from Northwestern University. Each summer he returns to ARCC where he utilizes his extraordinary talent as an outdoor educator!
“One of my favorite ARCC memories was trekking up over an Alaskan tundra pass. We were greeted by a herd of caribou and views of glaciated river valleys below. We looked down to see the highlight of our adventure, a snowfield. Our group spent the afternoon glissading through this snowfield, laughing all the while. Traveling off trail for the past six days, it was clear that we had this playground all to ourselves.”
Ashley Hartz
- Leader Since: 2005
- Trips: Whistler, Australia/Fiji Service, Thailand Service
- Education: Wellesley College, University of San Francisco
Ashley’s broad background in adventure education and community service throughout the world includes volunteering at an education center for migrant children in India and completing a NOLS Australia Outback course. Her vast experience paired with her energy and enthusiasm for teaching students makes her a strong positive role model. A graduate of Wellesley College, Ashley recently moved to San Francisco where she is earning her Masters in Education from the University of San Francisco.
“My group was preparing to go to the tiny Fijian island of Nawaisomo where we would live with the local community and complete a service project. My students were definitely a bit nervous about the cultural differences, but as our small, wooden outboard boat chugged up to the island, we saw the entire village crowded on the beach waiting for us, waving, with the biggest smiles I have ever seen. Their warm welcome was just the beginning, and, for the next two weeks, we felt like this remote South Pacific island was home.”
Eric Brown
- ARCC Leader Since: 2006
- Trips: Costa Rica Service, Hawaii, California, Rocky Mountain Leadership, Alaska Expedition
- Education: Princeton University
Eric first started leading trips when he served as a guide for freshman orientation groups while earning a degree in Anthropology from Princeton University. After completing a NOLS Himalaya Mountaineering Course, Eric knew that he wanted to have the same impact on students that his instructors had on him. He believes strongly in the power of the wilderness, which helps students achieve things they never thought possible.
“One of my favorite ARCC memories was on the last night of the Hawaii trip last summer. We stuffed ourselves with the celebratory final feast, and then played games until we collapsed under a sky of stars on the beautiful deserted beach. Our group grew to be more than just friends over the course of the trip, we were family, and nobody could bring themselves to say goodnight, knowing this would be our last time all together listening to the sound of the ocean and feeling the warm breeze of a Hawaiian night.”
Erin Sanborn
- Leader Since: 2005
- Trip as Student: Western, Australia/Fiji
- Trips as Leader: Hawaii, Hawaii Blue, Ecuador/Galapagos, British Columbia, Whistler
- Education: Boston College
Erin’s life was forever changed on her ARCC Western Adventure when she was 16, where she gained leadership skills, confidence, and friendships that she still values today. Erin also participated on the Australia/Fiji trip, which furthered her love of travel and discovery of new cultures. After college she returned to ARCC as a trip leader, sharing the same passion for the outdoors that she learned as an ARCC student. Erin is currently enjoying one last winter in Colorado working as an adaptive ski instructor before beginning law school in Seattle next fall.
“The amazing group of teenagers on my Ecuador Service trip was excited but anxious for our service project in Pioculin, a remote Amazonian village. We were the first of the four ARCC groups to work on the project of building the school teacher a home. The teacher had to walk two hours each way to and from school before our groups built him this home! The four days we spent building in Pioculin were surreal, our already tight-knit group grew even closer, and as we leveled the ground and put up the frame for his house, the sound of laughter, teamwork, and encouragement resonated throughout the air. It was truly amazing and inspirational to see what happened in the four days our group was there, and all of our students felt extremely proud of their accomplishments. The village and teacher’s appreciation for our hard work was not unnoticed and they thanked us with a festive party full of Ecuadorian desserts and music. It was a night I am sure nobody will ever forget.”