Our Team
It takes a village to run The Cairn Project.
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Our Staff
Trailblazer Community Manager
Angie Marie
Angie Marie finds joy everyday in her multi-hyphenate work as a freelance marketer, author, speaker, and podcast host. Fueled by her nonprofit background in facilitating outdoor experiences with underserved communities, Angie seeks to inspire women and youth girls to think and act adventurously by using lessons from nature to amplify their voices and pursue their passions.
Angie grew up in Massachusetts where she spent her days exploring the woods on her family property. Since then, she’s completed endurance feats she never thought were possible for herself, and calls the Cascade Mountains home. As a recreational mountain athlete who’s fascinated by the intersection of adventure and womanhood, Angie hopes to encourage a happier, healthier, and more adventurous world for all.
washington
Industry & Operations Specialist
Roxy Dawson
Roxanne Dawson was born and raised on the east coast but found her true stride rolling around the west in a van. She is part community manager, part journalist, part editor and now splits her time between her van and Golden, Colorado, where she lives with her husband, adventure pup, and son. She is most alive when her community is close, the environment is thriving, and nature is truly accessed by all that wish to enjoy it.
Colorado
Executive Director of the Summit Scholarship and Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure
Sunny Stroeer
Sunny is a professional mountain athlete, outdoor industry leader, and advocate for gender equity in adventure. She began leading multi-day backcountry trips as a student at Harvard College, later earning an MBA from Harvard Business School and working as a management consultant while simultaneously developing her mountaineering and endurance skill set. In 2015, she left the corporate world to dedicate herself full-time to climbing, ultra-endurance pursuits, and expanding access to the outdoors for women and gender-diverse adventurers.
Sunny is the founder of the Summit Scholarship Foundation, which merged with The Cairn Project to create the GEA Alliance—a nonprofit dedicated to advancing gender equity through transformative adventure opportunities. Through her leadership, the GEA Alliance continues the mission of breaking down barriers for women and girls in the outdoors.
To learn more about her work and advocacy, visit www.sunnystroeer.com.
UTAH
Director and FOUNDER
Alison Wright
A San Francisco native, Alison grew up in a family that enjoyed the privilege of outdoor access – many memories were made in California’s iconic mountain and coastal landscapes. Alison has spent her career in the philanthropic sector, advancing initiatives for justice and empowerment internationally and closer to home. In addition to her leadership at The Cairn Project, she is Executive Director of the Environmental Defenders Collaborative, channeling support to frontline environmental activists around the world.
Alison is a board member of the AWE Summit Scholarship Foundation and Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide; she holds a BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a JD from Seattle University School of Law. Alison lives with her family in northern California.
California
Our Advisory Board
board member & 2018 ambassador
Liz Pham
Hailing from the prairie lands of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Liz Pham is an American-Vietnamese adventure woman, who enjoys climbing, hiking, and mountain biking. Liz was first introduced to climbing at a local gym after making the move to Minneapolis, MN five years ago. This was the catalyst to her adventures into outdoor climbing and beyond.
With a B.A. biology, art, and psychology from Augustana College, Liz has spent her career helping organizations create agile processes and products that focus on people first. She currently works as an IT Manager for a software services company. Previously, Liz owned and operated an urban agriculture business growing and distributing bean sprouts in South Dakota.
“I’ve always known I wanted to help others, but never knew exactly how. What I do know is that I enjoy mentoring and learning from others. When rock climbing came into my life, it became a space for me to connect with others, especially women. I want to empower women through rock climbing and the outdoors.”
MINNESOTA
board membeR
Laura Wildenborg
A lifelong student of nature, Laura Wildenborg grew up climbing the limestone of southeastern Minnesota, paddling the backwaters of the Mississippi, and refining the skill of building a one-match fire. Equipped with a B.A. in Environmental Studies from College of St. Benedict and well-honed expertise in outdoor education, Laura introduces students to the outdoors as a field instructor at the Red Wing Environmental Learning Center. As an Ambassador for The Cairn Project in 2018, Laura completed a 10-day canoeing trip on the Bloodvein River in Manitoba as an adventure fundraiser.
“The value of shared outdoor experiences can be measured in increased self-confidence, environmental appreciation, and lasting friendships. The Cairn Project extends that value by enabling more girls across the country to access outdoor programs.”
Minnesota
board membeR
Olivia Grev
A Minnesota native, Olivia calls Minneapolis home, where she lives just four blocks from Lake of the Isles. Olivia works at West Monroe Partners, an employee-owned management consulting firm, where she advises companies in the consumer and industrial products industries. While her work travels have taken her on adventures all around the country, her passion for the outdoors was first sparked at a young age during family trips to the Rockies. Olivia is an avid skier, hiker, backpacker, and cyclist. If Olivia isn’t outside, you’ll find her baking or exploring breweries and coffee shops.
“My experiences in the outdoors have helped shaped my values and empowered me to become who I am today. I want all young girls to have the opportunity to experience what the outdoors has to offer for them.”
Minnesota
Community Engagement Coordinator
Lucia Tonachel
Lucia Tonachel is a farmer, educator, and activist who lives and runs in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Equitable redistribution of access to both wild spaces and nourishing, local food are central to Lucia’s work both on and off the farm. Originally from urban Massachusetts, Lucia earned her B.A. in Anthropology and Global Studies from Grinnell College in Iowa. Lucia fell in love with running on the rolling farm roads outside Grinnell, where she trained and fundraised through a blustery Iowa winter for her first marathon as a Cairn Project Ambassador.
Vermont
Associate Director and FOUNDER
Sarah Castle
Sarah Castle grew up in a small mountain town west of Denver, Colorado, and has spent most of her adult life a stone’s throw away from the Rocky Mountains. Though she held a fascination for wild places at a young age, it wasn’t until late high school that she became captivated by the high elevations and unbeaten paths of the mountains in her backyard.
Merging her love for both exploration and grit, Sarah pursued a career in soil science, studying the effects of global change and land use on natural and managed ecosystems. Currently living in Saint Paul, Minnesota, you’re likely to find her either trail running or logging one of many 70mi. weekend bike rides. Sarah holds B.A. and M.S. degrees from the University of Colorado and a Ph.D. from the University of Montana.
California
Posts From Our Team
Van Life and Three Sisters: Meet Roxy Dawson
Roxanne Dawson
Bikepack: The Maah Daah Hey Trail
Sarah Castle
Backpack: Trans-Catalina Trail
Alison Wright
Lessons in “Can Do”
Alison Wright