The San Joaquin Outdoor School staff loves the outdoors and teaching children, and lives on site at Jones Gulch (with the exception of the Outdoor School Director and Administrative Assistant). If you are interested in working at the San Joaquin Outdoor School, please visit our employment page. Below is the staff of the 2009-2010 school year.

Dan (Tan Oak) Randrup, Director
Dan is very proud to say that he is a fifth generation Californian, and his roots grow deeply in the San Joaquin Valley. Raised on a farm, Dan learned early about land stewardship. Graduating from Humboldt State University in 1977 with a B.A. in Industrial Arts, Dan returned to the valley to earn his teaching credentials at Fresno State. Dan is in his 21st year of education, 14 of which he spent teaching eighth grade in a self-contained classroom. He is currently enrolled at Stanislaus State working on his Administrative Credential and Masters Degree in Educational Administration. Dan loves the outdoors especially the Central Coast of California. His hobbies include outdoor photography, reading, home improvement projects, and listening to the Blues.

 
Gregory (Grey Wolf) Bahr, Principal
Gregory grew up in the Central Valley in California. He attended Humboldt State University for his Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources. He went to Simpson College in Redding for his teaching credential. Most recently, Gregory graduated from San Francisco State University with a Masters degree in Education Administration, along with an Administrative Credential. Gregory has worked at two other Outdoor Schools: SCICON Outdoor School in Tulare County and Whiskeytown Environmental School in Redding. He also taught science at Steve Garvey Jr. High School in Lindsay for two years. Gregory enjoys learning primitive skills (making fire without matches, animal tracking, shelter building, etc.). In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family hiking and camping in National Parks and Wilderness areas. This is Gregory’s tenth year at San Joaquin Outdoor School.

Leah (Hedgehog) Ricci, Evening Director
Leah grew up in Mendon, New York. She graduated from Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine, with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Environmental Studies. Leah competed in Nordic skiing for four years at Bowdoin, and spent one semester studying abroad in Oulu, Finland. The past two summers, Leah worked for Maine Audubon, as an environmental education intern and a camp educator. It was there that she discovered how rewarding and fun it was to work outside with kids. In her free time, Leah likes to hike, bike, run, ski, and spend time outside. Fortunately, the California coast is a great place to do most of those things!

Lowell (Caiman) Walker

Lowell grew up outside Philadelphia and graduated from Bowdoin College with a double major in Environmental Studies and Government in 2007. He has always enjoyed being outside, beginning with catching insects and crayfish as a child and continuing with wetlands ecology research during two summers at Bowdoin College. He also is almost fluent in Spanish from many years of classes and a semester spent studying in Panama where he discovered his namesake, the spectacled caiman, a crocodilian species that lives in Central and South America. Lowell has taught at outdoor school for almost three years and loves every minute of it. There’s nothing better than teaching about the things he loves in a beautiful place to curious, energetic students. When school is not in session Lowell has been known to lead backpacking and camping trips for teens and middle schoolers anywhere from Yellowstone National Park to New Mexico. Lowell also plays violin, fiddle, and guitar. In his free time, he likes to play music, explore, mountain bike, hike, ski and hang out with the moderately cool naturalist Peat Moss.  Ask him about bugs, he’ll get really excited.

  Cirrus Wood
Cirrus has lived many places, including a miniscule farming town in upstate New York, a ski village in Vermont, a trendy French city on the Mediterranean, the loft of a barn in the Jura, under a tarp in Utah, and briefly in a derelict chicken coop on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River in a coal town that shall remain nameless. He hopes to communicate his love of nature through SJOE and teach kids that learning to appreciate the daily drama of a nettle plant is just as important as watching a herd of elephants on the Serengeti. In his spare time Cirrus enjoys playing the flute, writing, reading, drinking tea, and being presented with colorful boxes of scones by persons unknown to him. While he realizes that the possibility of this last being fulfilled via curious readers of his biography is quite small, he figures it's worth a shot.

Jared (Rio) Baker

Jared has a fond connection with the Santa Cruz mountains, having grown up nearby in the South Bay. He is a Californian and greatly appreciative of his geographic roots. For the moment, however he is reintegrating into the states after teaching and living for the past two years with his 2nd family on Jaluit atoll in the Marshall Islands. He is a very passionate individual devoted to proper treatment of the earth, its life, and the people that inhabit it. Jared enjoys spending time with people, laughing, smiling, and a bunch of activities that are good for his mind, body, and soul. Additionally working at SJOE is bringing Jared full circle with his kinship roots. His father, who grew up in Lodi, attended SJOE in 1958, the school’s inaugural year.

Allison (Sorrel) Hughes
Allison likens herself to a migratory bird. While she's been moving consistently ever since she left the nest, she has made her way back home to the central coast once again. A native of Monterey County, CA, she graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Human Development and a minor in Education. Her wandering tendencies led her to Americorps, a volunteer organization with which she was able to serve communities in the South devastated by Hurricane Katrina. She eventually landed in Western North Carolina where she spent over a year working with Eagle's Nest Foundation. With her intrepid Mighty Max (her 1987 pickup truck) leading the way, she has finally made her way back to the forests and ocean of California in which she spent her formative years. She is so pleased to be doing what she loves in a place she loves.

Molly (Cygnus) Sease

 Sarah (Peat Moss) Clayton
Sarah Clayton was born and raised in a small community of Metro-Detroit Michigan. She spent her youth playing cops and robbers, flashlight tag, capture the flag and many other enjoyable childhood games. During crisp fall days her family would often wonder through nature centers feeding birds and spotting deer. Sarah’s love of the outdoors began at a very early age and blossomed rapidly. Sarah’s interest became a full blown obsession during high school when she was co-founder and President of Walled Lake Centrals Tree Hugging Environmentalist Club, or T.H.E. club. After high school Sarah journeyed to East Lansing where she proudly joined the student body of Michigan State University. At this fine institution Sarah enrolled in James Madison College where she studied Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy. However, her heart yearned for something more and she soon enrolled in a second Major. Her choice was Environmental Science Policy and she thrived in the educational curriculum. During Sarah’s college career she had the wonderful opportunity to travel to New Zealand to study Environmental Policy and tour the country. This brief expedition only spurred on her love of the environment. During the summer of 2007 Sarah lived in Millinocket, Maine where she worked as a Naturalist Intern at Baxter State Park. Sarah remembers fondly the amazing scenery and astounding variety of nature she was able to immerse herself in. After four years of college Sarah was ready for new sites and sounds. She applied for several outdoor education jobs and found herself in La Honda, California on the footsteps of Jones Gulch. While Sarah is miles away from home she is simply in love with her work here and hopes to enliven the love of nature into each student that walks into Da Gulch. The end.

Amy (Polaris) Hutchinson
Amy was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up running back and forth between the soccer field and the stash of chocolate ice cream in the freezer. She graduated from Macalester College in St Paul, MN in 2008 and ventured West in search of tall trees and adventure, which, happily, exist in abundance at SJOE.  Amy loves taking naps, lounging in the sunshine, reading books, singing along with the radio, watching late 90’s slapstick comedy and exploring new places.  

 Fiona (Firefly) MacLean
Fiona MacLean was born on an island off of Massachusetts where her love for the outdoors was nurtured by summers swimming in the ocean and frolicking in the woods. Her goofy disposition and fondness for good company led her to Connecticut College. Once in school Fiona’s education took a winding path through many subjects from French to Experimental Dance to Ancient Philosophy until finally she took an Environmental Studies class. Her love for all things nature was reinforced and from there on out Fiona concentrated on Environmental Sciences and Government Policy. Newly graduated and yearning for adventure after a dull summer of working at home Fiona and her friend Molly took to the road. After a ten day stint of camping, eating ramen without utensils, and being generally disheveled, tired, poor and happy; Fiona and Molly finally reached their destination at San Joaquin Outdoor Education. They have lived happily ever after.

 Lexie (Phoenix) Sabella
Lexie "Phoenix" Sabella was born in Caracas, Venezuela, but grew up in Pleasanton, CA. She attended Wheaton College in Massachusetts with a double major in Classics and Biology. During her studies, she traveled to South Africa, Bhutan, and Central America to experience the extraordinary types of natural beauty the world has to offer. But she couldn't stay away from the redwoods. After working as an assistant director for a science summer camp in Boulder Creek, CA, Lexie decided to continue to share her love of nature with children at SJOE. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and playing her guitar.  Lexie is WEMT certified and is our full-time medic.

Caitlin (Paw Paw) Welsh
Hailing from the suburbs of Southeastern Michigan, Caitlin is an only-slightly-less-than-recent graduate of Indiana University. With her trusty B.A. in English tucked in her back pocket, she has since traveled across the continent – from Massachusetts to California in the span of a year – in pursuit of experientially rewarding employment in the fields of national environmental service and education. Her lifelong love and appreciation of the outdoors serves as a vital link between her professional and personal pursuits, a bond that she hopes to strengthen while wandering through the forests and farmlands of California’s Central Coast. If you have any recommendations for music to accompany her on her explorations, mix CDs (or tapes!) are wholly welcome and can be mailed to her care of Camp Jones Gulch. She will gladly reciprocate.

  Michael (Duff) Salemi

Michael grew up on a cul-de-sac in Illinois.  He spent his childhood swinging from willow branches, building tree houses, and catching fireflies.  Michael meandered away from the cul-de-sac in 2005, and found himself at a camp and conference center in the Cuyamaca Mountains near San Diego.  According to AmeriCorps, he spent a year chopping wood and carrying water.  If you ask him, he'll tell you of desert sunrises, acorn mashing, prickly pear harvests, and sweat lodge séances.   Michael returned to school shortly afterwards and earned a degree in Cultural Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz.  Along the way to a degree, he examined Zulu nationalism and worked on a school fee policy reform project while studying in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.  Michael also worked as a student organizer on behalf of food and labor justice, picked garlic on a coast-side farm, and read a thick book or two.  He speaks a little Spanish, is learning Portuguese, and is picking up a word of Hmong at a time.  When Michael is not sharing his simple love of nature with grade-schoolers, he can be found running betwixt and between tall trees, dancing a jig, chopping vegetables, or listening to ragtime.