About Us

Our guides are hand-selected for their skills and interest in sharing the natural world with young people.

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When not guiding Grand Canyon Youth trips, they work as teachers, students, artists, conservationists, and healthcare providers, among other things. Given their sense of humor and ability to facilitate, we are proud to have such talented and conscientious guides leading our trips. Here are some of our dedicated river guides:

Governing Board

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George Bain, President

Sarah Holcomb, Secretary

Ron Hubert, Vice President & Treasurer

Angela Keith, Vice President

Jocelyn Gibbon

Oscar Landa Samano

Kate Morley

Eleanor McDonough

Tom Myers

Maraka Oltrogge

Robert Poirier

Scott Pettitt

Jon Streit

Marieke Taney

Dania Wilson

 

Advisory Council

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Patrick Conley

Helen Ranney

Dave Stilley

Volunteers are essential to the work we do

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We have a lot of opportunities in our office/warehouse for volunteers to come in and help behind the scenes with getting trips out on the water. Volunteers help keep the warehouse working by checking tents, packing sleep kits, and tidying our gear borrowing room. Our volunteers also help out at local community events in Flagstaff and our Annual FUNdraiser, Rivers & Reels Silent Auction and Film Fest.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact our volunteer manager.

We are always looking to grow our amazing Field Staff pool!

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Field Staff at Grand Canyon Youth consists of river guides, hiking guides, expedition leaders, and drivers. Our main program season is March-July but we run programs almost year-round. We do our hiring in the December – February window, but it is never too early or late to send your information in. While we shoot to have all spots filled before our first trip of the season there are regular adjustments made to the schedule to meet programmatic needs throughout the season.

• We do the majority of our river programs on the San Juan River and the Colorado River on the Diamond Down and Lees Ferry sections. We do two Grand Canyon trips each year. Our expedition leader positions are mostly in Canyon de Chelly and paired with a San Juan River program.
• Grand Canyon Youth guides and expedition leaders are outdoor educators. Our primary focus is creating community and opportunities for youth to challenge themselves while exploring the rivers and canyons of the Southwest. We have fun and play in the dirt while also teaching about the places we are travelling through. Additionally, because we are a youth organization we run completely dry trips.
• Responsibilities include but are not limited to: educating participants about the place you are travelling as well as outdoor safety and etiquette; leading hikes; engaging with youth and participating in interpretation; providing needed first-aid and managing/assessing risk; setting-up camp, cooking meals, cleaning dishes, maintaining toilet systems; providing care and repair to boats and equipment; using good judgment and maintaining heart and humor.
• Minimum Requirements: Be 18 years of age or older; Wilderness First Responder, CPR, and Epi Certifications; Food Handler’s Certificate; experience on the sections we boat through; pass a pre-employment background and driving record check and drug test.

• We do a limited number of hiking trips during the season, but we always do two Grand Canyon exchange hikes on Bright Angel Trail.
• Hiking guides are expected to: fulfill lead and sweep hiker responsibilities that include educating participants about hiking safety & etiquette; providing needed first-aid and managing/assessing risks; encouraging participants in order for all to have an enjoyable and safe hike.
• Minimum Requirements: be 21 years of age or older; Wilderness First Responder, CPR, and Epi Certifications; experience hiking on Bright Angel Trail; have a working mobile phone, valid driver’s license, and 5 years driving experience; pass a pre-employment background and driving record check and drug test.

• We do most of the transportation for our programs. This means driving a van with 10-19 year olds for 2-6 hours across the highways of Arizona and Utah.
• Driver responsibilities include: transporting participants to and from their Grand Canyon Youth expedition; and attending to all pre and post drive tasks which include pre-drive safety checks and loading of vehicles, post drive clean-up and fueling vehicles, and gear return and cleaning as necessitated.
• Minimum Requirements: be 21 years of age or older; have a working mobile phone, valid driver’s license, and 5 years driving experience; pass a pre-employment background and driving record check and drug test.

Please contact us if you are interested and we will send you the official job description(s).