our staff
Our staff is the lifeblood of OLE. Meet the men and women who'll set you on the path to a life-changing experience.
Mary Anne, tour maestro
Mary Anne has been with OLE 7 years and has worked in that time on 67 excursions, including 23 custom tours. "The most interesting one was probably the caving tour," Mary Anne says. "The travelers on that one found cave paintings dating back to 1200 AD." When Mary Anne isn't matching OLE customers to excursions, she enjoys playing her guitar, white water rafting, and spending time with her husband, their three daughters, and a naughty Jack Russell Terrier.
Alan, tour maestro
In Alan's 3 years with OLE he has worked on 28 excursions and 13 custom tours. Along the way, he has developed a special interest in hunting parties, which he says "allow our customers to connect to something long-lost, even primal, inside of them." Alan himself has gone on two excursions--and he has the Stamps to prove it. "I joined the OLE team because I believe in our mission," he says. "This isn't just a job for me. It's a way of life." Alan is pursuing an advanced degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management and "enjoying the single life," he says with a laugh.
Chuck, excursion guide
Chuck has led 18 excursions in his four years at OLE. A veteran of the AZ Army, Chuck served on two tours in the Middle West and earned a Medal of Commendation before deciding to bring his considerable outdoor and weaponry skills to OLE. "I definitely see my military training as preparation for my work now," Chuck says. "But these excursions are a pure joy. Really. They're hard work, but the kind of hard work that will save your soul." Chuck enjoys taking his 13-year-old son on hikes and looks forward to the day Jimmy can join him on an excursion. "We talk about it all the time," he says.
Tia, excursion guide
Tia's six years at OLE "have been insane. Good insane," she says. A junior national champion in the women's 50 meter freestyle, Tia was well on the way to adult swim stardom when a car accident and several broken bones forced her rethink her life plan. "I decided that I wasn't going to let that tear me down. I was still young and strong. I'd just point my passion another way." At OLE, Tia often co-leads the Fall Color Tour, though her personal favorite is Ghost Towns of the Old Republic. "I like history, old things," she says. She and her husband, Thad, have a 3-year-old daughter named Berry.
andy, excursion guide
Our most senior guide, Andy has logged in almost 100 excursions. "You wouldn't guess it to look at me, but I'm an idealist," Andy says. "I believe that communing with nature is worth any risk." Andy credits his colorful personal history with making him the man he is today. "I went through the rough patches, the phases," he said. "I felt trapped in this life. Wasn't until I started going out-of-zone that the shackles fell away." But Andy, a family man, believes in smarts and safety, too. "Look, I have a wife and two kids. When you hit the trail with me, you do it knowing that I have a lot to come back home to, too."
HOLLY, excursion guide
"You should have been a fly on the wall at my high school reunion!" says Holly. "If there had been a 'most likely to lead hikes beyond the wall' award, I sure wouldn't have gotten it. 'Most likely to hide out with a book,' yes. So there were some shocked looks, needless to say." So how did this quiet bookish type end up leading a life of adventure? "The two really go together more than you'd think," she says. "I decided I didn't want to just read good stories. I wanted to experience them."