Susan Pendergast
Director
Cycles of seasons have grown into two decades since my first encounter with a barefoot band of nature-loving Outside Now founding families and mentors. My daughter and I slipped into the group and discovered our unique pathways back to the heart of nature, hers much like the agile CA Weasel who moves deftly across the land and mine akin to the seaside Silver Lupine who thrives both in stillness and the wind.
My story with nature connection began near the Great Lakes in the 1950s. We got up early, threw on seasonal clothes, gulped down cereal, and headed outside to play…all day…food on the fly…homeward bound when mothers hollered. Coming of Age in the 1960s was a trip into unexplored landscapes, both inner and outer. Imagine a backpack adventure into the Great Smoky Mountains carried out in tennis shoes with an external frame pack that dug grooves into hipbones and iron skillets dangling from belt loops!
My experience of the natural world ended at the Mississippi River until I headed West in the 1970s. The expansiveness took my breath away; “wild” spoke to an awakening part of me. A series of unexpected turns lead to the Central Coast of CA where I’ve stayed to write 50 more years of my story in a sanctuary place that I will never take for granted. The past ten years of this story have been about growing Outside Now as its Director. Some time during the year ahead, when everyone is ready, I will pass the talking stick and step fully into the space of Elder. What fine, transformative work we are doing. What an honor it has been…
Nancy Rae
Enrollment Coordinator
I grew up at a time when children spent most of their free time outside. I have fond memories of exploring the creek next to my house, climbing trees, and playing in the snow in the cold Midwest winters. My family and I camped every summer on cross-country vacations, and we spent lots of time hiking in the Rocky Mountains.
As an adult, I enjoy connecting to nature through hiking, kayaking, sit spots next to the ocean, or just listening to the birds chirping in the forest behind our house and watching the deer and wild turkeys raise their young in our neighborhood. Connecting to nature in these ways provides me with a meditative respite from my otherwise, very busy life as a mother, homeschool parent and O.N. administrative team member.
“A Story: In Homer’s ancient epic, The Odyssey, Mentor is an old helmsman who sits in the back and steers a boat that takes a searching young prince to sea…Just like the mythological Mentor (who actually was the Goddess of Wisdom in an unassuming form) skillful nature connection mentors have eyes on the horizon to benefit the youth they mentor. Bringing forward their unique gifts and skills, mentors make subtle, meaningful tacks in response to shifting winds…”
Anne Gallagher
Program Mentor
I was born and raised in the Central Valley and I enjoyed a childhood full of outdoor play. My family spent time exploring our local foothills, lakes, and rivers and we also loved visiting the Central Coast and Sierra Nevada Mountains. I took an outdoor recreation class in college that provided me with fun opportunities to be around like-minded people, and continued to stir my curiosity and growing admiration for the natural world. I received my Master’s in Occupational Therapy, where I discovered the importance for children to learn through unstructured play and have lots of opportunities to move their bodies as they grow and develop necessary life skills. Once my kids were born I felt even more called to be outside in natural wild spaces. As a new mom, I had the unique opportunity to slow down and re-experience childhood. I witnessed the joy, wonder, and therapeutic benefits of spending time in nature with my own young children. Our family loves to go camping, hiking, biking, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, and exploring our state and national parks. I am excited to be on the land and helping children facilitate a deep connection with our Mother nature, and the plants and animals that inhibit it.
Hannah Goldstein
Program Mentor
Raised by California’s glorious mountain ranges and coastline, my life has always been closely connected to the land. These ecosystems taught me about the power and wisdom that are found within the great outdoors. These wild spaces also taught me that the same intelligence found within nature can be found within ourselves. The qualities and beauty of fresh bodies of water, a sunrise, pine trees, and California sagebrush have inspired and informed me as I become the person I am today.
I am both a longtime student and teacher of seasonal and regional herbalism, and this path has deepened my love for Mother Earth. I am a firm believer that the more we remember and reignite our innate symbiotic relationships with nature, the healthier and more harmonious the planet and we as people will be. My passion for nature and connecting to the elements led me to Outside Now. I look forward to weaving safe, nourishing, and educational spaces and experiences that are awe inspiring and that ripple into the children’s hearts and homes for a lifetime.
Felise Gutierrez
Program Mentor
I have always let my curiosity guide me, and the path I follow has never been linear. Learning how to take care of the world around me has brought me on some wild adventures! I have sampled wildlife in the rainforest of Borneo, built houses out of clay in the Costa Rican jungle, worked on farms all across Australia and France and found my way back to California and to Outside Now with all of those new skills and perspectives in tow. I have come to understand that having a reciprocal relationship of care with nature, no matter what I am doing, lights my heart on fire and brings me a deep sense of purpose.
Jessica Jelinski
Program Mentor
I feel grateful to have grown up among the oak woodlands of the Santa Monica Mountains and to have been part of a family culture that prioritized deep experiences in nature. At least once a month, my family would pile into our RV and camp somewhere in California. My childhood is dotted with powerful memories in nature—mud covered days at the Big Sur river, body boarding in Carpinteria, hiking in Yosemite, and so many sandcastles, mud castles, and stick fortresses. As I grew older, I recognized more the powerful impact of this simple, natural way of being and moving in the world. I sought out deeper nature experiences as an adult and how to share these with young people. My journey has taken me to many cultures and places—the jungles of Peru and Guatemala, the high mountains of India, the barren deserts of California, and the big island of Hawaii. I feel so grateful to be on this learning journey, living with many peoples of the world and learning how they live a nature-connected, community-oriented way of life. I feel grateful to be apprenticing myself to rites of passages, ceremony, and other ways of finding and experiencing our place in the great web of life. What a gift to be back on the Central Coast, weaving many cultures and pathways into my work with Outside Now and exploring the gift of aliveness with our young people: the future of the world!
Nic Johnson
Program Mentor
Born and raised in northern San Luis Obispo county, I spent most of my free time as a child/teen exploring nature, camping, fishing, and collecting various wild animals as pets.
In my early adult years my family and I spent much time at our family ranch located outside the Carrizo Plains National Monument. It is here my partner and I raised/homeschooled our children in a nature based learning environment. During this time we farmed turkeys, chickens, pigs, and goats and tried to live as closely to the land as possible. Living walking distance from thousands of acres of public land has granted me the gift of endless exploration and provided me with fruitful hunting territory. My favorite activities in nature are hunting, fishing, and backpacking.I also have an extensive background in Mixed Martial Arts.
I have been actively training Kickboxing, Jiujitsu , and Muay Thai for over 10 years. I am a kids/adult kickboxing instructor and fighter. I love the discipline, respect, and the limit pushing experiences fighting has gifted me with as an adult.
Sam McRee
Program Mentor
I was skeptical of nature connection when I was introduced to it. Yet, when I saw it was an important piece of the puzzle–I’m talking about the puzzle of how we are going to pass down the possibility of a good future–I embraced it wholeheartedly. The patterns of nature have come to captivate my deepest curiosities, the patterns which can be known directly through tracking and bird language. These are fundamental life patterns and can be found just as readily within one’s own mind as on the landscape. When I think about how blessed I am to have this awareness, I am reminded of how the legacy of nature connection has been passed down from generation to generation and how fortunate I am to have been mentored by an invaluable link in this chain, a man named Mac Stewart. Mac Stewart was a coyote mentor who was so artful in his approach he could sneak around all my walls and reawaken my innate curiosities.
Dina Overland
Program Mentor
I’m a perfect example of how a deep connection to the natural world can flourish after you’re an adult. I wasn’t raised in or around much nature (honestly, I was a “city girl” for a long time), but everything shifted for me when my son was born. He wanted to be outside almost from the moment he arrived and, as my husband and I accommodated him, I realized how much I too preferred and benefited from being outdoors. I now know that nature is like medicine to me: calms my mind, soothes my senses, and brings me immense joy. I’ve learned that nature holds the answers to all of life’s lessons, too, like how to deal with transitions, how to sit and be still, how to feel empowered in your being, and how to flourish exactly where you are. Connecting our children to the natural world ensures future generations will reap these benefits and develop a great love and respect for our beautiful earth.
Victoria Pond
Program Mentor
Growing up as an aspiring academic, I have been on an incessant quest for truth. I was always searching for an answer to a question I didn’t even know yet. When I fell into the hands of Nature, I knew I found it. The answers to all my burning questions always seems to reveal themselves when I go out to hike, surf or adventure in nature. Although I am still a lover of books and poetry, I find the most valuable learning comes from time spent in the presence of our natural world. We are all a part of it and to prompt our remembering of how to live in harmony with this place we call home, is what motivates me in all that I do. It is my belief that a commitment to caring about the wellbeing of each other and the environment is a radical medicine that can heal almost any aching heart. Learning to be one with this Earth and the beings on it has been the greatest gift and I am inspired to be a part of the Outside Now community, cultivating deep relationship with each other and our Home.
Kara Quinn
Program Mentor
I am a lifelong nature enthusiast! I am my happiest when I am outside, and I believe any time spent in nature is time well spent. As a child, I grew up camping along the coast with my family and enjoyed countless walks in the Sierra Nevada mountains with my grandparents near their cabin. You’ll often find me hiking, camping, or just being outside near my home while exploring the natural beauty around me. I recently moved to the coast from the Central Valley with my husband and two children, and I am thrilled to be able to share this beautiful location with them and begin making more memories outside! My background is in early childhood education. Being with children and passing along my love and respect for nature is something I am passionate about.
Morgan Weldon
Program Mentor
I grew up in the rolling foothills of California's Central Valley, surrounded by lakes, rivers, and the majestic Sequoia National Park. From an early age, life on my family’s small farm taught me how to cultivate the land and care for wildlife. I learned the delicate balance of nurturing nature to foster growth, from planting crops to witnessing the cycle of life unfold, from the tiniest eggs to the birth of animals. These experiences instilled in me the value of stewardship—of both the earth and the relationships we build. I learned the importance of a kind hand from a neighbor, and the joy of mentoring young children, guiding them in tending the land and respecting the creatures that inhabit it.
Now, as an adult, I am driven by a passion to share this knowledge, inspire curiosity, and help others appreciate the significance of nurturing our planet. I turn to nature as my sanctuary, finding solace in the warmth of the sun, the serenity of a secluded pond, hammocking, camping, and the thrill of outdoor adventures like surfing, hiking, and skateboarding. My love for the natural world continues to shape who I am and how I connect with others, fostering a life full of wonder, exploration, and reverence for this beautiful planet.
Rosina Whalen
Program Mentor
I have been blessed with the gift of calling the land of the Chumash people, the Central Coast, my home. Raised on acreage in Arroyo Grande, I spent my childhood years barefoot and outdoors in imaginative realms with my sisters. Through the supportive landscape of our childhood home and the sacred coast, my relationship to myself as a part of nature continued to expand. Feet rooted on the earth, wind kissing my cheeks, fire warming my heart, water cradling my body, I felt the loving spirit of Mother Earth all around me as a present, supportive, and encouraging source for thriving life.
Born into an enormous and incredibly close extended family, I have been caring for children for the entirety of my life. I have had the joy of teaching children in outdoor environments in the foothills of the Sierra’s, along the Central Coast and on the Big Island of Hawaii. My life’s work is in support of mothers and children and our innate human design to thrive.