Join us in welcoming seven new members to the Gaia GPS team! This new addition includes members of the support, design, and engineering team, bringing a diverse set of skills and outdoor experiences to our crew of 32 full timers. Get to know them and read about their wildest outdoor pursuits, their greatest professional accomplishments and the organizations they support.
Andrew Williams
Software Engineer
Wildest adventure: I went on a two-year bike tour with my girlfriend, riding from Vietnam to Turkey. During the tour, we had some of the easiest bike touring days imaginable – Vietnamese iced coffee and egg banh mi’s for breakfast and beautiful rolling countryside all day with a mid-day stop for cold beers and a nap in a hammock. We also had some tough days – getting altitude sickness at 14,000 feet during a blizzard in Tajikistan, followed by a solid month of food poisoning.
Proudest professional accomplishment: Landing a job at Gaia GPS 🙂
One organization that you support and want to share with Gaia GPS community: One thing that travel has shown me first hand is just how much damage we’ve done to our planet, so I’m in favor of just about any organization that’s working to reverse that. One in particular that I support is Conservation International.
Ryan McElroy
Customer Support Specialist
Wildest adventure: I can’t think of an adventure more wild than building a life with my best friend. We’ve been fortunate to explore so many beautiful places and weather all kinds of storms together. Having someone with whom I can spend five months in a van, walk hundreds of miles across the desert, or care for an ailing grandparent has made for years full of rich experience.
Proudest professional accomplishment: It’s been a pleasure to reach thousands of students in my previous roles as staff naturalist, outdoor educator, trip leader, preschool teacher, and cross-country ski instructor. Nothing is more satisfying than helping people to connect with and better understand the natural world around them.
One organization that you support and want to share with Gaia GPS community: Every child should be able to learn, grow, and explore outside. Echo Hill Outdoor School provides these opportunities for students to immerse in place-based, experiential programming.
Nick Botner
Senior Product Designer
Wildest adventure:
Traveling to Isla Navarino in Tierra del Fuego, Chile and embarking on a five-day backpacking trip through the Dientes mountain range. On our trip we got snowed in for the entire second day. Then we had to make up a day while side-hilling iced-out boulder washes. Then the snow turned to rain and we were trudging through knee deep mud. On the last night the winds were so rough we had to abandon our camp location and find a new protected location down the trail. Had an amazing time and would go back again in a heartbeat.
Proudest professional accomplishment:
Designing the Gaia GPS logo.
One organization that you support and want to share with Gaia GPS community:
Mote Marine Laboratory because sharks are amazing.
Kristin McLane
Customer Support Specialist
Wildest adventure: Through a stroke of serendipity, I found myself attached to a private permit to raft the Grand Canyon one winter and it was one of the best outdoor experiences I’ve had. Spending four weeks in the canyon with professional river guides on their vacation allowed me to learn so much about the environment and its history, check out some of the canyon’s “secret” spots, and enjoy some amazing meals, all while learning to row big rafts through rapids.
Proudest professional accomplishment: Planning the first peer-to-peer fundraising/challenge event for the Green Mountain Club in Vermont to raise money to support the Long Trail, the United States’ oldest long-distance hiking trail, and get a community of folks to hike the whole 272-mile trail in one day.
One organization that you support and want to share with Gaia GPS community: The Social Justice Sewing Academy pieces together youth voices, textile art, and community in a 21st century sewing circle.
Tony Cannistra
Software Engineer
Wildest adventure: Hiking to a climate change research conference in the mountains of Colorado instead of renting an expensive rental car. Many people thought the poster tube strapped to my pack was a fly fishing rod.
Proudest professional accomplishment: Defending my Ph.D. on some new discoveries for better understanding the ecological impacts of climate change.
One organization that you support and want to share with Gaia GPS community: The Trust for Public Land, which protects landscapes for people.
Evelyn Cordner
Software Engineer
Wildest adventure: Running back-to-back ultra marathons at the Squamish 50/50 and finishing in fourth place. The hardest part was getting out of bed on the second day.
Proudest professional accomplishment: Building and leading a diverse and talented product team at Storr, Inc. Helping over 10 million athletes achieve their goals, find their community, and share their stories on Strava.
One organization that you support and want to share with Gaia GPS community: I’m a volunteer foster for the Humane Society of Truckee Tahoe. Dogs are the best.
Jen Smith
Software Engineer
Wildest adventure:
Completing the Dientes de Navarino Circuit with Nick — a remote backpacking circuit on one of the southernmost islands in the world with no trail and no rescue services during what turned out to be the first major storm of the season. When the snow, fog, and howling wind finally let up, the rime-covered spires guarding the passes above us were a sight to behold.
Proudest professional accomplishment:
Going from being the only front end developer at Geocaching to leading a team of front end developers at Geocaching.
One organization that you support and want to share with Gaia GPS community:
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which provides fantastic tools and programs for research, education, and citizen science focused on birds and conservation.
