McKenzie - Instructor
McKenzie was born and raised in Portland, OR where she grew up with a love of the Pacific Northwest's soggy forests and inspiring terrain. She began climbing in 2012 and immediately fell in love with the sport and the way that it allows her to connect to her body, work through her fears, experience landscapes, and build her community. She began instructing climbing while attending Portland State University, and after graduation she went on to work at a local climbing gym instructing women's clinics, route-setting, and coaching youth.
In 2017, McKenzie moved to California's Sierra Nevada mountains where she has worked for a variety of organizations including the non-profit GirlVentures where she leads rock climbing and backpacking trips for adolescent girls and gender non-binary youth. She is currently living in Bishop, CA serving her second AmeriCorps term as an environmental educator for the Bishop Paiute Tribe's Environmental Management Office.
McKenzie is certified as an AMGA Single Pitch Instructor and as a Wilderness First Responder. She spends her vacation time climbing in some of her favorite places which include Yosemite Valley, Indian Creek, and Cochamó, Chile. When she's not climbing, she can often be found painting with watercolors, pulling weeds out of the garden, cooking with friends, or singing really loud alone in the car. McKenzie is committed to increasing access to the outdoors and ensuring that it is a welcoming space for everyone, and she is thrilled to be working with Everybody Climbs!
Karen de Vera - Instructor
Karen is an AMGA Single Pitch Instructor candidate, dedicated to sharing her passion for rock climbing with everyone. She has four years of rock climbing experience and has traveled all over Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Colorado, to experience, honor, respect, and enjoy nature through rock climbing. She wants to share her love for nature and the sport with underserved communities, who normally would not have access to the sport or even the outdoors.
Karen is a firm believer that nature can be healing in so many ways, and that everyone should have equal access to the great outdoors! When not rock climbing, Karen crunches numbers as a CPA, paints with watercolor, tries her hand at cooking and moves her body through dance and yoga.
Kat Grandel - Mentee
Kat started climbing in a bouldering gym as a way to be social after moving to Oregon from Delaware. She was new to the movements, but quickly loved the mind body connection needed to progress.
In 2019, Kat spontaneously joined a free clinic jointly hosted by She Moves Mountains + PDX Climbers of Color. It was filled by all women of color wanting to be outside. They understood her fears, her background, her goals without any explanation. For the first time - Kat was climbing in a group of similar peers. For the first time, Kat was in the outdoors in a group of similar peers and felt relief. No need to be anyone else - she was invited to show up as herself and celebrate the outdoors.
Kat used to think climbing was all about pushing to the next grade or being in the the most beautiful locations. Nowadays, climbing is a way to share that feeling of relief with other women. Holding space so that they can find their courage and bravery to give it another go. For the last year, Kat has been mentored by She Moves Mountains guides with intro to climbing clinics. She is also pursuing the knowledge needed to eventually get certified herself.
Kat is so excited to be continuing her learning by joining Everybody Climbs this season. She can’t wait to learn from the participants and guides at these clinics to broaden her teaching experience, as well as continue learning and growing her personal climbing practice.
