Meet the Summer Expedition Staff

Our summer expeditions are designed to teach middle and high schoolers leadership and outdoor skills. Students will spend a week or more on a field-based adventure learning how to navigate in a place they’ve never been, cook in the wilderness, and make decisions as a group all while rock climbing, backpacking, rafting, and more!

Our expedition staff couldn’t be more prepared or excited to lead students on adventures through Colorado and Utah’s National Parks, monuments, and most scenic areas. Students will gain outdoor skills, confidence, and appreciation for the natural world.

Logan Maclean

Logan Maclean, Adventure Programs and Safety Manager, brings nearly a decade of field experience to the Keystone Science School! After graduating from University of Wyoming with a BA in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management he became a National Outdoor Leadership School expedition instructor in 2010.

He spent five years leading 30-day and 90-day expeditions specializing in working winter (AIARE PRO level 2) , mountaineering (glacial and alpine rock), climbing (front country and backcountry, and canyon (backpacking and technical slot canyons) courses in Wyoming and Utah. In March of 2015 he became a wilderness medicine instructor and spent 3 years splitting time between teaching wilderness medicine in the classroom (Wilderness EMT and Wilderness First Responder courses) and working field expedition courses focused on specializing in building medicine skills in a wilderness environment.

“The skills learned in adventure can translate to all aspects of life. Diversity is who we are and inclusion is what we do. By playing in wild places we can teach our students that engagement in public land management decisions can impact the future of public lands.” Logan, who was named after Mount Logan and once used as a bargaining chip by his father to climb Mount Everest, came to KSS in search of a better work-life balance.

He was searching for something that allowed him to build a community, invest in an organization, and play before and after work. He’s really excited to have “creativity to build adventure programming over the next number of years.” He believes kindness is an underlooked element in leadership, and that safety has two parts: prevention and response. He enjoys sewing backpacks, shelters, and sleeping bags, endurance athletics from ski mountaineering to multi-day bikepacking races.

Rachel Brennan

For Expedition Instructor, Rachel Brennan, Keystone Science School is like a second home. Rachel graduated from CU Boulder with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. During her college career she helped teach peers Nutrition, Evolution, and General Biology. It’s no wonder Biology is what she’s most excited to teach our students about! Keystone Science School has brought Rachel lifelong connections filled with love and care. “I’m surrounded by like-minded, awesome people who made this job more than a summer job.”

Ian McCluskie

Ian has been with Keystone Science School for eight years! He’s driven by his love for working in the outdoors and sharing the natural world with our students. After spending nearly a decade with KSS he’s developed a deep understanding of our programming and a dedication to giving students the best experiences of their lives year after year.

Ian grew up going to summer camp which gave him “a real understanding of students and their interactions with one another.” Being able to spend his life in summit county has given him an immense appreciation of nature and he loves sharing that passion with students and staff.

The thing he’s most excited about is to teach our students to appreciate the natural world.

“I thoroughly enjoy watching students find a connection to nature and hope to inspire them to be stewards of the environment,” Ian said.

In terms of science, adventure, and fun, Ian thinks each facet of the motto brings something unique to the table.

Science means being truly curious about the world around you, and finding out the why to the way things are. Adventure means pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself to pursue new experiences and pushing yourself to feel alive. Fun is the result of pushing yourself and exploring. Fun is an experience shared with people. Friends are an essential ingredient to fun.

Steph Schneider

Steph Schneider will be an Expedition Instructor at the Keystone Science School, bringing with her 13 years of teaching experience!

She chose Keystone Science School because it is a place where she can be her goofy, enthusiastic self while getting to be outdoors and work with students. She’s most excited to teach about how the area was formed and how life can exist even under the harshest of conditions.

In terms of science, adventure, FUN Steph believes it’s the ability to have new, exciting, engaging experiences packed with silliness and a willingness to be yourself.

Brent Beadles

Brent Beadles has worked for the Keystone Science School since August as a School Programs Instructor and will be working his first Summer at KSS as an Adventure Programs Instructor! He will also be working as Program Coordinator gearing up for next year’s School Programs.

Brent was drawn to the Keystone Science School because of the location. He knew he wanted to be teaching environmental education, but the special spot where our campus is located is what really pulled him in. “It’s pretty unique… a really incredible place to teach kids and have a year-round home base. Being able to teach students all year round in every season is pretty special,” says Brent.

Brent comes into the role of Adventure Programs Instructor with two and a half years of teaching experience, a degree in Engineering and a lot of backcountry experience. He spent six weeks in Alaska last summer leading trips that included backpacking, sea kayaking, and ice climbing.

“We were pretty far out in the wilderness at times and logistically it was a challenging trip, especially working with no days off. However, there is no better way or place to get to know a group of students than spending all day every day together in the backcountry,” he says. He has built up experience working at a camp in Estes Park, Colorado and through other outdoor education experiences, but believes that working in Alaska for the summer is what really has prepared me for leading backcountry trips.

He is excited to teach a variety of topics but believes that there are two very important things to teach during a backcountry trip: one is an appreciation and different perspective on the natural world. There are a lot of different aspects to that, the peace that can come from spending an extended time outdoors, stewardship aspect, the inspiration and challenges that come from the physical element, and the mental aspect that comes from going without luxuries you’re used too. The second part is learning outdoor skills.

It is very hard to appreciate being outdoors unless you have certain skills like being able to cook in the backcountry, navigate your surroundings, set up shelter, etc. These are all important things to teach people so that they are able to appreciate the outdoors and take these skills home. These skills will then allow them to continue on trips like this in the future and enjoy the outdoors on their own.

When asked how he defines Science, Adventure, Fun, Brent said, “There is always adventure in life, science is answering the unknown questions, it usually has something to do with adventure, and adventures are my definition of fun.”