MEET OUR TEAM

A group of like-minded individuals who share a deep love of nature and a commitment to Through The Trees' mission

Directors & Admin

MARCIA GRIFFIN

Founder and Executive Director, Chair of the Board, Teen & Adult Program Guide

Marcia has a unique blend of life experience - she is a Mother, Wife, Lover of Life, Entrepreneur, and has spent the last 15 years directly leading and Consulting in Business operations for multi-functional teams. Marcia grew up immersed in the natural beauty of Maine spending her childhood drenched in backpacking local mountains, swimming and paddling off the coast and on the pristine rivers, lakes, and waterfalls throughout Northern New England. Marcia brings her love of nature, fun, focus and intuition into creating magic for all who come into contact with her.

Certifications:
CTI trained Life Coach
200-Hour Kripalu Yoga Teacher
2nd Degree Black Belt
First Aid & CPR (Adult & Pediatric)
Registered Maine Guide

TRENT GRIFFIN

Director of Facilities and Grounds, Youth & Teen Program Guide

Trent is a Father, Husband, Carpenter of over 25 years (including building his own home) and Natural Teacher. He has been a practitioner of the ancient healing and protective arts for over 20 years. Much of his youth was spent trekking through the Maine woods which is the foundation for his natural, patient and calm teaching style. Trent has a way of bringing his connection to nature into all that he does.

Certifications:
200-Hour Jaguar Path Yoga Teacher
3rd Degree Black Belt
Licensed Massage Therapist
First Aid & CPR (Adult & Pediatric)
Registered Maine Guide

JENN CASONI

Director of Youth Programs, Youth & Adult Program Guide

Jenn has a natural gift of engaging children. Jenn began working with children in her early teens. Her compassion, intuition, mindful interaction, and skill has grown exponentially over the years. Whether she is facilitating team-building challenges, assisting in wilderness education programs for teens, or designing and planting a garden with homeschoolers, Jenn guides children to discover their passions and develop a strong sense of self. Jenn is also a co-facilitator for Full Moon Circles in our adult programs.

Certifications:
Registered Maine Guide

Serve Safe (Food Preparation Certification)
First Aid & CPR (Adult & Pediatric)

KENDALL SCOTT

Director of Events & Marketing, Adult & Youth Program Guide

Kendall is a nature enthusiast, homeschooling mom, holistic health practitioner of over 10 years and co-author of the cookbook, Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen. She also has over 6 years of experience in marketing and sales. Kendall is a Guide in our adult and family programs and offers Full Moon Circles and classes on wild edible plants, herbal & plant spirit medicine, forest mindfulness, and wilderness survival. Kendall believes as technology becomes more prevalent in our lives, it is vital to foster a connection with the Earth, especially for our children, so they may carry this healing relationship with nature into the future.

Certifications:
Registered Maine Guide

Forest Therapy Guide
Holistic Health Coach (American Association Drugless Practitioners)
First Aid & CPR (Adult & Pediatric)

MAGGIE STARR

Enrollment Manager

Maggie is a homeschooling mama to two, who enjoys traveling and going on outdoor adventures with her family. She especially enjoys hiking and paddleboarding. For the past several years, Maggie served as Admissions Director for a private cooperative school in California. Before that time, she was a birth educator and doula. Maggie grew up in Northern Virginia and although she has lived in different places in the US, she has always felt the most at home here in Maine.

Guides

PENNIE SCHWARTZ

Teen & Youth Program Guide (Beech, Aspen & Oak)

Pennie grew up in Acadia National Park, hiking and swimming, which fostered her love of nature. She is an outdoor adventurer, member of the National Ski Patrol and thrives on the challenges of inclement weather. Skiing, mountain biking, surfing, sleeping outside, wilderness medicine and a good cup of campfire coffee are all things Pennie enjoys. Pennie once ran a Waldorf-inspired preschool, inviting adventure and curiosity into daily activities. With a passion to learn freely and create a life that involves plenty of play, Pennie follows a self-directed homeschooling approach to education with her own three sons.

Certifications:

National Ski Patrol Member

Outdoor Emergency Care Certification

Avalanche 1 Certification

In-Training for Registered Maine Guide License

JULES GORDON

Youth Program Guide (Beech & Wild Woods Club)

Jules grew up in upstate NY, spending time hiking and camping in the Adirondack and Green mountains and later volunteering as a youth soccer coach and also for Headstart. A natural love for the outdoors led Jules to a career with LLBean as a Customer Service Leader and a life in Maine, spending many years connecting people to nature. Jules moved on to working as a mindfulness leader in the corporate world, teaching people how to actively listen with empathy and speak with compassion. Jules loves spending time with her five-year-old nephew and rescue dog Pepper, especially going on outdoor adventures. Currently, Jules is in a two-year training for Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification and is thrilled to bring all these experiences to Through The Trees.

Certifications:

In-Training for Registered Maine Guide License

STACEY FETTERMAN

Youth (Maple/Seeds), Family & Adult Program Guide

Stacey brings many years of experience and a love for working with children in art, nature, yoga, and mindfulness. She developed and led Peaceful Painting workshops and Mind-Body-Nature camps in California. Most recently, she was a preschool teacher in Yarmouth, Maine and offered youth and family yoga classes at Sundara Yoga in Brunswick. Stacey enjoys deeply connecting with the earth, making art, tending to her gardens, hiking, and being on or near the water (and has spent time sailing, working on private yachts and giving kayak tours). Stacey has six chickens, two Nubian goats (Peanut and Honey) and a two-year-old rescue dog, Dobby Roo, who loves to walk everyday with Stacey in the woods.

Certifications:

iRest Yoga Nidra Teacher (Yoga Meditation 2020)

Certified Creative Fit Coach with Whitney Freya (Art Certificate 2018)

Smiling Monkey Kids Yoga (2014)

Core Power Yoga 200hr RYT (2013)

In-Training for Registered Maine Guide License

EMILY LETOURNEAU

Youth Program Guide (Maple)

Spending time outdoors with her two young, homeschooled children is what Emily is most passionate about, no matter the activity. She enjoys identifying and foraging for wild edible plants and fungi and outdoor mushroom farming. Hiking, camping, and swimming are favorite summer activities, and in the winter you can find her cross country skiing through the woods and alpine skiing with her family. Emily's childhood included being involved in her mother's daycare center, and she has been been providing childcare since she was a certified “Safe Sitter” at age 12. Emily's kind and gentle nature with children and her love of the great outdoors help create a supportive and fun experience for children in our Youth Nature Programs.

Certifications:

First Aid & CPR (Adult & Pediatric)

In-Training for Registered Maine Guide License

NICHOLE CRANDALL

Adult Program Guide, Youth Program Guide (Maple)

Nichole is a homeschooling mom to her eight-year-old daughter and enjoys spending time on her paddle board and exploring outdoors. Nichole has been practicing yoga for over a decade and has first hand experience as to how yoga helps to meet the challenges and demands of every day life. She sought her first certification in 2012, completing the Baptiste Power Yoga Teacher Training, in order to share yoga with others. Nichole brings her yoga experience, mindfulness practices, creativity and a sense of adventure to Through the Trees.

Certifications:

Baptiste Power Yoga Teacher Training (2012)

Yin and Meditation Teacher Training (Sagel Urlacher 2014)

Restorative Yoga Teacher Training (Bernie Clark 2018)

In-Training for Registered Maine Guide License

KAYLA KNOWLES

Youth Program Guide (Maple)

Kayla is a mother, wife, nurse that has traveled the state of Maine for the last decade, entrepreneur and has been homeschooling her children for the last 4 years. Kayla grew up in Maine on Thompson Lake and loves to be outside with her kids, swimming, hiking, and sledding in the winter. With a passion for working with the Maple age group, Kayla brings experience with self-directed learning and a love of being outdoors to our team.

Certifications:

In-Training for Registered Maine Guide License

Certified Life Coach

Health and Wellness Coach

MOLLY MALLETT

Youth Program Guide (Nurturing Seeds)

Molly grew up in the woods, fields and waters of Piscataquis county. Years in early childhood as a director and teacher taught her that kids are at their best when given time and freedom to explore the outdoors. She loves nothing more than giving the littlest learners the tools they need to do this by inspiring confidence and curiosity. When not teaching, Molly can be found with her family exploring Casco Bay by boat, knees deep in the stream behind her house or reading a book by the woodstove with her toddler in her lap. She brings an authentic, approachable, attitude and a knack for reading the needs of those around her, tall and small. The joy she gets from working with kids is contagious.

Certifications:

B.S. K-8 Education, Minor in Theatre
Infant & Adult CPR

MARK KEITH

Youth Program Guide (Aspen)

Mark is a husband, father, woodworking and metalwork apprentice, and lover of the performing arts. Infused in every stage of life is a deep embodied love for the natural world, land-gifted food, and a humble desire to be in increasingly integrated in relationships with the land. In the past several years, he’s spent time working as a software developer, accountant and market manager in the world of Silicon Valley startups. When his son Saja was born, Mark largely transitioned away from full-time employment to take an active and at times primary caretaking and home making role in the family. Through the journey of becoming a father, Mark has learned to seriously question everything and embodies the Through the Trees culture of self-directed and life-long learning.

SAL CLARK

Youth Program Guide (Maple)

Sal is a mama, banjo player, yogi and youth soccer coach. She grew up in Portland, Maine with the Stroudwater River in her backyard. Her earliest memories are of canoeing, skating and looking for turtles by the river bank. As an adult her passion for outdoor exploration grew to include hiking, backpacking, rock climbing and skiing. Sal lived and worked out west for over a decade, adventuring through the Sierra and Rocky Mountains. Her current adventures include homeschooling her two children and raising a puppy. Sal enjoys working with young children and is excited to share her love of the outdoors with the next generation of earth stewards.

Certifications:

First Aid / CPR (Adult and Pediatric)

200-Hour Boston Yoga School

100-Hour Summers School of Yin Yoga

NAYS Certified Soccer Coach

Mentors

WALLACE THOMPSON

Youth Program Mentor (Maple)

Wallace has been with Through the Trees since the beginning, starting as a participant in the nature immersion program, then moving on to a Mentor-in-Training. This past school year, Wallace has joined our staff as a Mentor with our youngest children in Maple. The children and staff love Wallace's sense of humor, pirate stories, fiddle playing and creative group games. Nature has been foundational for most of Wallace's life, spending time outdoors with friends, skiing, surfing, and visiting the ocean.

NAHUM STEVENSON

Youth Program Mentor (Beech)

For the past year, Nahum has been at Through the Trees as a Mentor-in-Training and has recently joined our staff as a Mentor in the Nature Immersion Youth programs. He enjoys art, woodworking and teaching wilderness skills. He has spent the last few years refining his knowledge and experience of woodworking, tools, fire building and shelter construction and is always eager to lead the kids in a project in these areas. Being active outdoors is Nahum's passion, and he regularly goes mountain biking, skiing, hiking, fishing, canoeing, participates in parkour (which basically creating your own impromptu obstacle course and challenges with what you see in nature). playing games and a ton of other stuff. He also enjoys art and woodworking.

CEIBA CROW

Youth Program Mentor (Maple)

Ceiba has always loved working with young children and has plenty of experience from being a big sister to three younger siblings. She grew up always being outside in nature, camping, gardening, learning about medicinal plants and exploring forests. Teaching and exploring various art projects with children is a passion, with her favorite mediums being painting, photography and printmaking. Ceiba values being a positive role model to children and is the children in our Maple cohort adore her!

HAYDEN GUILIANO

Youth Program Mentor (Maple)

Hayden's kind and helpful demeanor seems to draw younger children to him, making him a perfect Mentor with our younger kids in Maple. Growing up in a family that loves being together outdoors has included adventures in skiing, snowboarding, swimming, kayaking and hiking. Hayden enjoys cooking and baking, spending summers at his family's lake house, and volunteering at a local organic farm doing farm chores, animal care and general farming. He also attended Kroka Expeditions for two summers participating in their white water II course.

Hayden's Certifications:

Boating Certification

Pilot license for paragliding