People: The Heart of Our Work

In 1984, Doug and Beverly Capelin founded Deer Hill Expeditions to create authentic connections through wilderness and reciprocal service. This ethos is modeled by a dedicated team of directors, managers, and instructors. Programs are led by experienced field staff and supported by interns at peak season. After all these years, we continue our work to educate, empower, and support people’s awareness of, and connection to, the natural world.

Our experienced guides are not just instructors; they are mentors who are passionate about sharing their love for Life and empowering youth to discover their authentic selves. With safety as our top priority, we ensure that every aspect of our programs adheres to the highest risk management standards, allowing parents to have peace of mind while their teens embark on life-changing journeys.

James Simmons

Executive Director

I discovered the transformative power of wilderness at a pivotal moment in my life, leading me to leave college and embark on solo wilderness experiences. Within Nature’s silence, I underwent a rite of passage that yielded a profound sense of clarity and purpose. This sparked a 20-year career working with youth in wilderness, residential, and international settings, including 7 years of administrative leadership encompassing policy development, risk management, program creation, leadership development, and more.

Most recently, I served as Executive Director of Programs at a respected gap year organization for 3 years. In 2022, I joined a small team to slowly grow an earthen architecture and permaculture learning center in Hesperus, CO. I am passionate about creating supportive environments that foster learning, growth, and self-discovery in harmony with the natural world.

As Executive Director of Deer Hill Expeditions, I’m honored to further our mission of self-discovery and authentic connection through wilderness and reciprocal service opportunities. I believe young people are seeking a new narrative, one that breaks free from imposed expectations and conventions. Nature offers a profound alternative, awakening and guiding them on their journey of self-discovery.

Email: james@deerhillexpeditions.com

Max LaPrade

Development Manager

I grew up in Jacksonville, FL where surfing in the ocean sparked my desire to be in wild places. After graduating from Wofford College with a degree in Business Economics, I packed my Isuzu Rodeo and without a plan drove to Jackson, Wyoming to ski for a winter. One winter turned into seven years. I worked various jobs, eventually becoming a fly fishing guide where I found joy in sharing my love of wild rivers and natural places with others. After moving to Durango with my wife, Joanna, I saw an opportunity to find greater meaning in my work and joined the team working with Deer Hill Foundation. I am excited to help provide transformative wilderness experiences to those who, like my younger self, may not know that these beautiful mountains and rivers exist.

Email: max@deerhillexpeditions.com

Sarah Goldberg

Staff Manager

My reverence for the outdoors began in the quiet and mysterious pine barrens of South Jersey.  I grew up in a mixed ecosystem of soggy cranberry bogs, dark swamps shaded by Atlantic White Cedar with an understory of rare carnivorous plants, and pygmy pine forests competing for sparse nutrients in sugar-sand soils. I later pursued a BA in Bio-cultural Restoration with a minor in Natural History from Sterling College in Vermont. It was there that I first fell in love with mountains. After attending several field study programs, I also became enamored with the flora and fauna of the Desert Southwest which brought me to work as a field staff for Deer Hill Expeditions and other similar outdoor education programs.  After moving to Durango to be closer to big mountains and vast deserts, I saw an opportunity to find greater rootedness in the community by joining the administrative team at Deer Hill Expeditions. I enjoy climbing, floating on my One Wheel, backpacking, rafting, nature journaling, reading, birding, and snowboarding.

Email: staff@deerhillexpeditions.com 

Alex George

Outreach Manager

I spent my childhood in the Midwest splitting my time between Nebraska and Missouri.  After high school, I moved to Olympia, Washington for a change of scenery and a fresh start.  It was here that I developed a love for the outdoors which eventually led me to Deer Hill Expeditions in 2014 as an intern.  I spent the next six summers facilitating Deer Hill programs as a field instructor, and am a true believer of the transformative power of outdoor education and the Deer Hill mission.  After graduating from Prescott College with a degree in Environmental Studies, I am thrilled to be at Deer Hill in an administrative role to continue working in a community of passionate individuals committed to building a brighter future by connecting others to nature, place, and self!

Email: alex@deerhillexpeditions.com

Jordan Lehman

Programs Manager

I grew up on my family’s farm in Iowa where I learned about land stewardship and played around in the fields. My love for the mountains developed later in my teens when I went on my first backpacking trip and discovered a new way to engage with the outdoors. In my free time I love baking, singing along with the radio, and dancing poorly but with a lot of joy. I’m so excited to be here at Deer Hill!

Email: programs@deerhillexpeditions.com

Kaylynn Green

Admissions Manager

I love the mission statement of Deer Hill “ To empower the individual to create authentic connections to self and community through wilderness and service experiences.”  Having grown up in the mountains of Southern Utah, I developed my own sense of wonderment of nature and need to connect with the energy of the outdoors.  I enjoy being able to contribute to the magic that Deer Hill provides.  I have lived and travelled a lot to learn about different cultures, food, and to explore the vast outdoors. For the last 25 years I have been a practitioner of the healing arts and a leader in whatever role I have undertaken. I am truly happy when I am spending time with my wife, making meaningful connections with others, hiking, and snuggling with my 2 dogs Pumpkin and Rex. 

Email: admissions@deerhillexpeditions.com

Joe Baptiste

Facilities Manager

I knew there was more to adventuring than just riding the pavements of central Massachusetts on my skateboard. Trips to the White Mountains of New Hampshire opened my eyes to other ways of adventure. After working at a car garage in my hometown for 2 years after high school, I found Sterling College in Northern Vermont. Graduating with a Bachelors in Outdoor Education, my technical skills as a backcountry technician developed, but more so, my love for wild places as well as my new knowledge of the healing power of nature. In 2019 after an 80 day field semester in the southwest I quickly flew to Vermont to graduate, kept my backpack packed, and promptly got dropped off in Mancos for my second year as a field guide for Deer Hill. I never left.  I am excited to be fully a part of the Deer Hill community and support the trips that change lives like mine, guides and participants alike! Home is where the heart is, and Deer Hill is certainly a big part of my heart. 

Email: facilities@deerhillexpeditions.com

Sam Ryden

Operations Manager

My story begins far, far from here, up north in the “Last Frontier”, where I grew up exploring the backroads and riverbanks of Alaska’s open, wild country. I was lucky to learn my earliest life lessons out in Nature’s classroom – to walk always with resiliency, thoughtfulness, and above all, curiosity. Those values eventually led me to pursue a BA in Philosophy after which I traveled throughout South America, SE Asia, and Nepal.  However, it wasn’t until I found my way to beautiful little Mancos, CO and took an internship at Deer Hill Expeditions in 2017 that I finally felt I’d found a career-path which called to me. Since then, I have worked in just about every role you can imagine when it comes to running adventure and educational programming. I am beyond excited to be back at Deer Hill now, to join the leadership team and continue creating opportunities for young folks to get outside and connect more deeply with themselves and the great outdoors.

Email: operations@deerhillexpeditions.com

Doug Capelin

I grew up on Long Island and thought taking the train to see the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing, New York, was a peak experience. After surviving four winters at Colgate University, I bought green jeans and polyester work shirts in San Bernardino to work for the U.S. Forest Service, jumping out of helicopters to fight wildland fires. After returning to Long Island for a M.A. in Education, I then taught school in Grand Junction and Dolores, Colorado, where I met Beverly. We founded Deer Hill Expeditions in 1984 and built our dream into the thriving community here today. When asked by cheek-squeezing relatives what I wanted to do when I grew up, I answered, “I want to be a forest ranger, teacher, and a Dad.” I’m proud to have done all of that with Deer Hill.

Email: doug@deerhillexpeditions.com

Beverly Capelin

Before beginning my Deer Hill journey with Doug, I earned my B.A. in Education from Fort Lewis College in Durango. I taught school for seven years in Dolores and Silverton, Colorado, where I also served with the San Juan Search and Rescue team. Both Doug and I received training from the National Outdoor Leadership School. Over the years I have been involved in all aspects of Deer Hill, including raising our children Ben, Joanna, and Emily.

Board of Trustees

Mike Karpfen

Chairman of the Board

Mike Karpfen co-founded and was executive director of Shanta Foundation, a Durango based non-profit that partners with poor rural villages in Myanmar and Zambia to create thriving communities through sustainable programs in health, education, leadership, women’s empowerment, livelihood and infrastructure. Mike has also worked as a psychotherapist specializing in marriage counseling for 30 years. He has been the board chair of Deer Hill Foundation since 2022.

Mike, and his wife Tricia, have lived and loved in Durango since 1995 and have a passion for all things outdoors – the mountains, their gardens, camping, hiking, mountain biking, backcountry skiing, paddle-boarding, and lots of walk ‘n talks with friends.

Laurie Williams

Trustee

Laurie is a professor in the Department of Physics and Engineering at Fort Lewis College (FLC), Co-Director of the FLC Village Aid Project (FLC VAP), and Director of the VAP Solar Initiative on the Navajo Nation. FLC VAP is a non-profit, student-based, humanitarian organization at Fort Lewis College with a
mission to partner communities to find sustainable solutions to their critical engineering problems. In 2018 Laurie expanded the VAP umbrella to address critical energy needs in Native American communities, particularly on the Navajo Nation. When not in the classroom, on an international VAP
project, or on the Navajo Nation installing off-grid PV systems, Laurie enjoys yoga, hiking, skate skiing, paddle boarding and sending time with her husband and 2 dogs.

Nicol Gaffney

Trustee

I am a people person, an optimist, and I strive to stand for the potential in every situation. My joy is most felt in conversations that leave people feeling seen and somehow more connected to truth. Self-reflection and shared-respect are some of my most tried and true tools in life. Professionally, my speciality is rallying teams around complex projects, providing the needed combination of connection, organization, and guidance to pull everything off on time with a bit of fun. Personally, I am silly, athletic (soccer + pickleball for life!), a backpacker, traveler, a trail runner, reader, and family man.

My relationship with Deer Hill began in 2013 as a mentor at Summer Search. My participants came back profoundly impacted, knowing more about themselves and the world they wanted to create.

When I became Director of Summer Experiences at Summer Search, Deer Hill Expeditions went all-in with us to ensure their programming was relevant and responsive to participants from all backgrounds. And now as a Deer Hill Foundation board member I have the privilege of ensuring these remarkable and unique experiences continue for participants, staff, and the native communities we partner with.