OUR TEAM

All Mountain Kids Staff are trained in First Aid and CPR (at a minimum) and have passed a criminal background check.  Staff Training includes learning Mountain Kids safety protocol, and our mission, philosophy and activities.

 

Katie MacaulayKatie Macaulay
Founder and Executive Director

Katie Macaulay is the Founder and Director of Mountain Kids!  She feels strongly about enabling kids to leave hectic schedules and technology behind in order to wonder, learn, and play in nature. 

Katie earned her degree in Education from the University of British Columbia and studied the Art of Nature Mentoring at the Wilderness Awareness School. However, some of her most formative learning occurred during her participation and subsequent leadership with a Canadian Peace Corps program. In Guyana, Katie initiated a Big Brother-Big Sister program for street children, taking them out into wild nature. This challenging and ultimately rewarding program led her to value experiential learning and wish to make a difference in her own community.

Katie taught middle school for 10 years, has accumulated more than 30 years experience leading children in outdoor settings, and has led Mountain Kids! for the past 16 years.  During this time, she has developed programs in partnership with the Santa Fe Public Schools (SFPS), Communities in Schools and Reading Quest. 

Since 2020, Mountain Kids! has received Outdoor Equity Fund grants to get underserved kids out to play and learn in the mountains. 

Katie lives in Santa Fe surrounded by wild nature with her husband, two kids and furry friend, Rockie. 

Gwendolyn Lyons
Program Director

Gwen Lyons was born and raised in Vermont, and has spent the last six years living in Prescott, Arizona. She graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and recently completed a Master of Arts in Outdoor Education Leadership at Prescott College.

Gwen has a wide range of experience working in the field of outdoor education with various nature centers and environmental education organizations up and down the east coast; she also obtained a middle school science teaching license in the state of Vermont. Graduate school brought Gwen to Prescott, Arizona, and she fell in love with the southwest. Gwen spent time working as an outdoor education facilitator, and volunteered for the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue Team as a member of the Backcountry Unit for three years. Her desire to gain administrative and logistical experience took her to Seward, Alaska, where she worked as the Operations and Logistics Coordinator for an adventure guiding company, and she most recently worked in the Academic Affairs department at Prescott College.

Gwen is excited to get back into the outdoor and environmental education field as she joins Mountain Kids as the Program Director. She and her dog Mushu are excited to explore Santa Fe and spend as much time as possible in the great outdoors. Gwen is looking forward to exploring new areas where she can enjoy her favorite outdoor pursuits, including hiking, backpacking, camping, paddleboarding, kayaking, mountain biking, climbing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

Teya Broad-Wright
Summer Camp Counselor

Teya grew up in Florida and spent every summer since she was six in New Mexico, trying all the summer camps in the Santa Fe area. She and her brother discovered Mountain Kids! in 2014 and religiously signed up for the camp every year since.

Since she set foot in the mountains surrounding Santa Fe, she absolutely fell in love with the enchanting wilderness and looked forward to returning every year. She has crawled over every inch of the Santa Fe ski basin, whether she was mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, or skiing.

Once Teya outgrew her camper status, she became a Counselor-in-Training, and in 2024 returned for her first year as a Mountain Kids! Counselor. Teya couldn’t be more thrilled to join the family, and is looking forward to her second year as a Counselor.

Teya is a huge fan of backpacking and hiking, playing games, climbing, and running. She’s looking forward to another summer full of laughter, adventure, and endless fun with Mountain Kids!