Alec griswold - founder & executive director
Alec has spent the past decade working in the outdoor industry and he has turned his focus to engaging communities of color in the outdoor world. Alec is responsible for creating and maintaining program partners and sponsorships. He currently heads the fundraising development committee and works closely with the Board to engage donors and community leaders. Alec attended Dickinson College, where he studied Political Science and played Lacrosse. He went on to the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and spent several years in Chilean Patagonia. He is a graduate of the 2018-2019 cohort of the Emerging Leaders Program at UMass Boston and resides in Charlestown, MA. Alec is a passionate outdoorsman and an advocate for youth mentoring in Massachusetts.
Click Here to see a short video of Alec speaking about the creation of Elevate Youth.
annie hayes - program coordinator
Annie coordinates outdoor programs for our three partner organizations and provides supplemental help to our senior outdoor instructors. During her time at St. Lawrence University, she studied creative writing and environmental studies, and spent four months living abroad in Australia. Upon graduating in 2016, Annie moved to Nevada where she spent a season working for the Nevada Conservation Corps as a member of a five person trail crew. She then moved to Naches, Washington to work as a Special Uses intern for the U.S. Forest Service, during which time she became certified as a Wildland Firefighter. After moving back to the East Coast in 2017, Annie began working for Elevate Youth and has played a vital role in driving our organization forward.
NICK CHERTAVIAN - LEAD INSTRUCTOR
When Nick was eighteen he attended a semester with the National Outdoor Leadership School, where he developed his skills as an outdoorsman. He began teaching kids in the outdoors while working for the Mass Audubon Society’s Drumlin Farm location as a teacher-naturalist and trip leader. Nick discovered a passion for connecting kids to the natural world around them and went on to complete a degree in Outdoor Education at the University of New Hampshire. Nick honed his skills leading backpacking expeditions with teens in Alaska and went on to return to Mass Audubon as a program coordinator for overnight trips. After returning to Boston Nick took on a new role working with Thompson Island Outward Bound, focusing on hands-on natural science curriculum, challenge course programing, and personal development for Boston Public School students.
MIA STERN - outdoor instructor
Mia joined Elevate Youth as an Outdoor Instructor to help out on weekend outings. She joined our organization because she loves exploring New England and working with young people. Mia’s love for being outdoors brought her up to Maine and New Hampshire for many summers to work at overnight camps. She currently has 5 years of experience working in youth development with Camp USA affiliate programs. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island in Communication Studies and International Relations, Mia moved to Boston and started working part-time for Elevate Youth. When she isn’t skiing and hiking with Elevate Youth, she works for an adventure travel company.
Shea Gorman - outdoor instructor
Shea has been an avid hiker and camper since he was 4 years old. Since then, he has had the opportunity to continue exploring many of New England's picturesque outdoor spaces. In college, Shea spent a summer working with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps on trail maintenance projects throughout the state. After graduating from The Catholic University of America with a degree in Social Work, he moved back to New England and lead a 5 month crew with the VYCC, where he gained even more technical experience living outdoors and fixing trails, and developed a passion for working with youth in an outdoor setting. Now, Shea works for a Wilderness Therapy program in Maine, teaching outdoor skills to adolescents with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges while supporting them in building healthy coping skills by facing new challenges. When he is not working in Maine, Shea enjoys co-leading outings and running enrichment sessions with Elevate Youth
Equal Opportunity Employer
Elevate Youth is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Elevate Youth does not discriminate and prohibits harassment of any type on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law. If you have any questions regarding this policy, please email us at alec@elevate-youth.org.