Bio :

Renee joined ONDA in 2015 to help develop and promote the Oregon Desert Trail—a 750-mile route that showcases the wonders, and conservation opportunities, of Oregon’s high desert. In her current role, she continues to inspire others to get out and explore the high desert as much as possible. 

Renee brings well over 10,000 miles of thru-hiking experience, and a rich cross-section of wilderness teaching skills, with her to the desert. She completed the triple crown of long-distance trails in the United States—Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail. She has led trail crews, guided wilderness therapy trips, taught lightweight backpacking, and served as the Continental Divide Trail’s first Trail Ambassador.

Leading up to her long-distance trail and wilderness education days, Renee served in the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso, West Africa; worked as exhibition design intern at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.; earned a graduate degree from Goldsmiths College in London; and worked as a graphic designer and for a publishing company.  

When she’s not sleeping on the ground and covering 30 miles a day, she can be found packrafting, skiing, biking, or hiking around Central Oregon.