Vida Verde Staff

paula alves she/her/hers
BUSINESS AND OFFICE MANAGER
PAULA@VVEDUCATION.ORG

Paula Alves grew up in Modesto, CA after her family emigrated from the Açores Islands in 1980. (As you may have guessed, Açores is the Portuguese spelling of Azores!) Paula loved helping her father take care of the baby calves at the dairy where he worked for over 30 years, and they always had a vegetable garden at home. Being Portuguese always meant big family gatherings!

Paula and her husband have lived in Half Moon Bay since 1995 and they are raising their five children on a working ranch. Her family is very involved in Half Moon Bay 4-H and Half Moon Bay FFA, and her children have raised many animals including pigs, cattle, goats, chickens, lambs, and rabbits to show at the San Mateo County Fair.  Paula is active in her community, especially in the Portuguese Culture Center and IDES Portuguese hall.

Paula likes to travel and she and her husband love to explore the United States, always discovering hidden treasures everywhere they go. She especially likes visiting the missions throughout California, and of course, visiting family in the Açores Islands is always amazing.  

Paula has a background in finance and as an administrative assistant, and she is excited to work at Vida Verde.  She loves how Vida Verde educates children about nature and how the land provides us with great healthy food.

ARTURO CERVANTES
HE/HIS/HIM CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
ARTURO@VVEDUCATION.ORG

Arturo was born in Mexico City and grew up in East Palo Alto, California, after migrating with his mom when he was five. Arturo spent most of his childhood outside riding his bicycle for hours, playing soccer, and during the summer, he could be found daily at the local community pool making new friends every day.  

Arturo didn't experience the great outdoors beyond parks near his neighborhood until he was a junior in high school; that's when he was invited to white water rafting. That experience opened his eyes to nature, its beauty, and the idea that camping and sleeping in a tent is alright. Arturo was hooked! That following spring, he trained to become a rafting guide and volunteers with Inspiring Connections Outdoors (ICO) Rafting—a nonprofit that takes inner city youth down the river who would not otherwise have the opportunity.

Arturo is attending Thomas Edson State University as a candidate for Masters's in Business Management with a concentration in Human Resource Management. He has worked in various schools in the Peninsula Bay Area, serving as Business Manager, Dean of School Operations, and AP of Business Operations. Working in operations, Arturo built and strengthened systematic systems ranging from Financial Strategies to Covid Policies, Risk Management, and Employee Development. 

Arturo’s passion for the outdoors and mission of getting kids of color to the outdoors has led him to his new home, Vida Verde Nature Education. He can incorporate his professional education and operations background with his experience in the outdoors as a teen to fulfill Vida Verde’s mission of providing educational equity in the outdoors. 

Arturo loves dancing, riding his motorcycle, spending time with his loved ones, and camping any chance he gets. 

ROMY COLOMBATTO SHE/HER/HERS DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT ROMY@VVEDUCATION.ORG

Raised in Southern California, Romy spent summers at camp exploring the Angeles National Forest. During college in Tucson, she was amazed by the abundance of life in the desert and as an adult spent weekends backpacking in the Sierras. Growing up, Romy had family in organic farming, who taught her the importance of knowing how to grow food and inspired her first career with family-owned wineries and distilleries. Working for brands in North and South America and Europe, she eagerly studied viticulture, fermentation, and distillation, in addition to managing marketing and communications.

Romy’s most recent career in non-profit development has focused on supporting programs for students from historically marginalized communities in the Bay Area. That work became crucial during the pandemic, funding distance-learning support in East Palo Alto and student social-emotional health through community gardens and nature programs for those without access.

Romy is delighted to continue her work with Vida Verde, providing awe-inspiring experiences in nature for youth who would not otherwise have the opportunity. Seeing the look of wonder in a child’s eyes as they discover something magical about the world around them is the driving force behind Romy’s work. When she’s not at VV, Romy is getting outside with her very own little one and her partner, exploring the mountains and beaches of their hometown of Santa Cruz.

Steve “hopper” Dasaro
he/his/him INSTRUCTOR
stever@vveducation.org

Steve was born near Boston, Massachusetts, and spent his first six years on the East Coast until his mom moved him and his brothers to California, in San Bernardino County, where he lived most of his young life. He spent much of his youth running around playing sports with neighbors, playing video games, watching TV, and playing board games until he fell in love with the chess game of American football. Outside of nearby school fields, he didn’t have easy access to nature. 

 This urban concrete setting was where Steve first encountered systemic inequities moving between the predominantly underserved community of San Bernardino, raised by a single school teacher, and moving to the outskirts of the affluent suburb of Upland for a more funded school system and a safer environment. His mom instilled in him a value for academics as “a way out” of the financial hardship he inherited, while he would later come to see learning as “a way in” to a life of intention and connection that he didn’t know he was craving until he found it.

 On this path Steve studied Psychology and Business Management at San Diego State, both to find the structure and independence he craved at a young age and also to better understand his own world that was prominently shaped by neurodiversity in his family. This focus of study was influential to both the passion and patience that Steve brings to working with young people. He first found his love for teaching providing training to high school and college students in the science of solar design and installation for a green energy nonprofit.

 Steve found his calling in outdoor education when he discovered volunteer opportunities abroad teaching English at camps in Romania and Hungary and found himself leading songs, dances, and hikes through the rural hills of Transylvania. Since then, Steve has spent the last several years teaching outdoor science in the mountains of Southern California and Colorado, deepening his passion for connecting future leaders with a cohesive narrative about the interdependence of nature and making magical experiences accessible to everyone.

 In his free time, you can find Steve swimming, hiking, playing DnD and board games with friends, or cooking up some favorite dishes.

jOE “groot” eDMONDSON
he/his/him INSTRUCTOR
JOE@vveducation.org

Joe grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. He spent his childhood either inside drawing, listening to music, playing video games, or was outside hanging out with friends and spending lots of time asking questions about how the world worked. There wasn't much exploring in the outdoors other than the suburban wooded areas. However, he did yearn to explore a much more wild world. As a child and into young adulthood Joe had many interests but didn't know how to explore them.

In 2017 Joe luckily found his answers at a summer camp called Hidden Villa as a camp counselor. Here he got his first taste of the West Coast and fresh organic fruit! He was able to fully get to explore his curiosity of the natural world and have a greater understanding of food and how it gets to the grocery store and then to our plates. 

Being a summer camp alum, Environmental Education Intern and a Community Programs Intern at Hidden Villa pushed him to use these tools to share information with youth that changed his life. These are the experiences that he wished he had growing up.  Joe enjoys cooking, drawing, plants, music, learning new things, and making people laugh.

kaitlyn “Firefly” flanagan She/her/hers instructor kaityln@vveducation.org

I grew up in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania which means I grew up surrounded by rivers and Heinz Ketchup. I love being from Pittsburgh, as well as hiking, camping, swimming, pretty much any outdoor activity except for jumping off things. When I’m not outside, you can find me listening to audiobooks, watching survivor, or doing paint by numbers. 

I was fortunate to have parents who encouraged a love for nature by constantly taking me on hikes, going camping, and dunking me in rivers and streams. Nature was always a happy place for me. I found love in outdoor education when I started working for a YMCA summer camp and had five blissful summers of having an absolute blast being outside with kids. I knew I wanted to pursue this path in a more accessible way for all children. I believe nature can be a place of joy for all and what inspires me to work with kids is getting to relieve that spark of joy through their eyes every time they discover something cool about nature! I hope to bring that spark to Vida Verde, along with a lot of silliness, singing, and encouraging us all to step outside our comfort zones. 

Raffelina “Lnt” Grano she/her/hers instructor raffelinA@vveducation.org

Raffelina laughs loudly, smiles easily, and is always eager to learn something new. Though originally from San Diego, she calls many places home and has worked in many roles around the world including barista, summer camp director, backpacking trip leader, community event organizer, animal caretaker, and teacher. In her free time, Raffelina loves to swim in the ocean, craft, read, write, hike, bike, travel, pet cats, spend quality time with family and friends, dance/sing badly, and daydream about the future.

Growing up in a city, Raffelina didn’t play outside much and thought the coolest place to be was loitering around the food court at the shopping mall. It wasn’t until she went to college at UC Santa Cruz, enchanted by the redwoods, that her world was opened to the magic of the outdoors. She began spending more time outside and experienced firsthand the transformative effect it had on her relationships: with herself, her peers, and the earth. She is excited and honored to help facilitate these transformative experiences for young people at Vida Verde.

HARMONY MA SHE/HER/HERS DIRECTOR OF EVENTS and ADMINISTRATION HARMONY@VVEDUCATION.ORG

Harmony was raised in the East Bay, growing up in urban areas with little access to or interest in getting outside. It was unique to have known anyone that regularly camped in her community.

Harmony found her way in nature with slow introductions by generous and patient friends, through easy camping, playing in ocean waves, and chasing creeks and waterfalls walking in the forest.

As an adult, she feels immensely fortunate to now be able to call activities like mountain biking, surfing and climbing her hobbies.

Harmony’s excited to be a part of Vida Verde, working with a team that believes in educational equity and the powerful experiences of the outdoors. She hopes to connect young people with all backgrounds to the magic of being outside.

Devin “El Camino” PEyton
he/him/his TEEN AND FAMILY PROGRAMS director
devin@vveducation.org

Greetings, my people! I hail from San Jose, CA and find myself always coming back to the bay area. It’s good here!
As a child my mom wouldn’t let me go out and play until I said “my purpose in life is to seek truth and practice compassion.” Those words, and my predilection for all things out of doors, have guided me to Vida Verde.

As a VV instructor I witnessed childhood at its finest; full of wonderment and excited to push comfort zones in a safe way. Now working for our summer leadership program, I am honored to facilitate experiences of community and connection to nature for teens. They have untold reserves of hope for the future.

I live for; meaningful human connection, riding bikes, cooking with friends, eating peach pies, bird watching, staring at campfires, and listening to other perspectives.

daniel “Flow” Rodriguez
he/him/his head of program
daniel@VVEDUCATION.ORG

My Name is Daniel Giovanny Rodriguez. My parents came to the US from Mexico, specifically the states of Nayarit and Zacatecas (tropical and desert). I grew up in Santa Ana, California in low-income neighborhoods where the duality of gang violence/struggle of poverty mixed with Latinx groups trying to uplift their communities coexisted. I was the weirdo who was too nerdy to join a gang (thank you to my obsession with Pokémon cards and math homework). I was an oblivious, happy-go-lucky kid that ate junk food and watched TV for most of my time as my parents were slaves to the systems of labor that require the sacrifice of family connection in order to stay materialistically afloat (paying rent and bills). I had no connection with nature nor with family, and I forged my own path. As a teenager, I was just going through the motions of school, friends, and living with the anxiety of the future and death. I studied philosophy and literature in college and began a trajectory of self-discovery after I went camping for the first time in my early 20’s. Nature planted a seed. 

 After graduating, I worked with kids with autism and that ignited a flame that nature ignited before. Both kids and nature acted like a sacred mirror that induced introspection and notions of self-growth. I then got into outdoor education, and I had both kids and nature to put me in my place and served me as life’s perfect compass. They have made me a better person and I am eternally grateful as I have met countless of magnificent individuals (both kids and adults) that have inspired me and shown me different paths as we all are on different paths that lead to the same destination. I am very much who I am because of my experiences with nature and of the youth. I love extreme hiking, breathwork, music, art, flow, the sky and trees, stars and moon, sunsets and sunrises, comedy, barefoot hiking in the snow, cold exposure/ice baths, fire spinning, and cheese.

shawn sears                        he/him/his                 CO-FOUNDER and executive director and program coach SHAWN@VVEDUCATION.ORG

I like to cheer for people. It started when I cheered for kids I was on baseball teams with, and for those who I was on swim teams with. Later, when seeing people ride their bikes to LA to combat AIDS I cheered and was humbled & overwhelmed, and now there are 3 awesome groups that I get to witness and cheer for on the daily:

·      the students who come to Vida Verde and who are challenging themselves        deeply,
·      donors & volunteers who are digging in and taking a stand, and
·      the staff members who I have the pleasure of working side by side with.

Cheering and watching people give what they have brings me to tears. It touches me. When you see someone in an authentic moment, trying hard, they are making themselves vulnerable and it is true beauty and very real. When this is possible, I say “go get it!”  This is why I like to cheer.

(I also hold myself and others to a high standard, because I have seen what each of us is capable of. I know how much potential each of us has!)

Life is short and it can get me down. However, there are magic moments that give me shivers and overwhelm me with joy, emotion & clarity. For this body and mind that I have and the way that I experience the world, I find those magic moments most often when there is music, when we are outside – because “Nature Never Disappoints”, when I am in the water, and when I exercise.

I hope that I get to cheer for you, …and that we get to be together, outside, sharing music, plunging in the cold water, running or biking, or walking.

seth solwell he/him/his facilities team manager seth@vveducation.org

I was born and raised in Delaware, where I ran ragged and dirty through the deciduous woods of the mid-Atlantic seaboard. After finishing high school I headed west. With a little luck and the help of friends, I landed in Tucson, Arizona. For the next 18 years, I fell in love with the Sonoran desert, the perpetually gritty appeal of Tucson, the inexhaustible access to incredible food, sunsets capable of breaking and remaking your soul, and, eventually, my partner, Ariane. I fumbled around for a while, unsure of what to do. While that hasn’t changed too much, I did discover (by accident) that teaching middle school-aged kiddos was something I thoroughly enjoyed doing. 

After seven years of teaching, I moved into the world of Facilities. Springing from my love of the industrial arts, I found a niche where I could indulge my mechanical proclivities while also supporting the youth I had grown to adore. This, eventually, brought me to discover Vida Verde. It was a big, new adventure to move to a brand new place full of brand new people!

In addition to woodworking, welding, and generally constructing… things, I love being outside. My perfect day would be a pretty even blend of project-ing and front-porchin’. In Tucson, my kiddo Juniper and I would lean over our front wall and watch the world go by. Simple bliss :)

sierra “currant” van zandt
she/her/hers Program Coach, Events Coordinator, and Team Manager
sierra@VVeducation.org

Sierra grew up in Redwood City, California (just 30 minutes from Vida Verde!) and has always had a love and curiosity for people and the natural world. This passion stemmed from attending San Mateo Outdoor Education (SMOE) as both a 5th grader and high school counselor. She returned to an internship at SMOE after completing her BS in Environmental Science and Spanish at the University of Oregon. Sierra learned about Vida Verde as a volunteer at their annual Benefit and Celebration in 2012 and she knew this was the place she wanted to be! She joined the VV team as an instructor in 2013 and continued to work as an instructor until 2019, while also taking on the role of Events Coordinator.

Sierra brings with her a lot of camp experience, having worked as a summer camp counselor and Assistant Program Director for the Sequoia YMCA in Redwood City, and as a Camp Leader and Specialty Camp Director at CuriOdyssey in San Mateo. She also currently works as the Education and Site Director at the Edible Schoolyard Kern County in Bakersfield.

Sierra loves harvesting potatoes with children, tide-pooling, hiking, camping, cooking, pickling veggies, canning, and growing food. Sierra can speak Spanish, do an Irish jig, and can identify most plants she walks by.

2023 SUMMER LEADERSHIP PROJECT (SLP) STAFF

Luis “Abuelita” Orozco-Sanchez (Facilitator), Vaiola “Spring” Orellana (Summer Director), Kathy “Dragon Breath” Hernandez (Counselor), Hamza “The TNT Thang” (Facilitator), and Devin “El Camino” Peyton (Director)