JARED - Owner | OPERATIONS MANAGER | NATURALIST GUIDE

While attending the University of Maine, Jared spent time working in Acadia National Park as a Ridge Runner teaching Leave No Trace. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism and a minor in Outdoor Education he relocated to Bend. He is an avid rock climber, but also dabbles in whitewater kayaking, yoga, and backpacking. Jared’s passion and excitement for the outdoors inspires everyone he meets.

COURTNEY - Owner | SALES MANAGER | NATURALIST GUIDE

Originally from Upstate New York she graduated from the University at Buffalo and spent her free time hiking in the Adirondack Mountains. She left NY for a 145 day thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail where she fell in love with Central Oregon and its High Desert! In her free time you can find her exploring the great outdoors by way of trail running, kayaking, rowing, climbing mountains, and skiing. Her dog Clementine found her in Bend and now enjoys frolicking in the outdoors almost as much as she does. Courtney is excited to share the knowledge, passion and excitement she has for the outdoors with others!

Jay - Marketing and Events Manager | NATURALIST GUIDE

Jay was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up loving all things outdoors and always dreamed of ending up somewhere out west. In January of 2020, Jay made his move from Cleveland to the beautiful mountains of Bend. He quickly fell in love with the access to adventure, fresh powder at Mt. Bachelor, cold dips in the river, endless trails, and so much more. These days, you can find him snowboarding, hiking, surfing on the coast, mountain biking, playing music around town, or laying river-side with his black lab, Ozzy.

Jose - Operations Manager | Naturalist guide

Jose is a native Oregonian who loves all the outdoor activities that this state has to offer. While growing up in Eugene, on the west side of the Cascade Mountain range, he spent a lot of time hiking, fishing, and camping. His passion for the outdoors and desire to share his enthusiasm for nature lead him to pursue a degree in Tourism, Recreation, and Adventure Leadership at the Oregon State University-Cascades campus here in Bend. In his free time, you can find Jose rock climbing, hiking with this dog, or paddle boarding.

Vanessa - Office Manager | Naturalist Guide

Vanessa was born and raised in Chicago, IL, and has always had a great admiration for the outdoors. After graduating university with a degree in environmental science, Vanessa moved out west to start her career in conservation. From trail building crews, to invasive species control, to fire management, to outdoor infrastructure improvements, Vanessa has seen it all.  After putting 5 years of conservation work under her belt, she was ready to move on to a new challenge, naturalist guiding! Vanessa has a passion for sharing her knowledge of the natural world, and enjoys helping others better understand and appreciate the environment around them. Outside of work you can find her backpacking, paddle boarding, mountain biking, XC skiing, or even just walking around town. She is a social butterfly who is always ready to spark up a conversation and pass on her knowledge. Be sure to give her a wave and say hello the next time you run into her!

Laura - Naturalist Guide

Laura grew up in Texas, but after graduating high school she spent several years solo traveling to new countries around the world. Through those experiences, she discovered a deep passion for human connection and a strong desire to help protect the outdoor spaces that make those connections possible. She firmly believes that travel and time spent in nature can truly change people’s lives, just ask her about it and she can probably talk your ear off.

After eventually moving to Central Oregon, Laura quickly fell in love with all forms of outdoor recreation and decided to pursue a degree in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon State University. Her studies focus on understanding how humans and wildlife can coexist and how science can inform real-world conservation.

In her free time, you can find her paddle boarding on alpine lakes, backcountry skiing, rock climbing, or backpacking into the mountains with friends. She is passionate about sharing her love for the natural world, her enthusiasm is contagious, and she just might convince you to go on your next adventure.

Shaeleen - Naturalist Guide

Shae was born and raised in Southern Massachusetts and grew up caring deeply about the environment, but living in an urban area didn't offer much opportunity to access truly natural spaces. After her first year of college, she took some time off from her Psychology degree in Boston, MA to move to Colorado. After living in the White River National Forest for 4 months, she decided to pursue a career in outdoor education. She returned back to New England, where she got a B.S. in Adventure Education from Plymouth State University. Since graduating, Shae has been working in non-profit settings in CA and OR to build outdoor recreation programs for underserved youth. She's called Bend home since 2023 after visiting the town for a day and deciding to move here. On her off days you can find her on the trails or rock walls where she prides herself on being aggressively mediocre at all the cool outdoor recreation sports Central Oregon has to offer. 

Kevin - Naturalist Guide

Kevin grew up on the beach in Manhattan Beach, California, and discovered surfing at a very young age. His love for surfing grew into a deep love for nature. Because he is happiest outside, he aims to be outside as much as possible, rain or shine (snow too!). Kevin graduated from Oregon State University with a major in Tourism and Outdoor Recreation. He has many years of experience in both hospitality and outdoor recreation-based work, including hotel management, therapeutic recreation, surf and snowboard instructor, and paddle board guiding in Costa Rica. Kevin is an avid snowboarder today and calls Mt. Bachelor his home mountain. Kevin has lived in Bend for 9 years and feels extremely grateful to call Bend home. When he's not guiding, you can find him paddling the Deschutes River, hiking in the Badlands Wilderness with his dog, Bear, or hanging out in his garden with his plants. You can also find him at live music or art events all over Bend as he is passionate about music, art, and creativity!

Isaac - Naturalist Guide

Isaac was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and spent his summers exploring Central Oregon's natural landscapes in his youth. After earning a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Spanish from Pitzer College, he worked as a backpacking guide for two years in Yosemite National Park. Isaac moved back to Oregon last year and is excited to finally call Bend his home. In his spare time, you can find Isaac playing in the mountains throughout the West, soaking up the summer sun along the Oregon Coast, reading a good book (or two, or three), or just taking it all in with his friends and family. His literary preferences include both fiction and nonfiction, and he is an enthusiastic omnivore with a taste for new cuisines.

Dylan - Naturalist guide

Dylan is originally from Australia and grew up exploring the great outdoors with his family. He has a degree in PE and Outdoor Education. In 2015 Dylan began working in outdoor education, leading students on one to three-week trips from hiking to white water rafting around Southeastern Australia. In 2016 Dylan completed a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. In 2019, Dylan moved to the US to guide in Yosemite and Southern Utah. He strives to connect people with beautiful spaces and pass on his passion for this wondrous land. He now calls Bend home where you can find him hiking, biking, climbing or skiing with his lovely wife.

Benton - Naturalist Guide

Benton grew up in rural southern Indiana as an only child spending much of his free time exploring the forests around his home on foot and on horseback. This experience taught him that nature is a loving and challenging companion during the easy and the difficult times in life. After high school he bought a one way ticket to the US Virgin Islands, beginning his quest to find a new home and eventually settling in Oakland, California where he became a paddle sports instructor and guide and explored the coasts, deserts, forests, and mountains of the Golden State. After an 8 month road trip throughout the west he found that Bend was his favorite town of all the places he visited. 1 year later he moved up to Oregon. Benton enjoys riding his motorcycle in the National Forest, stand up paddle boarding, snow shoeing, rock climbing, the cold water of local rivers, music production and sitting in the woods and being still. 

Rune - Naturalist guide

Meet Rune, a Belgian guy who traded waffles and rainy skies for sunshine, sagebrush, and the stunning wilds of Central Oregon. He first landed here in 2024 for a short internship to finish his bachelor’s in Tourism and Recreation Management... but let’s just say that Oregon had other plans. One hike, one river view, and one burrito later, he was hooked.

Growing up in Belgium, untouched nature wasn’t exactly around every corner. So discovering Central Oregon's wide-open spaces, towering pines, and jaw-dropping landscapes felt like stepping into a dream (a dusty, pine-scented, totally awesome dream).

When he’s not soaking up the great outdoors, you can catch him at the Bend BMX track, where he loves helping out and staying close to the sport he did for eight years. He also played soccer most of his life, because let’s be real, he’s European, so that’s basically in the DNA. These days, he still keeps up with the European leagues but now proudly roots for the Oregon Ducks too. GO DUCKS!

Evenings? That’s when the apron comes on, the country tunes start playing, and dinner gets cooked, Belgian roots, Oregon soul.

Brian - Naturalist Guide

Brian hails from New Jersey and grew up camping, canoeing, and exploring the outdoors all along the east coast. After college he slowly moved west across the country, while going to graduate school to study ecology and evolution. After completing a doctorate from Oregon State University in 2019, Brian settled in Bend where he continues to study and teach about the natural world while enjoying all that central Oregon has to offer. In his free time you can catch Brian playing hockey, hiking, and peeping at wildlife. He is excited to accompany you on an immersive experience in nature with Wanderlust this summer! 

Jeremy - Naturalist Guide

Jeremy joined Wanderlust in 2009. You might find Jeremy working for Outward Bound in central Oregon, working with Oregon Adaptive Sports, or exploring the great outdoors by foot, bike, raft and canoe. Jeremy’s favorite parts of winter are overdosing on holiday music, bluebird ski days, and feeling the days gradually lengthen as winter progresses.

JAMES - NATURALIST GUIDE

James has a degree in outdoor recreation leadership from Oregon State University and has been guiding with Wanderlust Tours since 2007. James is an Eagle Scout, youth leader, and maybe the fifth most handsome Wanderlust Tours guide. When not on tour, James' other passions include riding bikes with his 3 sons, photography, bird identification, fly fishing and home brewing beer, wine & mead. If you're going on tour with James, you may or may not want to get him started talking about lichens, native birds or fermentation science.

DAVE - Founder | Naturalist Guide

Dave founded Wanderlust Tours in 1993. Dave’s passion is to help people understand the intricate links between nature and us; after all, we rely on everything she provides for us. Dave and his wife, Aleta, received the 2000 Governor’s Tourism Award. Governor Kitzhaber gave this award to Wanderlust Tours in recognition of their leadership, cooperation and support for building sustainable tourism in Oregon. In 2005 Wanderlust Tours received the Gene Leo award for their outstanding contributions and efforts in outdoor recreation and for its focus on Oregon’s natural beauty. In 2007 Dave and Aleta were awarded the Excellence in Family Business Award from the Austin Family Business Program at Oregon State University for promoting the understanding of natural, cultural and environmental issues in Oregon. Outside of business, life is active with his family pursuing outdoor recreation in Bend’s nearby forest, traveling and volunteering in various capacities.

ALETA - CO-founder

Aleta co-founded Wanderlust Tours with Dave in 1993. Aleta's role and passion for Wanderlust is in marketing, public relations, and the company image. She has a degree in communications and has marketing experience ranging from Chicago PR firms to the High Desert Museum. Aleta met Dave while guiding in the Canadian Rockies and they created Wanderlust Tours together before they married. Aleta's other full-time job has the title of "Mom" to daughter Annika. Aleta loves trail running, fitness, reading, theater, independent films and rock climbing with her daughter. Annika is a Wanderlust guide-in-training, born and raised in Bend. She loves to run, snowshoe, sing, act and swim.