Emily founded Venture Free in 2014. She has a great love for adventure, and enjoys inspiring those around her to live happy and healthy lives. She started on her journey as an outdoor educator as a surf instructor, and has been working with kids for over 20 years. Her positive attitude and zest for life is contagious – she makes every day at camp great fun!

Paul is an engineer by trade and an avid world traveler who brings his practical, safety-first approach to help run the board as President. A PCGI rock climbing guide and backcountry enthusiast, Paul enjoys introducing kids to rock climbing and wilderness skills to build confidence and resilience. Passionate about the mission, Paul regularly volunteers his time and expertise to help create meaningful, inclusive outdoor experiences for youth.

George is a husband, a father of one daughter, and is constantly in awe of the magnificence of our planet. A geologist by training, he feels privileged to be able to visit Earth's many fascinating places to study their boundless wonders. His passion for the outdoors and outdoor education is a pillar of his research and coursework at Stanford University, where he is a Full Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Erik is a lifelong outdoorsman and adventurer; backpacking, canoeing, and crosscountry skiing all around the western United States and beyond. He has been active with Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts) for many years, including staffing more Troop 27 summer camps than he cares to count, acting as a merit badge councilor, and training adults through courses such as IOLS. He also teaches Wilderness First Aid with the boutique training outfit Paratus Institute.

Joe grew up on the Peninsula and participated in Venture Free programs as a high school student. He found in Venture Free a program that fostered his curiosity of and appreciation for California’s natural and cultural landscapes. After high school, Joe studied Philosophy and Urban & Regional Planning at UC Berkeley, exploring the intersection of the environment, philosophy, education, and sustainability. Joe is a Project Planner at a CA-based environmental consulting firm, where he works on a wide range of parks and open space projects.

Gabrielle is a wife and proud mom of one exceptional teen daughter and two Belgian Malinois, her fur babies. She and her family moved to Kings Mountain in 2019 where she enrolled her daughter in the local elementary school KMES. There she and her family were introduced to Ventrue Free. Since then, her daughter has participated in the after school program, many of the summer camps and now, as a high school student, she is a member of Venture Free's Terra Teen program and a counselor for the Little Mountain Camp. Gabrielle joined the board in 2026 to help the program continue to introduce and foster a love of the outdoors and adventure to other children as it has on her own child.