Annie Linhart (she/her) is the Program Manager with Viristar. Annie has a proven track record of leadership in the outdoor industry, working in the experiential and adventure education sectors. She attended Southern Illinois University for her B.S. in Outdoor Recreation Leadership and Management, and obtained her M.S. in Outdoor Recreation at Indiana University. Some of Annie’s work experience includes instructing outdoor technical skills programs as well as experiential facilitation programs for collegiate outdoor programs, nonprofits, and instructing for Outward Bound California as well as the Colorado Outward Bound School. She most recently served as the Assistant Director for a nonprofit outdoor recreation and education center in Northern Michigan.

Annie is an EMT, a wilderness medicine instructor, an American Canoe Association L2 Kayak Instructor, a Leave No Trace Master Educator Trainer, and a Wilderness Lifeguard with Starfish Aquatics. Annie currently resides in Northern Michigan, a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan. Her passions outside of work include snowboarding, surfing, mountain biking, and throwing clay in the pottery studio.

Jeff A. Baierlein (he/him) has been working professionally since 1987 with outdoor education, environmental education, adventure education and experiential education organizations in the USA and around the world. He led remote wilderness expeditions, worked as a naturalist-educator, served as an Emergency Medical Technician with ambulance services, led search and rescue missions, and was appointed to the Washington State Governor’s Council on Environmental Education.

Prior to founding Viristar, Jeff served as Executive Director of both the Boojum Institute for Experiential Education and the Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Center. His writing and lectures have been translated into Japanese, Vietnamese, Russian, Marathi, and Chinese.