Denice Rochelle
Denice holds a lifelong reverence for wild places – oceans, rivers, towering trees, mountain air, and the quiet power of a good sunset. As a biracial woman navigating outdoor spaces historically dominated by whiteness, Denice brings lived experience, deep curiosity, and a passion for rewriting the story of who belongs outside.
Her love for sea and land is matched by a passion to help others unlearn fear and reclaim confidence in the natural world.
What began as guiding friends of color on their first camping trips grew into a powerful movement – The Bronze Chapter – a nonprofit she visioned to create joyful, skill-building, and liberating outdoor experiences for BIPOC youth, adults, and mixed-race families in Washington State and beyond. Through this platform, she invites others to explore curiosity, courage, healing, health, and connection as they create new legacies in the outdoors.
Denice sees learning and unlearning as lifelong practices, and she’s pursued knowledge across many landscapes – forests, shorelines, classrooms, and underwater worlds. She holds certifications in Wilderness EMT, Wilderness First Aid Instruction, CPR, AIARE 1 Avalanche Safety, Leave No Trace Level 2 Instruction, Advanced Open Water Diving, and multiple sailing levels with ASA and US Sailing.
Whether providing guidance for someone’s first camping experience, backpacking trip, or playing on and in the water, Denice centers joy, safety, cultural relevance, and belonging.
Stacy Sarver
Stacy has a passion for learning about others’ love of the outdoors. Born and raised in the Greater Seattle area, she’s a biracial woman and “third culture kid” who spends her weekends chasing the best places to watch the sunrise.
Her outdoor journey is rooted in both adventure and a deep connection to the natural world – floating in warm oceans, climbing sandstone in Nevada, snowboarding the Cascade Concrete of Stevens Pass, backpacking to alpine lakes like Gothic Basin and Colchuck Lake, and kayaking through the quiet waterways of the San Juan Islands.
Each pursuit has taught her something different: the connection, movement, and resilience of the ocean; patience from long ascents; adaptability in shifting weather; and the joy of sharing these moments with others.
A lifelong learner, Stacy often reminds newcomers to the outdoors that her own journey began simply – riding her bike around the neighborhood and walking to the corner store, wind in her hair and a Snickers melting in her pocket.
These days, the wind is still in her hair and the Snickers have migrated to her backpack.
Since taking off her training wheels, she’s also earned certifications in Wilderness First Aid, CPR, and AIARE 1 Avalanche Safety, and completed the Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) course.
Whether she’s sharing a trail snack, coaxing a first-time backpacker up the last switchback, or pointing out the best sunrise spots, Stacy hopes every trip leaves people a little more confident, a little more curious, and a lot more in love with the outdoors – and maybe with a Snickers or two in their own pack.
Lindsay Huettman
Lindsay is a Community ally who loves plants of the Pacific Northwest. A long-time staff member at Wilderness Awareness School, Lindsay helped design their Wild Plant Intensive and other programs.
She carries a deep respect and love for the natural world and brings over 25 years of experience with native plants, organic gardening/farming, plant fibers/dyes, ethnobotany, permaculture, arboriculture, plant science and emotional/physical survival skills.
Her primary passion is connecting humans to wild places through plants as a vehicle to inner awareness, deep connection to the earth and confidence with plants as allies.
Her deep love of plants, learning about and from Native American Peoples, inspired her to complete a bachelor’s degree at Western Washington University in Ethnobotany Stewardship Education in 2006.
Lindsay’s other passions include leading mindfulness and intuitive tracking expeditions, PNW geology, birdwatching, playing music, wilderness medicine, homesteading skills, and rites of passage/initiation work.
She also has a background in native plant landscaping, horse packing/trail guiding, teaching mindfulness meditation and whitewater rafting.
After working in transformational outdoor programs for many years, Lindsay decided to complete a Masters in Counseling Psychology and is an LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor) with a specialization in ecological grief, trauma, and anxiety/panic disorders.
She combines this therapeutic expertise with her many years as a wilderness guide to provide transformational experiences to support self-realization, community connection and relationship with the earth.