Stephanie Welch, Executive Director

Stephanie brings more than 25 years of experience developing strong, resilient youth, families and communities. Her career began in public health with a focus on community engagement and health equity. Stephanie led a non-profit that worked closely with public schools in Knox County, Tennessee, to support youth success from birth through graduation. She served as an elected city council member and Deputy Mayor in Knoxville, Tennessee before moving to Maine to be closer to her family and New England roots. She has most recently worked as Island Institute’s Public Policy Director.

Stephanie holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and master’s degrees in public health and nutrition from the University of Tennessee. She and her partner, Mark, live in South Thomaston with their scruffy rescue dogs Sprout and Truffle.

stephanie@trekkers.org

Kate Elmes, Deputy Director 

Kate served as Trekkers’ Interim Executive Director from May through September 2024. For the past six years, she served as Director of Development, working to build Trekkers’ visibility, impact, and financial resources, including by launching Trekkers’ first capital campaign. Kate is passionate about helping individuals and families make a meaningful impact in their community through an investment in Trekkers. Prior to joining the Trekkers team, Kate was a Development Officer at the Island Institute and worked at Kieve-Wavus. Kate holds a B.A from Lesley University with Degrees in Women’s Studies and Political Science. In her free time, Kate is active on numerous boards that foster youth and female leadership in Maine. Kate lives in Damariscotta with her husband, Andrew, daughter Eleanor, and their dogs, Piper and Lucy.

kate@trekkers.org

Diane Sternberg, Training Director

diane@trekkers.org

TJ Morris, Principal Program Manager

TJ joined the Trekkers team as a Program Manager in September of 2019. She first became interested in outdoor education as a student at Washington State, where she went on a three-day sailing expedition. Since then, she has achieved a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of Hawaii and worked at a number of outdoor education organizations on tall ships and on land. She originally came to Midcoast Maine in 2017 to work as an outdoor educator with the Chewonki Foundation, and fell in love with the rocky coastline and the tight-knit community. In her spare time she loves to curl up with her cat, Tractor, and a good book.

TJ@trekkers.org

Kaleb Robinson, Program Manager

Kaleb joined Trekkers as a Program Manager in December of 2020. In the spring of 2019, Kaleb graduated from the University of Maine in Orono with a B.S in Business Management, with a concentration in International Management and a minor in Leadership Studies. Kaleb is an Alum of the Trekkers class of 2015, and became involved as a student leader and adult volunteer. He enjoys helping foster relationships, building community, and spending time outdoors with students, volunteers, and Trekkers staff. Outside of Trekkers you would most likely find Kaleb spending time with friends either cooking, playing board games, exploring outside, or a combination of all three!

kaleb@trekkers.org

Mitchell DelFrate, Program Manager

Mitchell joined the Program Team in September 2023, after serving for over two years as an AmeriCorp member at Trekkers. Prior to then, he spent three years studying Surveying Engineering Technology at the University of Maine. As a Trekkers Alum (Class of 2017), he enjoys building meaningful relationships with students as a way to give back to the community. He is happy to be part of organization that was so influential for him as a student. Outside of the office you will mostly find Mitchell working out, reading, and spending time with family.

mitchell@trekkers.org

Teresa Valdepeñas, Communications & Impact Manager

Before starting at Trekkers in 2019, Tess worked at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine in Camden as a Community-Based Manager. Originally from Massachusetts, she she spent over a decade in Boston working in advertising agencies as a studio artist, account executive, researcher, and creative strategist. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Boston University. Outside of the office, you can find Tess birding on Beauchamp Point, tending to veggie plants, or toasting s’mores around a campfire. Tess lives in Camden with her husband and daughter.

teresa@trekkers.org

Lauren Lewis, Administrative Coordinator

Lauren is the Administrative Coordinator at Trekkers. She attended the University of Connecticut for her BFA and Winterthur/University of Delaware for her MS and Certificate in Art Conservation. She moved to Maine in 1998 and has worked in several nonprofit organizations in the area since then. Most recently, she was office manager for the Camden Conference. She was drawn to work for Trekkers because, as a mother to a middle schooler, she has become very aware of the challenges youth are facing, especially in recent years. Her other passion is art, and she maintains a painting conservation studio in Rockland. She lives in Thomaston with her husband and daughter and a small menagerie of pets.

lauren@trekkers.org

Jamie Fullerton, Finance Assistant

Jamie is Trekkers’ Finance Assistant.  She joined the team after being in financial services in Southern Maine for many years, holding positions in Accounting and Finance. Jamie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from the University of Maine. In addition to working for Trekkers, she also sub-teaches in local schools at all grade levels.  She enjoys being involved with youth which makes Trekkers an ideal fit for her interests and passion. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, gardening, traveling and just being outdoors.  She lives in South Thomaston.

jamie@trekkers.org

Kamryn Prior, AmeriCorps Member