People
Our team of talented wilderness instructors works behind the scenes and all over the country to give you the best experience possible. Primitive Pursuits programming is brought to life by an eclectic mix of educators, community partners, students, parents and supporters. Read on to learn about our exceptional team.
Year-Round Staff
Jed Jordan
Founding Director
Aspiring tracker, devoted farmer, and fearless wrangler of details
Wren Anjali
Program Coordinator
Passionate connector of people, and lover of the earth
Sarah Birnbaum
Program Director
Commuinty builder, giggler and sage calmer of storms
Melissa Blake
Program Coordinator
Secret hideout specialist, nature connection veteran and leader of leaders
Monica Bosworth
Field Instructor
Home-schooling mom, gardner, nature lover
Sarah Chaffee
Lead Instructor
Kid whisperer, blogger, lover of wonder and magical photographer
Sean Cornell
Lead Instructor
Fire wizard, primitive bow hunter, wilderness chef, and keeper of legends
Sophia Hutnik
Field Instructor
Teacher, forager, herbalist, and student of life
Sky Minkoff
Registrar Expert manager of details, adventurer and dedicated backyard farmer
Hillary Joy Pitoniak
Field Instructor
Co-creator, practicing herbalist and experiential educator
Megan Pugh
Director od Marketing
Graphic designer, strategist, vegan chef, and aspiring yogi
Danielle Prizzi
Lead Instructor
Heroic homesteader, humble herbalist, and wild food enthusiast
Jesse Worden
Field Instructor
“Finding Primitive Pursuits was the best mistake of my life”
Summer Staff
Aly Trombitas
Field Staff
Aly is excited to spend another summer working to help staff and campers have the best summer ever!
Angie Beeler
Field Instructor
Angie brings magic, singing, dancing, and gentle creative playfulness into the mix.
Anna Bundy
Field Instructor
“We are all connected. We are one with nature, not above it”
Ash Bailot
Photojournalist
Ash is a junior Documentary Production major at Ithaca College
Avital Abraham
Field Instructor
Avital loves to dabble in crafts of all kinds and one of her favorite things to do is to get a big group of people singing songs together.
Billy Streleckis
Photojournalist
Billy is heading into his senior year as a television and radio major at Ithaca College
Cindy Montross-Tipa
Field Instructor
Cindy believes deeply in the power of nature to heal hearts and inspire the child in all of us.
Daniel Korzukhin
Field Instructor
Daniel has been exploring the woods around 4-H Acres for his entire childhood.
Elias Mitchell
Field Instructor
Sharing his passions, curiosity, and excitement with youth lights his fire; keeping ancient art forms alive through teaching, adds purpose to his life.
Greg Fusco
Camp Coordinator InternGreg is often in the woods running the beautiful trails that Ithaca has to offer
Hannah Whelan
Field Instructor
Hannah believes that if we inspire the youth to connect with the environment, we can foster tremendous love and hope for each other, our communities, and our planet.
Heidi Nydam
Field Instructor
Heidi began her time at Primitive Pursuits as a camper more than 10 years ago.
Kaisa Mackay
Field Instructor
Wildcrafting and exploring forests and rivers are some of Kaisa’s favorite things to do.
Mira Vanek-Johnson
Field Instructor
Mira spent much of her childhood running around outside, playing pretend and making things
Nora Littell
Born and raised in Ithaca, Nora grew up exploring the woods and creeks by her house.
Ryley Rasmussen
Field Instructor
With a solid love for the outdoors Ryley spends his free time hiking and exploring looking for wilderness scenes to practice his photography.
Sierra Robinson
Field Instructor
Sierra loves to help children explore their innate connection to nature through all of life’s magic.
Toby Brisson
Field Instructor
Toby loves to travel, learn new skills, play guitar, and meet new people.
With Gratitude,