BCC Team: Staff & Board of Directors
KATE BEEZLEY - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kate Beezley
Kate Beezley's decade and a half of climbing started in the Sierras, and since then, she's been fortunate to hone her skills at crags across the country, as well as in Europe and South America.
Kate's been a Boulder-area local since relocating here in 2005 to work on her PhD, and has come to appreciate the sanity-saving value of having such a bounty of climbing in her backyard. As executive director, she's committed to making sure these well-loved areas are equally well taken care of.
Before joining the BCC as executive director, Kate was on the organization's board. She recently wrapped on a 15-year career teaching social studies, most recently at Lafayette's Peak to Peak Charter School.
When not out at the crag with her fellow slommies (mommies who slay), you can find her hanging out with her husband, young son, and canine companion, often on some adventure involving their Scamp, a lot of dirt, and some wild places.
AARON FRIEDLAND -OPERATIONS/VOLUNTEER MANAGER
Crystal Crag, Mammoth Lakes, CA
Aaron started climbing in the Adirondacks of Upstate New York, and ever since has been in love with the pursuit of the vertical and the places it takes him. He’s been lucky enough to get to explore unforgettable places like the Bugaboos, the Sierra Nevada, Joshua Tree, and even stand atop the summits of Argentina’s Aconcagua, and Alaska’s Mt Fairweather.
Aaron moved to the Front Range in early 2020, and quickly recognized the incredible access to outdoor spaces that this area boasts, and the importance of preserving that resource. That desire to protect these wild places led to him first joining the BCC as a volunteer rebolter.
When he’s not out climbing, Aaron (along with his partner, and his pup), can usually be found hootin’ and hollerin’ while whitewater kayaking/rafting, snowboarding, canyoneering, or gravel biking.
ALYSSA GRIZENKO - DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
photo: Gabe Rovick/Zeal Optics
Alyssa’s love for climbing began in Utah when she started wrestlin’ those big pebbles in Joe’s Valley over a decade ago. Since then she has had the pleasure of experiencing incredible climbing areas such as Yosemite, Squamish, The Winds, Rocktown, and all of the local gems found scattered across Colorado. As a native, Alyssa attributes her love for the outdoors to her parents, and ultimately thanks them for dragging her on those very long hikes every weekend as a child.
Alyssa has had the pleasure of running her own nonprofit in Chattanooga, TN, and has spearheaded many programs that focused on land conservation and stewardship through community efforts. She believes that outdoor activities such as climbing or hiking should be accessible to everyone, and recognizes the power that our own community has when it comes to prioritizing and preserving the recreational areas that we all deeply care for.
Alyssa is really excited to be a part of the BCC, and hopes to not only foster relationships in the local community, but expand her efforts by nurturing new ones with those who love our backyard as much as she does.
If you can’t find Alyssa screaming on a climb while taking a mega whip (sarcasm), You can usually find her shredding that pow pow, playing with her three dogs or singing with a bunch of her talented friends.
RYAN KUEHN - DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS
Ryan began climbing out in the wonderful granite of the Eastern Sierra. A chance encounter with a trail crew on the Mt. Whitney trail began a decade + career in trail building and conservation. After many years of spending months living out of a tent on backcountry projects, Ryan moved to the Boulder area to find a balance between trail building full time and getting in more climbing. Ryan joined BCC in 2017 and has since taken the lead on many of BCC’s largest trail projects such as Upper Dream Canyon, the Cathedral Spires reroute, and climbing access improvements at Avalon.
Alex Mandrila-Anchor Replacement and Fundraising committees
I first got involved with the BCC through our anchor replacement program in 2021. I once had a frightening encounter with some loose anchor bolts, and always wanted to learn how they’re maintained. Through the ARP I’ve focused on helping mentor new volunteers with replacing bad hardware. I love serving on the BCC board for the opportunity to give back. We’re an organization where volunteers often get the satisfaction seeing firsthand how their contributions make an impact. We all benefit from the work we do, and it’s hard to not feel good about improving the areas you love.
As of recent I identify as a web designer, but over the years my background in photo and video had me wearing many hats. I like looking at our programs through a sort of design lens, because I think stewardship is about listening to our community’s experience and involving everyone in solutions. I serve on the anchor replacement and fundraising committees, where I think my studio art / design / sort of all over the place background landed me.
Aside from climbing, I like riding bicycles in the mountains and on the gravel roads here. I started a sewing hobby when I learned to bikepack, and I like designing gear when I can. My favorite places to climb are the Estes Park valley and the Flatirons, and I miss visiting the Red and Seneca where I first started. My partner and I enjoy camping and backpacking, and did about a third of the Colorado Trail years back.
Thomas Isaacson-Board Chair, Advocacy Chair, Executive, Advocacy, Finance, Governance committees
I have devoted much of my adult life to various forms of advocacy, as a college debater and coach, as a lawyer doing commercial litigation (now retired), and through numerous positions in the outdoor recreation world. So, on the BCC (since 2020) my focus has been chairing the Advocacy Committee and I also am on the Governance Committee. I enjoy the opportunities to help represent the climbing community in preserving or even improving access. The wide variety of land owners in this area, each with its own rules, makes it quite a challenge. It helps scratch some of the itch that remains from my lawyering days — working on developing strategy and figuring out the right advocacy to effectuate that strategy. I also give to the BCC in other ways, including doing trail work, attending to general board of directors stuff, and helping out financially.
Not sure I have a favorite crag or route. I think I have done the Naked Edge more than any other area climb, but most of those ascents were 20+ years ago, when I was in my 40s. Besides climbing, I am an avid cyclist (road and gravel), and dabble in skiing, hiking, and paddling.
People often wrongly assume that as a Washington, DC corporate litigator I must be very serious. While I can act that way in court, and as needed, I have a considerable silly streak. My favorite movies include Animal House, Trading Places, and Monty Python And The Holy Grail. I laugh way too hard at fart and poop jokes.
Jon Cheifitz-Chair, Anchor Replacement Committee
I started my connection with the BCC, supporting anchor replacement as well as some trail building. I found trail work way too hard for me so I stuck with bolts. After some time learning and working on the skills, I joined the board to support the BCC mission directly and have since taken the chair position for the ARP program. I enjoy the work we do for the community around safety, knowledge, and overall stewardship. I care deeply about keeping positive connections between climbers, land managers, and those who came before us in the special places we get to recreate and spend time. You can typically find me in Eldo or BC most evenings after work and adventuring in the west someplace as much as possible. I enjoy all styles of climbing from alpine ice to big wall slogs and have been doing so for over 30 years. Outside of climbing I am a skier, musician, father to 4 legged children and a husband. I, like many Colorado folks, love Red Rocks and have been able to play my guitar on stage one magical evening. I keep an ever growing list of books on my nightstand and it seems for every one I finish another 2 make the pile. One day when I finally grow up I hope to spend my time in the woodshop, the studio or on the side of a rock full time.
Lauren Concepcion-Fundraising, Social committees
My climbing career started in 2007 at a swampy Florida gym called Vertical Ventures. For years, I competed on plastic and drove 7 hours every Friday night (printed Dr. Topo guides in hand!) to climb southern sandstone – sometimes for just a single afternoon – before retreating home to await the next trip. A few years later, I drove to Boulder on a whim with 4 bins of gear in my Jeep and haven’t looked back since.
In 2013, I started school at CU Law and after graduating, worked at a small transactional firm where I had the opportunity to represent many outdoor industry clients. This experience showed me the plethora of access and advocacy issues plaguing climbing, and I’ve been motivated to use my professional expertise as a force of good for my hobby ever since.
Currently, I am a trademark attorney and chances are if you’re my client, you’ve had at least 1 email or phone exchange where I’ve been scrambling for a hotspot connection from atop a ridgeline or desert campsite. When I’m not climbing, I’m probably outdoors skiing, biking, hiking, gardening, or frantically chasing one of my dogs through the woods.
What is something that people often get wrong about you? While my past few climbing seasons have focused on alpine bouldering, I’m not “just a boulderer.” I’ve logged many hours on a rope and some of my favorite locations include: Indian Creek, the Obed, and my absolute favorite sport climbing spot in the universe - the New River Gorge.
Blake Busse-Chair, Governance, Advocacy, Governance committees
Although born and raised in metro Denver, I didn’t start rock climbing until about 2011 and I came to it somewhat by accident (I was more interested in ascending steep snow at the time). Since getting my first taste – top roping up the backside of the King Conqueror boulder on Flagstaff – I’ve been pretty much hooked and have variously emphasized alpine trad, sport projecting, bouldering, and ice climbing.
While my focus has changed over time, a constant has been my love of our Front Range crags. As a frequent visitor of theirs, I wanted to give back to them so that they could continue to provide the phenomenal climbing resources our local climbing community so cherishes. In addition to stocking wag bags and getting my hands dirty with the trail crew, serving on the BCC board has been a great way to do just that. Professionally, I work on federal land management policy and change in that realm is often long and slow. But with the BCC, I love that we can see really tangible and meaningful results of our work every time we hike a sustainable trail, clip a safe new bolt, or enjoy the sight of a soaring golden
eagle. It’s been a great honor to serve on the BCC board since 2023 and to chair our Governance Committee and be an Advocacy Committee member. When I’m not climbing, working, or volunteering with the BCC, I enjoy hiking and road tripping with my partner Kyra, making up recipes in the kitchen, pretending to be a birder, hacky sacking, and dabbling with the saxophone. Hope to meet you out at a local crag or gym!
What is something that people often get wrong about you?
That I only know how to clip bolts
Jacob Sorum
Growing up in South Dakota, I climbed my first granite spire in the Needles of Mt. Rushmore at the age 10. Two and a half decades later, climbing remains my biggest passion. I’m incredibly grateful for the endless friendships, adventures, and connection to public lands that it continues to give.
I joined the BCC board in 2025 with a simple motivation: give back to the crags that have given me so much. As a frequent user of Front Range climbing areas, I believe the places we sacrifice for often become the ones we love the most. That belief, and a desire to protect Colorado’s climbing future, brought me to the BCC.
When not on rock or the spray wall in my garage, I serve as a nonprofit leader, designing and directing programs that empower people, strengthen communities, and level playing fields. My career spans conservation, education, housing, and youth and community development—all grounded in a commitment to equity and impact.
Outside of climbing, my favorite hobby is talking about climbing (kidding…but not really). I’m an avid snowboarder, occasional mountain biker, I love to travel and speak spanish, and most of all, spend time outside with my wife, my son Wesley, and our energetic black lab named Ollie.
Shannon Forsman
I grew up in Boulder and started climbing in elementary school. I got my start climbing indoors on plastic, but over time, I found myself increasingly drawn to the outdoors. I went to university in Vancouver, BC, where I studied environmental science and fell in love with the granite boulders of Squamish. After graduating, I moved back to Boulder and coached at The Spot Bouldering Gym.
These days, I work as a software engineer. I love sessioning on the MoonBoard at the BRC during the week and getting outside to climb on the weekends whenever I can. My background in environmental science keeps me rooted in stewardship and access advocacy, and joining the BCC board felt like a natural way to give back to the places and community that I love.
Outside of work and climbing, I enjoy hiking (my husband and I are slowly ticking off all of Colorado’s 14ers) and gardening. I'm also into martial arts, crosswords, and piano, and I spend way too much time hanging out with my cat.
Favorite crag: Upper Chaos Canyon in RMNP
Something people get wrong about me: I'm really not into crimps
Fred Knapp-Fundraising and Advocacy committees
I first climbed in 1982 on the bluffs of Steele, AL and in 1987 moved from New Orleans to Boulder (where I was hired at Neptune Mountaineering and later the Boulder Mountaineer). It was Ed Abbey’s Desert Solitaire that made me fall in love with the West, though the Boy Scouts exposed me to and gave me passion for the outdoors.
I’ve been active in the Boulder climbing community as a route developer, mountain shop employee, guide, contributing editor at Climbing, and founder of Sharp End Publishing in 1992.
I’m drawn to the Boulder Climbing Community because it represents the region I love and provides incredible community support through trail work and re-bolting. It’s the organization I’ve benefited from the most, though I have served on committees for the AAC, as well. As a board member with the BCC, I’m on the Fundraising and Advocacy committees. I enjoy interacting with the community and am thrilled to give back.
When not climbing, I enjoy spending time with my wife, son, and daughter and my amazing climbing partners. I can often be found surfing river waves, kayaking, rafting, canyoneering, and skiing. While I tend to enjoy every crag I’ve been to, my favorites are Eldorado Canyon, the Flatirons, the red rock desert of Utah, and the Boulder Rock Club.
Jamie Logan
My connection to the BCC starts with my relationship with its founder Roger Briggs. He and I climbed the Diamond on Longs peak together in 1967 and we have been friends ever since. As a current board member, I am giving back to the regional community that has been a major part of my life. I have watched the transformation from all traditional climbing with pitons, to a sport with indoor climbing gyms and bolted sport climbs. The increase in the number of climbers has
been amazing and it is apparent to me that the resources we use need to be maintained. We need trails to the climbs in order to avoid destroying the natural landscape. We need bolts and anchors that we trust to be safe to minimize accidents. The BCC is the only organization with this stewardship role as its reason to exist.
I am a retired architect who designed the original Movement gyms and continue to climb in my late 70’s around 5 days a week. I love all the climbing around Boulder and lately can be mostly found sport climbing in the Flatirons.
Maggie Miller-Board Secretary; Chair, Social Committee, Executive, Finance, Social committees
Though I've been climbing things informally since I was a Syoung kid (I had the honor of being voted "best spelunker" in summer camp one year), I didn't officially start rock climbing until 2017. I began volunteering with the BCC in 2022. I worked on the trail crew during a sabbatical in the summer of 2022. The BCC does amazing work and I am happy to be a part of it. My day job is as Chief Product Officer of a marketing tech company based in Florida. When I'm not climbing or working, you'll probably find me hanging out with my family (my husband and 2 pre-teen boys, all of whom are also climbers), skiing, doing yoga, hiking, running, playing with clay, singing, or reading a good book. I am not sure I have a favorite route but my favorite crag is Upper Dream Canyon - it's just such a beautiful place to be.
Matt Gowie
I started climbing in a gym in Philadelphia and quickly caught the bug. I was just beginning to start leading sport outside when the small startup that I worked for got acquihired over to Seattle. I had friends in Portland and my standard weekend for the 2nd half of 2015 and into 2016 was to drive 3 hours to Portland on Friday to pickup friends, drive the additional 3 hours to Smith Rock, climb for a day and a half, and then reverse the drive on Sunday. Fell in love with climbing that way and it has been a huge part of my life since.
I came to Boulder at the end of 2019 through a relationship. I was living in my van at the time and ended up liking the town + climbing well-enough that I bought a condo here in 2020. I’ve since grown a crazy long todo list in the front range that feels like it’ll never stop growing. I’m happy to call this place home because of great outdoor pursuits like simul climbing in Eldo, scrambling in the flats, pushing myself on bolts in Bocan, and incredible alpine days in Rocky.
Joining the BCC board feels like an important and fulfilling way that I can give back to the local climbing community. I’m stoked to share some of my non-climbing experience and help an organization that is working hard to preserve this amazing sport.
Professionally, I run a boutique consulting firm called Masterpoint and have been doing that since 2016. Our niche is Infrastructure as Code, which is just a software way of saying “We help people run their software on the ‘Cloud’”.
Outside of climbing, I enjoy running (sometimes for long distances), traveling, and recently started playing the drums.
Will Harte-Finance Committee
My lifelong climbing habit started at the Maine Rock Gym in Portland, Maine, circa 1995, but it wasn’t until moving to Colorado in 2019 that I had the opportunity to spend more time climbing outdoors. I joined the BCC because of the unique access we have to stunning crags across the Front Range, and because I recognized the impact that we as climbers were having on these landscapes. As a board member since 2022, I have contributed to the BCC via the Finance Committee, serving as Treasurer for two years, as well as on the Executive Committee.
I’ve been involved in conservation and stewardship work my entire life, from supporting prescribed burns for prairie restoration when I was 10 years old to earning B.S. and M.S. degrees in interdisciplinary environmental science. Today, between wrangling two young kids at home and a serious climbing habit, I’ve managed to hold down a day job in the clean tech and product development industry in various roles spanning program management, corporate strategy, pricing, and chief of staff.
If I could wave a magic non-profit wand, my wish would be that every climber would become a sustaining member of and volunteer for their local climbing organization. Yes, this means YOU!