Meet the Women Behind Wilderness Heals

Wilderness Heals would not be possible without the support of a large community of organizers, volunteers, team leaders--and, of course--you, the hiker! There are, however, a few names that tend to frequently pop up throughout the season. Here's a list to help hikers sort out who’s who.

Administrative Staff

Danielle Piscatelli: Danielle is the primary contact for the Hike, and she is the only Wilderness Heals affiliate who is actually employed by the Elizabeth Stone House. Danielle schedules and facilitates all hiker meetings, organizes all updates hikers receive through e-mail and postal mail, and keeps track of all sponsorships. Hikers may call her with any questions they have regarding the Stone House, fundraising and donations, and the Hike in general. Danielle has worked at the Stone House for three years, and Wilderness Heals 2007 will be her fourth year organizing the event. In her spare time, Danielle enjoys completing volunteer trailwork throughout the country. E-mail Danielle at dpiscatelli@elizabethstone.org.

Mary Crotty: A freelance public relations consultant, Mary coordinates all Wilderness Heals PR initiatives and facilitates marketing outreaches. She has publicized the Hike for the past three years, and she is truly committed to the Elizabeth Stone House and its cause. In addition to working with the Stone House, Mary teaches at Suffolk University. She enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors with her husband and two young children. E-mail Mary at mary@peaceconsulting.com.

Team Leader Coordinators
Team Leader Coordinators (TLC) work with Danielle to organize Wilderness Heals. Their responsibilities include, but are not limited to: choosing the routes, compiling Hike materials, and overseeing the Team Leaders throughout the training season and during the three-day event.

Katie Kozin: Katie is serving as a TLC for the second year in a row, and this year will be her fourth year participating in the Hike. Two of Katie’s favorite White Mountain hikes are Mt. Madison and Bridal Veil Falls, and her favorite international hiking destination (so far) is a tie between Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Indian Himalaya. E-mail Katie at kkozin@outdoors.org.


Linda Rosen: This is Linda’s second year serving as a TLC and her fifth year participating in the Hike. “Being a part of Wilderness Heals is a great way for me to connect with other women and to contribute to the women and families at the Elizabeth Stone House," Linda says. "As a Mom at home with two young daughters, the Hike provides me with an outlet to achieve something for myself while giving back to others. It also demonstrates to my children how important it is to enjoy the outdoors and to care for others. They are so proud of the work I’ve done with the Stone House, and our family looks forward to our own wilderness adventures every summer!” E-mail Linda at lindarosen@rcn.com.

Team Leaders
Team Leaders lead all training hikes, and each Team Leader is in charge of one team during the three-day Hike. All Team Leaders are experienced hikers and have participated in Wilderness Heals at least once.

Sheryl Barnes: This is Sheryl’s fourth year participating in Wilderness Heals, and her third year as a Team Leader. “My favorite thing about the Hike," Sheryl says, "is that I get to engage in the most mentally, physically, and spiritually perfect exercise, with an amazing bunch of women, in order to provide support to a second group of amazing women. I mean, really, what could be better than that?”

Maia BrodyField: Maia is a Jamaica Plain resident who works in public health. Her first Wilderness Heals Hike was only her second hike during adulthood because, at age twelve, she'd convinced herself that it was the hiking part of "boring family hiking trips" that she didn’t enjoy. This year marks Maia's sixth year participating in the event, and her fourth year as a Team Leader. Maia has also served on the Recruitment Committee for two years.

Becky Fullerton: Becky is the librarian and archivist at the Appalachian Mountain Club. This will be her second year participating in Wilderness Heals, and her first time serving as a Team Leader. Becky has hiked all of her life; her parents carried her up the mountains of Vermont in a backpack before she learned to walk. Becky's favorite hiking snacks are chocolate and bread with brie, which she can easily be persuaded to share.

Susan Genatossio: This is Susan’s fourth year participating in the Hike, and her third year serving as a Team Leader. “The mountains have always been a place for me to renew and recharge my spirit," she says. "Wilderness Heals has given me the opportunity to share that renewal with old and new women friends, to rejoice in their companionship, to marvel at their beautiful differences, and to be awed by the revelation of their inner strength and power.”

Beth Grierson: Since Beth’s first Wilderness Heals Hike nine years ago, she has been a hiker, a Team Leader, and a Team Leader Coordinator. “My favorite hike is anything that gives me an opportunity to soak my head,” she says. Beth has also served on the Recruitment Committee for the past two years.



Jenn Guiry: This will be Jenn's second Wilderness Heals Hike, and her first year serving as a Team Leader. When an injury prevented her from hiking last year, Jenn managed Base Camp during the three-day event. Jenn's most memorable Wilderness Heals experience was a training hike over Mounts Lincoln and Lafayette. "It was my third time hiking since losing a lot of weight, and my confidence was still back with my larger and heavier self," she says. "As I came running down to Greenleaf Hut, I felt like I was on top of the world. I had left the part of myself that used to say ‘I’m not good enough, I can’t do this’ on top of those mountains, and I haven’t heard from her since. Now whenever fear creeps in--as it often does--I look back down the trail and see how far I’ve come, take a deep breath, turn back around, and just keep walking. I have faith I will get there at my own pace.” Jenn has also served on the Recruitment Committee for the last two years.

Abby Heisler: This will be Abby's second year hiking, and her first year serving as a Team Leader. “I have so many favorite memories from last year that I could hardly pick one," she says. "The Hike is so much more than the three days spent together in the mountains. It is truly a journey from that first meet-and-greet or training hike through the event itself. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from some amazing women and lose myself in the grandness of the White Mountains. This year’s Hike will be equally amazing, and I look forward to meeting all of the new hikers and reconnecting with women from last year.”

Liz Roy: This will be Liz’s sixth year hiking, and her fourth year serving as a Team Leader. “I didn’t start hiking until after college, but fell in love with it immediately," she says. "The nice switchbacks in Oregon were a good introduction before hitting the granite boulders in the White Mountains. These days, I stay in shape trying to keep up with my two daughters: Delia, born in May of 2006, and Isabel, born in September of 2004. I’m sure they’ll be spotted at a trailhead or two in the next few months.”

Eileen Twiggs: Eileen is a native New Yorker who learned about Wilderness Heals through an ad in the AMC NY-NJ Chapter newsletter. She has participated in the Hike for the last two years, and this will be her first time serving as a Team Leader. When she’s not out hiking, Eileen works as a lawyer in the General Counsel’s Office at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.


Liz Varney: This is Liz’s third year hiking, and her first year serving as a Team Leader. “I think of Wilderness Heals as a win-win-win situation," she says. "I am helping a meaningful cause, I have a chance to grow and challenge myself, and I get to spend three days in the mountains with a group of phenomenal women.”



Anna Wells: This will be Anna’s ninth year Hiking for Women Healing. “I first did the Hike with my mom when I was in high school," she says, "and now I can’t imagine a spring without Wilderness Heals fundraising, meeting, training, and hiking. The lead-up to the Hike and the Hike itself are always incredibly meaningful and fun experiences, but the best part is the friends I have met through doing the event." Fun fact: Anna always fantasizes about pizza hiking out on Day Three.

Kathy Wilder: This will be Kathy’s third year hiking, and her second serving as a Team Leader. Wilderness Heals was her first White Mountains backpacking experience. When she’s not hiking, Kathy loves international travel, skiing, yoga, and her morning bootcamp exercise group.



Recruitment Committee
Members of the Wilderness Heals Recruitment Committee are responsible for organizing tabling events at local festivals and performances, leading recruitment hikes, postering fliers throughout the community, and--in general--drumming up support for the Hike. This year, the Recruitment Committee is implementing a new Hiker Buddy System to benefit first-year hikers. It also recently launched the Wilderness Heals blog.

Maia BrodyField: See above.

Monica Chopra: This will be Monica's second year hiking, and it is her first year serving on the Recruitment Committee. “A few words to describe my experience participating in the Hike last year," she says, "are teamwork, camaraderie, motivated individuals, wonderful friendships, and an AMAZING time! I am glad to help get out the word this year for the Hike because the work I do for the Stone House is so different from what I do on a daily basis. It’s truly an exhilarating experience.”

Annette Glendon-Walker: Annette hails from Ireland, and she was a first time hiker last year. Although she can't hike this year because she is expecting her first child in July, she decided to join the Recruitment Committee to remain involved in the Hike. “I’m totally hooked on the Wilderness Heals experience," she says. "Amazing women, fun times, challenging hikes, beautiful vistas, stepping away from the daily grind to discover you can make a difference--what’s not to love.”

Sandy Goodman: This is Sandy’s seventh year participating in the Hike, and this is her second year serving on the Recruitment Committee. Throughout the spring, she organizes recruitment hikes at Blue Hills. Sandy is famous for leading other Wilderness Heals hikers in group sing-alongs during the long bus rides back to Boston.


Jocelyn Gould: This will be Jocelyn's second Wilderness Heals Hike, and this is her first year serving on the Recruitment Committee. Jocelyn works for the New England Historic Genealogical Society. One of her most memorable moments last year was doing yoga in the parking lot of the Cog Railway just before her team started the climb up to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut.

Beth Grierson: See above.

Jenn Guiry: See above.

This is Sarah Jane's eighth year contributing to the Hike. In previous years, she has served as a Team Leader and a Team Leader Coordinator. Although Sarah Jane will not be able to hike this summer, she joined the Recruitment Committee to remain involved with the Stone House. “Seven years ago," she recalls, "I showed up for my first Wilderness Heals training hike alone and completely unsure if I was up to the social and physical challenges of the day, much less of the three-day hike later in the season. It poured rain, my rain gear turned out to be 'water resistant' rather than 'water proof,'and I ran out of food before we even summited. But in every other way, I had a fantastic time. I got back in my car tired and wet, but grinning. I went on to complete the three-day hike that year under the guidance of a Team Leader who is now one of my dearest friends.”

Vicky Waltz: This will be Vicky's third year hiking, and it is her second year serving on the Recruitment Committee. Vicky’s most memorable Wilderness Heals moments include hiking for the first time above treeline during a training hike over Mounts Lincoln and Lafayette, traversing the Southern Presidentials ridgewalk, and swimming under Silver Cascade during the final day of her 2005 Hike. Her favorite hiking snacks are avacados, dried apricots and mango, and chili-lime peanuts from Trader Joe's.