The idea for Chulengo has been a long time in the making, taking its ethos from generations of adventurers-turned-environmentalists. We believe that we defend what we love, and we love what we know, and that motivates us to bring folks into beloved backcountry places in ways that inspire attention and care. Every day of bushwacking through remote valleys and scrambling unnamed peaks reinforces the special power of wild landscapes to challenge, inspire, and transform.
Chulengo benefits from the wisdom and support of many, including those below.
NADINE LEHNER (FOUNDER) After years working in conservation while exploring wild places, Nadine dove into Chulengo to build connections between people and place that inspire lasting change. After graduating from Harvard College, she moved to Patagonia to work with Doug and Kris Tompkins. As Executive Director of Conservacion Patagonica, she focused on the establishment of Patagonia National Park, the 700,000-acre flagship national park that is home to most of Chulengo's expeditions. She pursued a joint MBA - MS in Environment and Resources at Stanford University before returning to Patagonia to start Chulengo. She's a NOLS instructor and has led wilderness mountaineering, backpacking and river expeditions for over a decade. With Chulengo team members Isidora and Rebeca, she has made the first all-female expeditions to Patagonia’s Northern Icefield, with support from the American Alpine Club’s McNeill-Nott Award and the Grit & Rock Award.
MAURICIO INOSTROZA (LOGISTICS) Born and raised in Puerto Ibañez, Aysen, Chile, Mauricio has worked as a field instructor and expedition logistics coordinator in the region for over two decades, developing an intimate connection to Aysén’s mountains and coastlines. He has instructed sea kayaking, mountaineering, rock climbing, hiking, and horse packing with NOLS in Patagonia, Alaska, Wyoming, and the Pacific Northwest. With Chulengo, Mauricio manages transportations and logistics, based in Coyhaique, hosts groups at his family ranch in Puerto Ibañez, and leads expeditions in the field.
ADVISORS
KRIS TOMPKINS Rock-star conservationist and businesswoman Kris is a key mentor to Chulengo. After co-founding Patagonia, Inc with Yvon and Malinda Chouinard, Kris served as the company's first CEO for two decades before retiring to move to Chile and focus on conservation with her late husband Doug Tompkins. In 2000, she founded Conservación Patagónica to create national parks in Chile and Argentina that save and restore wildlands and wildlife, inspire care for nature, and generate healthy economic alternatives for communities. With Doug, she has secured protection for more land than any other individuals in history - over 2.1 million acres - and enabled the establishment of numerous national parks. In January 2018, she signed a historic agreement with Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet which secured protection for over 10 million acres of wildlands in national parks in southern Chile.
NICOLE ARDOIN Environmental education and behavior guru Nicole has guided the vision and approach of Chulengo. As an associate professor with a joint appointment in the Graduate School of Education and the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University, Nicole focuses on environmental behavior and place-based connections. Nicole has current studies on the use of education, communications, and other social strategies in informal and community-based settings, including nature-based tourism programs, to engage individuals and communities in deliberate dialogue, environmental decision-making, and informed conservation behavior. She also researches the effectiveness of a range of environmental education and social science endeavors in achieving measurable and meaningful conservation results.
BEN WILCOX (CO-FOUNDER) Ben studied Latin American History as a Harvard undergraduate, which included stints in Argentina and Brazil, and completed a degree in philosophy at Oxford University. Ben directed Conservación Patagónica's field volunteer and education program, living in a tent in the backcountry of Patagonia National Park. He has also worked with teams of local guides to manage expeditions onto the Northern Patagonian Ice Field, and as a field instructor for NOLS.
COLLEEN WEARN HORRELL Colleen has been at the core of Chulengo's instructional philosophy since the pre-beginning. A Portland native, she headed east for college at Dartmouth, where she studied geology, Spanish, and education. She stayed in beautiful New Hampshire working for Dartmouth and The Mountain School. She's instructed for NOLS in Scandinavia, Wyoming, and the Pacific Northwest, received a joint MBA - Masters in Education from Stanford, and works for the Boston Consulting Group in Seattle.
KATE WILLIAMS Since joining Chulengo for a January 2018 expedition with her daughter and son, Kate brings wise perspectives from decades of work in conservation and outdoor education. A former NOLS field instructor and Board Chair, Kate served as Executive Director of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail before stepping into her current role as CEO at 1% for the Planet. Kate earned her BA in at Princeton University where she majored in history, and MS at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
EXPEDITION LEADERS
JONATHAN ARANCIBIA AGUIRRE For the past seven years, Jonathan has devoted himself to guiding in Chilean Patagonia. Originally from the Valparaiso area, he was enchanted by the landscapes and culture of southern Chile. After studying English and North American Literature, he found the life he wanted in guiding and adventuring. He’s spent many seasons guiding in Torres del Paine, but more recently has turned his attention to the wild and less-discovered Aysén Region.
JUAN JOSE (JUANJO) ALVAREZ Originally from Santiago, Chile, Juanjo studied ecotourism in university, where he discovered two of the most important elements of his life: climbing and Patagonia. After university, he worked for two years in New Zealand and then took a life-changing trip to the Himalayas. He returned to Chile and worked with NOLS as a hiking and mountaineering instructor for several seasons, before moving to the small town of Cerro Castillo, where he teaches ecotourism at the public high school. He spends his free time rock and ice climbing and exploring the rugged and challenging mountains in his Patagonian backyard.
VICENTE (VICHO) BARAHONA COLOMBO Originally from the Valparaíso region, in the central coast of Chile, Vicho has traveled around Chile and the world since he was young. After a year in Oceania and Asia, he returned to Chile and immediately put his eyes, heart and mind in the southern portion of his country. Patagonia enchanted him: since 2016 he has guided and worked in different national parks and projects related to the natural world and sustainable life. Rock climbing, skiing, baking, photography and natural history are amongst his many passions in life.
NICOLÁS CÁCERES Born in Santiago and raised in the mountains near to the city, Nico now lives outside of Coyhaique. He studied at a French culinary school in Santiago, but spent all his free time exploring the mountains climbing and adventuring. His interest in traveling lead him to spend several years working in outdoor education in China. Now he spends the school year teaching at a Montessori/Forest school near Coyhaique. He brings nice sense of nature and lots of laughs to the groups, as well as years of experience in the mountains.
REBECA CACERES Raised in the mountains near Santiago, Rebeca now calls Chile’s Aysén Region her home base. She studied ecotourism at IDMA in Santiago, where she started to explore a love for climbing and all-things mountains. As a longtime mountaineering, climbing, and hiking instructor for NOLS, Rebeca has led expeditions throughout Patagonia, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest. She brings an infectious sense of fun and endless enthusiasm for wild places to all groups she works with.
FELIX KRAUS Originally from Germany, Felix arrived in the Aysén Region while traveling around South America with his family, backpacking and exploring remote places. His background as a sociologist informs his interest in living across cultures, while his love for wild nature gives him seemingly unending stoke for outdoor adventure. He has worked in the Atacama Desert and throughout Patagonia as a guide and outdoor educator, and calls Puerto Guadal home, where he lives with his partner and two children.
ISIDORA LLARENA Born and raised in the beach town of Viña del Mar, Chile, Isi discovered her passion for the mountains early on, which eventually led her to Patagonia. For the past eight years, she has worked as a mountaineering and hiking instructor for NOLS, and a wilderness medicine instructor with WMI. She’s obsessed with exploring remote mountains of the Aysén Region, and with the expedition planning it takes to reach these places.
MARCELO MASCAREÑO A photographer, mountaineer, and educator, Marcelo was born and raised in the Aysén Region. As a field instructor for NOLS, he has led wilderness expeditions in Alaska, Canada, India, Mexico and throughout Patagonia. Marcelo reflects that “mountaineering has allowed him to live, understand, and feel the history of Aysén.” He has explored remote corners of Aysen and documented its nature and culture through his acclaimed photography.
FRANNIE PARKINSON Originally from Richmond, VA, Frannie arrived to the Aysén Region in 2016 to volunteer at Parque Patagonia and quickly fell in love with the place. After a few years of intensive traveling and hiking all over the world, including New Zealand, Nepal, and Argentina, she returned to live in Puerto Guadal in 2018, where she focuses on cultivating and teaching about medicinal plants, and the flora and fauna of Chile.
JORGE PEÑA Jorge grew up in Central Chile, surrounded by mountains and nature. He studied Physical Education in college and focused his professional development on outdoor education and conservation. Jorge worked as a Park Ranger for the National Forest Service (CONAF) in Chile for two years, before starting to work for NOLS in 2015. During the last 8 years, Jorge has led wilderness expeditions in Alaska, Pacific Northwest, Wyoming and Patagonia. He brings a huge passion for outdoor education and exploring nature with others.
KAREN SANDOVAL A high-energy and multifaceted outdoor and environmental educator, Karen has made Chile’s Aysén Region her home for many years, after growing up in Santiago. She managed Patagonia, Inc’s store in Coyhaique, worked with NOLS, and now teaches outdoor education and ecotourism at Cerro Castillo high school. She founded Manke Chile, an outdoor education program for young children, and lives in the beautiful town of Cerro Castillo.
CATA UNWIN Born and raised in Concepción, south of Santiago, Chile, Cata studied graphic design in university but discovered that the outdoors was her place in this world! She began climbing over a decade ago, which led her into mountaineering and winter sports such as backcountry skiing and ice climbing. She now works as a certified ANGM Guide based in Cerro Castillo, Patagonia, where she calls home.
DAVID VALENZUELA From Santiago de Chile, David’s early love for the mountains led him to look for ways to continue exploring outside. In university, he studied Geology and Climate Change, and wrote his thesis on the Jeinimeni area. He works as a climbing and mountaineering instructor for NOLS, and has spent extensive time in the Aysén Region.
VALERIA (VALE) VARGAS MARTINEZ Born and raised in the Aconcagua Valley, Vale has always had a special connection to the mountains. In University, she studied theater and acting, and then studied yoga as a certified yoga teacher. In 2014, she moved to Southern Patagonia to work as a trekking guide in Torres del Paine National Park. Since then, her passion for nature and education as motivated her to become an outdoor educator for NOLS and Chulengo, working in the field exploring nature in Patagonia, central Andes and parts of the USA. For the last 3 years, she has lived in the Aysén Region, a place she has come to love deeply.
Work with us!
Curious about working with Chulengo as a field leader, in Patagonia or in Alaska? Our team is small and we look for dynamic, dedicated outdoor educators rooted in the places we work. For the 2023 - 2024 Patagonia season, we will accept applications through October 15, 2023.
To learn more, read our leader position description here; if it sounds like a fit, our leader application is here.