Member Bios

My name is Chris Niedbala. I’m 22 years old and from Buffalo, NY. I’m currently in school back home working towards a 2-year degree with plans for more schooling after that. A sense of adventure and love of the outdoors piqued my interest in the SCA, and I couldn’t be more excited or grateful to be here in Idaho. I enjoy reading, talking philosophy, and playing my guitar.

My name is Joe Pohnan. I’m the middle child in a family of five, and both of my siblings are sisters - who managed to end up with the same birthday. I’m 22 years old and have lived in Illinois and in my home town most of my life. I have also lived in New Hampshire during my first SCA internship. Besides SCA I’ve worked at a café, and have volunteered on farms through WWOOF. I like many things but I spend much of my time reading, biking, and cooking.

I got my start in the great outdoors as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica, where I worked in two public botanical gardens, organized the first Earth Day events ever held in my village, and did research into and advocacy for Jamaica's caves. After Peace Corps, I earned a Masters degree in parks and recreation, spending my summers during grad school working as a high school crew leader for SCA in Georgia, California and Idaho. After graduating, I puttered about, then ended up in SCA again, as a member in a trail crew in Florida. More puttering, and now I am the project leader for the Santa Fe Crew 2 this summer.

I am originally from Maryland, near Washington, DC. But I did my undergraduate in Ohio (majors in Chinese and French), then back to Maryland for a year, then Peace Corps in Jamaica, then grad school in Illinois, then Florida and now New Mexico. So I'm not quite sure where I'm from anymore. I have also been living out of my car since June 2009.

When not working for the SCA, I am often underground in a cave, or paddling, or camping, or sometimes backpacking or climbing. I also enjoy reading whatever junk novels I can find at the local library sale.

I grew up in Southern California and had many recreational opportunities growing up. I went to school at California State University, Chico and received my undergrad in Recreation Administration and received a certificate in Geographical Information Systems. I have worked in other SCA positions in the North Cascades and in south east Arizona for the Sonoran Desert Network.My most recent SCA job was in Oklahoma doing GIS for the Oklahoma Fire Center. While in Oklahoma I also became certified as a Type II Wildland Firefighter and GISS certified.

Hi my name is Ruby. I'm from VT and just finishing freshman year at the
University of Vermont. Im a little unsure about my major still but it
will involve history, politcal science and maybe world cultural studies.
When I was 15, I did the High School program of SCA and went to Crater
Lake National Park in Crater Lake Oregon which was amazing. I decided it
was time to do another one this summer.
Some stuff about me: I love music and especially outdoor concerts and
festivals, i like being active and especially during the summer in
rivers, lakes and some other natural water features of VT. I like to
joke around, be spontaneous and go on adventures. I love when people can
make me laugh and have fun. I get frustrated when people are negative or
hypocritical. I like to hike, bike, swim, snowboard, run and most
recently rock climb but I'm definitely not an exercise fanatic...more of
a causal thing for me.
I'm really excited to be doing something interesting for my summer and
this looks like it will be an incredible experience! I can't wait to
meet everyone.