Venture Outdoors Community Spotlight – Mara, Volunteer Trip Leader  

By: Alicia Broudy

If you’ve been on a Venture Outdoors trip in the last decade, then you may have shared the trail with Volunteer Trip Leader, Mara. Mara has been part of Venture Outdoors since, well, even before it was Venture Outdoors.  

Over the years, Mara has been a participant, a volunteer, and a board member. She’s led hikes, history walks, and kayaking trips, and she created the EveryBody Outdoors series, which we’re excited to say will return in 2026!   

When we started the community spotlight series to share a little more about our Venture Outdoors community, I knew I wanted to give a shout out to Mara and her contributions to the organization. Our paths crossed years ago in the workplace and then again on the trails with Venture Outdoors. I sat down with Mara to hear more of her story, and I’m honored to be able to share it with you here. 

How did you come to Venture Outdoors?  

“The Field Institute of Western Pennsylvania took people out for tree ID walks during lunchtime,” she explained, recalling her first experiences as a participant. “That was with Mike Schiller… before it was Venture Outdoors!”  

Mara was re-introduced to the organization, now called Venture Outdoors, around the time her kiddo was 5 years old. A part-time parent, Mara joined family-friendly outings as a way to get her Charlie outside. They went on a lot of hikes… so many hikes, in fact, Mara was invited to be a volunteer.  

11 years ago, Mara began assisting on trips with Charlie by her side.  

“I needed a place to call ‘home.’ Then I needed a place for my kid and me to call ‘home.’ We both found that sense of belonging.” 

Now a Volunteer Trip Leader, Mara has led years’ worth of outings for Venture Outdoors. She even designed her own outdoor series.  

Tell me about the EveryBody Outdoors series.  

“EveryBody Outdoors was born from my own experiences,” Mara told me. She recalled experiences on trips with “spandex-wearing, hill-climbing, PR-moving” kind of cyclists:   

“As welcome as they wanted to make me, I couldn’t keep up with them. I couldn’t keep up with my expectations of myself. I thought there’s got to be a place for me and people like me.”  

The EveryBody Outdoors series was designed for every body, including those in larger bodies, those with asthma, those with arthritis, everybody. Over the last few years, EveryBody Outdoors participants have paddled down the Allegheny River, they cycled on the North Side, they went on art walks in Lawrenceville, and they enjoyed local history hikes.  

Their motto is: “We’ll wait for you at the top of the hill.” Mara believes everyone deserves a chance to stop and catch their breath at the top of the hill.   

“I wanted people who felt like they didn’t belong outdoors to know that they did deserve to be outdoors; that they deserved to heal in the outdoors.”   

A breast cancer survivor, Mara shared how her own healing journey has included time spent outside. She came back to the EveryBody Outdoors program less than three months after having breast cancer surgery, and she guided midsummer kayaking trips while still undergoing radiation treatments. Mara shares her survivorship story with participants, just as she shared it with me, as a way to inspire folks and demonstrate the healing potential of time spent in nature.  

She concluded that part of her story:  

“Venture Outdoors took me outside and made me feel whole again.” 

What’s your favorite thing about Venture Outdoors?  

“No matter where I am in my life, there’s a place for me. Whether I need to take a summer off… Whether I’m happy or sad. Whether I’m fit or I’m not. No matter where I am in my life journey, there’s always a place for me.” 

What would you tell people who are unsure of getting started kayaking or paddleboarding?  

“This was the summer of doing things that scared me,” Mara shared.  

She completed the 8-mile Rachel Carson Trail Challenge, and she tried paddleboarding and rock climbing for the first time. What helped Mara try these new things?  

She tried beginners’ classes and guided trips, including the Beginner Stand Up Paddleboarding course offered by Venture Outdoors! Her advice would be to go online and see what’s out there.  

“If you’re really nervous, sometimes it’s good to have someone there whose purpose is to support you.”  

Here’s what she had to say in an Instagram post after trying the Women and Genderqueer Beginner Mountain Bike Clinic around this time last year:   

“Cheers to Venture Outdoors for providing a safe place for us to spread our wings, conquer our fears, and be slightly badass.”  

Thank you, Mara. Truly. We couldn’t venture outdoors without volunteers like you!