The Staff

Jeremy’s with career Touchstone can be summed up with four words: “Right place, right time.” With athletic roots steeped in mediocrity, he’s been projecting V5’s for the past 12 years. After managing GWPC in Oakland... since 2010, he’s stoked to have been able to “come home” in the Fall of 2019 and serve the community where he was born & raised. While he still climbs, nowadays he can more often be found chuffing at fatherhood and board games. If you see him making up his own boulder problems at the gym, it’s probably because he can’t see clearly enough to identify which holds are on. Have some pity on him and say “Hi” anyways!

Kennet (the “h” is invisible) is an absolute beast. Literally, he was raised by a family of giraffes, where he learned essential life skills like “being tall” and “running from lions”. Since joining the DRG... staff, he’s adapted to human life quite well, though watching Lion King still triggers his flight response. His favorite crag is his road bike, where he carefully observes all traffic signals & always yields to pedestrians. He also enjoys doing muscle ups and (occasionally) bouldering. Feel free to say “hi” to him the next time you see him behind the desk, and don’t forget to ask him why giraffes have those weird antenna-horns.

Chloe has been with DRG for like, forever. Hired in the fall of 2019, she’s the Peter Parker to our Daily Bugle (i.e. she takes photos & climbs walls). Feel free to chat her up... if you’re looking for advice on gear , she’s basically a human encyclopedia for outdoor equipment. Also, if your bike needs a tune-up, Chloe can take care of it with nothing more than a wave of her hands, a wink of her eye and a strand of your hair (but let’s be honest, you didn’t need that one anyways). She likes Yosemite granite, fast cars and run-out sport routes, just don’t ask her to smile…because she’s already smiling, you doofus!

A former competitive eater & world record holder for most Uncrustables eaten in a single desk shift, Malcolm has traded a life of crushing all variety of food-on-a-stick for crushing all variety of boulder problems... (except slab, don’t ask him to climb slab). While we aren’t exactly sure where he gets his strength, it may or may not come from wearing a weight vest while playing video games and eating Los Gallos. As a member of the DRG staff, Malcolm’s skills/responsibilities are varied, and can most accurately be summed up as “adequate”. He has a soft spot for small/scraggly dogs, and his global Mario Kart ranking is #42,128. That’s craaazy.

Student. Climber. Fisherwoman. Mountain Biker. Adventurer. Ella is currently pursuing a degree in Environmental Science and hopes to turn her passion into a career. A member of the DRG staff since 2019, she enjoys hard... work, hard climbs and post-session burritos. In the gym, Ella splits her time between both rope climbing and bouldering, though her latest passion is ticking off various projects on the Kilter Board! Outside, she finds joy in sport climbing, top-roping, bouldering, and even dabbles in trad (although it scares the flying fluff out of her). More recently, she has enjoyed learning new pursuits like mountain biking and fly-fishing. When she isn’t in the gym working, climbing, or goofing off with her coworkers. She is studying her bootay off, or is in the mountains in search of adventure. If you ever see Ella in the gym, go ahead and throw a peace sign at her or give her a Howdy-do. She is always stoked to trade adventure stories!

Nolan is Canadian born and proud of it eh bud. His relationship with climbing started in 2016 during a visit to Canmore, Canada and blossomed into a full-fledged romance upon returning home and joining the... DRG community. Not satisfied with a mere membership, Nolan joined the DRG climbing team almost immediately and followed that up by repeatedly poking us in the arm until we agreed to give him a job. Nolan brings an irrepressible exuberance and positivity to the DRG team, and is happy to trade belays, adventure stories and boxed mac & cheese recipes! If he’s not in the Valley, he can usually be found behind the front desk, or projecting the lead prow (shoutout to one of the best features in the Bay) and shouting “YART”!

Our newest staff member, Shayna’s first experience with climbing was at Diablo Rock Gym just 2 short years ago. However, she quickly became a fixture of our community and found a synergy between her existing... Yoga background and newfound passion for climbing (both indoors and outdoors). Shayna is often found trading belays and beta with friends on both lead and top rope, or in the yoga room sharing advice on hip mobility with curious minded community members.

Valyrie entered the DRG community (both literally and figuratively) in 2013 and just never left. She considers DRG to be an extension of her family, just don’t call her “Aunt Val”. In her day job,... she works as an educator, which makes sense, since she often feels that she relates best to kids. When she’s not teaching, climbing or spending time with her actual kids (RIP Malcolm), she enjoys creating art, and adventuring with her partner Raymond. Will absolutely, positively, never, ever grow up.

Luke is one of our newer staff members, but has already become best buddies with everyone on the team. He is a full-time student at Sacramento State, studying (among other things) Communications & Deaf Studies.... He played on the Sac State Rugby team, which means he can take a hit & keep coming. He is a born and raised CODA (Child of Deaf Adult) and is fluent in ASL, including all of the bad words. Seriously though, if you ever need an interpreter, he’s happy to help! Luke loves skateboarding, playing rugby, weightlifting, and hanging out with his family. He is newer to rock climbing, but loves how it challenges him physically and mentally. Don’t hesitate to wave and say what’s up if you ever catch Luke in the gym, you just might make a new buddy!