The Staff

Lyn’s climbing addiction began at Berkeley Ironworks in 2001, and she is forever grateful for how climbing and the community have changed the trajectory of her life. Lyn is happiest when climbing with her favorite people and animals in the great outdoors, whether it be bouldering, sport, or trad. She’s a reluctant skier who is trying to get better, occasional lifter, and a lapsed knitter and runner who welcomes tips on all of the above. Most importantly, Lyn is the proud mom to an adult daughter and an elementary aged son and partner to a home inspector who likes traveling to climb almost as much as she does.

Jeffrey has been climbing for over 20 years across the world. Jeffrey’s formal education is in painting and drawing, but you’re more likely to find him on the Valley floor floating up boulder problems, or on a bike running laps in the Oakland hills. Jeffery is one of our most experienced instructors and his clinics and private lessons slots fill up quickly! He answers to ‘Ye-feery’ and ‘Chuck’.

Michelle likes cats. She is a vegan. She doesn’t own a car. If you can’t find her behind the desk at BIW or at REI… good luck. She is probably backpacking the JMT or scuba diving off the coast of Bali or climbing in Rocklands or raving in London or ____________.

Your guess is as good as ours.

James loves bees, flowers, music, and climbing, but mostly all four of them. He walked into Berkeley Ironworks for the first time on November 25th, 2005 and has been hooked on climbing ever since. He recently graduated from Humboldt State University where he was heavily involved with their climbing team. If you want to see James get really fired up ask him about his favorite band, bee, or flower.

Victor is better at recognizing faces than remembering names, trying to keep the ground underneath him sacred.  Whether it’s at the front desk or in class, his stand-up comedy game is pretty bad but you are his audience and it’s still better than his computer skills. Regardless he will try to make meaningful connections and see the best in you.  If you want a story, just ask. The story is what we truly long for when we want to remember.

Cristina is a Connecticut native whose Puerto Rican heritage has guided her passion for the outdoors and people’s relationship to nature. She is a jack of all trades who has performed jobs such as monitoring turtle and lobster populations, connecting students to science from research cruises in the the Mediterranean, and commercial scallop fishing in the northeast. A volunteer experience for youth climbing in San Diego inspired her interest to work with youth and thus she became an educator for Mount Tamalpais State Park in northern California. In an effort to combine outdoor recreation, the desire to be a better climber, and in search of a nurturing community, she landed at Berkeley Ironworks climbing and fitness. Cristina is thankful for all learning opportunities and seeks to be a mentor for young underrepresented adventures such as herself.

Originally from SoCal, Mark now calls the Bay his home. He discovered climbing in college and it forever changed his life. Grateful to be a part of this ever growing community, he’s always excited to share his knowledge and wisdom with anyone new to the sport. When Mark is not climbing, he spends his free time with photography and the outdoors.

Berkeley Ironworks has been Ben’s home since age eight. From private lessons, through the competitive team, and summer camp counseling, to desk staff, Ben has grown up at 800 Potter St. more than anywhere else. Climbing remains Ben’s outlet (both emotionally and creatively), their only motivation to work out, and the source of the best community they could ever have imagined. If you’re ready for an earful, ask Ben about his other passions: Dungeons and Dragons, classical music, film, tea, or horror novels. Just don’t ask him about fruit.

Like many of the other staff members at Berkeley Ironworks, one of Juan’s strongest passions lies with climbing and the community involved with it. After being given some beat-up handed down climbing shoes from his freshman year college roommate, his addiction for the sport had set in place and the curse to climb forever continues to happily haunt him. Originally from the Los Angeles County area, Juan has been a restless explorer, moving from place to place all over California and even overseas until recently taking up a place in Berkeley. If you don’t catch Juan climbing up plastic or hard rock, you can assume he’s out pursuing the other fun stuff in life, like hiking, photography, eating garlic bread (yes, apparently only garlic bread), board games, and his list goes on. Be sure to stop and say hello if you ever see him, and if you are ever curious, ask him to show you his bird calling skills!