Workshop Leaders and Guest stars
Mayra Santana and Oscar Molina
Guest Star
Mayra Santana and Oscar Molina are the husband-and-wife team behind Roots at Heart Nutrition in Bend, Oregon. Mayra is a Board-Certified Holistic Nutritionist (BCHN®), specializing in digestive health and metabolic wellness. Oscar brings 18 years of experience as a professional chef, creating delicious, nutrient-rich meals. They speak English, Spanish, and Purépecha, and combine nutrition with traditional cooking to help people find wellness through food.
Valerie Switzler
Guest Star
Valerie Switzler has over 30 years of experience in Wasco weaving, a tradition she learned from her aunt, Eraina Palmer, recognized nationally for first teaching this technique to people outside the tribal community. Valerie began weaving as a young adult and continues to share this sacred art to keep it alive. As General Manager for Education for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Valerie leads efforts to revitalize the Kiksht language. A beloved teacher and master weaver, Valerie brings deep knowledge, cultural integrity, and a warm heart to everything she does.
Deanie Johnson
Guest Star
Itukdi wigwa, Naika ichxliu Tasuna, bashtenemt ichxliu Radine Johnson (Good day my Indian name is Tasuna, my English name is Radine “Deanie” Johnson.) Deanie is a Tribal member of the Confederated Tribes of The Warm Springs Indian Reservation where she has lived most of her life. She currently work as a Language Coordinator at the Culture and Heritage Language Program. She grew up living her culture and ways of life. When Deanie began working for the language program she was drawn to weaving what is called “Aqwalq” (Wasq’u Sally Bag) from Valerie Switzler. She is a speaker of the Kiksht language of the Wasq’u people and continues to pass it on.
Aaron Stump
Guest Star
Aaron is the owner of Stump Regeneration, where he focuses on earthworks, water systems, fire mitigation, and sustainable construction. With a Permaculture Design Certificate and training through Water Stories, he brings practical, regenerative strategies to land management. A former chef of 20 years who focused on sustainable food, Aaron blends culinary insight with land care. He draws on Sepp Holzer techniques like Hugelkultur, terracing, spring tapping, and aquaculture to help create resilient, productive ecosystems.
Rebecca Saul
Guest Star
Rebecca was born and raised a city girl, but attended Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC, where she solidified her love of the agrarian lifestyle and desire to be self-sufficient. She began her goat journey in 2012 and two years later started Glimfeather Farms. Her herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats help her produce a wonderfully cleansing goat milk soap. While she doesn’t make goat cheese commercially like she does her soap and lotions, she is an expert cheesemaker with a Masters of Arts in Teaching. Rebecca tries to source as many high quality, natural, local, and sustainable ingredients as feasible. She loves experimenting with new recipes and looks forward to teaching you!
Jack Stearns
Guest Star
Jack is a skilled welder and fabricator from Redmond, bringing a wide range of real-world experience to School of Ranch workshops. His background includes heavy equipment repair, architectural and structural steel welding, custom metalwork, and CNC plasma table operation. Jack is also an experienced welding instructor, having taught at Central Oregon Community College, where he honed his ability to break down complex techniques and help students build confidence with hands-on practice. He is passionate about creating supportive learning environments where novice welders can develop strong foundational skills and take pride in their craft.
Kelly Patrick
Guest Star
Kelly is a life-long resident of Central Oregon with over 40 years experience driving & towing personal trailers, as well as Deschutes County Sheriffs Office trailers and equipment. He has completed Skid Car and Emergency Vehicle Operations training on multiple occasions. For the last 10+ years he has been responsible for certifying Deschutes County Search & Rescue to tow trailers.
Rick Bell
Guest Star
Rick Bell is a retired, decorated veteran and an expert in off-grid living and 12-volt solar systems. A lifelong student of philosophy and humanity, Rick developed and teaches School of Ranch’s 12V Solar Battery Workshop, drawing on years of living fully off grid in a complex he built with his partner, Aliah Wing. Rick specializes in practical 12V and solar systems for off-grid and mobile living. He is a gracious, curious educator who loves problem-solving, adventure, and helping his community build real-world self-reliance.
Scott Duggan
Guest Star
Scott is an assistant professor at OSU. He is well known, liked and respected among local farmers and ranchers. His outreach and extension program focuses on horse and livestock production and management. Additionally, pasture management and forage are an integral part of his programming. Scott’s research focuses on livestock management and forage production in pastures.
Josh & Victoria Williams
Guest Star
This talented duo believe that horses open doors to greater joy, deeper connections, and transformative healing. Together they have over 50 years of experience in horsemanship, bodywork, mindfulness, and trauma-informed care. Victoria has not only trained and ridden national and world champion horses, but also has a wealth of experience in horsemanship instruction, and equine therapy co-facilitation.
Josh is currently a doctoral candidate in Occupational Therapy with a BS in Exercise Science. With over 25 years as an authorized meditation teacher in the Sant Mat lineage, he blends mindfulness with his professional licensure as a LMT and hands-on experience in biomechanics and exercise science research labs. His relational approach to Equine Body Work seamlessly integrates mindfulness practices with equine-assisted healing interventions.
Dr. Timothy Rogers
Guest Star
Dr. Tim is a 2012 graduate of Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine as well as a twice-graduate of Mission Farrier School, an E.L.P.O based training, which he attended right after vet school. Tim has been passionate about understanding and working with equine feet since his first semester in veterinary college. He is always looking for a rational and clear objective way to think about the equine foot based on basic principles of anatomy and biomechanics. His passion is equine foot rehabilitation, especially laminitis cases, and he brings to the stall a set of skills that includes composite and rocker shoes, dental impression material, glue and casting. His goal as a podiatrist and teacher is to empower horse owners to be able to evaluate their own horse’s feet and make informed decisions based on clear anatomical and physiological principles.
Suzanne Landry
Guest Star
Suzanne is a wellness educator, celebrity chef, and author of The Passionate Vegetable and Fresh Food Matters. She has over 45 years of experience as a culinary instructor and industry consultant inspiring many people toward a healthier lifestyle.
Barbara Mardis
Guest Star
Barbara Mardis has worn a lot of hats in the business world, Program Planning and Control Analyst for an aerospace company, Office Manager for a public library, Payroll for a major golf resort, Office Manager for an elementary school that included deaf students and interpreters in every classroom.
But her not-so-secret passion is the garden, inspired by her grandmother’s garden, and the walk-in pantry with shelves full of canned goods that looked like gleaming jewels. Barbara canned for years, and then discovered fermentation, which she has leaned into heavily ever since.
Heidi Maricle
Guest Star
Heidi is a farm girl through and through. Raised on a small acreage farm in Tumalo, Heidi has been involved in farming and ranching since she was 9 years old. She has spent thousands of hours training and running crews, and operating equipment– first in hemp and then in hay. Heidi’s business, You Need a Farm Girl, offers consulting, labor, and education for anything farm related. In her free time, Heidi is Farm Director for Friends of The Children, where she mentors youth in all things agriculture.
Bino Fowler
Guest Star
Bino is a licensed journeyman electrician with more than 25 years of hands-on experience in the electrical field. Raised in Phoenix and educated in Tucson, he then made his way to Oregon. He built his career upon a passion for using his hands and head. Summers in Alaska working in the fishing industry provided an opportunity to meet a community of dog mushers, an encounter that sparked his lifelong passion for dog sled racing. An avid archer, salmon fisherman, and musher, he is an instructor with a lot of stories to share.
Christy Tice
Guest Star
Christy is the founder of Handymandy a business born from her love of fixing, troubleshooting, and building. Her passion for hands-on work—especially with wood—was sparked early in life while helping her dad repair and restore instruments in his stringed instrument shop. That experience gave her a deep appreciation for tools, craftsmanship, and creative problem-solving, aka “MacGyvery,” as she likes to call it. Christy also shares her skills at DIY Cave, a local makerspace, and is a fixer at Repair Cafes. Her warm, encouraging approach makes her a favorite collaborator for anyone curious about learning to repair, build, or tinker.
Dan Jaynes
Guest Star
Dan is a seasoned DIY auto hobbyist with hands-on experience in auto paint, body repair, and a range of automotive systems. He brings a practical, approachable style to teaching, creating an engaging environment where beginners feel empowered to learn. Whether walking students through basic diagnostics or sharing insights from years of real-world tinkering, Dan is passionate about making automotive skills accessible and helping others save time, money, and stress.
Amber Palmer
Guest Star
Owner and CEO of Equi-First Aid USA and Steep Ridge Trails LLC, Amber Palmer is a lifelong horsewoman and backcountry packing expert. She has dedicated her career to teaching practical equine first aid and disaster preparedness skills to horse owners and equine professionals nationwide. Since becoming an instructor in 2019, Amber has led a nationwide team of educators committed to empowering horse people with the knowledge and confidence to care for their equine partners.
Judy Robinson
Guest Star
Judy Robinson, World Champion All-Around Cowgirl, grew up on a working ranch and spent over 50 years competing in rodeos and working cattle across Oregon and Texas. With more than 30 years of paracord crafting experience, she now shares her skills as our Guest Star leading ground roping and paracord crafting workshops, blending creativity with the practicality of ranch life. Beyond ranching, Judy has worked on movie sets and supported fire camps across the Pacific Northwest. She currently manages her 80-acre ranch outside Bend, caring for her horse, goats, puppy, and sells handmade paracord products on her Etsy store.
Kate Beardsley
Guest Star
Is there anyone who doesn’t know Kate, founder of Mustangs to The Rescue, selfless leader of countless rescue missions, and an accomplished educator who has touched so many lives in Central Oregon. As a professional horse trainer, riding instructor, wrangler and program director, Kate has numerous years of experience working in veterinarian clinics and served as board member with Oregon Equestrian Trails, Back Country Horsemen of Oregon, and Central Oregon Wild Horse Coalition among others.
Scott Mallory
Guest Star
Scott Mallory is a native Oregonian, living mainly in the east Gresham area and has been in Central Oregon for the last 3 years. He worked in the nursery industry for over 35 years as a grower and now owns his own tree trimming business, Mallory Ornamental Tree and Yard. He is an expert on all things trees; trimming, pruning, planting, reduction and removal. His family lovingly refers to him as everybody’s tree guy!
Tova Opatrny
Guest Star
Tova Opatrny is the creator behind the crafty YouTube channel Professor Pincushion and specializes in making craft tutorials that help beginners feel capable right away. Her work has appeared in HuffPost, Good Housekeeping, and Cosmopolitan, and she is also the author of Professor Pincushion’s Beginner Guide to Sewing: Garment Making for Nervous Newbies. Tova brings the kind of encouraging, hands-on energy that makes trying something new feel exciting instead of intimidating. She hasn’t met a craft she didn’t like, and she’s on a mission to help other people discover that same creative spark.
Carolyn Platt
Guest Star
Carolyn Platt has been a working artist and arts educator in Central Oregon for a million years even though she was only going to stay a few months. Her current focus is on printmaking in all shapes and forms, employing both traditional and experimental techniques. Exploration is endless. She is a founding member of Studio 6000 Printmakers in Sisters, Oregon. Beyond printmaking, Carolyn embodies the spirit of a high desert pioneer woman as she gardens, cooks, bakes, sprouts, ferments, sews, mends and hikes with her family and friends. On hot summer days she can be found lounging in a cattle trough with a good book.
Ahmad Khalid Rauofi
Guest Star
Ahmad Khalid Rauofi is a master woodcarver who trained in Kabul, Afghanistan, completing an intensive three-year woodworking program after high school. His work blends the rich traditions of Afghan woodcarving with his own artistic vision. Now based in Portland, Oregon, Ahmad shares his craft with beginners through welcoming, hands-on workshops that introduce the fundamentals of carving.
Heike Williams
Guest Star
Born in Germany and raised on the family farm in Lower Saxony, Heike earned a college degree in Food Technology before taking a job in Portland, analyzing foods for Nutrition Facts labels. In Oregon, she discovered her passion for beekeeping and returned to Germany to participate in a 2-year beekeeping apprenticeship. Returning to the US, she gained valuable experience as a commercial beekeeper in Western Oregon. Now, Heike manages the teaching apiary at OSU’s Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center in Madras, a popular gathering site for the Saturday in the Apiary series. Besides counting mites and bee foragers for research projects, she also works with the Oregon Master Beekeeper Program and the Oregon Bee Atlas.
Jeremy Giffin
Guest Star
Jeremy Giffin has spent nearly three decades at the Oregon Water Resources Department and is currently the Watermaster for Central Oregon. He grew up on a farm in Azalea, Oregon, studied Geography at Southern Oregon University, and even worked as a TV meteorologist. With deep expertise and local insight, Jeremy brings both technical know-how and farm-grown perspective to this session.
Austin Nahale
Guest Star
Growing up around heavy equipment sparked a lifelong passion for the industry in Austin Nahale. After graduating high school, he joined the Marine Corps, and upon returning, began his career as an operator from the ground up. In 2017, Austin moved to Central Oregon and continued to build his expertise in the field. Over the years, he has gained extensive experience in mining, residential excavation, and heavy civil projects. Today, he serves as a foreman for a heavy civil excavation contractor. His deep passion for heavy equipment drives his commitment to sharing his knowledge and hands-on experience with others.
Debbie Wood
Guest Star
Debbie Wood is from Prineville, where she works as the coordinator for Crooked River Weed Management Area located in the Crook County OSU Extension Office. In her 9 years there, she has incorporated working with more partners on projects across county borders. Crooked River Weed Management Area creates public and private partnerships to manage noxious weed populations in the watershed through education, prevention, inventory, control, and restoration.
Cathy Springman
Leader of Equine Leadership Council
Cathy leads our Equine Leadership Council and is responsible for nominating topics for our horse-related workshops and advising us on all things equine.
Lorraine Lapekes
Guest Star
Lorraine discovered pine needle basketry at the Sisters Harvest Faire in 2022 and was instantly drawn to the heritage craft. She learned the steps through tutorials, books, practicing, and a lot of trial and error. She lives on several acres in Central Oregon, where long-needle Ponderosa pines are plentiful. Lorraine considers a “novice crafter” who also dabbles in watercolor painting, gourd art, photography and fiber arts.
Operations
Mark Gross
Founder, Board President, Executive Director
Hey there! I’m Mark, School of Ranch’s founder, Board President, and Executive Director. I had a 20 year career in magazines, newspapers, on the Internet at its dawn. After 9/11, I left publishing and became an award-winning International Relations teacher in a public school in San Jose. While teaching, I started School Loop, an innovative service for schools that saved teachers time while building a support community around each student. I sold School Loop in 2018, and my partner Carolyn and I chucked it all and bought ten acres in rural Oregon, where School of Ranch was born.
Caleb Kitchens
Senior Operations Manager
Caleb is our Senior Operations Manager. He always tries his best to succeed in whatever endeavor he undertakes. He is currently taking classes as a freshman and COCC. Working for School of Ranch, he is learning valuable skills in time management, marketing, and communication.
Elaine J. Cole
Assistant Executive Director
Elaine is our Workshop Production Director. Elaine has a Masters Degree in Education and a PhD in Leadership and Change with a focus in Human Behavior Change. Elaine is responsible for all all-on-ground activities for School of Ranch, including managing programming, facililities, day-of logistics, and our product team. Elaine commitment to zero waste has shaped our Pot Luck experience – bring our own stuff! She is also part of the team that brings you the Repair Cafe. She helped create our workshop development process, and is a critical part of our team.
Cohen Herbert
Mobile App Developer
Cohen is our Operations Development Manager, and is currently pursuing a degree in software engineering while in high school in Bend! Working at School of Ranch has taught Cohen the dedication and resilience required in business. What he likes most is the how the team owns the successes and the problems, how every challenge becomes an opportunity for everyone to learn and grow. Cohen loves outdoor activities, and welcomes new challenges and learning opportunities in the tech and outdoor realms.
Adriana Traum
Production Manager
Adriana is a Production Manager, focused on our horse-related workshops. A lifelong horsewoman, equestrian, and local equine bodywork practitioner, she brings hands-on expertise and a genuine passion for animal wellness to our community. Before professionally entering the horse industry, she earned a B.A. in Communication and built a career in the SaaS industry, where she educated clients on optimizing their business operations. Her diverse professional journey reflects a strong commitment to learning new skills, sharing knowledge, and fostering a lifestyle rooted in connection and living authentically. Adriana is inspired to support our local community through experience-based workshops that serve the highest good of both animals and their owners.
Teryn Bonime
Volunteer Producer
Between trips overseas on family-run surgical trips, Teryn enjoys soapmaking, entertaining, fly fishing and serving as a volunteer Producer for School of Ranch artisan craft classes!
Willow Young
Operations Coordinator
Willow is an Operations Coordinator, and is currently a sophomore in high school. She is enthusiastic about the opportunity to work for the School of Ranch. She is interested in website and graphic design and hopes this internship will teach her the skills she needs after college. She is grateful for this unique opportunity and the knowledge she will learn through this experience. In her free time, Willow enjoys reading, photography, playing tennis, and hanging out with friends.
Bob Charpentier
Chief Technology Officer
Bob is our CTO. After 26 years as a math teacher, Bob transitioned into the Ed Tech field, working with School of Ranch founder, Mark Gross, on their company, School Loop. Bob developed Checkypoo, School of Ranch’s dashboard and data reporting tool, among other heroic acts.
Board of Directors
Mark Gross
Founder, Board President, Executive Director
Hey there! I’m Mark, School of Ranch’s founder, Board President, and Executive Director. I had a 20 year career in magazines, newspapers, on the Internet at its dawn. After 9/11, I left publishing and became an award-winning International Relations teacher in a public school in San Jose. While teaching, I started School Loop, an innovative service for schools that saved teachers time while building a support community around each student. I sold School Loop in 2018, and my partner Carolyn and I chucked it all and bought ten acres in rural Oregon, where School of Ranch was born.
Bob Baker
Treasurer, Member of Board of Directors
Bob is School of Ranch’s Treasurer. Bob has lived in Central Oregon for over 30 years. He grew up ranching near Bakersfield CA. Every summer his grandad would send him up into the mountains with the cattle, a horse, and a rifle and tell him stay there till the fall. Bob learned a lot. Fast. He served his country with distinction during the Vietnam War, and spent his career working with the railroad. Bob never lost touch with the land and today has a spread outside of Redmond. Bob can advise on a number of topics including tractors and accessories, horses, cattle, lumbering, landscaping, water management, fire prevention, power tools and fence building and maintenance.
Beth Covert
Guest Star, Member of Board of Directors
Beth is a food alchemist. Before leaving her artist career and moving here from Ohio six years ago, Beth studied up on desert gardening. On arrival, she became the garden department manager at a local retailer. When her suggestions to stock climate appropriate plants went nowhere, she started High & Dry Garden Works, her own lab for propagating plants that can thrive with limited water, excessive sun and wind, and deer. Among the many things she grows are her own foodstuffs, which she now by magic makes into amazing new shapes and forms. If you call Beth, prepare for a conversation that goes something like, “Hold on a sec, I just discovered how to make dehydrated french fries and need to write it down!”
Joan Sciacca
Secretary, Member of Board of Directors
Joan is School of Ranch’s Secretary, and a recent transplant. After 30+ years as an engineer in corporate America, she retired to Central Oregon and bought a log home on 5 acres. Now what!?! She grew up following her father around helping with all his projects. DIY is in her DNA. Why pay for something you can do yourself? Her neighbor told her about School of Ranch on Facebook. Her first workshop with School of Ranch was welding and now she’s hooked. Joan is looking forward to many more opportunities to learn new skills. Her ranching education started with the OSU Master Gardener and Master Beekeeper programs. She has two honey bee colonies and wants to turn some of her land into pollinator habitat with an emphasis on native plants. Chickens and goats are on the list, but they need fencing, sheds and paddocks built first.
Advisory board
Carol Fox
Member of Advisory Board
Carol raises Nigerian Dwarf goats on her one-acre micro-farm in Redmond. A retired RN, she has experience teaching “Survival Gourmet” cooking classes and other health-related topics at the Free School in Santa Cruz, CA. She moved to Central Oregon 9 years ago to realize her life-long dream of raising goats, only to discover that she didn’t know how much she didn’t know about those quirky, sensitive, and loveable creatures. She is eager to share what she has learned about how to keep her goats healthy, happy, and productive, and to empower others with goaty aspirations to be well-prepared for the adventure of goat husbandry. She also enjoys making cheese, yogurt, and occasionally ice cream from the milk they produce, and is looking forward to sharing this process with the community. Carol has converted many skeptical non-goat-cheese lovers with her very mild, creamy, un-goaty goat cheese, and can share some secrets about the process.
James Hettick
Member of Advisory Board
James is a multifaceted individual with a passion for craftsmanship and education. With over 15 years of experience in carpentry, coupled with expertise in electrical work and machine mechanics, James is adept at a wide array of trades. And he loves sharing his knowledge and helping people build skills. Born and raised in Culver, James joined the Marines where he was trained in automotive, jet turbine, and solid fuel rocket mechanics, earning numerous certifications. He also is certified in asbestos abatement and has a safety certification from OSHA. Now back in Central Oregon, he gives back to the community through School of Ranch.
Jacob Hundt
Member of Advisory Board
Jacob Hundt grew up on a dairy farm in the Driftless Region and was one of the founding students of the Youth Initiative High School in Viroqua. He studied at Deep Springs College, the American University in Bulgaria, and the University of Chicago. Since 2004, he has worked as a trained Waldorf high school teacher and guidance counselor at Youth Initiative High School and was a founding board member and instructor of the Driftless Folk School. Currently, Jacob is Director and faculty member of Thoreau College, an emerging microcollege inspired by Waldorf education, Henry David Thoreau, Deep Springs College, and the Scandinavian folk high school movement.
Kaye Kloster
Member of Advisory Board
Kaye is School of Ranch’s advisor from SCORE, a national network of retired executives. Her area of expertise is nonprofits, sales, marketing, government contracting and general business planning and strategy. She worked in the construction industry for 25 years. Kay is resourceful and well connected, and has made several important introductions already.
Chris Mahai
Member of Advisory Board, Volunteer
Monee Gagliardo is a born connector, horseback rider, and founding member of our original Equine Leadership Board. She served for a year as School of Ranch’s Social Media Leader, volunteers at our workshop, and cooks a mean batch of tamales.
Patrice Spyrka
Member of Advisory Board
Patrice grew up in the mountains of Colorado and had her first horse when she was five. 4-H was her main interest growing up and she competed in every event available. Her horses and adventures are chronicled in her book, Tales of a Young Rider. At Colorado State University, she worked at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. She developed a love for jumping and dressage, winning the Lory State Park Horse Trails. She became passionate about Dressage and groundwork while riding an upper level school master. She raised her daughters with horses and was very active in 4-H, volunteering as a 4-H Horse Project, Performance Team and Record Book Leader. She also competed in California State Horseman’s Association Horse Mastership program, where she took the top score for Region 5, showing expertise in all aspects of horsemanship. Pinto World was her highest level of competition, where she won 2 Reserve Champion ribbons for Western Pleasure. Currently, she enjoys exploring the Tumalo trails and taking in the Cascade views from her ranch.
Kaleb Watson
Member of Advisory Board
Kaleb Watson is School of Ranch’s muse, if a 6′ 3″ linebacker can be a muse. Mark Gross, our founder, hired Kaleb to teach him how to use a chainsaw, and School of Ranch was born. Kaleb was our first workshop leader, and though he has moved away, he remains an integral part of our team. Kaleb grew up ranching and farming with his cowboy father, and over time became self-sufficient at home and ranch maintenance.
Kaleb spent six years in the Marine Corps, where he earned his teaching stripes as a pistol instructor.
After the Marines, he began a career in construction. He learned welding, equipment maintenance, basic mechanics, hydraulics and, most important to him, troubleshooting. Kaleb has a drive to pass on his know-how and enjoys helping people build the skills he spent years acquiring. He has relocated to AZ where he plans to launch School of Ranch!