Current Board Members
Mardi Fuller advocates for racial equity through writing, speaking and community building. A lifelong backcountry adventurer, in January 2021 she became the first known Black person to hike all 48 of New Hampshire’s high peaks in winter. She is a contributing writer to Outside magazine, SKI magazine, NRDC, Melanin Basecamp and more. She lives in Boston where she works as a nonprofit communications director and organizes hike, ski and climb events centering Black people and BIPOC. Mardi is committed to personal and corporate Black liberation and thereby, liberation for all humanity. She believes deeply in nature's healing power.
Mardi Fuller
Niles has an unwavering commitment to radical social justice. He has worked with numerous nonprofits throughout his career. In all of them he has been a leading advocate for social and economic justice.
Being adopted into an affluent white family, Niles was constantly around nature. From the Kottenforst of Germany, to the coastal hills of Kep in Cambodia, and now on the majestic summits of the Abenaki white mountains; hiking was always a source of escape and peace.
From confederate flags on lawns to bumper stickers with such messages as “ammo is expensive, I don’t give warning shots”, Niles realized that the mountains he so loved in the U.S. were historically and equitably not welcoming to people who looked like him. That is what drew him to Summits.
With Summits he hopes to not only increase diversity in mountain communities, but also work with local lawmakers to make their mountain communities more welcoming and equitable. This would be done by making accommodation, recreation, and transportation more affordable and equitable for marginalized communities that may not have the financial means or cultural capital to access the mountains.
Niles currently lives in Lowell, MA, with his wife and two dogs. On most weekends he can be found in the mountains with his dog Alfie, working on the various patches the mountains have to offer.
Niles Lashway
Ruth was born in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, and later raised in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. In 2021 she moved from Boston to New Hampshire. As a child she spent time going to the ocean in the summers, and on-land outdoor recreation revolved around farm animals and farm work. It was through watching Rocket Power on Nickelodeon en Español that Ruth first learned and became interested in outdoor recreation in the mountains as a means of joy, and the first time she saw Latine characters engaging in deportes extremos. It wasn’t until she moved to Maine in 2010 on a university scholarship that she had more access available to experience the outdoors, and started to discover the delight that activities in nature such as rock climbing and hiking brought her. These activities became a means for self-reflection, grounding and growth as she navigated the complexities of new societal norms and culture. After university, Ruth has spent part of her time advocating for underrepresented groups to access the outdoors in her local community, through her career, social media platforms, speaking engagements, as a board member of New England based organization More Women+ Surf, and as the Program Coordinator for the Boston Chapter of Latino Outdoors. During the day, she works as a Product Operations Engineer for a Data Analysis team.
She strongly believes in a future where the outdoors is accessible to all, and hopes to continue building spaces for folks of underrepresented groups to safely discover the joy that outdoor recreation can offer.
Ruth Castillo
Kathy Chau Rohn, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut and a co-chair for the Symposium on Experiential Education Research. Her research focuses on college success, equity in evaluation, experiential education, and amplifying the voices of marginalized populations across these areas. Outside of work, Kathy spends much of her free time exploring the outdoors, particularly in the Northeast. She has hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Long Trail, the Trans Catalina Trail, the Camino Primitivo, half of the Pacific Crest Trail, in addition to the 67 4,000 footers in New England, including the New Hampshire 48 in winter. As a Vietnamese American woman, educator, and avid backpacker and hiker, Kathy is passionate about cultivating equitable and inclusive educational and outdoor spaces through research and action.
Kathy Chau Rohn
Quintin embarked on his hiking journey in 2015. After visiting and hiking the White Mountains in January 2016, he immediately developed a passion for winter hiking. Quintin became a regular at The Notch Hostel that season, and struck up a fast friendship with Serena. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, Quintin felt compelled to speak about both historical and current racial issues the Black community faces. That summer, Serena invited Quintin to participate in an online discussion that highlighted the barriers Black people face in outdoor communities. Quintin was excited when he heard about Serena and Phil’s plan to establish Summits In Solidarity (SiS), and was honored when Serena invited him to join the Board of Directors. In addition to his passion for hiking, Quintin enjoys traveling, biking, and staying informed on national and geopolitical issues in his free time.
Quintin Jeffers
Alex has been working in youth development, nonprofit management, and fundraising for over ten years. As a consultant, he has partnered with organizations in both Japan and New England, including the Maine Audubon Society and New Commonwealth Fund. He currently serves as the Director of Research and Evaluation at Artists for Humanity, a Boston nonprofit that offers teens mentorship and work experience in art and design. Alex started climbing and hiking in 2013 while living in Japan and is committed to making outdoor spaces more accessible. He holds an MA in Social Development from the University of Sussex and is a Certified Fundraiser with the Japanese Fundraising Association.
Alex Benkhart
Serena founded Summits in Solidarity in 2020 and is the current executive director of the organization. She raised $37K for BIPOC outdoor/justice orgs in Summits in Solidarity’s first two years, before incorporating it into a non-profit organization in Spring of 2022. Serena is committed to examining her whiteness and white privilege, and educating herself about best anti-racist practices for white racial justice leaders. She has completed the 28-Day Me and White Supremacy Challenge (Layla Saad), the Healing from Internalized Whiteness 10-week course (Sandra Kim), the Liberating the Mind-Body-Spirit from White Supremacy 6-week course (Dr. Christena Cleveland), and the Anti-Racism for DEI course (Nicole Cardoza). Serena is an avid hiker and backpacker. She lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire where she owns and operates the Notch Hostel, a farmhouse-turned-hostel that prioritizes community building and inclusivity.