Mike MacDonald
Executive Director, COEC Officer

Mike came to Big Spring in 1991, and after working in a variety of roles from counselor to Program Director, became Director in 1999. In October 2017, he was appointed Executive Director by the COEC Board of Trustees. Mike has a BS in Economics from Centre College and a Master’s Degree in Whole Systems Design from Antioch University Seattle. He has also been active in the ACA and is a past president of the ACA-Rocky Mountain Region.

Jane Sanborn
Director of Development, COEC Officer and Board Member

Jane began her career as a counselor at High Trails and has worked with the camps and COEC since graduating from Colorado College with a degree in English and Education. She served as the Director/Program Director at High Trails from 1970-1999, and was Executive Director of COEC from 2006-2017. Jane is active in the American Camp Association and has served in many leadership roles. Currently she is the Program Chair of the ACA National Conference.

Jerry McLain
Director of Alumni Relations and COEC Officer and Board Member

Jerry has been with Sanborn Camps and COEC since 1959, including many years as Program Director and Associate Director at Big Spring. He also directed the High Trails Outdoor Education Center program for many years and served as COEC Executive Director during the early 2000’s. He currently sits on the board of the Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds. Jerry is a former teacher and school board member; his degree is in Social Sciences and Education from the University of Colorado.

Ariella Rogge
Co-Director, High Trails

Ariella began her career at Sanborn when she was twelve. After five years as a camper and five years as a staff member she continued her work with young people as a high school teacher. She and her family returned to camp in 2001 and she became Program Director at High Trails. In 2013, she became Director. Ariella received a B.A. in English from Colorado College and is a certified secondary English educator and WEMT. She has been active in developing Outcomes-Based Research for the ACA and often presents at conferences.

Elizabeth Rundle-Marable
Co-Director, High Trails

Elizabeth came to camp in 2002 as a counselor. She also taught at HTOEC for a number of seasons. In 2003 she joined the COEC Staff as Sanborn Junior Director and became High Trails Director with Ariella in 2013. Elizabeth sits on the Local Council of Leaders for the ACA, Rocky Mountain, and is co-author (with Jane) of “101 Nature Activities”. Elizabeth graduated from Benedictine College with a B.A. in Spanish and a minor in Business.

Mike Adler
Co-Director, Big Spring

Mike came to Big Spring in 2014 as a counselor and has been an active member of the HTOEC program for many seasons. During the summer of 2016, he was an Instructor with the Colorado Outward Bound School before joining the COEC Staff year-round in September. He received a B.S. in Kinesiology from the University of Michigan and is certified as a Wilderness First Responder.

Mark Rutberg
Co-Director, Big Spring

Mark came to Big Spring in 2016 and has served as an instructor in our HTOEC program. He has a B.S. in Kinesiology and Pedagogy from the University of New Hampshire as well as a Masters degree in Health Education. He was an Athletic Director and Teacher for a school in New York City for several years and also spent 4 years teaching at an American International School in the Netherlands. Mark holds a certificate as a K-12 teacher, a level 2 ropes course instructor and Wilderness First Responder. He has also participated in a NOLS 30-day outdoor educator mountaineering course.

Maren MacDonald
Medical Liason and Riding Program Director

Maren was a High Trails camper for many years and then worked during the summer as both a counselor and wrangler. She returned to camp full-time as Riding Program Director in 2007. Maren graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a B.A. in French, and then earned her Physician’s Assistant degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. In addition to directing the riding program each summer, Maren is also an important member of the camps’ medical team.

Emily Burnham
Program Specialist, High Trails

Emily has known about Sanborn for as long as she can remember. Her years as a camper at High Trails gave her a passion for working with youth in the outdoors and facilitating life-changing experiences for a variety of young people. She spent four years as an HT staff member and recently joined the COEC staff in 2019 as the Program Specialist for High Trails. Emily is also involved with Emerging Professionals in Camping through ACA, Rocky Mountain. She graduated from Colorado College with a B.A. in Sociology, minors in dance and environmental issues, and is also a certified Wilderness First Responder.

Kado Marino
Program Director, Big Spring

Before arriving at Big Spring in 2018 as a Counselor Kado spent the previous 10 summers either attending or working for summer camps. During the summer of 2019 Kado completed his capstone internship at Raquette Lake Outdoor Education Center to earn a B.S. in Outdoor Recreation Leadership from the State University of New York at Cortland. Kado instructed for HTOEC in the fall of 2019 before joining the full-time staff. In addition Kado is also a certified Lifegaurd, Wilderness First Responder and LNT trainer.

Anne Shingler
Program Director, High Trails

After 18 years as a camper and staff member at other camps, Anne joined the High Trails summer staff in 2015 as Outcamp Coordinator. She returned in 2016 as Assistant Counselor and Kitchen Coordinator, instructed for the HTOEC program, and joined our year-round staff. Anne graduated from the University of Georgia with a BS in Education and Recreation Management.

Jessie Spehar
Marketing Director, Photographer, Water Sports Supervisor

Jessie began her career at camp as a counselor in 2006 and returned each subsequent summer, taking on more responsibilities each year, including those of Camp Photographer and Supervisor of Canoeing and River trips. She joined the year-round staff in 2013 as Marketing Director for the camps. Jessie has a B.A. in Elementary Education and an M.A. in Special Education and taught for 4 years before joining the COEC full-time staff.