WHAT IS A SCPC AMBASSADOR?
An SCPC Ambassador is a climber… a steward of the land… a person that volunteers to improve our climbing areas… and a person that wants to build a positive climbing community. They are the direct connection from the land owners and land managers to the climbing community. They help keep climbing areas open to the public, they organize Adopt a Crags, organize events such as Competitions and Gym to Crags, create community events that promotes connection, and they help educate the public about our best practices as climbers in this rapidly growing sport.
MEET OUR AMBASSADOR TEAM
Adam Hartman
Governor Dick aka Gretna Ambassador
Adam has a been an Ambassador to Governor Dick (GD) for over a decade, his involvement with protecting GD started in 2011 with the first bouldering competition. Since, he has organized multiple trail day, free bouldering clinics and volunteers with other park events such as the winter solstice, clean up days, and tree planting events. He also enjoys all the other recreational opportunities the park has to offer, such as, mountain biking, geocaching, trail running, music in the parks, climbing tower, and many others fun outdoor activities .
Sarah Ballard
Community Ambassador
Sarah Ballard loves short, sweet, and nothing too fancy. As a born and bred Kentucky girl, she grew up in the Red River Gorge camping, hiking, and eventually climbing and living at Miguel's Pizza. Sarah loves the dance of sport climbing, appreciates a good boulder problem, and will rally up some trad multi-pitch. Climbing has and forever will be a chance to inspire her and empower others.
Ryan Shipp
Governor Stable (GS) Ambassador
Shipp has a been an Ambassador to GS for over a decade, his involvement with protecting GS was before the establishment of SCPC in 2015. Shipp is also the current President of SCPC and more info can be found in his bio on the Mission and Board tab.
Xandra Christiana
Community Ambassador
Xandra was bit by the climbing bug over two decades ago. She maintains that love of climbing by replacing traditional vacations with climbing trips, being a weekend warrior as often as she can, or squeezing in time at a local crag. Her desire to give back to the climbing community lead her to volunteering at SCPC events and organizing social and fundraising events such as Movie nights at Zoetropolis in Lancaster, PA, The Safe Harbor Guidebook Release at Columbia Kettle Works in Columbia, PA, and Mixers at places like Cristiano Winery. Have an idea for something fun and exciting? You can find her setting and climbing at Climbnasium, gallivanting in the woods, or spending time with her kiddos.
Ross Purnell
Chickies Rock Ambassador
Ross Purnell is the editor of Fly Fisherman magazine and has worked in the outdoor industry for more than 25 years. He learned to rock climb at Lumpy Ridge in Colorado and since then has climbed rock and ice in the Bugaboos, Banff, Jasper, Joshua Tree, Cirque of the Towers, Acadia National Park, Mount Washington, and Stone Mountain. His home crags are the Gunks and Seneca, and closer to home, Chickies Rock where he’s been climbing since 2001.
Eric Sauder
Chickies Rock Ambassador
Eric is the co-owner of North Fork Adventures and has been guiding for over 15 years. Eric is certified as a Single Pitch Instructor and Climbing Wall Instructor through the American Mountain Guides Association, as well as being certified as a Wilderness First Responder. Eric is a husband and father of three, a Lancaster County native, and also works part-time for the Yellow Breeches Educational Center as an Adventure Specialist.
John Goldman
Chickies Rock Ambassador
John was introduced to climbing shortly after graduate school, by a friend who was working in a gym at the time. Climbing quickly became a total obsession, which has enabled him to develop life long connections within the local community. While John enjoys clipping bolts, he found a passion in long moderate routes and adventure climbing. John can be found most weekends climbing or cleaning up routes at Chickies. If he isn’t local, John takes every opportunity he can to go on climbing trips all over the county. When he is not climbing, John works as a therapist in the local community.
Jocelyn Hillman
Community Ambassador and JEDI Team Leader
Not long after moving to Central PA, Jocelyn began climbing in the gym and soon found a love for climbing outside. Jocelyn loves following moderate multi-pitch routes that end with great views! Jocelyn is passionate about equity in the outdoors and has taken the lead on SCPC’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) initiatives in an effort to make climbing more inclusive and accessible in Central PA.
Brian Martin
Shaffer’s Rock and Pond Bank (aka White Rocks) Ambassador
Originally from Ohio, Brian came to south central Pennsylvania in 2007 through his work as a veterinarian. His buddy Jeff (a fellow vet in Greencastle) introduced him to rock climbing, and the hobby quickly became a passion. Brian proposed to his wife Megan at the top of Jim’s Throne at Pondbank. The couple got married at Seneca and honeymooned in Las Vegas, scaling the cliffs of Red Rock Canyon. They've also climbed together on the sea cliffs in Ireland, the Gunks, the New River Gorge, and many more. He looks forward to the day when his toddler Logan is old enough to strap on a harness and climb with him (the little guy already likes to scramble on the boulders around Shaffer).
Seth Derr
Safe Harbor Ambassador
Seth started climbing in 2007 after reading a book about a bunch of people that died on Mt Everest and getting psyched to try to do what they were doing. In the ensuing fifteen years he’s participated in exactly zero minutes of mountaineering, instead opting to spend a healthy chunk of his time clipping bolts at the local road cut then spraying about it in books and on the internet. Favorite places he's ever been rock climbing (other than Safe Harbor of course) include Yosemite in the off-season, Squamish for the fifteen minutes it wasn’t raining, The Zillertal Valley in Austria, The Elephant's Perch, and the New River Gorge. If you're at Safe Harbor North on a Sunday between late October and early May there's a good chance you'll run into him. Feel free to say hello.
Shawn Daugherty
Hunter’s Rocks Ambassador
Shawn was first introduced to climbing as a Penn State student in 2009 by members of the Nittany Grotto Caving Club. He began frequenting local climbing areas near State College including Hunter’s Rocks, Donation Rocks, Coburn, and others. After graduation, his work as an Aerospace Engineer brought him to several different locations but his love of climbing grew as he explored new climbing areas, got into route development, and began routesetting at PRG. In 2021, he moved back to Central PA and became involved in SCPC where (when he’s not working, climbing, or snowboard instructing) he volunteers to promote climbing area conservation, stewardship and ethics.
Eric Chase
Hunter’s Rocks Co-Ambassador
Bio Coming Soon
Ken Hull
Donation Rocks Ambassador
Ken started climbing late in life but instantly fell in love with it. He always had a deep connection with his environment and community so only after a few years frequenting his local crags, Ken felt the need to try and give to rocks instead of just taking. He organized spring cleanup days and frequently showed up with a leaf blower, weed-wacker, chain saw, or whatever it took to make sure the crag area was accessible, well maintained and safe. He’s also a passionate “people person” and loves talking to climbers old and new, even offering informal tours of the crags to first time visitors.
From 2019 to 2023 he was an Access Fund Community Ambassador and learned much more about conservation, access issues, stewardship and ethics. Now as an SCPC Ambassador, he hopes to put all those tools and resources along with his stewardship and people skills together to help make his local crag even better now and into the future.
Scott Kaltenbaugh
Donation Rocks Co-Ambassador
Scott grew up with both a love for the outdoors and for sports and likes to stay active by golfing, hiking, backpacking, exercising, scuba diving, downhill skiing, and drinking craft beer (is that a sport?). While getting involved in climbing only a few years ago it was a natural fit that provided both a mental and physical challenge. Scott and his wife Cathy retired early so they could explore the world and now add both indoor and outdoor climbing destinations to their travel itinerary. Spain here we come!
Scott is a Co-Ambassador at the Donation Rocks Crag and when not in a harness and on belay will probably have a leaf blower, pruners, or chainsaw in hand to help keep the crag clean and safe for all to enjoy.
Cait Handlin
Community Ambassador and JEDI Team
Cait grew up in the South Central PA area and started climbing through her high school climbing club in 2015 (thanks, Joe!). She studied Visual/Cultural Anthropology and Spanish at West Chester University and became a Trip Guide through their Outdoor Adventure Pursuits Program teaching students how to backpack, camp, mountain bike, rock climb, and how to get in touch with themselves through nature. Combining her investment in culture, language, and global justice with her passion for visual storytelling to help improve the quality of life for others in the environmental world, she serves on SCPC's JEDI Task Force with the goal to create a more inclusive community and continuously push to be a better steward of the earth. Cait loves bouldering and sport climbing, and her favorite climbing memory is sport climbing in Pitumarca, Peru. When she's not climbing, she's either watching reel rocks or thinking about chocolate covered pretzels.
John Ulizio
Shaffer’s Rock and Pond Bank
John started climbing late in life after retiring. He likes alpine and ice, which is in short supply in south central Pennsylvania :), as well as the local crags in Pennsylvania. He hopes that his experience in addressing permitting and regulatory issues confronting the industrial minerals industry throughout the US can translate into some value for the climbing community in south central PA.
Kyle Matulevich - Safe Harbor crags
Bio…
Jon becker - Shaffer’s Rock and Pond Bank
Bio…
Adam has a been an Ambassador to GD for over a decade, his involvement with protecting GD was before the creation of SCPC in 2015. Adam is also on the board of SCPC and more info can be found in his bio on the Mission and Board tab.