ARC’TERYX • CLINIC ATHLETE

Marian May Perez is a community builder, outdoor advocate, DJ, and co-founder living at the intersection of people, purpose, and the outdoors. With 15+ years across nonprofit leadership, retail management, and event production in the outdoor industry, they specialize in creating inclusive spaces where people feel genuinely welcomed.

They co-founded Rise Outside to make climbing, hiking, and backpacking accessible to underrepresented communities across the Northeast, and serves as a Regional Ambassador for Arc'teryx New York and Event Coordinator for Flash Foxy. A certified AMGA Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder, and Leave No Trace Level 2 Instructor, May brings both technical expertise and deep community roots to everything they do.

RAB • CLINIC ATHLETE

Karly found climbing in the Black Hills of South Dakota as a rebellious 18-year-old. It clicked instantly. She was a gymnast as a kid and bringing that kind of movement outdoors felt like a dream come true. She cut her teeth in the Poudre Canyon, CO and Ten Sleep, WY while still finishing her engineering degrees & then working as an engineer for 4 years.  But Karly spent each day behind a computer screen with her mind on the rock. In 2020, she quit engineering, moved into her van, started her own climbing coaching business (Project Direct Coaching), and became a full-time climber.  In addition to doing what she loves, helping others improve their climbing helped her own relationship with the sport feel much more fulfilling and sustainable. 

Karly loves sport climbing & multi-pitch climbing. She strives to not have one “style” but to be comfortable on all rock types at all angles. She is most inspired by lines that require every tool in the toolbox - slabs to roofs, cracks to tufas, kneebars to handjams.. You’ll find her tryin’ hard on rock around Mexico & the western US. 

FLASH FOXY EDUCATION • CLINIC INSTRUCTOR

Genevive Walker has been climbing for about ten years and with the Shawangunks as her original home crag, trad climbing always had a special place in her heart. Over the years, she combined her love of travel with climbing and experienced different varieties of rock, amazing people, and interesting cultures along the way. Her favorite part of traveling is meeting people from all walks of life and sharing the common passion for travel and climbing. She is a single pitch instructor and rock guide apprentice who has been guiding for six years. As much as she loves guiding, teaching is her passion. Any chance Genevive has to share the skills she learned with others in the community, she will with enthusiasm.

INDIGENOUS HONORING AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT + SUNDAY MORNING WORKSHOP

Briana belongs to the Tugong Clan of the CHamoru People from the Island of Guahan. She is a community organizer, an environmental conservation advocate, educator, the Executive Director of the Urban Native Collective, Co-Founder of the Indigenous Field Guide, and a former board member of the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition. 

Through her work, Briana has partnered with local, regional, and national partners, environmental conservation agencies, Indigenous-led organizations, athletes, and Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities across Turtle Island and beyond, to advocate and educate on cultural land protection, treaty rights, climate justice, sovereignty and self-determination, as well as health and human rights.

Briana is a mother, an artist, and the first rock climber inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame.

CLIMBING ETHICS PRESENTATION

Originally from Louisville Kentucky, Asa Grey returns to the Red River Gorge for his six season living and working in the area. This is his second year being one of the RRG Access Fund Climber Stewards. He is passionate about outdoor policy and teaching climbers about ethics. With his knowledge of the local crags as well as flora and fauna, Grey is excited to share and educate with climbers about why the Red is so special to him. 

His first crag was Practice Wall in Muir Valley back in 2017.

CLIMBING ETHICS PRESENTATION

After years of climbing across the Western United States, Kayla Vasarhelyi has made a home in the Red River Gorge. This is her second season as an Access Fund Climber Steward for the area. She is inspired by this region's ecology, history, and, of course, rock climbing. She is excited to share these passions as a steward, and hopes to build a respect and appreciation for the Red in others. 

OPENING PARTY DJ

Amanda is a physical therapist, personal trainer, and avid rock climber. She lives in Louisville, KY, and her home crag is the Red River Gorge, where she spends much of her time sport climbing. As a PT, Amanda treats all orthopedic conditions, and she has specialty training in pelvic health physical therapy for all genders, pre and postnatal care, sports injuries, dry needling, as well as vestibular dysfunction and dizziness. Outside of work, Amanda is passionate about exercise and training in all forms. While you can mostly find her bouldering or sport climbing, she also loves dancing, weight lifting, and really anything that makes her move!

SATURDAY TEA TALK

Sam is a current board of directors member for the RRGCC, and a full time Aquatic Biologist and Researcher. She lives in Northern Kentucky with her wife and is passionate about protecting outdoor spaces and ecosystems through education and community outreach.

YOGA INSTRUCTOR

Carrie Davidson is the founder and owner of Elemental Yoga and Wellness, where she leads a team dedicated to offering transformative yoga classes, yoga therapy, and comprehensive 200- and 300-hour yoga teacher trainings. With a Doctorate in Education and a wide array of credentials, Carrie brings a unique blend of academic knowledge and hands-on expertise to her work.

She is a certified Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM EP-C) and holds advanced certifications including C-IAYT (Certified Yoga Therapist), E-RYT500 (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher), and multiple specializations in Exercise is Medicine and Functional Movement.

I find my spark in working with people who have special concerns or conditions.

YOGA INSTRUCTOR

Hi there! My name is Nicolette Knuckles and I have been teaching yoga since 2020. I received my 200 hr certification in Cincinnati, OH/August 2020 through Amber Jean who teaches a style of Ashtanga called Rocket Yoga. I have been practicing yoga since 2017 while going through a severe eye infection that changed my entire outlook of the world. Yoga helped me to change my perception of this adversity when I couldn’t physically change the situation I was in. I love to teach the connection of mind, breath and body and acknowledging the mindfulness between the three. I have taught both online and in different studios in Cincinnati and now here in the Red River Gorge.

My husband, myself and our two fur babies currently live in the RRG on 80 acres and we love to hike trails, take our kayaks out on the water and immerse ourselves in nature when we’re not working. 

Can’t wait to see you on the mat!

MASSAGE THERAPIST

Harmony Robinson graduated at the top of her class from Minneapolis College (MCTC) in November 2024, earning a 3.9 GPA and a certification in medical massage therapy. Her approach to healing is deeply personal—guided by her own journey, she practices as a "wounded healer," bringing empathy, insight, and intention to every session. Harmony blends clinical knowledge with compassionate care, creating a safe and restorative space for clients to heal, recover, and reconnect with their bodies.

Choosing to live most of her adult life without TV or internet, Harmony embraces a slower, more intentional rhythm of life. This mindful way of being informs her therapeutic approach, offering clients a grounded, present, and deeply restorative experience. She blends clinical skill with intuitive care, creating a safe space for true healing.

FRIDAY DANCE WORKSHOP

Nancy started getting consistent with climbing outside in 2021 but has been dancing her entire life. Having movement and creativity interwoven into life is one of the greatest privileges, and has introduced her to so many amazing people & communities. She currently teaches adult beginner contemporary/jazz and twerk fitness classes (yes, you heard that right). In 2024 she led the inaugural Joe Down at the Joe’s Valley Fest and is excited to bring the same energy to The Red. So grab your dancing shoes and get ready to boogie down!

SATURDAY EVENING WORKSHOP + PANELIST

Juliet's climbing career began at a summer camp at her local gym, and 22 years later, she's still at it! She found her love for outdoor climbing in college, splitting time between bouldering in Boone, NC and sport climbing in the New River Gorge while finishing a biology degree. 

After graduation, she moved to Denver, CO where she spent three years working in an immunology research lab before deciding her career needed to align with her passion for climbing. She founded her climbing coaching business in 2020 and has since worked with hundreds of climbers as an online coach.

When she lived in Denver, Juliet mostly focused on bouldering, but since moving back to the Southeast five years ago, she's pivoted toward sport climbing and spends as much time as she can in the Red. Juliet enjoys bringing her unique perspective to her coaching and her favorite part of the work is helping her clients enjoy the process of reaching their goals.

PANELIST

Abbey began climbing in 2014 and has been working as a guide since 2019, with experience across a range of environments—from western climbing areas to more local guiding near Chattanooga, TN. They are a certified Single Pitch Instructor and recently began a rock guide apprenticeship, continuing to build technical skills and depth as a climber. In addition to guiding, they run an outdoor education program focused on nature-based learning, where mentorship and skill-building are central to their work. Abbey is especially passionate about mentorship as a way to build confidence, expand access, and create more inclusive spaces in climbing.

PANELIST

My climbing journey started in 2023, right after I graduated college. I fell in love immediately. A few months into my gym membership, some friends brought me out to Red River Gorge, and I was immediately hooked. It wasn’t just the climbing that I fell in love with, it was the experiences I got to share with others that mattered to me the most.

It didn’t take long to notice that people who look like me are very underrepresented in the climbing community. In September 2024, I started Indy Black Climbers to create a diverse, inclusive, and safe space for Black folks in the Indianapolis area. What began as a local meetup has grown into something much bigger, a community where Black climbers in Indianapolis and surrounding states have a place to climb, connect, and introduce others to a hobby they never saw themselves doing. I feel strongly about eliminating the disparities and dismantling the stereotypes that keep Black folks from showing up as their truest selves, in the gym and at the crag.

Outside of climbing, I teach 3rd grade at a public school in the Indianapolis area. Whether I’m in the classroom or at the crag, creating spaces where people feel seen and can discover what they’re capable of is at the center of everything I do.

TATTOO ARTIST

 Local RRG climber and tattoo artist, Aly Golub specializes in bold, earthy tattoos that blend precise linework with a raw, organic flow.

Her private studio, nestled amidst the natural beauty of the Red River Gorge is open for appointments.

All of Aly’s work is handpoked with great intention and artistry.

AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide, AMGA Certified SPI, Wilderness First Responder

AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide, AMGA Certified SPI, Wilderness First Responder

AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide, AMGA Certified SPI, Wilderness First Responder

@keelyelenaphotography

@pictureswithval

Event Coordinator

Managing Director