Meet the Staff

Executive Director

Gretchen Van De Carr has served as Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Youth Corps since founding the organization in 1993. Gretchen has a masters of science in Environmental Engineering from the University of New Hampshire. She was a founding member of the City of Steamboat Springs' Teen Programs and Community Youth Corps, Partners in Routt County, Community Evaluation Team, Grand Futures Prevention Coalition, and the Routt County Family and Adolescent Resource Council, and currently serves as a board director for the Colorado Youth Corps Association and the Craig-Scheckman Family Foundation Steering Committee. In 2009 the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation named Gretchen  one of five 2009 Livingston Fellows. This program, created by the Foundation in 2005, intends to strengthen the state's nonprofit sector by investing in the advanced learning and development of promising nonprofit leaders. Gretchen is also the proud mom of two boys, Otis and Oliver. In addition to spending time with her family, she enjoys skiing, camping, hiking and making music.

Associate Director

Mark Wertheimer has served with RMYC since December of 2005. He has called Colorado home for the majority of the years since 1994 living in Boulder for college, Durango, Telluride and now Oak Creek near Steamboat Springs. He has a MS in Environmental Education from the Audubon Expedition Institute-a field-based, 2 year graduate program based out of Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. After serving as a Program Director for Living Classrooms Foundation in Baltimore, Field Director with Southwest Conservation Corps and a wilderness guide in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Alaska, Mark eagerly returned to Conservation Corps work in order to apply his studies and field experience. Mark serves all RMYC activities by providing program development, risk management coordination, and outreach. He serves as the coordinator for developing the Conservation Corps training and education programs. Mark also manages RMYC's Yampa Valley Science School program, The Historic Preservation Corps, and the Service Learning Institute. He also serves as a board member of the Grand Futures Prevention Coalition. Mark also enjoys outdoor activities with his wife, baby and dog and playing music. 

Director of Operations  

Ryan Olson worked with RMYC as a crew member on a Continental Divide Trail Alliance crew during the summer of 2003. After that he moved to Bellingham, WA where he managed the snowboard department of a locally owned sports store. A few years of retail management led him to pursue a degree in finance at Western Washington University. After graduating in 2009 he was looking for a change from retail, so in the spring of 2010, he moved back to Steamboat Springs to take a job as RMYC’s warehouse manager. He was quickly promoted to Finance and Agreements Manager then again as the Director of Finance. Recently he was promoted to the Director of Operations, and looks forwad to the new challanges that this position will bring. 

Director of Personnel

Jenny Holcomb graduated from Michigan State University in 2007 with a BA in International Studies. After graduating she spent a winter at RMYC helping with recruitment and hiring. She then continued west to Wyoming, working for the Forest Service as Trail Crew Foreman and Wilderness Ranger for three seasons in the Wind River Range. Jenny is excited to be back permanently at RMYC as the Director of Personnel. She will be managing all hiring and recruitment and AmeriCorps enrollment.

Executive Assistant

Laura Karch joined RMYC as Executive Assistant  in February of 2011.  She holds a BS in Finance from Quincy University.  Before graduating she bided her time between Junior and Senior year in Steamboat Springs, catching the curse of the Yampa Valley.  Shortly after she moved back to Steamboat to pursue her love of the outdoors.   Laura enjoys skiing, biking, hiking, and camping with her family, Sofia and Christian.  She is elated to be part of an organization that offers experiential learning in the outdoors that supports  “community” in so many ways.

AmeriCorps VISTA Public Relations and Communications Manager

Anna Scheffers is a graduate of Calvin College with a BA in Business Communications and International Development Studies. Anna studied abroad for a semester in Honduras where she also learned to speak Spanish. Anna is excited for the next year working with RMYC, and would like to carry the knowledge that she learns here into a career in non profit work.

Marty Schad VISTA Strategic Alliance Coordinator

Marty Schad comes to RMYC in an AmeriCorps VISTA role in the position of Strategic Alliance Coordinator.  He recently relocated from Cheyenne, WY where has lived for the past eight years.  Marty brings fifteen years of human service/social work experience and has a bachelor's degree in Social and Behavioral Science from Dickinson State University in Dickinson, ND.  He will be working with the Routt County Youth Services Coalition to begin development of a Single-Point-of-Contact site where youth and their families can access multiple services in a central location.  He will also be working with RMYC's youth conservation corps and is looking forward to contributing in a positive environmental impact program.  Marty believes Steamboat is an ideal fit for him.  He enjoys all outdoor activities with cycling and backpacking with his two labs, Bailey and Griga, at the top of his list.