Michael Jewell, President and Program Director | Email Mike
Michael, founder of Kismet, is also a full-time technical climbing guide (30 years). He is a graduate of the University of Maine (BS in Wildlife Management) and attended Naropa University, a Buddhist university for the study of the arts. Michael is also a professional pianist performing classic, jazz, rock, and fusion. He has worked clubs and restaurants in New Hampshire, Arizona, and California. He has climbed/guided throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Michael is a certified Wilderness First Responder.
Janet Bergman, Executive Director | Email Janet
Janet has been involved in nearly every area of the organization in the past five years, from instructing students to helping with fund-raising, outreach and organizational capacity building. She has over ten years of experience as a consultant to nonprofit businesses, specializing in board development and strategic planning. Janet is also a board member of the Mountain Rescue Service, and an avid climber. She and her fiance Freddie Wilkinson live in nearby Madison, where they are slowly ‘bringing back’ an old farm with a view of the White Mountains.
Heidi Lewis, Administrative Coordinator | Email Heidi
Heidi grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana and earned a BA with a concentration in Arts Administration from Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas. She moved to the Mount Washington Valley in 1990. Residing in the village of Jackson with her daughter Ariel, Heidi enjoys the beauty and simplicity of mountain living, while being an active member of the community.
Richard Parker, Climbing Instructor
Richard is married with 2 daughters. He holds an undergraduate degree from Middlebury College, a Master’s degree from Dartmouth, and a Doctorate from the Univ. of Pennsylvania. Richard has climbed for 36 years and has been a part time guide for 33 years; working both in the eastern and western United States and in the Alps. He currently is a rock and ice climbing guide for Mooney Mountain Guides. Richard taught at Proctor Academy, Chestnut Hill Academy, and the Holderness School. He held the position of headmaster at Chestnut Hill, and while at Holderness he taught English and ran the climbing program. He holds AMGA Rock Instructor, TR and Single Pitch Instructor certifications. He is also a Wilderness First Responder.
Bayard Russell, Climbing Instructor
Bayard is a 33 y/o moutain guide who lives in Madison NH with his fiance Anne. He has been guiding for seven years and runs his own guide service, Cathedral Mountian Guides. He is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, in Durham, where he began climbing in 1996. Bayard is a AMGA cerified rock instrucor and Mountain Rescue service team leader and board member.
Phil Thalheimer, Climbing Instructor
Philip has been adventuring since he was a child when his family took annual summer vacations backpacking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. His love for the outdoors grew from that seed. He added winter mountaineering to his list of outdoor passions while in college and started rock climbing in the late 1980s. His adventures have taken him to Washington’s Mt Rainier, Nevada’s Red Rock Canyon, Montana’s Tobacco Root Mountains, the Wisconsin Dells, the Shawangunks in New York and throughout New England. He has been a professional mountain guide since 1998. Phil’s current certifications and adventure education include AMGA certified Top Rope Site Manager, AMGA certificate of completion Rock Instructor course, American Red Cross Small Craft Safety Canoeing, Wilderness First Responder medical training and American Heart Association CPR.
Rob Vandegrift, Program Coordinator
Other members of the Kismet team include our in-house staff and our summer interns. More soon on that!
