Our Administration

Find out more about the people who make our programs happen:

Doug Capelin – Founder and Director

I grew up on Long Island and thought taking the train to see the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing, New York, was a peak experience. After surviving four winters at Colgate University, I bought green jeans and polyester work shirts in San Bernardino to work for the U.S. Forest Service, jumping out of helicopters to fight wildland fires. After returning to Long Island for a M.A. in Education, I then taught school in Grand Junction and Dolores, Colorado, where I met Beverly. We founded Deer Hill Expeditions in 1984, and from humble beginnings we built our dream into the thriving community here today. When asked by cheek-squeezing relatives what I wanted to do when I grew up, I answered, “I want to be a forest ranger, teacher, and a Dad.” I’m doing it all with Deer Hill, living with Beverly and our three children in Durango, Colorado.

Beverly Capelin – Founder and Mission Director

Before beginning my Deer Hill journey with Doug, I earned my B.A. in Education from Fort Lewis College in Durango. I taught school for seven years in Dolores and Silverton, Colorado, where I also served with the San Juan Search and Rescue team. Both Doug and I received training from the National Outdoor Leadership School graduate. Over the years I have been involved in all aspects of Deer Hill, including raising our children Ben (17), Joanna (21) and Emily (23). As Mission Director, I make sure that every aspect of our programs remains true to the original vision Doug and I had for Deer Hill Expeditions. In particular, I direct the care and development of our 128-acre Basecamp and our delicious menus.


Doug Doty – Financial Manager

I came to Deer Hill to lend a hand to the fiscal management and develop financial systems. Ten years later, that initial task has been completed and developed beyond what was imagined back then. I find myself an elder in the Deer Hill community. Having seen the coming and going of many good people, I believe that we are doing important work in the world – to awaken a sense of wonder and responsibility in young people of diverse backgrounds. My wife Debbie and I have lived in Mancos and been members of that larger community for almost 20 years. Both my daughters, Olivia and Megan, have been participants in Deer Hill programs, and Megan worked here as a leader for a couple of seasons, before returning to graduate school full time.

Jason Kroll – Program Director

My position at Deer Hill allows me to be a part of switching young people on to the power of the wilderness. I see everything I do – from planning a backpacking route, to scheduling trips, to working with service hosts, to managing staff – as part of creating a journey for our participants. My love of the outdoors began at an early age with family trips to the mountains of California. After studying at the University of California San Diego, I left college to pursue my passion for climbing while developing a career in outdoor education, working as a field leader for a variety of outdoor programs in California and the Southwest. During this time I got to know wilderness areas like the Sierra Nevada and Joshua Tree intimately. I was then fortunate enough to be a part of developing Rubicon Outdoors, based in Prescott, Arizona. As co-owner, I learned much about the responsibilities and logistics of running an outdoor program. In 2004, I moved to Colorado and began guiding clients for the San Juan Outdoor School and Telluride Alpinism in the dramatic San Juan Mountains. This eventually led me to joining Deer Hill in 2007. I now live close to Deer Hill Basecamp in Mancos with my wife Pam and dog Kaisa.

Richard Malcolm – Outreach Director

I grew up in the United Kingdom, where as a child, clad in Wellington boots, I regularly “enjoyed” the rain, fog, gnats, and bogs of the Welsh and Scottish Highlands on family vacations. These formative experiences began a lifelong fascination with mountains and other wild places, indulged via rock climbing, mountain biking, snowboarding and backpacking. While pursuing a career in higher education, I explored the climbing crags and trails of the high country, and completed several long-distance hikes, including the Cambrian Way (Wales), the Coast-to-Coast (England), and the Scottish “4000-ers”. In the meantime, while teaching young people at college level and working with teenagers in a theater education program for many years, I learned much about the importance of direct experience in learning, leadership and creativity. A few twists and turns, including a PhD, brought me to Southwest Colorado, where I now live close to Basecamp in Mancos with my wife Ashley and dog Benvolio, who has become a regular fixture at Deer Hill. Nowadays I get to go on adventures almost every weekend – but with 300 days of sunshine a year, the chances of a soaking are much lower than on those early vacations in the UK.

Wendy McCreight – Outreach Associate

My passion for the outdoors and experiential education actually started as a camper with Deer Hill back in 1997. Prior to joining the team here in 2009, I had been working as the Program Director for Outdoor Explorations, a Massachusetts non-profit with the mission of breaking down barriers for people with and without disabilities in the outdoors. I developed and implemented 18 different educational programs that were aimed at removing the barriers to the outdoors and enabling children and adults with and without disabilities to live life to the fullest. I have also had the honor to work as Project Director with the Anti Defamation league’s World of Difference® peer leadership program. I have a Bachelor Degree in Outdoor Education from the University of New Hampshire. For fun my husband Colin and I love to bike, hike and ski.

Eli Shostak – Staff Manager

Facilitating adventure-based educational experiences has guided my life for the past 13 years. I bring a wide range of experiences and a love of adventure to my position as Staff Manager for Deer Hill Expeditions. I have led backpacking, sea kayaking, rafting, and climbing trips in places ranging from Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic all the way to Baja California’s Sea of Cortez. I spent eight years as an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School, and balanced working for NOLS with employment at other programs to obtain a broad perspective of the adventure education industry. While earning a Master’s Degree in Experiential Education, I focused my studies on how to use experiential education to teach about sense of place. My love of the Southwest eventually landed me in Mancos, Colorado where I live with my wife Erin and our dog Itza.

Suzanne Strazza – Admissions Manager

I was raised in New Jersey where I spent the majority of my childhood playing in the woods behind my house. I attended ski racing camp in Switzerland where I became competitive Grand Slalom racer. During college, learning to sleep under the stars changed my life for the better, and eventually led me to Boulder, Colorado where I pursued a climbing career. After a friend convinced me to work for Outward Bound, outdoor experiential education became my calling. I worked at OB for almost ten years as an Instructor and Course Director, in Utah, Colorado and Alaska, teaching canyoneering, rock climbing and technical mountaineering. I spent many years leading in the Weminuche Wilderness where Deer Hill runs many of its mountain programs. I moved to Mancos 14 years ago and am raising my two sons to appreciate the outdoors as much as I do. We often run the rivers of the Southwest together, the very same ones that Deer Hill participants run, which is one more magical way to experience the beauty of the place that we call home. Besides working at Deer Hill, I write for several local publications, focusing on the importance of sharing the outdoors with children.