Edifon Adiakpan, Operations Manager & Administrative Systems Analyst

Edifon was born in Nigeria and moved to Texas with his family in 2007. For the last couple of years, he has worked in small business operations and big data analysis. In 2023, He began working with Adventure Cycling through Belay as part of a personal objective to maximize his work time ROI having automated a lot of his Google work. He found he enjoyed working with the management team, as they did with him, and it was mutually decided he be brought on as an employee to take on more administrative responsibilities. Although he is more of a runner and lifter these days, there was a period in his life when he fell in love with road biking which morphed into an overall love for outdoor adventures. His other hobbies include photography, videography, food exploration, traveling, and staying at home.

Nicki Bailey, VP of People and Operations

Nicki (she/her) finds that bike travel brings together her greatest passions: new connections and places, tough obstacles to overcome, and silliness in the outdoors. As an outdoor industry professional since 2009, Nicki has had the opportunity to work in HR and Operations across the Núu-agha-tuvu-pu (Ute), Tekohá (Guarani), Mbya, Apsaalooké (Crow), Salish Kootenai (Flathead), Cheyenne, and native lands of many others (presently known as the US Mountain West and Latin America). Her zeal for just, equitable and creative workplaces make ACA a great fit for both Nicki's work and time out on bikes. She is the Board Chair of the Forward Montana Foundation and always brings too many things on a bike tour.

David Barth, IT Specialist

David has been working at Adventure Cycling Associatrion since 2013. He enjoys running and cycling with his friends in mountains and on the gravel roads of Montana and Idaho. If you are visiting the office in Missoula, he invites all to join him and his fellow co-workers in a spirited session of "hacky sack" in the court yard.

Sam Bockius, Store Manager

Sam moved to Montana in 2012 to attend school at Montana State University. Since graduating, Sam has been instructing and leading outdoor education camps and courses throughout Montana and Colorado. More recently he has been coaching a local youth mountain bike team in Bozeman, as well as working for an online cycling retailer. In 2019, Sam biked the Olympic Peninsula and a section of the Pacific Coast where he fell in love with traveling by bike. He can’t wait to meet all the people passing through the office on their own adventures.

Brian Bonham, VP of Community Engagement

Brian joined the organization in 2014 after having worked for various bicycle frame and parts manufacturers across the western United States. His most memorable, and longest bike ride was a 209 mile loop through central California. Most days you can find him riding his bike or running the trails around Missoula with his wife, Jenna, and their dog, Leo.

Maxton Caplanides, Director of Development & Membership

Maxton's introduction to bike travel happened when he decided to jump in headfirst and ride the TransAm and Oregon coast in the summer of 2015 — a trip that completely changed the course of his life. It was on that trip that he met his partner who was doing her own cross-country ride, and where he discovered his love for bike touring and the magic that comes along with it. He joined the ranks at Adventure Cycling the following summer. When he's not at work, he prefers to be bushwhacking in the mountains with his son, or riding up steep gravel roads in search of the view just over the next hill.

Richard Darne, Database Administrator

Richard was born in Virginia and moved to the Missoula area at the age of three. He loves it here in Montana and has no plans of leaving. He started working for Adventure Cycling in May 2004 after doing similar jobs for the Forest Service for the previous four years. In his spare time he enjoys crossword puzzles, camping, riding his swing bike, and playing banjo while singing with his dad.

Amy Fealko, Financial Controller

Amy grew up in Eastern Oregon and moved to Idaho to attend Boise State University where she graduated with a degree in accounting. She is a certified public accountant and worked in public and corporate accounting before relocating to Salmon, Idaho with her husband in 2006. She served as the City of Salmon's Treasurer for 17 years and is excited to transition into her new role at Adventure Cycling! Amy loves to spend her free time hiking and biking in the mountains or on multi-day wilderness raft trips across the west. She is also an avid reader, that is when she isn't chasing her two children (Sophia 15 and Gavin 13) to various athletic events across Montana and Idaho.

Jake Flaherty, Staff Accountant

Jake grew up in Logan, Utah and spent time in Big Sky, Montana and Jackson Hole, Wyoming before attending school in Missoula, Montana. He studied finance at the University of Montana through 2017 and was a student employee for Adventure Cycling for more than half his time in school. He started out as a volunteer restocking bins used for guided tours. Next, he worked as a membership assistant through the university’s work-study program. In 2015 he became the accounting assistant and was married to his wife Amber in the same year. Jake officially became an employee with Adventure Cycling in 2017. Jake fell in love with long-distance bicycle travel after riding from Bozeman, Montana to Sacramento, California in 2006. Now Jake can be found cycling on the trails and logging roads surrounding Missoula.

Haydin Grotz, Project Manager

In 2013 Haydin biked cross country from Baltimore, MD to Seattle, WA with the 4K for Cancer – a program of the Ulman Foundation that raises funds and awareness for young adults with cancer. From her bike seat, she was able to see first-hand how beautiful things are and how generous people can be. After her trip, Haydin worked at a bike shop in her hometown of Lusby, MD for three years before moving to Missoula, MT. She loves everything Missoula has to offer including biking, hiking, fly fishing, and sour beer! She also loves meeting new people, volunteering, and snuggling with her cat, Arthur.

Corbett Hall, Tours Operations Specialist

Corbett (he/him) was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana. He started cycling as a utility at Indiana University, and after graduating lived in North Carolina before cycling across the country for the affordable housing cause with Bike & Build in 2019. After this experience, he became committed to continuing the mission of "a lifetime of service." Since then, Corbett has been coaching high school swimming, guiding mountain bike trips, wrenching on bikes, building affordable housing, tutoring, and most recently leading another cross-country cycling trip with Bike & Build in 2022. Corbett believes that the speed of a bike is best way to see the world, and in the power of a new recipe or long book.

Jenn Hamelman, Director of Routes

Jenn grew up in Oregon, still loves the rain and is happy to be leading the Routes team from her corner of the Pacific Northwest. In 2017, she rode solo over 2000 miles from Portland, Maine, across Michigan on USBR 20 to Minnesota where her adventure ended on the Paul Bunyan Trail. Jenn spends part of the year in New Mexico with her extended family. In her free time you’ll find her reading, creating, cooking fab vegan meals, walking her neighborhood, planning her next bike adventure with her BFF, and petting her kitty Sophie.

Lauren Hudgins, Marketing Manager

Lauren is living proof that you can forget how to ride a bike and had to relearn at age 21. Originally from rural Maryland, she now lives car-free and bikes about the gloom of the rainy Pacific Northwest to keep her endorphins flowing. Lauren earned her MA in Publishing and her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Portland State University in 2014. She joined the ACA team in spring 2022, after a few years in the outdoor industry focused on hiking. Cycling is more of her wheelhouse.

Bryce Johnston, Tours Operations Specialist

Raised in the hills of Salt Lake City, Bryce studied at Utah State University. During his time there he became involved with sustainability efforts and began commuting by bike to reduce emissions. After spending summers across the West working at different nonprofits and exploring fire roads on two wheels, he moved to Missoula in 2022 and joined the local bike community. After working a myriad of jobs including commuter outreach and cobbling, Bryce started working at Adventure Cycling in late 2023. Outside of cycling, he spends his free time doing various crafts, camping and hanging out with his dog Maggie.

Ally Mabry, Adventure Cyclist Art Director

Born in the Yellowhammer state, Ally developed an affinity for magazine design in Alabama; she fell in love with bicycles in Texas. After receiving a BFA in Graphic Design and Printmaking from The University of Alabama in 2014, she headed to Austin where the bike scene consumed her. There, Ally spent her weekends matching road mileage to the temperature (106 miles in 106° once) and weekdays commuting around the city. Now she prefers to stick to dirt, rambling around the backcountry. Ally began her dream job at Adventure Cycling in 2017 after experiencing a series of truly transformative bike tours.

Geoff McMillion, Membership/Development/Building Facilities Manager

Originally from Chapin, SC, Geoff was lured west by Glacier National Park where he spent two college summers. The lure became permanent when he transferred to the University of Montana graduating with a BS  in Recreation Management at the UM School of Forestry. Geoff joined the Adventure Cycling team in 2012 with Cyclosource. He then spent 5 years as Admin/Bookkeeping prior to joining Membership. Geoff enjoys exploring the trails, rivers, and backroads of Montana in his free time — and if you happen to hear the drone of bagpipes in the Missoula area, you may find Geoff there, piping his favorite tunes.

Dan Meyer, Managing Editor

Originally from the Twin Cities, Dan studied German in Duluth, worked as a mechanic in the Marine Corps for five years, and studied creative writing at Columbia University. He finally moved to Missoula in 2013 for graduate school and stayed because, well, duh. He first caught the mountain biking bug in Minnesota and has lately been considering cycling of the paved variety. If there’s snow in the mountains, you’ll likely find Dan out there with his snowboard. If the snow has melted, he’ll be on his mountain bike.

Jeffrey Mizell, VP of Programs

Jeffrey’s career in nonprofit management and leadership has seen him working in various roles around the globe, from a Rescue Diver and Divemaster in Okinawa, Japan, to directing all fundraising and programming operations in the Washington, DC, region for Rise Against Hunger. As the Director of Development at Adventure Cycling Association, Jeffrey brings firsthand development and leadership experience with donors throughout the giving spectrum, from first-time individual donors to major donors, corporate partners, foundations, and beyond. Jeffrey and his partner, River, have two beautiful sons, Jay and Kai, and a rescue border collie who all love to bike around town and play in their garden. You can find Jeffrey on the bike paths and trails near his home in Fort Collins, Colorado, or in used bookstores hunting for rare copies of his favorite book, Treasure Island. 

Melissa Moser, GIS Analyst/Cartographer

Before coming to Missoula in early 2012, Melissa studied GIS at the University of Wyoming. After completing an M.S. degree, she biked cross-country from Los Angeles to Boston to promote cycling as transportation. This experience introduced her to bicycle touring and Adventure Cycling, both of which she quickly came to love. Three years later she was able to combine her career (GIS/mapping) with her passion (bicycle touring) by joining the Routes & Mapping crew at Adventure Cycling. When not at work, Melissa can be found biking, hiking, gardening, traveling, and enjoying music.

Daniel Mrgan, Art Director

Daniel grew up in Croatia where he developed an early interest in graphic design inspired by childhood obsessions with drawing, comics, and reading popular science magazines. After moving to St. Petersburg, Florida in 1999, he eventually found work as a magazine designer in the custom publishing industry. While looking to replace a stolen commuter bike, Daniel entered the wacky world of Craigslist bike ads and became obsessed with acquiring and repairing used/abused bicycles. That initial sprinkling of magical, bike-fairy dust turned hard to shake off — he started volunteering at, and eventually became a part owner of, St. Pete Bike Co-op and his cycling expanded from commuting to bike camping and touring. He somewhat reluctantly exchanged his Florida sandals for winter boots, but Daniel is more than happy to call Missoula his new home and is enthusiastically awaiting whatever new adventures Montana throws at him. His free time is usually divided between riding bicycles, drawing, reading, eating dark chocolate snacks, and watching movies — preferably all in the same day and in good company.

Jennifer O'Dell, Executive Director

Jennifer joined Adventure Cycling in 2021 after 23 years of working in consumer-packaged goods, ecommerce, and fitness and apparel industries. She is excited to combine her marketing skills and passion for the outdoors to help people create lasting memories from their own adventures and travels by bike. Originally from Oregon and Alaska, BK (Before Kids), Jennifer spent her free time traveling having epic adventures as often as possible. After earning her MBA, she started adventure racing, backpacked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, went bike touring through Vermont, and scuba diving in Belize. AK (After Kids), she now spends her free time instilling a love of adventure in her kids and exploring the outdoors with her family. When she’s not hiking, mountain biking, or driving kids to various sporting events, she loves cooking, watching live music, photography, and reading books.

Reed Sallans, Tour Operations Manager

Reed’s interest in a car-free lifestyle began in college where he worked as a bike mechanic and outdoor guide. After graduating from Texas Tech University he worked as a mule-packer on the Pacific Crest Trail and toured around the American West on his bike until landing back in Austin, TX, where he was born and raised. The allure of the open road stayed strong, so he chose to spend the better half of 2020 on a loaded bike, pedaling from Oregon to Texas. When not on two wheels, he enjoys throwing pottery, photography, gardening, and fly-fishing.

Nathan Taylor, Digital Routes Manager

Nathan has been in Montana since 1998, and now has the privilege of raising his sons Aden and Bay here with his wife Christa. A native of coastal Maine, he had found himself employed throughout the country as, among other things, a Christmas tree harvester, a sushi chef, and a lobsterman before settling in Missoula and earning a BS in Geosciences from UM. When he is not attempting to corral rambunctious boys, Nathan enjoys going up mountains.

Amy Wally, GIS Specialist/Cartographer

Amy grew up in Northern California and moved to Missoula in 2013 to fulfill a lifelong dream of living in Western Montana. She earned her master’s degree in Geography from UM in spring of 2015 and began working at Adventure Cycling in fall of 2015. Amy loves to spend the weekends in the mountains, exploring the beautiful wildness that Montana has to offer with her husband Garin. When not escaping into the wilderness, Amy can be found biking around town, hanging out at the Top Hat, or snuggling up with a good book and her two precious cats, Sugar and Spice.

Sean Weddell, Interim Director of Experiences

Sean relocated to Missoula in July 2022 with his wife Melissa and pups Bodee and Windee Lou after spending many summers traveling throughout the West. The World on two wheels has been a significant balancer in Sean's life that all started at his grandmother’s farm in rural Indiana, disappearing on the country roads for hours each day to find new adventures. He has now ridden in over 40 U.S. States, still seeking those same adventures. Sean's free time is spent outside chasing those adventures in this beautiful place we call home.

Carolyne Whelan, Editor-in-Chief

Carolyne grew up in eastern Massachusetts, where her love of riding her training wheels down to the harbor to watch the fishing boats grew into a passion for exploring the city’s furthest neighborhoods on two wheels. She moved to New Mexico as a teenager, where she got a wild hair to ride her bike down the west coast with nothing but a picnic blanket and she’s been hooked on bike touring ever since. In the meantime, she’s earned a BA and MFA in writing, wrenched in bike shops around the US, hiked and biked around the Americas and Europe, and worked as a writer and editor at a number of publications, including Dirt Rag Magazine. She started at Adventure Cycling in 2021, uniting her passions for publishing, bike-powered travel, and community building into the ultimate role as Editor-in-Chief at Adventure Cyclist. When she isn’t writing or riding, Carolyne can typically be found hiking or kayaking with her Very Good Girl, Broose.

Emma Wimmer, Tours Operations Specialist

Emma started her cycling journey in 2011, first in Madison, Wisconsin along beautiful Lake Mendota, then in Washington, DC where she became a year-round bike commuter in 2013. A dream job brought her west in 2015, where she has added mountain biking to her list. After years in the tourism industry she is still excited to share her passion for bicycle travel with others. When she’s not on her bike, you’ll find her soaking in hot springs or solving crossword puzzles.

Ellie Zachary, Innovation Program Development Manager

Ellie grew up in Fruita, Colorado, where the love of bikes runs deep within the community. In 2019, she moved to Boulder, Colorado, and graduated from CU with a BA in Environmental Studies. Her passion for outdoor equity and adventure drove her to break barriers, advocating for everyone to experience the transformative power of the outdoors. Sharing her love for the outdoors with her dog, Sunny, is her absolute favorite part of life. Now venturing into the world of adventure cycling, she is all about the raw joy of biking and the simple wonders of nature.

Jessica Zephyrs, Director of Marketing

Jessica, born and raised in Oklahoma under the sign of the scissor-tail flycatcher to a long lineage of Oklahomans, took flight in 2007 and landed in Missoula, Montana. With a background in nonprofit marketing, she joined Adventure Cycling in 2018. Her job is to make new online visitors comfortable, promptly giving them whatever they might be looking for, fluffing their pillows in the hopes they’ll stay awhile and get to know the adventure cycling community. Jessica has a couple of degrees, but more importantly, she has a beautiful 1970s Gitane mixte that she recently converted into a single speed for her daily commute. Look for her on the local trails, running downhill as fast as her legs will carry her and encouraging others to do the same.