Board President

I have been supporting Healing Waters for over 10 years. Providing wilderness trips is a rewarding way to share my love for the outdoors and help others connect with nature, just as my parents have done for me when I was younger.

I am thrilled to be part of this remarkable organization.

Dr. Mary Breunig has spent more than three decades as an outdoor/experiential education
professor at Canadian and US universities. Since 2019, she has been teaching at California State University - Sacramento on the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Miwok, Wintu, Maidu, Nisenan (southern Maidu), and Patwin Native peoples. Her scholarship focuses on social and environmental justice, schoolyard pedagogy, and outdoor travel. Mary is a NOLS and Outward Bound instructor. She is a climber, cyclist, avid paddler, place-based enthusiast, and urban flaneur. She is delighted to be joining the Board of Healing Waters

I started as a client with Healing Waters in 2022. I attended a weekend cabin trip with my four children. That one weekend trip made a lasting impression on me as I then came back In 2017 to train as a river guide and then joined the board in 2020. I believe that being in nature helps people mentally, physically and emotionally. I do this because I want to help others get out of their neighborhood and enjoy nature-hood.

I have been a white water rafting guide since 1992. I believe that spending time outdoors and bringing nature into your everyday life can benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing. Rafting experiences help not only bring team work and collaboration, but an experience to face your fears and overcome them. Even a weekend white water rafting experience can change the lives of young people by building confidence through overcoming challenges.