Operations Manager
Development Manager
Seasonal Program Coordinator
Seasonal Program Coordinator
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Co-Founder
After losing his vision at the age of 14, Erik has dedicated his life to inspiring others to embrace a No Barriers Mindset to live purposeful and meaningful lives. He has climbed the 7 Summits, the tallest mountain on every continent, and solo-kayaked the iconic whitewater of the Grand Canyon, among countless other adventure firsts
A former middle school teacher and wresting coach, Erik is, the author of Touch the Top of the World, The Adversity Advantage and No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon. He is the recipient of numerous awards, among them the prestigious National Courage Award and the 2002 ESPN ESPY award.
Erik is an internationally recognized speaker whose message helps companies, organizations and individuals around the world discover what it takes to turn into the storm, convert challenges into greatness, and reach for seemingly impossible goals. Through Erik’s groundbreaking adventures, he has explored and defined what it means to live a No Barriers Life, describing it as a map we build to navigate and to pursue a life that matters.
“A No Barriers Life is not all about hanging off the edge of a scary mountain, nor is it only applicable to someone who may be blind or can’t walk. No Barriers is for everyone.”
Board Liaison
Katrina Wells was most recently the Chief Marketing Officer for FNBO (First National Bank of Omaha) and Senior Vice President of Brand and Marketing. In this role, she led the bank’s Brand and Marketing teams, who were responsible for brand development, awareness, reputation, engagement, and their contributions to franchise growth.
Katrina has over 30 years of leadership experience focused in key business areas including marketing, customer advocacy, and community development. Her career experience includes leadership roles at eBay, AOL and Sitel Worldwide prior to joining FNBO in 2006.
Katrina excels at developing and sharing vision through storytelling, as well as leading her teams to successful outcomes and achieving critical business results.
Katrina is a Journalism and Marketing graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
In addition to her current board liaison role, she has shared her time and talent with numerous nonprofit boards throughout the years, including those focused on mental wellness, homelessness, inclusion and diversity, addiction and general health.
Her passions include advocating for creative arts, well-being initiatives, a world that works for all and conscious capitalism. Personal interests include spending time outdoors, faith-based studies, writing and riding her horse.
Program Director
Mariah, being a Colorado native, has always had an endless sense of adventure and a yearning to constantly be exploring. She grew up in Black Forest, Colorado surrounded by trees and acres of land primed for a child’s sense of adventure. This is where her passion for the outdoors was born, and her imagination let run wild.
Once graduating high school, Mariah moved to Fort Collins to pursue a degree in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism and a minor in Business Administration at Colorado State University. Luckily, she graduated with most of her sanity and a wealth of knowledge. After her tenure at CSU, Mariah held a variety of positions in recreation and education such as serving as a ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park, and being a classroom paraprofessional, to name a couple.
Mariah was first introduced to No Barriers (Global Explorers at the time) at a job fair at CSU when she connected with the NB representative and discussed the goals and mission of this organization. She immediately felt that this is where she wanted to be, and she pursued her passion for No Barriers and found herself joining the organization in 2015. Her time at No Barriers has evolved and transformed into a variety of work including education programming, expedition management, marketing, and eventually directing a variety of our programs.
Marketing Director
Jenna Martin is a communicator, marketer, brand manager, and storyteller. Before joining No Barriers as Marketing Director, Jenna grew a love for the non-profit space when working as Senior Director of Marketing and Communications at USA Curling. Experienced in launching and building a brand from the ground up, membership retention and fan conversion, creating an expansive digital footprint, and securing sponsorships transformative to the organization, Jenna found a passion in tapping into what resonates most: storytelling. A graduate from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee with majors in Communications and Psychology, Jenna now lives just west of Milwaukee with her husband, Doug, and dog, Griffey
Accountant
Jess is a graduate of Colorado State University’s Impact MBA Program where she studied social entrepreneurship. Before moving to Fort Collins for grad school, she lived in Northwest Illinois and worked in the nonprofit and youth development sectors for five years in counselor, programming, and administrative positions.
Jess is ecstatic to be Accounting & Data Coordinator at No Barriers as she feels this role combines her passions of social and financial sustainability. In her free time, Jess enjoys spending time outdoors, cross stitching, and making all kinds of desserts.
Development Director
Mike is extremely passionate about helping people and understands how lives can be changed forever through fundraising. He is excited to use his skills in development, donor relations, and business management to help No Barriers grow and impact more people every day. Mike comes to No Barriers from a background in fundraising at The Salvation Army and Northwestern State University. In those roles as an Associate Director of Development for The Salvation Army and Director of Development for the NSU Athletic Department, Mike oversaw Major gifts, Public Relations, Communications, Corporate Relations, and Special Events. Before getting into fundraising Mike was collegiate baseball coach as well as the general manager of an indoor baseball facility that coached young athletes from ages 5-20 years old. Mike received his master’s degree in Sports Administration and bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, both form Northwestern State University. There he was also a member of the NSU baseball team. Mike and his wife, Tori, have been living in Colorado since April of 2020 and immediately fell in love with their new home. They enjoy hiking with their husky “Storm”, supporting Colorado sports teams, and exploring everything else Colorado has to offer. They welcomed their first child, Wrenley, in January 2023 and are now tackling their latest adventure, parenting.
Events Manager
Program Director
Growing up, John spent many days in the rural farmlands and hills of Pennsylvania hunting and fishing with his father, an Army veteran. When he went to college, his father lost his job and John was looking for a way to pay for school. ROTC offered him a scholarship and the rest is history. What followed was more than 21 years as a United States Army Infantry Officer. John served tours in South Korea and Egypt, and was deployed to combat in Iraq.
Following his transition, John worked for several non-profits committed to helping veterans after service. He joined No Barriers in 2014 as the Director of the Warriors Program. A devoted husband and proud father of two boys, he resides in Boulder, Colorado with his family where they share his passion for fishing, being outdoors, and traveling the world.
Program Manager
Emily studied Sports Management at Florida Gulf Coast University and has spent seven years in oor facility and event management prior to joining No Barriers as the Program Manager.
Following a cross-country cycling trip that brought her from Florida to California, Emily became motivated to engage with individuals to embrace the outdoors as a means to build community and unlock potential. She is an EMT, an avid gravel biker, and can be found fly fishing with her golden retriever around Fort Collins, Colorado.
Operations Manager
Emily has spent time outdoors from a young age and quickly found a passion for serving others in her work. She fell in love with Colorado while attending summer camp and moved to Colorado Springs for her undergraduate degree in Sociology at Colorado College. Following undergrad, she taught outdoor education to sixth-grade students and became a program director and assistant director of an outdoor-adventure-based overnight camp for three and a half years.
