BOARD OF ADVISORS - EXPECTATIONS
Advisory board members attend the annual full board retreat, as well as at least one of the following “special events”:
Winterfest (February)
Stakeholders Dinner (April),
Semester Graduation (June, December)
Summer Staff Training (June)
Summer Program Endings (July & August)
End-of-Summer Banquet (August)
Advisory board members offer expertise and energy in a variety of specialties, such as fundraising, facilities management, curriculum, risk management etc. Advisory board members serve on ad-hoc committees and respond to requests for advice from staff and other board members.
Current Advisors:
Aviva Argote‘s work centers on justice and diversity education, inspiring resilience, and modeling authentic leadership. As vice president of culture and learning at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, she designs curriculum and develops faculty, bringing her experience facilitating dialogue, creating generative workplace culture, and weaving relationships among diverse stakeholders.
As an independent consultant to NGOs and global philanthropies, Aviva focuses on adaptive leadership capacity, designing inclusive work spaces, and enhancing nonprofit strategy. As an urban homesteader, she builds community and facilitates nature-connected home learning for her two children in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Ben Holmes spent over 30 years founding and elevating The Farm School, a vibrant non-profit that has connected tens of thousands of people to the land. During his tenure, he fostered the development of new perspectives and leadership, turning the organization over completely to the next generation in the fall of 2021.
Ben now uses his personal experience in every aspect of the growth and maintenance of a successful non-profits to support moving other people’s projects forward through Ben Holmes Consulting.
Clayton Walton –
Clayton L. Walton is a dedicated educator and social work professional with extensive experience in global social work, cultural immersion, and community-engaged leadership. He holds an MSW in Management and Policy from Rutgers University (2024), an M.Ed. in Counseling and College Student Personnel Services from the University of Maryland (2003), and a B.A. in Sociology with minors in Social Work and Secondary Education from St. John’s University (1997). Currently, Walton is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in the Department of Social Work at Rutgers University-Newark. His teaching and research emphasize global social work theory, sustainable development, urban transformation, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), offering students practical insights into addressing global social issues. Clayton’s interests include sustainable development, urban education, local-to-global social change, and student success initiatives. He is known for creating impactful, real-world educational experiences that prepare students to be socially responsible global citizens.
In addition to several years of important service as a member of our Board of Trustees, Clayton has brought dozens of students from Rutgers University to Kroka during the past 10 years for a variety of expeditions, and continues to advise us on many important issues.
Emily Sherwood first came to Kroka at the age of 11, then completed Kroka’s first semester program in 2004, and has been a devoted Kroka-ite ever since. In between Kroka programs and her own far flung adventures she has taught high school, where she firmly believes in learning beyond the classroom walls. Emily served as a co-director during the critical founders transition years, and still continues to share her expertise in farming, expedition planning, and the design and repair of outdoor gear. These days, she lives down the road from Kroka on a small farm with her two young children and husband Jacob.
Jed Williamson – Jed has served Kroka in a variety of critical roles throughout the past decades, and his career in education spans a variety of influential roles and institutions. Jed is a President Emeritus and now Adjunct Faculty of Sterling College in VT. He is co-author of the AEE Accreditation Standards for Adventure Programs, was editor of Accidents in North American Mountaineering for 40 years, and co-designer of the “Live, Learn, and Teach” graduate program in experiential education at UNH, where he was on faculty for ten years. He was an instructor, program director, and director at various Outward Bound Schools. Jed is one of the founders of the Wilderness Risk Managers Committee. He has conducted over 50 on site accident investigations and 20 accreditation reviews. He has served on several boards, including Kroka Expeditions, Central Asia Institute, NOLS, SCA, and AEE. He is also currently the Chair of Kroka’s Risk Management Committee. His avocations include skiing and climbing, which he has done for decades. His climbing expeditions have taken him to the top of North America twice, to Mount Everest, and to mountain ranges worldwide. He was a WEMT for 20 years and is currently a certified Wilderness First Responder. Jed and his wife Perry reside in Hanover, NH. They have two daughters and four grandchildren.
Joe Marks is a local entrepreneur, business owner, and dedicated community member. He was instrumental in founding the local Monadnock Food Coop in Keene, NH and served as its board president for three years.
Joe previously stewarded the farm that is now at the heart of Kroka’s campus in Marlow. He currently resides next door to Kroka’s campus and keeps a watchful eye over all of our activities. Joe served on Kroka’s board of trustees from 2007-2009.
Kam Bellamy is advocate for whole person, experiential learning to develop the next generation of purposeful self-leaders.
After graduating from Georgetown with a degree in Race and Gender Studies, she moved to North Yorkshire, England to live in a community with people with developmental disabilities and study biodynamic vegetable growing. Later, intrigued by the power of business in the world, she completed an MBA at Yale School of Management. She is passionate about ensuring young adults have spaces in which they can develop their capacities for bold and personal visioning and creating a world around them in which all can thrive. Kam is the Executive Director of Springboard.
Martha McAlpine has explored the world as an academic, a movement and mindfulness teacher, a philosopher, a homeschool mama, a corporate trainer, and information architect. Her daughter Lily participated in the 2024 Winter Semester Program, and since then Martha has been a strategic advisor and volunteer with a special gift in communicating with parents and the world about the essence of the Kroka experience.
Misha Golfman is the founder of Kroka Expeditions, and after directing Kroka for 28 years he now serves as the Executive Director of the Mad River Path in Waitsfield Vermont. Together, with his partner Lynne, he has raised four children on a nature-connected homestead and guided over one hundred wilderness expeditions in remote areas of the world.
