Founders and Guides
Bio
Jenny grew up in Bozeman, MT and moved to California in 2003 to be close to her brother who is active duty stationed at NASNI. Eddy was her closest guy friend of 13 years and the idea of Tadpole Foundation came just a few days after his Memorial Service. Tadpole Foundation officially launched four months later in November 2017.
She holds a Bachelor Degree from Montana State University Bozeman in Mathematics & Education, an Associates Degree in Information Technology, is a Certified Grant Writer from Fort Hayes University & holds a CHA in Hospitality.
Jenny has spent the better part of her life in the outdoors hiking and backpacking all over Montana, California, Arizona and Colorado. In addition she is an ACA Certified Kayak Instructor, holds annual re-certification in CPR/First Aid and holds a Cert. in AIRE Level 1 Avalanche and is certified in Mental Health First Aid.
Jason Lessley
Co-Founder / President / Mountain Guide
Jason is Active Duty Navy Helicopter Search & Rescue Swimmer, Sr. Chief. He has 27+ years backpacking & mountaineering experience in Montana, Utah, Arizona and California. He is a NOLS Alumni and Leave No Trace Master Educator
Moose
Director of Search & Rescue
Moose will be trained as a PTSD service dog and she will go through SAR training and Avalanche Search & Rescue School. Adventuring alongside Veterans is her specialty.
Instructors
Jeff Lessley
Montana Fishing Instructor
Ashley Arnold
Lead Instructor
Ashley served in the Army for 11 years. During those years, she was regular Army and Tennessee National Guard. Her experiences sent her to Iraq for two tours ('05-'06, '09-'10) and one to Afghanistan ('11-'12). Throughout her experiences in the Army, she learned and grew as a person and a leader. She exited the military as a Staff Sergeant. After her third tour, she left the Army and found her way in the world as an outdoor instructor. This path allowed her the active lifestyle needed to deal with the emotional pain from her deployments. Ashley deals with PTSD and other minor physical injuries from her time in the Army. Maintaining an active lifestyle has helped her mind stay focused and find solace. Her primary hobby is SCUBA and as it has become her passion to share it with others. She also has experience as a prior certified ACA Level 2 Kayak instructor and rock climbing instructor, currently certified alpine Ski and Snowboard instructor, PADI SCUBA instructor, CPR/First Aid Instructor, and Stand-Up PaddleBoard Instructor. Ashley looks forward to sharing her love of the outdoors with her fellow Veterans.
Board of Directors
Jason "Pup" Pollock
Andrea Vlahos Furlani
Ryan Hugh Robinson
Michael Szot
Coby Fox
Mikey Mo
