About

Maia Josebachvili, Founder and President

Maia grew up watching too many Indiana Jones movies and decided at a very early age that she was going to try everything in the world once. It hasn’t been easy, but she’s making a dent. She graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in mechanical engineering (that comes in handy when rigging up bear bags in the woods) and went on to be a derivatives trader on Wall Street for two years. That wasn’t much fun compared to her side job though—Maia is a professional skydiver with over 650 logged jumps. She’s also a sponsored mountain-bike racer, marathoner, triathlete, and SCUBA enthusiast with some 200-odd dives.

It really came as no surprise when she quit her trading job to travel around the world for a year. Her journeys have taken her to over 40 different countries on six continents. Highlights include hiking to Everest Base Camp and summiting Kala Patthar (19,208 ft) in Nepal, running an adventure marathon race in New Zealand, extensive backpacking in the Andes mountains in South America, cycle-touring throughout Eastern Europe, and hiking expeditions throughout the Middle East.

Maia has recently returned to New York City to start Urban Escapes and share her love and passion for the outdoors with fellow New Yorkers. She has been guiding outdoor trips for the past six years and is excited to finally be able to do it as a full-time job.

Bram Levy, National Director

After a childhood of herding cattle and clearing brush in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, and living in seven cities in the last ten years, Bram has finally settled in New York. Since graduating from Harvard College, Bram has been an elementary-school teacher and a management consultant and is thrilled to now be serving as the National Director of Urban Escapes. Bram absolutely loves developing new trips and wants to hear your ideas!

Having hiked in the Himalayas, scuba-dived in the Great Barrier Reef, sand-boarded in the Sahara, snow-mobiled in the Rockies, and floated in the Dead Sea, Bram is guilty of an insatiable desire for traveling the globe and then gloating about his adventures. His most recent escapades landed him as an outdoor guide in Southwestern Spain through Olive country and at home here in the Pocono Mountains.

Luke Antal, Boston Director

Growing up in Boston suburbia, Luke has always been a bit of a playful rascal with an insatiable desire for adventure. At the age of four, Luke ambitiously attempted to “ski” down a 20-foot pile of dirt at a local construction site on a couple of old wooden planks. Although this particular event ended with a trip to the emergency room, it sparked what would be a life full of incredible outdoor escapades.

After camping in nearly 20 national parks on three family cross-country road trips throughout his childhood, Luke majored in Environmental Studies, played lacrosse, and continued his adventurous exploits during his time at Dartmouth College.

Upon graduation, Luke successfully convinced his future employer to allow him to postpone his start date by eight months. Given this opportunity of a lifetime, Luke left Boston in an old purple mini-van with a bunch of maps and a plan to engage in as many shenanigans as possible. Eight months later and his life savings nearly gone, Luke had camped, fly-fished, hiked, surfed, and snowboarded throughout the western US, South Africa, and Costa Rica.

After nearly two years of consulting in Boston, Luke is stoked to be launching the Boston branch of Urban Escapes and can’t wait to share the thrill of adventure with other Bostonians!

Adam Platz, Boston Director

Raised in Auburn, Maine under the shadows of local mega celebs Mike Bordick and John Jenkins, Adam developed an affinity for urban escaping at an early age. Following an eye opening 5th grade research paper on the NASA space program, Adam abandoned his aspirations of becoming an astronaut for a more “realistic” career. Given his affinity for the woods and hills of Maine, the outdoor industry seemed a natural fit.

His passion for snow sports soon materialized into a 4-year stint as a national ski patroller and following graduation from Dartmouth College, Adam put his degree in Astronomy to good use by landing a gig as a commercial hiking guide in Alaska and Switzerland. Adam’s travels have since taken him backpacking through South Africa, hiking in Patagonia, backcountry telemark skiing throughout the northeast, and most recently on a north bound thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

After the walk from Georgia to Maine, Adam has now relocated to Boston to rest his legs (though he can still be found jogging the streets in his work clothes in order to avoid riding the T). Adam is excited to be doing what he loves and can’t wait to introduce Urban Escapes to his home of New England!

Kate Hall, Guide

As a marathon runner and power Vinyasa yoga trainee, Kate brings tons of energy to every outdoor adventure. Most recently her adventure-seeking instincts have taken her hiking in the Canadian Rockies, kayaking with whales in South Africa, and cycling through the mean streets of New Jersey.

Originally from Boston, Kate’s hiking and camping experience includes the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the high peaks of the Adirondacks, and the “fourteeners” of the Colorado Rockies. She has fond memories of a backpacking trip with friends through Europe, along with group treks in Tanzania, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Kate graduated from Harvard College in 2004 and also holds an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from The New School.

Eric Trautmann, Guide

Born and raised in Ithaca, New York, Eric loves all things local… the Adirondacks, buffalo wings, the over population of deer, and most importantly off-beat humor. In case you haven’t seen those obnoxious t-shirts, Eric will also be the first to tell you that “Ithaca is Gorges.”

Eric’s infancy consisted of climbing household obstacles and crawling as fast as he could. As a young adult, Eric has replaced ‘household obstacles’ with ‘mountains,’ and ‘crawling’ with ‘skiing,’ but in essence he’s still the same old Eric. A true rock hound, Eric has scouted out almost every climb-able spot in New England. He climbs regularly up in Rumney, NH and has bagged an impressive list of summits in New England, including his recent lead-climb ascent of Katahdin.

After over half a decade in college piling up engineering degrees, Eric traveled to Africa to design, engineer, and build a hydroelectric dam for a low income tribal town. Eric has planted himself in Cambridge for the time being, where he works as an electrical engineer. He can’t wait to meet you on your next UE excursion!

Gretchen Fuller, Guide

Growing up with an older brother, Gretchen was destined from day one to develop a passion for outdoor adventure and athletics. After a brief stint as a professional tree climber, she began playing ice hockey, eventually switching to field hockey and lacrosse. Gretchen went on to play field hockey in college at Harvard, where she majored in Biology. Her adventurous experiences include Outward Bound in California and backpacking trips in New Hampshire, North Carolina and Canada, along with plenty of skiing and hiking with friends.

After college, Gretchen moved to South Africa where she taught math, science, and physical education at the American International School of Cape Town. When Miss Fuller wasn’t applying herself as a teacher, she found herself planning and embarking on backcountry hikes, shark snorkeling adventures and rock climb ascents throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Look out for her on the waves when swell hits the east coast too, as she can now be found ripping with the best of ‘em on our local northeast beaches.

Gretchen is currently hitting the books at Harvard Medical School, but she is always up for an opportunity to get out of the city for some outdoor adventure!

Owen Cadwalader, Guide

A Philadelphia native, Owen has been seeking out the biggest and baddest adventures since he was just a young whippersnapper. Growing up ascending the Adirondacks, Owen was exposed to the joy of nature at an early age. Developing a penchant for all things outdoors, Owen started his “professional” outdoor career at age seven selling lemonade on the trail for $.25 per cup.

Since that time, Owen has expanded his outdoor expertise to include Class V whitewater kayaking in Squamish BC, ice climbing ascents all over the country, mountaineering summits in France, Switzerland, and the western US, rock climbing all over the country, and a slew of other exploits that we don’t have room to list!

Owen graduated from college with a BA and a Masters in Environmental Science and can currently be found working for an environmental consulting firm during the week and playing in the outdoors on the weekends. Aside from guiding for Urban Escapes, Owen has kept his entrepreneurial spirit alive by selling the best lemonade around, though his prices have jumped to $.50 a cup.

Ali Frizell, Guide

Not a stranger to fashion, Ali grew up in the chic San Fran suburb of Piedmont, California. Since Ali can remember, she has had a knack for social media. As one of the most skilled AOL instant messengers in her middle school graduating class, she has since perfected her twitter and Facebooking skills and holds such distinctions amongst her friends as “fastest tweeter around” and “Facebook guru extraordinaire.”

When Ali is not firing off texts at an unusually fast pace, she is following her other true passion, the outdoors. She’s backpacked through Sub-Saharan Africa, commercially guided for several years in Grand Teton National Park (including a summit of Grand Teton elev.13,775ft), completed endurance hikes in the White Mountains, and served most notably as a ski bum in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Graduating from college with a degree in Environmental Studies, Ali has since shifted her academic pursuits. After completing her Wilderness Emergency Medicine certification, Ali discovered an affinity for applied medicine. She joined a Post Bac Med program at UVM in Burlington and will be enrolling in medical school in 2011. In the mean time, she can’t wait to get outside, discover the area, and meet some Boston Escapers!

Sarah Rothenberg, Guide

A Western Mass native, Sarah grew up hiking and kayaking through the Happy Valley, down the Connecticut River, and up Mt. Monadnock. After a thrilling undergrad and graduate career at UMASS Amherst, Sarah finally made her way out East to her new happy valley, Boston. With a passion to keep life active, exciting and interesting, Sarah seeks adventure wherever she can find it.  Her quest for “urban escapes” has taken her across the Great Wall, backpacking through Europe, skiing in the Rockies, camping in the Negev Desert and karaoke nights in Tokyo. 

When Sarah’s not out looking for adventure, she’s in the classroom where adventures find her. Kindergarten teacher by day, Sarah’s energy is matched by her 5 and 6 year old students. When it is time to relax, Sarah is a certified Children’s yoga instructor and practices yoga both in and out of the classroom.

From summers on Cape Cod leading bike tours and beach volleyball games to a dream job in Italy guiding the Rome Pub Crawl, Sarah is eager to finally be back in the tour-guiding circuit with Urban Escapes! Sarah is thrilled to join the UE Boston team and is looking forward to a breath of fresh air with her fellow neighbors.  Let’s have some fun!

Jon Scherr, Guide

A native of Newton MA, Jon grew up tackling such feats as Cold Spring Park and Hammond Pond, and spent most of his winter weekends in the White Mountains skiing with his family. Having parents who wanted to experiment with transcendentalism, he moved to New Hampshire, spending every second he could outside. Once that experiment failed (after about six months), his family moved back to Newton, but his love for the outdoors continued.

Since then, he hasn’t stopped exploring. Jon has participated in and led backpacking, mountaineering, and climbing trips throughout New England, The Southwest, The Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Europe, and Africa, including successful summits of Denali and Kilimanjaro. Jon graduated from Dartmouth College, where he majored in Development Economics and spent four years as a National Ski Patroller with the Dartmouth Ski Patrol.

When not escaping the city, Jon is working on implementing experiments in inner city schools around the US, with The Education Innovation Laboratory at Harvard, with the goal of identifying interventions that effectively increase achievement among poor urban students. Spending his free time in the city dreaming of fresh air while playing Big Buck Hunter , he’s always looking for a reason to get out of the city!

Tucker Margulies, Guide

Tucker’s relationship with the outdoors got off to a rocky start. His initial introduction was thwarting his older brother’s frequent attempts to convince him to eat bugs. In the 4th grade, at a school fair, Tucker ate a chocolate covered cricket and he has loved the outdoors since.

Currently Tucker plays the role of a modern day Superman. By day he struts the halls of the statehouse and protects the commonwealth’s finances. At the drop of a hat he will ditch his well pressed shirt to answer the call of whatever adventure needs him most. He has thoroughly hiked the Presidential Range in New England and the Wind River Range in Wyoming.

While he carries on an affair with hiking his true love is skiing. Tucker taught skiing at Ragged Mountain in New Hampshire and can be seen several times a year at Tuckerman’s Ravine, combining his loves of hiking and skiing. In addition to skiier and hiker he is an avid rock climber, mountain biker, triathlete, and a few other things that end in er and ete.

In addition to the outdoors Tucker will pretend to know about fine wines, cheeses, European politics, and the intricacies of the butterfly crochet stitch.

Sean Brennan, Guide

Born and raised in the Finger Lakes Region in Upstate New York, Sean has always sought outdoor adventure and activities.  From water skiing and parasailing on Seneca Lake, to cross-country skiing and sledding at the local country club, Sean will never turn down an outdoor adventure invite.

Well-trained on fossil seeking by his father, Sean has found the geology of Upstate New York to be a hotbed for the amateur fossil hunter.  Fossil hunting goes hand in hand with hikes to remote and amazing areas, which taught Sean his great appreciation for nature and the general awesomeness that surrounds us.

In the winter before attending St. Lawrence University, Sean ended up with 14 staples in his knee and a concussion after snowmobiling into a bunker on the ninth hole of the golf course – if that didn’t stop him from taking outdoor adventure to the next level, nothing will!

Sean worked in Finance in Boston, MA over the past 6 years, and he is very excited to get out of the office to guide some of Boston’s best to the coolest destinations in the northeast!

Gaby Santa-Donato, Guide

Little Gabrielle knew she was forming a budding relationship with the outdoors when she would create mythical games involving feeding chickens from the sandbox, making intricate mudpies, shooting hoops for hours as the first girl on the NY Knicks and playing bicycle cop, all in the small confines of her backyard. Her mother had to tempt her inside at the end of the day with ice cream (which ultimately works every time).

Gaby went to a high school where people stayed inside, so she decided to do all she could to end up somewhere in the outdoors.  Through her time at Dartmouth, Gaby made time to lead climbing and white water kayaking trips, take bike rides through the rolling hills of NH and bring everyone joy with the BEAMO – the cushy, colorful huge Frisbee you catch with your body.  She is pumped to hang out with some folks her own age, as she spends the majority of her days as an Urban Education Fellow at the MATCH High School, schooling some crazy youngins, reading applications on the Recruiting team and attempting to create a High School art program.