Meet our Staff

Favorite Whitewater Rapid: Tunnel Chute, Middle Fork of the American River
Favorite Thing about the Gold Country: The Rivers
Best Adventure: Exploring every inch of Arches National Park by himself

Born and raised in Savannah Georgia, Austin Quattlebaum’s affinity for rivers and rafting was first piqued as a child on family summer vacations. Heading to the mountains of North Carolina to attend college in Asheville, it was there that he became a certified rafting guide and honed his chops on the Pigeon and French Broad Rivers in Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina. Upon graduating he wanted to explore what was on the other side of the Mississippi River. Researching rafting companies out west, Austin discovered Mother Lode River Center, a perfect fit for his diverse interests. He loaded up his 1978 Volkswagen Westfalia camper van—a father/son restoration project started years before and completed in time to be the cross country shuttle—and started the journey to Mother Lode. Since that day, he has gained experience on many rivers across Colorado and California. Austin says he is “passionate about sustainability, and teaching the future generation ways to live lighter on the earth.” Not surprisingly, in addition to rafting, he also teaches outdoor education and organic gardening. His goal is to start his own business modeled along the lines of Mother Lode. In his free time, he enjoys playing the banjo and making as much music as possible, painting, his dog Gauley and, of course, his time on the river.

Out of her travels to 64 cities in 22 countries, Colleen Hardiman says her best adventure was spending an Astral summer at the South Pole: “It certainly tested mental endurance and was a bit like a sociology experiment.” Many of Colleen’s pursuits — from teaching abroad, to relief work, to guiding people down the river — seem to have two common threads: caring for others and adventure. About the Gold Country, she says, “I love the easy access to so many outdoor pursuits, I love that I was lucky enough to grow up here, and that my family is still here.”

Born into a “family of devout fishermen,” Courtney Laird learned to row as soon as she was strong enough to lift the oars and tall enough to see over the bow of the boat.  Searching for the “elusive Rogue River salmon” as a child is where Courtney developed “an unshakeable love for the peace and solitude of river canyons and the adventure of whitewater.”  Her most memorable adventure was getting caught in a freak storm on the first day of an inflatable-kayak family trip along the Illinois River Canyon including hail, rockslides, and a rapidly rising river that went from transparent to the “chocolate brown color you would expect to see on the Colorado.”  As for Gold Country, Courtney says she “loves the warmth of the community, the surrounding beauty and the fact that folks here live simple yet rich lives.”  Artist as much as river runner, when not guiding, Courtney strives to “find ways to make artistic visual documentation of the patterns that occur in nature.”  Where a better place to inspire a nature-enthused artist than Gold Country?!

Emily’s favorite rapid: Ruckachucky Falls on the Middle Fork of the American.
Favorite adventures: Leading a 10-day, 80-mile backpacking trip along the Teton Crest trail in Wyoming, rowing the Grand Canyon, writing stories about the American West for High Country News, the current adventure of learning how to snowboard.

When not guiding: trying to visit and write about a different river for every letter of the alphabet, and help start an environmental writing program for high school students in El Dorado County. Favorite thing about the Gold Country: taking really long walks in gorgeous foothills that have been conserved for public use — what a gift!

Last time we counted, Heather Drakeley had been to over 20 different countries on five continents, including Europe, South America, Africa and Asia.  One of her most memorable trips was through the Atlas Mountains in Morocco to the Sahara Desert where she weathered a 3am sandstorm wrapped only in a sheet! Taking a break from constant travel, she relishes the Coloma pace of life on the river, and learning about the rich history of the Gold Country –“The more you read about it, the more fascinating it is.”  When not guiding, Heather enjoys exploring the natural landscape of the area: bike riding through the rolling hills, rock-climbing, skiing, tending to her cuddly cat and chicken menagerie, and hanging out and pot lucking it with her Malode family:  “Tasty food makes everything better and may I add that we are all pretty great cooks—just, please, not my chickens!”

Favorite Whitewater Rapid: Tunnel Chute, Middle Fork of the American River or Suicide Falls on the Kaweah River
Favorite thing about the Gold Country: The golden hills speckled with oak trees, the healing power of the river and the musical river ho-downs in the “hoopty wide” with Mr. Austin Quattlebomb.
Best Adventure: Backpacking, surfing, and snorkeling around the Channel Islands
Other interests: I am interested in learning about sustainable techniques/technology that can help reduce both my and other people’s carbon footprint. I would like to go to graduate school and study law pertaining to indigenous water rights and riparian ecosystem conservation in Latin America, specifically Chile. Ice Hockey, Snowboarding, hiking, watching Cspan:), and cooking fresh food are my hobbies.

Lindsey modestly claims that his biggest accomplishment in life is his “2nd place finish at the 93’ Boy Scout pinewood derby.” We know better. Lindsey’s humor and notorious purple shorts make him one of our most-requested river guides, and beloved by the students in our outdoor education programs. Aside from whitewater rafting, Lindsey says he enjoys “holiday feasts, woodwork, bird calling, on-line gaming, history of the spice trade, and sidewalk art.” In our opinion, Lindsey’s greatest accomplishment is that when he says that he’s “here to make your day,” he pretty much always does.

Mary Maliff’s enthusiasm for sharing the outdoors with young people is characteristic of everything she does from kayaking and climbing to playing in the garden, making beautiful stained glass art and “floating down the river on pool toys.” She is up for just about any adventure as long as her faithful, furry companion, Whiskey River, can come along! A Texas native, she loves the poppies and lupines of the California Gold Country. Naturally, one of her favorite rapids on the Middle Fork of the American River is Texas Chainsaw Mama.

Favorite Whitewater Rapid: Boat Exploder (Guide Launcher)
Favorite thing about the Gold Country: Long summer days of warm sun
Best Adventure: Canoeing Black Canyon and soaking in the hot springs
Other interests: Climbing and hiking in California

Mike Kiddy was actually inspired by Mother Lode to become a river
guide. While working toward his degree at San Francisco State, he went on a
rafting trip at Mother Lode. He enjoyed it so much he signed up for Mother Lode’s Guide
School and Swift Water Rescue course. Later he was hired on as a guide. Growing up in San Francisco, he took full advantage of the Bay Area’s many natural locations, one of his favorites being the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Beyond local pursuits, Mike takes a global approach to environmental issues and is interested in working for U. N. organizations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Man and Biosphere (MAB). In the meantime, he enjoys working at Mother Lode, “It’s like a family.”

Scott Scheu is a true explorer, even in his own backyard, the California foothills. “Having lived here for 25 years,” he says, “I constantly discover new things here, be it a plant I’ve never seen before in the woods, a bird I spot on the river that sends me rushing for my guide book when I get home, or climbing up a tributary creek that I’ve never explored.” Outside of the Gold Country, Scotty’s favorite adventure was “getting lost by myself in El Salvador’s small beach towns, stuffed into a chicken bus with 40 students and exchanging English and Spanish words, all the while knowing that wherever the bus stopped next there’d be great surf, delicious pupusas, and friendly people.” In addition to exploring new places, Scotty loves playing and recording music, storytelling, cooking, and gardening.

Greg Hawkins’ white water rafting experience in Colorado, Texas, Arizona, and California has prepared him to lead the Malode crew with a steady hand. A kayaker, climber, and snowboarder, Greg says that his biggest accomplishment has been to marry the lovely Betsy Scott.

Jennifer Schack takes her experience driving school buses full of exuberant children and applies it to the equally challenging task of maneuvering the roads and parking lots that lead to the American River, safely shuttling Mother Lode paddlers to and from camp. If you have gone rafting on the Middle Fork, you know exactly what she is up against:) Jennifer has deep roots in the Gold Country going back to her grandfather’s ranch in Cool. She never thought she would become involved with the rafting industry: “I’m a horse person. I always thought rafters were crazy, but now I’m one of them.” Since that first summer at Mother Lode, Jennifer has gone rafting many times and says that her favorite rapid is, ironically, Bus Crash–the only rapid where she swam! Good thing Jennifer has grown fond of rafting, as she may have two raft guide daughters in her future–frequent flyers on the summertime river shuttles with a penchant for “helping” the guides rig the boats.

Without Penny, none of the magic of the Mother Lode white water rafting experience and outdoor education could happen. Her helpfulness and sweetness on the phone lead many customers to come looking for her when they arrive at Mother Lode for their white water raft trips, saying, “Where’s Penny? We just wanted to say hi!” Her background in office management, paralegal work, vehicle registration, retail sales, carpentry, banking, grant writing and much more are what give her the skills to juggle the various business tasks involved in operating a rafting company. She loves people, the water and also loves to garden, cook, and sew.

Favorite thing about the Gold Country: Rivers
Favorite Adventure: Rowing the South Fork at 35,000 cfs without getting killed.
Favorite Whitewater Rapid: Any I don’t swim.

My most vivid college flashback is to Bio IA at Stanford University in 1966. On stage was Dr. Paul Ehrlich, the father of American Ecology, pacing back and forth while delivering his legendary lecture on the impact of humans on planet Earth. We were doomed! I worked in his population genetics lab for three years, grinding up butterflies and discussing the end of the world as part of the Stanford Population Biology Group. Meanwhile, DDT was banned in 1972, which ultimately saved my beloved California pelican; and, best of all, the Federal Endangered Species Act passed in 1973. Also, America’s greatest folly, the Vietnam War, ended. Those were exciting times.

Thirty years later, the world hasn’t ended — at least yet. I have two beautiful daughters, a wonderful and loving wife, and have enjoyed the privilege of helping Mother Lode share my love of rivers with over 250,000 people. I am proud to have helped facilitate the writing over 20,000 letters which, in turn, have helped save 13 rivers in the Sierra. I am equally pleased to have helped conserve over 10,000 acres along the South Fork of the American through the efforts of the American River Conservancy. However, as Dr. James Hansen, the world’s foremost climatologist points out, it is time to wake up, get busy and hit the streets in defense of the planet again!