Hayes grew up a Southern girl in Charlotte, NC, but at age 15, she took advantage of an opportunity to go on a 6-week, life-altering, Northwest adventure.  The experience of backpacking, mountaineering, rafting and road tripping through the Rockies and PNW opened her eyes to the natural world and was the first step in getting her where she is today.  Hayes graduated from Sewanee, a small school on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, with a BS in Forestry.  From there, she spent several years working as an outdoor and environmental educator in Costa Rica, Maine, the Rockies and the PNW.  She was a Corpsmember, Crew Leader and Field Specialist with EarthCorps 2000 to 2002 learning restoration techniques and volunteer management, before taking a little hiatus from the PNW to travel and explore other areas.  After two years living in Teton Valley, Idaho working as the Personnel Coordinator for Wilderness Ventures, Hayes returned to the PNW in November 2004 to pursue conservation and stewardship at Cascade Land Conservancy. 

Contact Hayes via email or by phone at 206 905 6909.