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.

Brittany Wright, Director of Operations

Brittany might appear to be the essence of a “big city girl,” but she’s a true mountain-girl at heart. With her great great-grandparents settling as silver-miners in Aspen, she is a fifth generation native Coloradan.  Born and raised in the Vail Valley, Brittany spent most of her time exploring the woods that surrounded her house. She started skiing at the age of two and since has had a passion for the back bowls.  Her weekends were spent with family and friends cross-country skiing across the Colorado countryside to some of the 10th Mountain Division Huts. When she wasn’t playing on the slopes she was carving up the ice, playing girls ice hockey for Vail.

When the snow melted, Brittany kept herself busy with a kayak and the Colorado whitewater. With no fear of heights, rock-climbing and rappelling off mountain sides became one of her favorite summertime adrenaline rushes. Through college, she continued to return to the mountains to teach ski school at Vail in the winter, while hiking and backpacking through the summer. With her recent move to the East Coast, she was thrilled with the opportunity to get back into the wild and add new and exciting outdoor terrain to her list.

Melinda Turner, Senior Guide

Born and raised in central Pennsylvania where hiking and kayaking were necessary just to get to school, Melinda quickly became an outdoors enthusiast and has never looked back. Fond of traveling where many have gone before, Melinda was recently found walking on hot coals (or just exploring lava fields) in Hawaii, traversing the dangerous altitudes of numerous Caribbean islands, and backpacking throughout some of the most hidden gems of this country: Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park and Death Valley.

While Melinda loves jet-setting across the country as a high-profiler in the biotech industry, taking in some fresh air on weekends has kept her sane throughout all of her corporate fame. Hiking, biking and snowboarding are her personal favorites, but Melinda has a knack for jumping at the opportunity to engage in ridiculous new activities, which makes her an invaluable asset to our our team. She loves nothing more than getting outside, meeting new folks and watching their eyes light up when trying something new, and she’s thrilled to have recently been promoted to our Senior Guide position!

Jessie Braden, Senior Guide

After growing up in the Midwest where there’s… well, not much to see, Jessie’s making up for lost time. When she’s not lugging a backpack around a foreign country she can be found gallivanting around the Northeast exploring all our region has to offer. Jessie grew up camping and hiking but finds herself happiest in, on, or near water. She was a competitive swimmer from age five through college, has whitewater rafted in Costa Rica, kayaked in the Florida Keys, hiked The Narrows in Zion, and explored underground rivers in Mexico. If you want to see her really excited, ask her about the natural pools of Semuc Champey in Guatemala… She’s also an avid cyclist and once spent two weeks biking across Ireland. These days you’re likely to find her on a local century ride or competing in triathlons.

During the week when she’s not daydreaming about boat ownership, you can find Jessie at the NYC Parks & Recreation’s Division of Forestry. She’s found that, while hugs are nice, trees need a lot more help to survive in the big city. She’s also a metalsmith/jewelry designer, live music addict, and wants to learn something new every single day.

Dan Shapiro, Senior Guide

Since Dan can remember, he has spent his winters with either a pair of skis or a snowboard strapped to his feet.  Growing up on Long Island, Dan escaped North each weekend searching out new challenges on the snow—from downhill racing to freestyle competitions to on-hill instruction.  Though these mountains felt like home, Dan opted to swap his post-Tulane University daily grind in New York for early morning surf, nighttime jiu-jitsu and action-packed days of volunteer work for a local NGO in Bali.  From his new home base, he embarked on some crazy Southeast Asian adventures including rock climbs in China and Malaysia, bike rides through Siamese ruins and platefuls of local delicacies, many of which Dan would like to forget.
These days you can find Dan training for the NYC triathlon, working in the business office of a Harlem-based charter school management organization, scheming to get a triple word score with the letter Q, or (pretending to be back in New Orleans) seeking out the best live music in the city.  But above all that, Dan is stoked to be back on the adventure track as a guide with Urban Escapes.

Nell Hutchins, Senior Guide

Born in D.C. and raised in Pittsburgh, Nell spent her summers camping in the woods of West Virginia and kayaking and rafting the Youghegeny River. After attending Boston University, Nell joined the Teach for America organization in New York City. Freshly back from a year off soaking in the sun and scandals of Buenos Aires, Nell has returned to her high-paying job as a middle-school English teacher here in New York.

For five summers, Nell has led teenage campers on overnight expeditions and hiking and rafting trips. This past fall she took her eighth-grade students on a week-long Outward Bound course in North Carolina. Nell loves photography, music, running and continues to camp, bike and whitewater kayak whenever she can.

Pete Sokol-Hessner, Senior Guide

Hailing from Massachusetts, Peter is a division 1 nordic skier, outdoor enthusiast, and scruffy old-timey gentleman of noble Danish descent. As an exuberant former trip leader for the Dartmouth Outing Club and Kayak for a Cause, Pete’s talents for trip logistics and general tomfoolery have facilitated many a happy experience in the out-of-doors, including trips in the White, Green, and Mauve Mountains, Canadian Rockies, Patagonia, and the Sierra Nevadas. On the trail, Pete has a passion for witty word punnery, carries an extra 7 rolls of duct tape for the treatment of any and all ailments, and freely utilizes a veritable smorgasbord of motivational phrases and gestures like “Push the Button” and the “exploding fist bump.”

When not leading trips or jamming in the outdoors, Pete is an avid Red Sox fan, cultish Mac enthusiast, and former fantasy football champion. His day job involves kidnapping people and scanning their brains in basements under the guise of being a “doctoral student in cognitive neuroscience at NYU.” Pete is greatly looking forward to sharing a scenic vista and a granola bar with fellow city escapers!

Roget Lerner, Senior Guide

An avid traveler who enjoys “off the beaten path” trips, Roget ‘s Savoyard heritage probably influenced his passion for the mountains. However, it was a successful summit of Kilimanjaro that sparked a new level of love for hiking, climbing and anything with altitude. Since that time, he has returned with vigor to the Alps with climbs of Breithorn, Wellenkupe and Pollux. Locally, he can be found on trails in New Jersey and New York—his favorite being Breakneck. When the opportunity arises, he likes to strap a board to his feet and do some back country snowboarding. It may seem obvious that he is not a “long walks on the beach” type of guy!

Roget regularly travels throughout Europe and in 2004, spent six months traveling around Asia. When not exploring, he is enjoying his other great passion: real estate. Professionally, Roget is a real estate developer and investor with other entrepreneurial businesses tied to music and entertainment. He is a graduate of Bentley College and is currently pursuing an M.S. in Real estate at Baruch.

Dani Merker, Guide

Dani has always been a thrill seeker. Her crunchy roots can be traced back to her parents camping honeymoon where they only brought one sleeping bag and a six pack. She has since been finding new and inventive ways to get outside and get dirty. Growing up on the sunny beaches of Florida, Dani quickly became at home on the water. She doesn’t discriminate between competitive swimming, watersking, wakeboarding, sailing, surfing and snorkeling. We’ve been told she also tan exceptionally well. Her love of all things woodsy, aquatic and tan-promoting have led to spend summers in the Adirondack mountains leading canoeing, kayaking, and camping overnights. She has successfully climbed some of the highest peaks in New York State and is great a peer-pressuring friends into cliff jumping with her.  Her taste for hiking has lead her to look for adventure both near and far. She has trekked the Inca Trail in Peru, the Kalalau Trail in Kauai and part of the Appalachian Trail in Maine.

When Dani isn’t hiking, you can probably find her swimming in the Hudson (no…seriously)! Since moving to NYC in 2006, Dani has taken up open water swimming in addition to competing in triathlons. She has swum around Governor’s Island and under the Brooklyn Bridge and lived to tell, thus proving that she is probably only a quarter mortal. Dani is also an avid yoga student,rock climber and is currently learning how to levitate and move things with her mind. Dani graduated from Indiana University where she experienced the fun yet “creepy” art of spelunking. She has since moved above ground and works as an 8th grade English and Social Studies teacher in NYC. She can’t wait to over share with you on your next trip with her!

Jeremy Hirschhorn, Guide

Growing up in the shadow of New York City, Jeremy began urban escaping from an early age. He’s cycled the coast of Nova Scotia and kayaked the San Juan Islands, trekked the jungles of Thailand and dived on the Great Barrier Reef. Living out in Colorado during college, Jeremy honed his outdoor skills climbing the state’s famous “fourteeners”, snowboarding the powder-filled bowls of the Rockies, and exploring the backcountry of nearby national parks.

Back in the real world, Jeremy is the Communications Coordinator for a non-profit, but spends most of his time as a firefighter/EMT with a volunteer fire department. He’s a certified SCUBA diver and pilot and always ready for a new adventure. Now as a guide with Urban Escapes, Jeremy looks forward to sharing his outdoor knowledge and great weekend with anyone looking to get out of the bubble!

Katie McLaughlin, Guide

Since before she can remember, Katie was asking questions like “why not?” when it came to general boundary-pushing & partaking in surprise adventures. A city-girl by birth but a back-woods New Hampshire girl by calling, Katie spent her formative years exploring the wanderlust ways of her heroes, Sam Gribley & Natty Gann. As an outdoor guide, Katie has led groups canoeing down the Connecticut, back-packing through Denali, and rock climbing across The Whites.  It came as no surprise when a bobcat once tried to hug her during a nighttime search and rescue mission atop Mount Washington.

When not befriending wild animals in New Hampshire and salmon fishing with Grizzlies in Alaska, Katie can be found holding yoga poses in less-than-normal places. A true lover of riddles, knots, and all things barefoot, Katie feels privileged to be helping fellow explorers stretch their own comfort zones while discovering new heights together.

Dan Rosenberg, Guide

Dan has been the greatest athlete you’ve never met for his whole life. After playing soccer and basketball all the way through college at Duke University, Dan chose to apply his tremendous athletic prowess towards more adventurous pursuits once his Wall Street job proved to be completely boring. His recent hiking experiences have taken him through New Zealand, the Caribbean and Israel. He’s also an avid rock climber, mountain biker and SCUBA diver. He can’t wait to bring you to new levels of outdoor excitement.

Matt Perl, Guide

Raised on the mean streets of suburban North Caldwell, NJ, Matt has been an outdoorsman from an early age. He was swimming before he could walk and really up-ed his outdoor game while playing in backyards all throughout middle school. He even read Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air.

When Matt is not buying low and selling high, again and again, he is escaping from the concrete jungle. A passionate skier, he has hiked the Highland Bowl, Cody Bowl and Baldy Chutes to name a few and has skied more than 30 mountains in 12 states. He is also a wicked snow-football player. Matt has backpacked through southeast Alaska (ice climbing along the way), the Swiss Alps (drinking along the way) and the South Island of New Zealand (just hiking along the way). He also boasts a nasty J stroke in a canoe and can throw a sick hammer, both frisbee and the metal kind.

Seth Fisher, Guide

Ever since his mother tossed him into a pool at age three, Seth has had a thirst for adventure and some serious mom issues. Raised in the Texas Hill Country, Seth has hiked, climbed, swam, rowed, biked, and held-on-for-dear-life all over the world. From glacier-trekking in Alaska to geyser-dodging in Iceland, Seth has always preferred the road less travelled.

As an avid photographer, Seth has found himself in some of the most remote, beautiful places driven by his unyielding pursuit of getting that perfect shot. He is a certified tripod specialist and can do pretty much anything with it from fighting off wild animals to taking mountaintop self-portraits amidst 50 mph winds. Most recently, Seth was spotted traversing the Cayo district in Belize and photo-hunting in Utah’s Canyonlands.

Seth graduated from Carnegie Mellon University and makes the best pasta bolognese in the world. Seriously.

Amir Vardi, Guide

Amir was born in Haifa, Israel to adventure-loving, thrill-seeking parents whose only wish was to have a son who would grow up to be an outdoor adventure company guide.  Having gravely disappointed them by graduating from Wharton Business School and working on Wall Street, Amir finally decided in 2008 to make his parents proud by joining Urban Escapes.

Growing up in Israel, Amir developed an addiction to sunlight, the outdoors, and baba ghanoush.  Having hiked, biked, rafted, and rappelled every inch of the Holy Land, largely with the “Israeli Nature Protection Society”, Amir decided to go global and feed his addiction.  Amir has backpacked in Buenos Aires, biked in Berlin, canoed in Copenhagen, and gallivanted in Gimmelwald.  On a weekend that he’s not Urban Escaping, Amir is known to play basketball, volleyball, ping pong, Ultimate Frisbee, and has been known to invent inane sports which he has an inherent advantage to win (his favorite: baba ghanoush eating relay races).  Spending the workweek in bus-casual attire, Amir needs to get his outdoors fix as often as possible, and worships the opportunity to guide fun groups of New Yorkers outside the bubble.  His parents couldn’t be prouder.