About Us

About us

Our Mission

Our History & Head Frog

Employment Opportunities

Our Staff - Meet our Mammals!

Chris Giorni
Founder, Executive Director

Nicknames: Mr. Science, Chris Tree Frog, Head Frog, Dirt

Personal History: Bachelor of Science, Zoology - U.C. Berkeley
Master’s Degree, Biology - San Francisco State University

Active in education since 1989, teaching science at the kindergarten through adult level. Has studied lizards in the Dominican Republic, coral reef fish off of Lizard Island in Australia, and amphibians and reptiles throughout California.

I founded Tree Frog Treks in 1999.

Native Habitat: San Francisco, CA.

Environment: Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach and Aquatic park beach

Captive Care Requirements: Lots of room to roam; full sun exposure; active at mid-day on weekends

Physical Characteristics: Curly salt and pepper hair, long arms and legs, and always running around talking to anyone in sight.

Diet: Pizza, Thai food, spaghetti and meatballs, burritos with hot salsa.

Trivia Facts: Likes to hide hotwheels in the sand box and go on archeological digs to excavate them; Other related populations can be found in parts of Northern Italy and Southern Ireland. Can be hybridized with a Colao-Vitolo.

Diamond Huynh
Programs Director

Nicknames: D

Personal History: Bachelor of Arts, Psychology - Wichita State University. Grew up in Kansas tramping about the countryside with my father learning a little bit about trees, shrubs, birds and a lot about alfalfa and wheat.

I've been with Tree Frog Treks since Summer Camp 2007.

Native Habitat: Born in Pennsylvania, raised in rural Kansas, now living and loving it in San Francisco and the Bay Area since 2001.

Environment: Mt. Tamalpais, Northern California backwoods

Captive Care Requirements: Must have lots of fresh air, ideally in a setting with dogs, lots of trees, and places to camp, hike and bike.

Physical Characteristics: Short with brown eyes, black hair and a big mouth.

Diet: Primarily carnivorous. Prefers Vietnamese and Thai food, but also regularly consumes mushrooms and fresh fruit.

Trivia Facts: During the rainy season, I can be found every weekend in the backwoods of Marin and Sonoma mushroom hunting and camping.

Kelley Vauk
Education Director

Nicknames: Ms. Kelley Belly Frog

Personal History: I started working with kids over 18 years ago, and have been with TFT since Summer Camp 2004.

Native Habitat: Born and raised in Caldwell, Idaho

Environment: The wilds of San Francisco

Captive Care Requirements: 8-10 hours of sleep each night; daily dose of sun & fresh air; reading, hiking and gardening in my free time.

Physical Characteristics: Short legs, blue-green eyes, and a long neck.

Diet: Must have lots of spaghetti with tomato sauce and cheese, cheesy poofs.

Trivia Facts: Watch out, kids! I can leap over tall hurdles with inifinite patience; I'll read your mind and then hyponotize you with my mind-blowing easy-going attitude.

Ross Beswick
Operations Director

Nicknames: Dark Lord

Personal History: "Bachelor of Arts, Graphic Design - Kingston Polytechnic (U.K.) I've been with Tree Frog Treks since 2004."

Native Habitat: Born in Plymouth Devon (U.K.), moved to San Francisco in 1991

Environment: The wilds of San Francisco

Captive Care Requirements: Pretty basic requirements - food, sleep, and English football on T.V.

Physical Characteristics: Typical San Francisco arrested adolescent appearance - black clothes, heavy metal jewelry.

Diet: Spaghetti, fish & chips, marmite, no veggies.

Trivia Facts: I was in a movie with Al Pacino, Donald Sutherland and Natasha Kinski, but it was pretty bad so I'm not gonna say what it was called.

Erin Thelen
Programs Coordinator

Nicknames: Ms. T. Rex

Personal History: Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Biology from Denison University. I've been with Tree Frog Treks since spring of 2006.

Native Habitat: Northern and western Ohio migrated to California in 2004

Environment: Golden Gate Park, particularly the Botanical Gardens

Captive Care Requirements: Regular association with other small mammals (specifically cats), desires close contact with plants when housed in an inside environment, and requires frequent walks in the park.

Physical Characteristics: Small with light colored hair and green eyes.

Diet: Herbivore - vegetables, tofu, and cheddar cheese goldfish.

Trivia Fact: Known to name pet plants according to their Latin binomial.

Erin Elizabeth Dal Ferro
Programs Coordinator

Nickname: E-Squared, E2

Personal History: B.A. in Fine Arts, Humboldt State University. Arrived at TFT in April 2008.

Native Habitat: Born and raised in Oakland, California.

Environment: Lives in the wild wild East (Bay).

Captive Care Requirements: Needs a good book close by, furry animal to pet, and the occasional nap in the sunshine. Can't survive long without trips to the ocean or redwood forests.

Physical Characteristics: 5'6" tall when standing upright. Brown hair, blue eyes, chipmunk cheeks.

Diet: Omnivorous. Prefers a diet of Italian food, ice cream, and assorted fresh fruits.

Trivia Facts: Third generation Bay Area native. Can fold a paper crane out of anything flat and square.

Christina Yunkers
Animal Care Assistant

Nickname: Ms. Yunks Frog

Personal History: Bachelor of Science, Ecology and Evolution Biology. Worked at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Santa Cruz on the Salmon Ecology Team before migrating upstream to San Francisco.

Native Habitat: Born in Chicago, IL, raised in San Diego, CA coastal scrubline.

Environment: The wilds of San Francisco

Captive Care Requirements: Regular trips to the ocean, non-amgueled water to drink, dirt and plants in enclosure.

Physical Characteristics: Vertebrate, 5'7" without tail. Mammal. Born in captivity.

Diet: Herbivore - greens, fruits and pasta. Particular to rhubarb pie.

Trivia Fact: I can identify many of microscopic, invertebrate larvae and invertebrates in the San Francisco Bay.

Teaching Staff

Our experienced staff bring to our programs a broad range of education and experiences. All of our lead teachers have an undergraduate degree, most of them with degrees in one of the sciences. A number of our teachers have completed a graduate degree or are in graduate school at the moment. Our teachers have:

held teaching positions with Sacramento City College, College of Marin, Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Connolly Ranch, Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, the National Forest Service, the California Academy of Sciences, and more.
received fellowships from the Headlands Institute, U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
received grants to bake bread with inner-city students, study bird-skulls at the American Museum of Natural History, and research global amphibian decline.
held research positions in the Farallon Islands, Yosemite National Park, Hawaii, Thailand – all over the world.

Our staff all share our priority of creating a safe environment. All teachers are trained in CPR and First Aid, TB tested and fingerprinted through Department of Justice.

2008-2009 Staff (left to right)

Diamond Huynh, Ross Beswick, Kate Maher, Christina Yunkers, Kelley Vauk, Craig Schuetze, Erin Thelen, Chris Giorni, Jaime Clark, Andrew Nimmer, Roberta Chavez, Jeff Blumenthal, Sky Lee, Rachel Freed

Not Pictured: Jordan Benjamin, River Black, Erin Elizabeth Dal Ferro, Bellamy Ford, Nate Miller, Heather Normandale, Jessica Schaffer, Edward Sullivan, Ray Walker

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