River was born in the South African fynbos and raised in the Pennsylvania woods. They have spent most of the last decade building and running trauma-informed workforce development programs; advocating for underserved young people; and fostering technical skill, curiosity, and delight in their students. Their educational fields are primarily software and web development, with a strong focus on accessibility/digital disability justice and digital security.

As Executive Director of People and Systems, River manages organizational finance and operations; supports staff to thrive in our unique ecosystem; and thinks imaginatively about how to enact our organizational ethics on a systems level. They also lead grant operations at Quail Springs, including budget creation and management; invoicing and administration; project management and outcome tracking; and staff facilitation. They are honored to work with this team to build a liberatory organization that nurtures both people and place.

They are also the Cuyama CERT team secretary; a mental health first aid instructor; a Nonprofit Excellence in Leadership Institute fellow; an enthusiastic outdoor rambler; and the recipient of a degree in Cognitive Science from the University of Toronto, which they primarily use to help people understand and dislike big AI.