Staff

Sally Thornton - Australia

World Centre Manager

Sally is from Canberra, Australia and has been at Our Chalet since 2009. She loves the beautiful Swiss Mountains as they give her the same feeling of home as the Snowy Mountains in Australia where she grew up.
She has been involved in Guiding since early childhood and is passionate about WAGGGS and in particular the opportunities provided for international friendship and personal development at all of the World Centres. Having been the Manager at Sangam World Centre in India for six years, she loves the different challenges and contrasts between cultures that are so much a part of world centre experiences.

Korana (Koka) Kovacevic - Slovenia

Deputy World Centre Manager

Korana aka Koka comes from Slovenia and has been involved in Guiding and Scouting since like, forever. From starting as a Rover to International Commissioner. She is interested in the environment, troubles of the worlds we can make better, people and leadership development. One of the reasons she chose to live and work in Switzerland is the great outdoors with endless hiking, skiing and thinking opportunities. 
She believes there is a leader in every one of us and is keen on providing opportunities for staff development as well as ensuring best Our Chalet experience for all the guests who visit and stay with us. She believes that life is fun and good, and that being happy every day is only matter of choice!

Katie Scales - United Kingdom

Programme Manager

Katie is from Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. She has been involved in Guiding since she was four years old. She loves all outdoor activities including hiking, kayaking and camping (especially campfires!) and loves leading the Programme Team on adventures, challenges and plays an important role in volunteer development opportunities in Our Chalet. Having graduated with a degree in Modern Languages, she is enjoying exploring the challenges of Swiss German.

Rhianna Hughes - USA

Assistant Programme Manager

Rhianna is from Michigan, USA. She's been a Girl Scout since she was 5. If there is such a list of all the things a programme girl should be, well Rhianna ticks every box! She loves the outdoors so skiing, hiking, climbing, water sports and adventuring are all on the daily life agenda.
She is also becoming more involved in the leadership and development side of Our Chalet. Rhianna took a brief pause in her Scouting life while attending Allegheny College in Pennsylvania to obtain her degree in Biology. She is pleased to be active with Scouts again and hopes to be a good role model and contribute to such an empowering organization. Rhianna is friendly and outgoing and you'll often see her jumping around (just for the pleasure of it) or yelling Girl Scout songs from the top of her voice at the Campfires. Yaha!

Susanne (Sussie) Nielsen Kofod- Denmark

Guest Services Coordinator

Susanne is from Bornholm island in Denmark and was involved in Guiding for 10 years. Her greatest experience with Guiding were summer camps, working with the Brownies and her time volunteering at Pax Lodge.
Susanne loves to travel and just before coming to Switzerland, she took a 10 month trip to Australia and Thailand. She really enjoys working in an international environment with the great challenges it brings. Susanne is confidently using her knowledge from her travels to welcome you to Our Chalet and making sure you will have a lovely stay.

Katy Runacres - United Kingdom

Catering Coordinator

Hey, Im Katy and Im the Catering Co-ordinator from Suffolk in the UK. I previously volunteered at Our Chalet in Spring 2011. I am looking forward to learning Swiss German and enjoying the Swiss Cuisine whilst I am here! I have been a part of Girlguiding UK since being a brownie and now I am a Guide Leader currently also doing my Queens Guide Award. Apart from cooking and my passion for food I love hiking, travelling and trying different sports! I look forward to the exciting opportunities at Our Chalet and in Switzerland : )

Christoph Zerluth - Germany

Grounds and Maintenance Assistant

Christoph is from Bavaria in Germany. He has an education in auto mechanics and he has worked with machinery in the printing industry. He has been in Scouting since he was 10 and has been a scout leader since he was 18. Christoph is also an expert in German Black Tents and a member of the Black Catstle Group.
He has three children who have also been in Scouting. Christoph has always wanted to work in a Scout centre, so he loves his life at Our Chalet.
He knows how to fix pretty much anything inside or outside the Centre. He is friendly, hard working, chatty and very creative. Volunteers love when he keeps them busy with teaching them new skills such as outdoor cooking, snow shoveling and using the chain saw.

Catherine Moody (Catt) - UK

Guest Services Assistant

Catt is from Surrey in the UK and has been in Guiding for 14 years. She is one of those people who once visited Our Chalet, fell eternally and passionately in love with it. She visited Switzerland several times in her teens and has returned as a Winter volunteer in 2011, continued as a Guest Services Volunteer and now she is a member of the Long term staff at Our Chalet.
She loves sports, especially hiking and snow fun stuff! As an ex competitive swimmer water is her natural habitat however snow does pretty good job too.
Catt is very friendly and quirky girl with lots of ideas how to keep everybody happy and her office buddies constantly on their toes. Her creative brain solved many a problem at Our Chalet.
Recently Catt is working hard to beat the world records in number of daily "Cat Love" cuddles and laughter outbursts! Go girl!

Nicole Grossen-Wilhelm - Switzerland

Bookkeeper

Nicole is one of our two Swiss members of Long term staff. She studied accounting which eventually brought her to Our Chalet as a bookkeeper. Nicole as a true Swiss at heart is a life time devotee to white sports  - perhaps being a Ski Instructor at Adelboden Ski & Snowboard school for several years has something to do with it. She has two young children and a very patient husband. Nicole works with us on Mondays but we are of course always badgering her to come more often, even only to give us beginner ski tips and have fun with us. She is also one of those efficient, hard working young women who simply knows ho to just "fix things" comes to numbers, or taking calls in Schwytzerdütsch, an exotic language which none of us can really understand. She is fun too and joins us keenly in laughing our Mondays off.

Stefanie Ashlyn

Our Chalet Assistant - Spring

Stefanie is from Massachusetts, USA, and has been involved with Girl Scouting for twenty years on both the local and national levels.  Stefanie is thrilled to be back in the Swiss Alps, which she first visited as a delegate at the Helen Storrow Seminar in 2006. Stefanie's looking forward to enjoying adventures and having fun.  Since graduating in Psychology & Education from Mount Holyoke College, she traveled to Ecuador and spent few months doing conservation work and honing her Spanish skills. Most recently, she has worked as a Trip Director at residential Girl Scout summer camps, leading hiking, backpacking, kayaking, and rock-climbing excursions. Fun tid-bits: She’s always ready for a dance party, particularly Latin and West African styles. She can solve the Rubik’s Cube in less than three minutes (no matter how it’s scrambled) and has a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, named after a Girl Scout cookie.

Putri Winata Kartika - Indonesia, Singapore

Our Chalet Assistant - Spring

Putri is an Indonesian-Chinese who grew up in Singapore thus she speaks many languages. She has been a Girl Guide since the age of 9 and has been involved in running a Guide unit. Currently she is a Young Adult Branch Council as a sub-committee for Programme. She is looking forward to the challenges ahead and being part of "the family". This is her first time here and she is eager to explore the Swiss Alps and to soak up the international Guiding and Scouting scene while learning new leadership skills as well as learning about different cultures work and making new friends too! She had also graduated in Pastry & Baking. And coming from Singapore, she loves to eat and bake and is looking to exploring the Swiss Cuisine during her time here in Our Chalet. If you're looking for her she is most probably inside the kitchen baking up a storm.

Rachael Bamford - United Kingdom, Scotland

Our Chalet Assistant - Spring

Rachael is a Scottish lass from Ayrshire in the UK. She has been in Guiding since she was 5 years old and one of her favourite Guiding memories is attending the Queen's garden party at Holyrood Palacein 2010. Rachael wants to explore as much of the world as she can and spent time last year working at summer camp and travelling in the USA. An adventure lover, Rachael enjoys new challenges, and before the snow melts she hopes to pick up some snowboarding skills as she thinks it "looks really cool". She has a degree in Theatre Design from the RSAMD, and her special skills include drawing, directing and the ability to talk about Harry Potter for hours. She is looking forward to spending time in the gorgeous Swiss Alps developing leadership skills and making lots of international friends.

Carly Jones

Our Chalet Assistant - Spring and Summer

Houdy all. I’m Carly and I’m from the mountains of Colorado in the USA where I enjoy all outdoor activities including skiing, backpacking, whitewater rafting, hiking, and camping. I have been a Scout since I was 7 years old and have enjoyed every minute of it. I have a degree in History which I plan to put to use in the near future working in museums. My hobbies include reading, writing, singing, and watching an awful lot of movies. Working at Our Chalet is a dream come true and I eagerly await the challenges and fun that are to come.

Eve Weatherston - United Kingdom

Our Chalet Assistant - Spring

This is Eve from England. She has been Guiding since she was 7 and is an adult leader for Rainbows and Guides. She likes travelling and being in Switzerland for 3 months was an opportunity she couldn't resist. She's hoping she will learn some independant life skills from this experience that she can use when she leaves home next year. She has a lifelong interest in other cultures especially Japan which she has an A Level in Japanese.

Karin Bergman

Our Chalet Assistant - Spring

This is Karin and she’s 19 years old and comes from Sweden. She has been a Scout since she was 6 years old. Autumn 2011 she worked as a resident volunteer at Pax Lodge for five months and is now at Our Chalet to experience working at another world centre. As a typical Swede she of course loves meatballs, IKEA, skiing and ice-hockey! She also enjoys meeting new people and exploring different places and things. Karin is hoping that she, during her time at our chalet will learn a lot of skills that she can use in the future. They will probably come in handy when she will be working at Kandersteg International Scout Centre during the summer directly after she’s done at Our Chalet!

Skippy Storrow

Our Chalet Kitty Cat

Skippy is from Adelboden in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. Her Scouting experience is quite vast as she has spent much of her time at Our Chalet. She explores the grass, eats bugs and protects the grounds and guests from any possible predators like marmots and slugs. In her free time she likes to soak up rays, catch mice and chase cows.

Meow :)

Cate O'Donnell - USA

Our Chalet Assistant - Summer

Cate is usually a student at Drake University in Iowa, but she is more than happy to leave the plains to explore the Swiss Alps. She is originally from Colorado and has always enjoyed hiking and backpacking with her wonderful family. She often finds herself quoting Harry Potter, singing to herself in the car and helping with a great troop of sixth graders who both challenge her and make her laugh. Cate has been a Girl Scout since forever, but first discovered the magic of scouting growing up at Camp Tanglefoot in north Iowa. She is so thankful for this opportunity and her scouting sisters near and far who helped her get here.

Crystal Wong - Hong Kong

Our Chalet Assistant - Summer

This is Crystal from Hong Kong. She has been involved in girl guiding for over 9 years. As a fresh university graduate she decided to step out of the high-rise buildings and spend her last summer vacation at the heart of the Swiss Alps. This is her first overseas girl guiding experience.

She is looking forward to the outdoor adventures ahead: abseiling, rock-climbing, rafting…which are all novel to her. With an interest in youth development, she hopes to bring home inspirations and experiences learnt from staff members and guests of Our Chalet, and to be prepared for a new page of her guiding life as a guider.

Paige Shea - USA

Our Chalet Assistant - Summer

Paige is from Massachusetts, USA and has been involved with Girl Scouting for 14 years. She loves scouting. One of her cherished memories is visiting Our Cabana in Summer 2010 with her troop. Paige is currently going into her third year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is studying Public Health with two aspiring minors in Education and Civic Engagement & Public Service. Next semester, she is excited to work again as a Residential Assistant (RA) with first year students and to be a facilitator for the Grassroots Community Organizing (GCO) class. In her spare time she enjoys figure skating, singing, baking, traveling, doing outdoor activities and learning about cultures around the world. She is excited to volunteer at Our Chalet where she hopes to develop leadership skills and make international friends while enjoying living in the beautiful Swiss Alps.

Heather Rainey- USA

Our Chalet Assistant - Summer

Heather Rainey is from Nashville, Tennessee and will be a junior at the University of Tennessee in the fall. She has been involved with scouting for 15 years and has enjoyed every second of it, especially when eating Girl Scout cookies. After first coming to Our Chalet in 2009, Heather knew she would be back, and is thrilled to be a volunteer this summer. While in Switzerland, Heather plans to travel around the country and experience all the different cultures. Heather is slightly addicted to television, and loves anything and everything with real housewives. 

Mariam Hussain - Canada

Our Chalet Assistant - Summer

Mariam is from Calgary, Canada and originally from Pakistan. She has been a member of Girl Guides since the age of 6. She really loves outdoor activities and to play sports such as soccer, volleyball, tennis and yoga. She also enjoys to travel and learn new languages and about other cultures. She is currently studying fine arts in Calgary and is planning to be an architect. This is her first time in Switzerland although she has travelled to quite a few places such as Singapore, Ecuador, Italy and the UK. She has a strong passion for volunteering and current international issues.  She also loves to laugh and is always ready for adventure

Sarah Labude - USA

Our Chalet Assistant - Summer

Loud but tiny, Sarah was born and raised in Oklahoma, U.S.A. She is currently studying multimedia journalism and German at Oklahoma State University and aspires to work with the Travel Channel. She has been a Girl Scout since the age of 5, when she began as a Daisy. She has volunteered with multiple camps in her council and visited Our Chalet in 2010. She had always dreamed of spending her summer at Our Chalet, and now she has the chance. She is excited to brush up on her German skills and explore the country—including any child slides found along the way. Outside of Girl Scouting Sarah is a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority, is in love with taking pictures, and a constant user of the word ‘y’all’.

Naomi Peacock - New Zealand

Our Chalet Assistant - Summer

Naomi is a kiwi, coming from Dunedin city right at the bottom of New Zealand. She’s been in Guiding since she was five, and last year began to work as a leader in training at one of the local Girl Guide units. This is her first time to Our Chalet and is looking forward to meeting Guides and Scouts from all over the world. Travelling is one of her passions, and she’s excited to visit Switzerland. She hopes to be able to continue through Europe after her time there. She likes taking on new challenges, and during her time at Our Chalet wants to push herself out of her comfort zone.

Libby Reid - United Kingdom

Our Chalet Assistant - Summer

Libby is from Essex in England. She was a Brownie, Guide and Ranger, and is now a Ranger Leader and Assistant Guide Leader. She also runs a Duke of Edinburgh Award group and holds the Gold Award herself. She is a Geography graduate and loves travelling and exploring new places. She also enjoys the hiking and is looking forward to spending the summer at Our Chalet, meeting people and exploring Switzerland. When she gets back from Our Chalet she will be going straight to Essex International Jamboree with her Rangers and the Essex North East Senior Section group.

Heather Robertson - Canada

Our Chalet Assistant - Summer

Hi my name is heather and I am from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I have been involved in Girl Guides for 16 years. Our Chalet is the second world centre I have visited. Last year I travelled to Pax Lodge with my Extra Ops group. I also lead a Guide unit in Edmonton. My favourite thing to do with Girl Guides is camping. I have just finished my second year of university studying science. I enjoy swimming, reading, listening to music and doing things in the outdoors. I am excited for an awesome summer of fun, adventure and new experiences!   

Jess K - USA

Our Chalet Assistant - Summer

My name is Jessica. I'm 22 years old and from New York in the USA. I recently graduated college with a BA in Biology. I have been involved with Girl Scouts since I was 6 and now assist with a Daisy troop (age 5).

I enjoy the outdoors, reading and sunshine. I visited Our Chalet 3 years ago and I knew I wanted to come back as a volunteer. I hope to return to the USA with some good adventure stories and a more global perspective of Scouting.

Cameron Eddy - USA

Our Chalet Assistant - Summer

Hello!

I am from Pennsylvania, USA and I have been involved in Scouting since I was 11. I earned Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts and Silver rank and the Ranger award in Venturing. I attended the 2005 Boy Scout National Jamboree as a participant and returned for the 2010 Jamboree to teach tomohawk and knife throwing. I recently graduated from Allegheny College with a degree in Biology & Environmental Science and a minor in German. I did my senior thesis on chipmunks (if you don't know what they are, google them- you will not be disappointed). I enjoy being outdoors and hiking, canoeing, fishing, and long walks on the beach. During college I played rugby and absolutely loved it! I am very excited to spend the summer at Our Chalet and cannot wait to get out and peak some of the local mountains!!! Girls at the Chalet say I'm a cheeky monkey but I have no idea where that came from!