Ember
Canine Companion
Ember is one of the most energetic, silly, and playful canines in the field. When you pet her, she flops to the ground and rolls over. Ember spends her time with one of our adolescent girl’s groups, and they describe her as “wiggly” when she gets excited. She is dynamic and full of spunk one…
Cedar
Canine Companion
Cedar spends his time in one of our adolescent girl’s groups. His dad is Flint, and he is the youngest canine in our program. Cedar makes silly “growling” noises in the morning and is a loving and affectionate pup. Not surprising that Cedar is super high energy and always excited to start the day. He…
Allison Hinkle
Recruiter & HR Generalist
Allison (she/her) comes to Deschutes Wilderness Therapy with a wealth of experience in case management, program design, and recruitment. She has worked locally in the Central Oregon community for the past five years, supporting different non-profit organizations. During this time, Allison gained a strong understanding of community needs and built connections to create accessible resources…
Mary Catherine Mareno
Administrative Assistant
Mary Catherine originally hails from Austin, Texas, and is enchanted by central Oregon’s beauty and unique ecology. With a master’s degree in conservation biology, she is passionate about nature’s power to affect positive change in our lives. This passion drew her to the work of Deschutes Wilderness Therapy. She believes connecting people to the earth…
Savanna DeLuca, M.A., LPC
Family Therapist and Parent Coach (Contract)
Savanna joins the Deschutes Wilderness team in 2022 excited to engage with family systems work. She brings a warm and collaborative approach to her work with clients and believes that every person has a valuable perspective and qualities that contribute to a cohesive family system. It is her goal to help families see and appreciate these…
Lori Vallelunga, PhD
Clinical Director, Young Adult Primary Therapist
Dr. Lori Vallelunga is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than a quarter-century of clinical and program administration experience. She comes to Deschutes Wilderness Therapy with an adventurous spirit and a passion to help others become their best selves. As Clinical Director of the Adolescent Program, Dr. Vallelunga’s skills in team building, staff communication, and support as…
Barbara Lang
Director of Professional Relations, Admissions Counselor
Barbara comes to Deschutes Wilderness Therapy with a wealth of experience in the digital entertainment marketing space, where she worked for nationally recognized brands including SPIN, Billboard, and the Hollywood Reporter. It was in those roles that she developed a deep understanding of building trusting relationships and creative marketing strategies. Barbara’s introduction to wilderness therapy…
Bianca Milia
Experiential Education Director
As the Experiential Education Director at Deschutes Wilderness Therapy, Bianca oversees the parts of our program that provide our students with experiences that foster a connection to themselves and others. Bianca manages our canine program, mastery, academics, graduations, family therapy days, adventure therapy, and other individualized opportunities for our students to receive the most out…
Ryan Scott
Boys Field Specialist
Ryan has been a part of the Deschutes Wilderness Therapy community since April 2020. Prior to arriving in Bend, Ryan spent five years in youth mentorship roles across the country including positions at summer camps, residential treatment centers, before and after school programs, and more. Ryan cites the work he does at Deschutes as the…
Max McCarty
Field Director for Boys Programming
Max grew up in Pittsburgh, PA where he found a love for the outdoors hiking the local State Parks. After completing his Bachelor in outdoor recreation education, Max went on to guide in North Carolina and New Zealand as well as volunteered for disaster relief in the Virgin Islands. After working with foster children and…