Administrative Team

Anna Birch (President/Founder) has dedicated her entire adult life to the training, educational and adventure industry and is one of the founders of Adventure Links. With experiences as an executive facilitator, residential counselor, wilderness expedition guide, special education teacher, elementary school teacher, and program director, she contributes a contagious energy and insight toward designing innovative programming at Adventure Links.  She founded and has since grown her company on the belief that profound, high impact experiences are the driving force behind building confidence and driving commitment.  Over the last fifteen years, Anna has designed and delivered executive retreats, forum retreats, leadership summits, management workshops, and international learning events.  Anna’s programs have inspired teams, leaders, and entire companies to apply positive action and facilitate change from the inside out.   She happily resides in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her husband Austin and two daughters Audrey and Autumn.

Austin Birch (Director/Founder) was first inspired by the outdoors as a whitewater guide on the Penobscot River in Maine. It was here he met his wife Anna, and together they have pursued their dreams with Adventure Links. Austin gained experience with youth as an elementary school teacher, wilderness expedition guide and is termed by many as a "professional kid." With the lessons he learned from his students and the certainty that adventure and experiential education is the most effective way to make a difference in the lives of others, Austin has since dedicated his life to his company and its mission.

Rachel Doody (Staff Director) is excited to begin her second year with the Adventure Links team after 13 years with Hemlock Overlook Center for Experiential Education. Using her background in environmental education and degree from George Mason University, she creates programs to bring science curriculums outdoors. Rachel enjoys rock climbing and has a goal to visit every U.S. National Park.

Matthew Bird (Facility and Maintenance Director) aka Bird will be entering his sixth year here at Adventure Links.  His experiences include assistant instructor to lead instructor, primitive teachings go to guy and now the Facility and Maintenance Director.  His background in everything makes him our in-house “MacGyver” and he considers himself a professional problem solver.

Jen Montgomery (Logistics and Office Coordinator) Before Adventure Links, Jen graduated with her bachelor’s in Psychology and is now pursuing her masters in School Counseling.  She started working for Adventure Links back in 2007.  During the various years she has moved up from assistant instructor to lead instructor to Office Assistant and now to Logistics and Office Coordinator.  In her new role, Jen deals with all of the Summer Camp responsibilities and many other challenging new tasks.  She has grown a lot as a person working here for Adventure Links and treasures the many amazing moments and friends she has made.

Chelsea Flynn (Client Experience Manager) graduated from the Appalachian State University with a degree in Recreation Management to match her love for the outdoors. She has pursued her passion for getting people outside through experiential and adventure education. She has worked in many regions of the US and is happy to be in Northern Virginia. She came to Adventure Links as an instructor and has the privilege to continue working to design and sell programs that allow for an educational, fun, and positive experience for each client. Away from the office, Chelsea enjoys traveling, dancing, and exploring outdoor activities.  

Josh Wilson (Client Experience Manager) passion for the outdoors started at an early age while growing up in Pennsylvania spending free time Backpacking, Hunting, and Fly Fishing. Realizing the benefits of spending time outside and being active he decided to make outdoor education a career. He graduated from Slippery Rock University with a degree in Outdoor Leadership. He also spent a semester with the National Outdoor Leadership School a semester in the backcountry putting knowledge into practice first hand guiding in the backcountry.  Since then Josh has spent two years with Adventure Links working as a field instructor and looks forward to using all the knowledge he has gained working in the field to help make future clients experience’s great from start to finish.