Chicago Inspiring Connections Outdoors is made up of volunteers from across the Chicago region, with logistical support from National Inspiring Connections Outdoors (ICO), an outreach program of the Sierra Club. These are some of the people who enable Chicago ICO to function and achieve our mission of connecting youth to the outdoors:

Chair and Volunteer Coordinator, Randy Harper

Randy was a high school history teacher for 33 years at Maine West High School in Des Plaines. His love for the outdoors started in college when he took a backpacking class. Over the years, he has spent a number of weeks in national parks from the Great Smoky Mountains to Yellowstone to the Badlands and Yosemite. His favorite area is southern Utah from Arches to Zion and Bryce. While he’s been a Sierra Club member since 2009, he was introduced to ICO at the 2019 film festival at the Music Box Theater and immediately signed up as a volunteer, seeing a great opportunity in retirement to combine his passions of working with young people and encouraging a love for the outdoors. Unfortunately, the pandemic shut things down in early 2020. He’s loved working with and learning from the other ICO volunteers.

Volunteer Leader - Paul Micheli

Paul has been a volunteer with ICO since January of 2017. Paul is very passionate about ICO's mission, and believes it is important for everyone to have access to the outdoors. Paul grew up in the Chicago suburbs, and has lived in Madison, WI, Salt Lake City, UT, and Boulder, CO before coming back home to Chicago 7 years ago. Some of his favorite outdoor experiences include backpacking Glacier National Park, ice climbing a glacier in Alaska, encountering a moose on Isle Royale National Park, completing 14ers in Colorado, and hiking the deserts of Southern Utah. Paul spends his free time training for triathlons, paddling on his SUP, goofing around on stage in an improv show, and trying to tame his dog, Biscuit.

Volunteer Leader - Brooke Pudar

Brooke began volunteering with ICO in 2014 in order to connect with others who enjoy the outdoors and to help others discover the joy that time in nature provides. Brooke loves to head West any chance she gets to hike and backpack. Her favorite places to visit are the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Here in Illinois, Brooke has a garden that she alternately tends and neglects. She also enjoys biking, kayaking, and just generally being outdoors. If she's stuck inside, she's probably baking something.

Treasurer - Karen Kalichman

Karen lives in Michigan so she doesn't make it to many outings, but she does a great job ensuring that Chicago ICO's financials are in line and administrating reimbursements.

We have many other volunteers and volunteer leaders who help run the Chicago ICO program - too many to list, but we are deeply grateful for all their help!