Emily Bronstein, 22, is a former Moondance student from Park City, UT, and we are beyond excited to have her back! Growing up, Emily went on four trips with us, including the Mystery Trip to Madeira in 2022. As a leader, she excelled on the Colorado Trail trip in 2024 and the Dolomites trip in 2025. Emily just graduated from the University of Virginia, where she was a student in the McIntire School of Commerce while also being involved in an array of non-profits and other clubs. Emily continues her love for the outdoors that she cultivated while growing up out west (+ her Moondance trips!) by returning for her third summer. We are so excited for Emily to get to share that passion with her students again, and we are so thankful she is back to lead!
The Chance to Inspire
By Emily Bronstein
December 21st, 2025
Moondance has shaped me into the person I am today, and for that, I am forever grateful. I started to lead because of the impact my leaders had on me as a student, and I continue to lead because of the feeling that comes with inspiring that growth in others.
My first Moondance trip came at a pivotal time. I was entering high school and my family was moving across the country. I carried all of the fear and uncertainty that comes with any major life transition, so naturally, I was incredibly anxious. My leaders encouraged me to reframe that moment in my life as a positive opportunity for growth, which I put into practice on that trip. I quickly learned how to become friends with total strangers in such a short period of time, and that I was capable of handling uncomfortable, new situations. Although the trip was only two weeks, I learned more about myself in that time than I’d ever experienced before. My other trips were no different; each one challenged me in new ways, shaping me into a stronger, more confident individual.
Because of my incredible leaders, I’d always dreamed of leading a Moondance to inspire students in the same capacity. I love the concept of “type two fun”—when something is incredibly hard in the moment but becomes the most impactful moment of the trip afterwards. For some students, it’s summiting a peak they never believed they could climb. For others, it’s sharing something at Moonup they finally felt safe to say out loud. These small moments are the ones that truly shape us. Witnessing a group rally together, celebrate one another, and grow as a unit is so powerful, and a huge reason why I continue to lead. I’m grateful for the growth Moondance has provided me with and the unique opportunity to inspire that same transformation in others.
The impact that Moondance has transcends far beyond one individual. It’s why the community is so strong. As cliché as it may sound, the people truly make the place. Watching a group shift from complete strangers on day one to inseparable friends by the end of two or three weeks is an incredibly special experience. These friendships allow us to grow, challenge ourselves, and walk away from a trip with new perspectives. Moondance is full of brilliant, genuine people who bring out the best in one another. From students to leaders and everyone who makes the experience possible, it is truly such a unique community that I feel honored to be a part of.
The opportunity to help create spaces where students feel challenged, supported, and celebrated is the reason I come back every summer. As both a student and a leader, Moondance has given me some of the most meaningful experiences of my life. I’m forever grateful for the impact Moondance has had on me, and for the chance to inspire that same growth in others.
JP Lisi, 25, returns to Moondance for his fourth summer after leading the Pacific Northwest, Chamonix, and Italian Dolomites trips. Originally from West Chester, Pennsylvania, he first discovered his passion for the outdoors at Camp Kingsley Pines, for which he later worked as a camp counselor. During the fall of 2020, he completed a semester-long NOLS course in the Rockies and gained invaluable outdoor experiences. JP is a proud graduate of Tulane University, with a major in Environmental Studies and a minor in Philosophy. He spent the fall of his senior year studying in Lisbon, Portugal, before completing his final semester of college in Sydney, Australia. He currently lives and works in Puerto Rico, and we can’t wait to have him back for another summer!
Unlike Any Other Community
By JP Lisi
December 14th, 2025
I come back to Moondance because Moondance inspires me. I view inspiration as a kind of currency. It’s a rare and somewhat ineffable pool (or Source) to draw from to create new things, ideas, mindsets, and worldviews. In my 24 years around the Sun, I’ve found that two major areas provide the most amount of inspiration: motivated young people and the great outdoors. Moondance provides a unique golden-ticket opportunity to these, and I have found that there’s something very special that happens when you combine the two and bring these motivated young people into the great outdoors. It’s like a microbiome for inspiration.
Let me start with the outdoors. Nature has always been and will always prove to be our greatest teacher. Pachamama, Gaia, Mother Nature. She’s a nurturing Source that provides us with all of the lessons, nutrients, entertainment, and inspiration we could ever need. But if you’re reading this, I don’t need to explain what you already know.
On the other hand, the people – now that’s why I keep coming back specifically to Moondance.
At Moondance, I am surrounded by motivated young people who inspire me, unlike any other community I’ve been a part of. Funny enough, it started with my bosses. I was stunned at how personal and friendly they were right from the get. Sandra Davis, Suzanne Hollis, Owen Roberts, Jackie Faustin, and, of course, Hayes Hitchens. Then it was the incredible men and women I met at staff training who not only inspired me with their creativity, compassion, thoughtfulness, drive, and personal flair, but also made me feel loved and downright fired up!! Dudes and dudetts like Frankie Mayfield, Chris Monde, Claire Koonsman, and all the way up to this past summer with Anna Brock, Jake Gomann, Davis Munn, and Ellie Evans.
Lastly, and certainly not least, I draw so much inspiration from the students. There truly is something so special about leading kids out there that just makes this whole thing make sense. I think back to PNW inspiring Bryan Knox to tap into Flow State while teaching him how to slackline on the San Juan Islands. On Chamonix, sharing with Chester Fannon what inspires me about the outdoor industry, and Carly Barnes about NOLS programs and how she can draw strength and inspiration from herself. This past summer in the Dolomites, sharing with Etta Mohr the poems that inspire me, and with Lawson Knier and Heath Boyd on things that have inspired me to be a better young man.
There is a sort of “next-level” moment in Moondance that only occurs when inspiring these kids while out there in undeniably inspiring environments. It cultivates inspiration like nothing I’ve felt before. There are plenty of reasons I’d say to come back, but for me at least, it has to be because of the inspiration I feel and can share here. I never want to forget it.
Emma Cutter Stark, 24, returns to the Moondance family for her fourth summer after leading for the past three summers in Belize & Costa Rica, Thailand, and Albania, Montenegro and Greece. Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, she is a graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill, where she majored in Peace, War, and Defense. Emma Cutter spent her first year post-grad abroad in Spain, teaching English to elementary school students. She now lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, working as a snowboarding instructor.
Transformation Lived
by Emma Cutter Stark
December 7, 2025
At Staff Training in May of 2023, I wrote, “This summer is just the beginning, I can already tell it will be transformative,” and boy, I could not have been more right. That letter, a letter to my future self written on the last day of training, was brimming with emotions, as an admittedly nervous first-year leader, unsure how the summer would unfold.
Three years later, I can confidently say applying to lead with Moondance Adventures is the single most life-changing decision I have made. That may sound dramatic, but no other decision in my 23 years has subsequently impacted all that was to follow. It’s been 3 years since I went through the application process, eagerly signed my contract, and there hasn’t been a single day that I haven’t thought about my time spent with Moondance.
Transformative is the word that has defined my Moondance experience. Moondance has brought me countless firsts. Many, I recall with my stomach sore from laughter, such as attempts at packing a backpack, quickly learning what sumping means, or witnessing my first Veggie off.
But, the most profound firsts are many that are unique to an individual’s Moondance experience, ones that words can’t fully capture. The first time being surrounded by 160 of the most passionate and vivacious people you’ll ever meet. The first time relying wholeheartedly on your co-leader, navigating in a foreign land far outside your comfort zone. That first time bawling crying at the airport, not sure how you’re going to say goodbye to 12 people that went from strangers to family in a matter of weeks. That conversation with a student that opens something within you, the gravity of the moment fully sinking into your core. That first time you see your student conquer something they never thought they could, celebrating like winners of the world.
Leading with Moondance Adventures continues to be the most impactful, challenging, & formative experience I could ever pursue. I return for a multitude of reasons, with the common denominator being the transformation lived. The extent to which Moondance has strengthened my leadership skills, connected me with a supportive community that keeps on giving and growing, and inspired my lust for adventure is truly remarkable. Moondance has instilled an insatiable hunger to pursue a life worth living, full of intentionality and purpose.
Though Moondance may only be a summer in the grand scheme of life, the lasting impact remains long after the seasons change. Moondance will change you, if you let it. One moment you’re simply showing up, and the next you’re wide awake to a world you didn’t know you were missing. I must warn you, you might end up like me, forever chasing experiences that emulate the feeling of Moondance. Moondance opened up my world, turned it inside out, and will forever be the best job I´ll ever have.
