Meet the Exec Board
PRESIDENT - Matthew Krauss
Hey guys, I’m Matthew and am the current president. I’m a Junior in civil/environmental engineering and I grew up in Weston, Connecticut (go east coast!). I am a team kid at heart and competed in climbing comps all of high school but I’m grateful for the club’s opportunity to open the door for so many new climbing experiences – real rock is so much cooler. Climbing is kinda my whole life so you’ll most likely see me working at the ARC wall, climbing at UB, or just talking about climbing to almost everyone I meet. I truly enjoy helping others fall in love with this amazing sport and I can’t wait to meet you all, happy climbing!
VICE PRESIDENT - Finnley Ryan
Hi everyone, I’m Finnley and am the vice president for this fall! I’m a junior studying mechanical engineering and am from Gaithersburg, Maryland. I love doing anything outdoors (climbing, running, backpacking, SUPing, cooking…) and started really getting into climbing when I joined the club freshman year. Since then, I’ve met so many great people, gone on awesome trips, and developed a lot as a climber. I am super excited to expand opportunities for learning skills, getting outside, and growing as a community! Please reach out if you want to learn more about gear, skills, the club, or just want to climb!
SECRETARY - Miles Kosik
Hi there! I’m Miles, here for my final year of undergrad as an NRES major, and secretary of the climbing club. I have been climbing on and off for many years at this point, and ever since I joined the club a few years ago, I have been climbing more than ever, and continuously pushing my limits. The climbing club has done so much for me, and I am thrilled to be able to give back to it by serving on the board, and look forward to helping people form, and in some cases, rekindle, a love for climbing.
TREASURER - Eliot Smith
Hey people! My name is Eliot and I’m a Senior studying physics. I’m from Normal, IL and first started climbing at my hometown climbing gym that’s built inside old soybean silos. I got addicted pretty quickly and have grown to love the sport and the community surrounding it. This club is amazing, and I’m excited to be a part of exec board this year.
SOCIAL CHAIRS - Jake Blackburn and Charlotte Sveen
Hi everyone! We’re Charlotte and Jake and we’re serving as your social chairs this year. Jake is a junior in NRES, and has been climbing since his freshman year. Charlotte is a sophomore majoring in English and Spanish, and has been climbing for 12 years. We’ve had a blast getting involved with the club, and with all of the events we have planned we hope this will be the best year yet!
OUTREACH DIRECTORS - Sam Murray and Leah Murray
Hey everyone! Our names are Leah and Sam we’re are both from Chicago. We are majoring in interdisciplinary health sciences and are the climbing clubs outreach directors. We also both work at the ARC climbing wall and would love to help or answer any climbing/outdoor related questions. We are super excited to plan FUNdraising events and expand our climbing club family. Looking forward to meet everyone. 🙂
TECH CHAIR - Annamarie Olsen and Will Escudero
Heya our name’s are Annamarie and Will! We will be Seniors this year, Annamarie is studying Architecture and Will is studying Industrial Design. We started climbing sophomore year after spontaneously signing up for the club on quad day together, with zero knowledge of what climbing was… thanks to many of the good people of the climbing club we have learned so much in 2 years and fallen in love with the sport. All in all, we are so excited to be that mentor for other people this year, and also make super cool merch along the way, cheers to a new year!
CLUB COACH- Andrew Shusterman
Hey I’m Andrew and I’ve been climbing for over 6 years now. What started off as an on and off activity, quickly became my biggest passion, and now I would say my life revolves around climbing. I’m super excited to be the very first coach of the very first UIUC climbing team, and look forward greatly to this year!
