Meet Our trip leaders

Trip Leaders are alumni of Fish for Change programs. They have grown up alongside the programs and have organically trained and deepened their relationships in the field. They work alongside the program coordinators (lodge owners/ community ambassadors) in each location. ​

AUGUST BRYAN ​

​I was born and raised in the western suburbs of Chicago, where fly fishing wasn’t prevalent. Lucky I was raised into a family who loved to travel west. During the summer months I would find myself wandering around Colorado trying to find new waters to fish. Trout fishing was everything I knew, but It wasn’t until covid year where my spark began for saltwater fly fishing. Now, I am currently a rising senior at Calvin University (Grand Rapids, Michigan) where i’m majoring in marketing and minoring in entrepreneurship; along with playing lacrosse. ​Fish for Change was a program I initially found on TikTok, leading me to research more into the non-profit. My love for the program grew as I learned more and more. Attending the programs made me only more intrigued and wanting to help out anyway I could. Fish for change has opened my eyes on what’s possible and where fly fishing can take my life.

KEVIN JACKSON​

​Kevin Jackson hails from Pennsylvania, where he cut his teeth fishing for trout in the numerous spring creeks. A lifelong love of the ocean led him to New England, where he attended Roger Williams University, receiving degrees in biology and chemistry (along with an unhealthy obsession with striped bass). From there he worked as a fisheries biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service for eleven years, before a few twists of fate led him south to Costa Rica. Now he's down in Central America, enjoying the diverse range of species that can be caught in the tropics on the fly, and excited to share his knowledge with the next generation of anglers.

delaney hutcheson

Delaney was raised in Northwest Montana, fly fishing with her family from a very young age. Now, she is studying education at Montana State University. Her first experience with Fish For Change was on a girls week trip to Guanaja in 2019, where she fell in love with the program and island. She returned in 2021 as a student in the Bahamas. Delaney has been interning with F4C since 2023 helping with admin throughout the year. In the summer she helps lead programs with hopes to create the same magic she once experienced as a student that changed the directory of her life.

heather harkavy

Camp has been the theme of Heather's life for as long as she can remember. Heather went to sleepaway camp in the mountains from 7 - 13, became a counselor with IGFA's fishing camp from 14 - 18, and ran a youth program at Tropic Star Lodge in Panama throughout her summers in college. When her parents told her it was time to grow up, she decided starting a camp would be a legitimate way to do so. Heather is the Executive Director with Fish for Change and has committed her life to creating empathetic, curious, passionate and confident young adults through the F4C community.

Jesse COlten

Jesse grew up in Colorado and has been fish-crazy for as long as he can remember. When he bought a little BnB down in Xcalak, Mexico, he turned it into something special, a permit haven that now pulls anglers from all over the world. If there’s one word to describe Jesse, it’s electric. His energy is contagious, he’s all about community, and people naturally gravitate toward him. What he’s built in Xcalak is truly one of a kind. Students will never be bored with Jesse as their trip leader. The world is his classroom, and we’re lucky enough to be his students.