Leadership | Program Founders
Program Founders
Combined the AST founders have over 50 years of experience teaching students, coaching athletes, guiding wilderness and mountaineering trips and leading soldiers. We love young people and the outdoors, and we believe in the extraordinary power of teams and their ability to influence. Along with Peter Harvey, the Director of Hohliebi Programs:
Sarah Apgar Smith added her experience coaching, teaching and training to create the specific program and curriculum for the Alpine Summer Term. She served as a platoon leader and executive officer in the Army Engineer Corps for four years upon graduating from Princeton University in 2002, where she was a two-time All-American and team captain for the Women's Rugby Team, and guided backpacking trips for students and facultyas an Outdoor Action leader and leader trainer. Sarah operated TrailSmiths outdoor programs for women and young people in Colorado Springs for one year before shifting gears to work with Hohliebi Programs. An avid backcountry skier and mountain biker, Sarah is also a certified Emergency Medical Technician and Wilderness First Responder.
Benjamin Smith graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2003. A member of the Sport Parachute Team, he completed over 400 demonstration and competition jumps during his career. He was commissioned in the Infantry, completed US Army Ranger School, and was stationed at Fort Carson, CO, serving two deployments to Iraq with the Second Infantry Division. While completing his Army commitment, Ben coached high school lacrosse and assisted Sarah with TrailSmiths in CO. After leaving the military in 2008, he taught mathematics at the Winter Term and worked as part of Hohliebi's founding team to start AST 2009. Ben is also an experienced backcountry skier and Wilderness First Responder.