Leadership

David Lengyel, co-founder of Venture Up, is a hands-on leader involved in creating and implementing motivational corporate training and team building events. Having traveled to more than 50 countries, David has led mountaineering expeditions on three continents. Trained as a plant biochemist and researcher, David's diverse background is an asset to our clients in science and technology, as well as for multi-cultural and cross-functional teams.

Richard is a retired Naval Aviator, having served for 20 years in the Command and Control field. A 1986 Naval Academy graduate, Rich brings a unique perspective to experiential learning. His experience in the Navy included directing operations and maintenance of a squadron culminating in directing the Combat Direction Center on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Mike Donnelly has an extensive background in educational psychology and industrial safety for environmental remediation and general construction. He has worked with Venture Up since 1985 designing and delivering leadership and adventure programs, including those involving ropes courses, rock climbing, caving and mountaineering. Mike has a long history of first rock climbing ascents in the Southwest and has represented Venture Up as the technical advisor in Walt Disney films.

Teresa Shaw Lengyel co-founded Venture Up, the first team-building company, creating high-energy programs that strengthen communication, trust, and team engagement. Having traveled to more than fifty nations, she draws on global perspectives and promotes inclusive, people-centered events that unite diverse teams. She also supports hands-on CSR initiatives for children’s charities.

Anna is based in Raleigh-Durham, NC, and manages Venture Up's social media and E. newsletter. She produced the current social media plan for Virginia Tech's College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences, and created promotional videos for VT Basketball Team.

David is a research scientist who has studied asthma in native populations of India, a 3-year project funded by the World Health Organization and the Rockefeller Foundation. He has also done field studies in remote jungles of Mexico, Costa Rica and was involved with the Glacier/Bob Marshall research project. David worked at the Center for Disease Control for several years.

Robert Gooch began his career in private industry as a materials development chemist with Raychem in Menlo Park, California, and then moved into the public health services field, specializing in Food Safety. Robert has been certified for 25+ years as a Registered Sanitarian and Environmental Health Specialist, and was certified over 18+ years as a Standardized Food Safety Inspections Officer with the Food and Drug Administration. Robert speaks Spanish, and spent his childhood summers in Baja Mexico’s Conception Bay, south of Mulege, staying with a local family in a thatched-roof hut, home of an American expat, his Yaqui wife and children.

Born in Montreal, Bryan has lived in Houston since the 1980s and has been involved in numerous restaurants across the metro area including; Pappas Bros, Haven, Capitol Grill and Eddie V’s. Bryan currently oversees a new restaurant launch in Galveston. As a political science major, Bryan was chosen for the US State Department Scholarship for National Security Studies at David Ben-Gurion University in Israel, with a focus in Middle Eastern Foreign Policy.

Dive Master Danny Charlton started with Venture Up in the 1990s working in the U. S. and Mexico.

Terrell has worked with Venture Up since 2002 as a team building facilitator in Las Vegas and the Southwest. For the past 10 years, Terrell has also been active in the UNLV Upward Bound math and science departments, where he is finishing a masters degree in counseling. Working at UNLV, which ranks fifth in the nation for student diversity, Terrell brings the right energy and empathy to corporate programs, and a youthful mindset through his on going work with students needing support to succeed.

Mason Lengyel is an EMT and the creative force behind the Escape-the-Case game series. He works with ongoing clients, using employee feedback to customize each successive game. "When employees are part of the creation, it drives employee engagement and builds relationships unlike traditional training session," he says.

Navy veteran David Anderson served aboard many carriers, including the USS Nimitz, Ranger and Constellation, responsible for overseeing the structural issues on the EA-6B Prowler. Until 2014, this was the primary war aircraft used to jam enemy radar systems, and gather intelligence for the Navy air defense for more than 40 years. David has sailed the world’s oceans, with extensive stays in Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.

Based in Chamonix, France, Dave Cumming is an IFGA UIAGM High Mountain Guide, with climbing and skiing experience worldwide. A native of Scotland, he has been living and guiding in the Alps for 20 years. He leads the Haute Route, a ski traverse from Chamonix to Zermatt Switzerland, and has lead training expeditions to the Himalayas.

Venture Up facilitators are based in key cities across the US. With a wide range of backgrounds including; law enforcement, human resources, agronomy, labor relations, IT, journalism, engineering, sales and marketing. Everyone travels extensively, facilitating programs as needed, where ever needed.

Jayne Palmer began as a ski instructor in Vail and studied at Denver University. A gourmet cook, Jayne received a degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Nebraska. As a corporate partner for Chili's Restaurants, she spent 18 years traveling the U.

Mike Boone has an extensive engineering background in both industry and education. For 13 years he worked in the mechanical design and manufacturing sector developing; biomedical machines, test equipment for the space shuttle, nuclear waste handling equipment, and theme park rides for Universal Studios. He currently teaches Manufacturing Technology at the University of Minnesota, and designed and coordinates the Center Of Excellence Engineering program for Shattuck St Mary's Preparatory school which combines college level course work and real industry based engineering projects.

Natalie's background is in sports management, communications and retail marketing. She spent 6 years in sales and marketing with the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Coordinating corporate sponsors, fundraising, game operations and the NHL Entry Draft for the Plymouth Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes. She managed the web site and media streams for Compuware Arena and was the social marketing manager for the NHL Columbus Blue Jacket's / Team USA defenseman Jack Johnson.

Kristian is an industrial engineer and former financial analyst for Hewlett Packard. Fluent in English and Spanish, he worked for five years in cost analysis for HP's corporate, education, government and non-consumer notebooks and mobile devices. His international business experience is extensive, from Gaudalajara to Mexico City, Bogata, Medellin, Buenos Aires and Houston Texas.

Megan is based in Northern Indiana and facilitates events for Venture Up in the Midwest. With a background in sales and marketing she coordinates events at the University of Notre Dame DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. Megan's passions for travel and adventure have taken her throughout the country, Ghana, Africa and Ireland.

As a professional percussionist, Cameron has helped develop and facilitate Venture Up's JamFest & Rhythmic programs since 1995. He has a BA in History & World Religions from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a MFA in World Percussion from the highly acclaimed California Institute of the Arts, He is a Village Music Circles certified facilitator, and has twenty-plus years of global experience as a clinician, facilitator and performer. Among the masterful drummers Cameron has performed with are Abdoulaye Diakite, Babatunde Olatunji, Randy Gloss, Jose "Pepe" Danza, Malik Sow, Mickey Hart, and Arthur Hull.