Staff Stories Archives | REI Co-op Journal

Living to Ride: One Woman Bike Tech’s “wild and wonderful” career in cycling

Kathryn True//April 12, 2019

I caught up with Jacinta "J" Higgins as she waited for a flight to Colorado, where she’d be learning the intricacies of new Cannondale suspe... Read More...

REI Presents: ANDY

REI Staff//February 28, 2019

When the mission is as big as to make the world a better place, what can one person do? Ask Andy Browne and he’ll tell you; get more people ... Read More...

Lake with trees and mountains in the background

Letter from Jerry Stritzke to REI Employees

REI Staff//February 12, 2019

On Tuesday, February 12, 2019, at an employee meeting at REI headquarters, REI CEO Jerry Stritzke resigned as REI CEO and Eric Artz was named interim CEO. Read More...

Day 3 of the expedition revealed a view of Uhuru Peak among the clouds.

Summiting at 17,000 Feet: My Climb of Kilimanjaro with Outdoor Afro

Brittany Leavitt//October 18, 2018

On June 20, 2018, an 11-person expedition became the second all-Black U.S. team to summit Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Brittany Leavitt, a 29-year-old preschool teacher and REI Outdoor School instructor, recounts her experience here. Read More...

Force of Nature in New York City: REI’s Women’s Speaker Series

Kristen Phillips//

Last year, REI launched the Force of Nature initiative designed to elevate the conversation around women in the outdoors. One of the main co... Read More...

REI Co-op and The Moth Team Up to Tell Stories of a Life Outdoors

Laura Chapman//

For the second year, REI Co-op has teamed up with the crew behind The Moth to bring live storytelling events about the outdoors to local com... Read More...

Diedre Tanenberg at the San Francisco REI store. (Photo Credit: Shelby Carpenter)

This REI Instructor Teaches Outdoor Classes in American Sign Language

Shelby Carpenter//July 2, 2018

Outdoor School instructor Diedre Tanenberg grew up on the West Coast, where she acquired a passion for pushing herself outside, primarily through camping and whitewater rafting. There’s one thing that makes her classes unique: Tanenberg, who is deaf, teaches her courses in American Sign Language (ASL). Read More...

Nick and Shelby on Wild Ideas Worth Living

REI Podcasts: Wild Ideas Worth Living and Take It From Me

Chelsea Davis//

This year, the REI Co-op released two podcasts–Wild Ideas Worth Living and Take It From Me–about people doing incredible things in the outdo... Read More...

Why REI Outessa Matters

REI Staff//

Outessa lives up to its promise of creating sweaty, dirty, happy women.