Owner’s Bios

I started climbing in 1998 on the opposite side of the world, in New Zealand. I was in college at the time. I immediately knew climbing was for me. I eventually moved to Northern Arizona and continued climbing.

My career pursuits then brought me to Rochester MN, where I met my husband Jeremy. We met through climbing. Our first unofficial date was a climbing trip out to the Black Hills with a mutual friend. We spent three days in the Needles, then climbed Devils Tower on the last day. Quite a date! Five years later, to the day, Jeremy and I got married in the Black Hills, with a simple outdoor wedding. We now have two amazing young boys and take them out to climb in the same areas that we did years ago!

Climbing is very special to us and our goal is to share climbing with everyone. I have my Masters in Public Health (MPH), 15+ years of experience in fitness and wellness; Certified Cancer Exercise Specialist, past certification from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), 10+ years as a personal trainer; and a degree in Health and Physical Education from Gustavus Adolphus College. 

More recently, our business, Roca Climbing & Fitness, received the Minnesota 2018 Women-Owned Small Business of the Year Award from the Small Business Association (SBA) Minnesota District Office. This is an amazing honor and we are very proud of our hardworking and passionate employees that make Roca a warm and inviting place for our community!

We hope that you come out and join us in a climb or yoga class today!

I started climbing in 1990 out in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I fell in love with climbing on my very first climb. Since then I’ve climbed all over the country. Before having two beautiful boys with my wife, I used to take several climbing trips a year. Some up to a month and a half long. My favorite places are the Black Hills of South Dakota, Yosemite, and Joshua Tree. Mostly because of the history. I love being able to literally follow in the footsteps (and hand holds) of my heroes in the history of climbing.

My love of climbing lead to opening a climbing gym in 1998 with a couple of other climbers. During that venture, I got the opportunity to design and build climbing walls. I have designed and built many climbing facilities in the Midwest. I developed and created unique building techniques to create some of the coolest climbing structures.

But my absolute favorite thing about owning and running a climbing gym is teaching, especially kids! This allows me to see in others (and relive for me) that initial “spark” of what makes people fall in love with the sport, over and over! It makes me smile when I see in someone’s face that this sport is for them. The most uplifting experiences I had were with my youth climbing team. I’m sure this is true with other sports, but when a kid is really into climbing and works hard at bettering themselves and you get to help guide that energy, it’s just a great feeling. I was able to coach kids up to the national level and one made it to a world competition. I also have American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) training and have led several climbing trips outdoors. My favorite ones were, of course, to the Black Hills.

Now with my wife and family, it is time to take this 25 years of climbing life and build a World Class climbing facility that Rochester has never seen before. And make it a part of our wonderful community!