Christopher Rutgers is the founder and executive director of Outdoor Outreach. As a competitive skier, whitewater river guide, expedition rock climber and avid surfer, Chris has spent most of his life developing a passion for the outdoors. It was this passion that helped Chris overcome his own at-risk childhood. In 1999, he founded Outdoor Outreach as a means to give at-risk and underprivileged youth the same life-changing opportunities. Drawing from his own personal experiences, Chris developed the Outdoor Outreach philosophies that have proven to be so successful working with at-risk and underprivileged youth.

As founder of Outdoor Outreach, Chris has been nationally recognized as an expert on programming for youth at-risk. He is frequently asked to speak at national conferences and symposiums, and to consult with government agencies, academic institutions and other nonprofit organizations. Chris has served as an advisor to the California Governor's Office, California State Parks and the National Park Service on developing programs for at-risk youth. In addition, Chris has won numerous local and national awards for his programs' successes. He is a past recipient of San Diego's KGTV Channel 10 Leadership Award and Newsweek magazine's "America's Best."