writer | educator | guide

I work with confluences

writer | science, connection, water

educator | university, secondary, outdoors

guide | rivers, sea

entrepreneur + consultant | founder + director of Freeflow Institute

selected stories

Alpine Divorce? | Adventure Journal, vol. 42, 2026

A Dead Whale Shows Up on your Beach… | The Guardian, 10 December 2025

On Love and Space Weather | Mountain Outlaw, Winter 2026

The Shape of Memory | Modern Huntsman, Vol. 16, 2026

Language Lessons on the Rio Grande
Adventure Journal, vol. 20, 2021

NRS Duct Tape Diaries, ongoing contributions

Echoes from the Nitowas | Mountain Outlaw, Summer 2024

The Road According to Joe | Adventure Journal, vol. 41, 2026

In the Current short | The Dirtbag Diaries, Fall 2021

Surface Tension | The Pulp, 5 August 2025

A Case for Giving the River a Year Off | Adventure Journal, 15 July 2020

River Poets | Mountain Outlaw, Summer 2025

Learning to Chill Out } Adventure Journal, vol. 27, 2022

A Displaced Spirit | Patagonia, 21 December 2017

Plein Air Satori | Bomb Snow Magazine, Art Issue 2024

Matt Terry & the Ecuadorian Rivers Institute | Kayak Session Magazine, Spring 2021

Chris La Tray Goes All In | The Pulp, 3 December 2024

teaching + editing + leadership

instructor |

University of Montana

Freeflow Institute

Wild Rockies Field Institute

Missoula Writing Collaborative

Montana Natural History Center

Seattle/ Missoula/ Matanuska-Susitna Public Schools

editor |

Camas Magazine

Freeflow Institute Creative Services

education |

M.S. Environmental Studies

B.A. Art Education

B.A. Spanish Education

International Baccalaureate Instructor Certification

200-hour Rasa Yoga Instructor Certification

support + awards |

Fulbright

Prop Foundation

B&B Dawson

Brainerd Conservation

“From our first session, Chandra sharpened my thinking about narrative structure and helped me see my work more clearly as writing for readers instead of academics and managers.

Chandra’s sessions are organized, focused, and highly productive. She is also flexible. If a discussion goes off piste, she follows it productively and then guides us back to my central goals of the piece. After each session, Chandra sends thoughtful notes summarizing what we discussed, usually with links to readings on craft (structure, tone, etc.) and examples of essays similar to what I am trying to produce. These have been especially useful.

Chandra also reads my drafts before each session and comes prepared with specific, actionable feedback. What I value most is her ability to ask insightful questions helping me to clarify intent and improving audience engagement without sacrificing my voice. Her feedback is both encouraging and exacting: she points out what’s working while also identifying places where readers may get lost.

Bottom line, Chandra has helped improve my craft and my confidence. My only regret is that I didn’t start working with Chandra sooner.”

“I signed up for this workshop with a quiet inner writer and walked out with a more resonant outer voice. Through a healthy mix of soulful readings, group sharings, and deep reflection, I felt safe enough to be a beginner, yet challenged enough to truly grow. If you're looking for a low-stakes atmosphere that yields high-level results, Freeflow will get you there.”

Perri

“If you have the urge to write but you worry about what it might mean to expose yourself, this program is for you. Gentle, kind, secure, deep, welcoming, stimulating are just some of the words that describe my experience with Chandra.”

Rick

“To experience the River as a classroom, a place for sharing very deep and personal ideas with the other participants, left me feeling a real sense of amazement at the work that Chandra is doing with Freeflow, and intellectually fulfilled in a way that I was not expecting at the start. I truly believe the program has a lot to offer anyone who is looking to improve their craft both conceptually and practically, as the curriculum also shared great advice for utilizing one's skills in business aspects as well.”

Maxton