MEET THE TEAM
Our staff and therapists
Allan Capp
Amalia Gamboa
Allan Capp
Executive Director (Owner)
Allan’s passion for adventure started at an early age. Whether it be surfing, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, fishing or mountain biking, Allan feels most alive when he’s active and connected to nature. He began working in the outdoor industry over 15 years ago. Allan discovered wilderness and adventure therapy, and worked for years as a guide, leading backcountry expeditions and adventure activities. He eventually moved into program management and leadership, and has worked with numerous programs over the years. A jack-of-all-trades, Allan is also a certified yoga teacher.
Allan has spent years surfing and exploring Latin America, including Mexico, Columbia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, and Peru. He initially came to Costa Rica in 2006, and fell in love with the country and the “pura vida” culture.
In 2018 he was invited to Pure Life to do an assessment and provide feedback for the program. He was impressed with the program, and is now an owner who is very involved in every aspect of the day to day operations.
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Mara Mueller
Mara Mueller
Mara Mueller, MSW, LCSW, CADC I
Clinical Director & Primary Therapist (Owner)
Mara is passionate about supporting people through the growth process and believes that each person has within them the means to achieve emotional, mental, physical and spiritual health. She often employs approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She takes a Family Systems and solutions-focused approach in her work with parents. Mara holds advanced EMDR training, is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor and a Certified Yoga Instructor. She feels competent working with people who experience a range of struggles including anxiety, depression, trauma, identity development, substance misuse and addiction, adoption and attachment struggles, and difficulties with executive functioning.
Mara has worked as a mental health clinician in wide-range of treatment settings beginning in 2000 including therapeutic boarding schools, in and out-patient therapy, hospital emergency departments, and her favorite, wilderness therapy. She earned her Master of Social Work degree from Portland State University and was shortly thereafter introduced to the healing power of wilderness therapy. She feels deeply fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with several wilderness therapy companies serving adolescents and young adults.
In her time away from work you can find her running, surfing or practicing yoga. Mara also enjoys biking and spending time with her friends, family and her pup, Mija, who she and her husband adopted from Peru during their travels there.
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Jesenia Segura
Jesenia Segura
Jesenia Segura
Human Resources Director
Jesenia has a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources from the National State Distance University of Costa Rica (UNED) as well as a Law Degree from the University of Sciences and Arts of Costa Rica (UCIARTE). The combination of these two careers has been perfect for her role in Pure Life, which she has been a part of since 2018.
Working at Pure Life provides an environment full of challenges, joy, and constant learning. Jesenia cares deeply about people and her greatest wish was always to be able to work in a place where she could help others. She found all that and more at Pure Life.
Nature is a big part of her life, she grew up among beautiful landscapes, trees, rivers and the simplicity of a traditional Costa Rican family. She loves cycling, especially mountain bike rides in the nearby mountains that surround the valley where she lives. She is always looking for new challenges and learning new things that make her grow as a person.
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Dr. Adam Balls
Adam Balls
Dr. Adam Balls
Medical Director
Dr. Adam Balls is a board certified emergency medicine physician who is actively practicing in the Salt Lake City area for Utah Emergency Physicians. He obtained his MD degree from Georgetown University in 2004. In 2007, Dr. Balls completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ where he also served as chief resident. After his residency, Adam and his family relocated to San Antonio Texas where he served on active duty for four years as an EM physician at Wilford Hall Medical Center, a Level 1 Trauma Center and EM Residency Program. During his time in the Air Force, he served as a team leader for a Critical Care Aeromedical Transport Team on deployments to Iraq, Germany, and Afghanistan.
Adam currently resides in Salt Lake City with his wife and three chidren. He serves as Medical Director for Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, a Level 1 Trauma Center and the largest ED in the state of Utah. He also works as Medical Director for Murray Fire Department. Adam is passionate about delivering excellent patient care in the Emergency Department and enjoys training and teaching. He is excited to support the needs of Pure Life in his Medical Director role. Outside of his clinical work, Adam enjoys the outdoors in Utah, supporting his children in their various sports and school activities, and living life through travel experiences around the world.
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Cynthia Montero
Cynthia Montero
Cynthia Montero
Field Supervisor
Cynthia grew up surrounded by nature and coffee farms in the high-altitude mountains of Tarrazu, Costa Rica. This is where she developed her passion for the outdoors. She had the opportunity to attend junior high school in Long Island, NY where she learned English. Cynthia embodies the Pura Vida lifestyle – she values hard work, honesty, family, nature, patience, gratefulness and simplicity.
Cynthia was a field Guide in Pure Life for 3 years where her main responsibilities included the oversight of the physical, mental and emotional well being of students. Now as Field Supervisor she ensures policies and procedures are understood and implemented in the field.
Cynthia enjoys hiking, walks on the beach with her dog and practicing yoga. She is a certified Yoga Teacher (YTT), Wilderness First Responder (WFR), Whitewater Rescue Technician (WRT), and Recreational Rope Rescue Operator (RecRo).
Antonio Lopez
Antonio Lopez
Antonio Lopez
Operations Support
Antonio is a hardcore kayaker who enjoys adventure and loves the outdoors. He began raft captaining in 2002 and became a certified kayak instructor shortly thereafter. Antonio moves fast both by land and by sea; rumor has it that he can complete the trek between Domer’s Hill and Piedras Blancas (usually two days of hiking) in eight hours flat – carrying both of his kids and his kayak. His ability in the water has earned him the nickname Cherepo (Jesus Christ Lizard) which is famous for being able to run on top of the water.
Antonio holds the following certifications: Wilderness First Responder, First Aid, CPR, and AED for the Professional Rescuer, Whitewater Rescue Technician, Technical Rope Rescue: Operations, International Rafting Federation Instructor, International Rafting Federation Guide Class I-IV, Instructor Judgment Training, Land Instructor Training, Waterfront Lifeguard, Whitewater Kayak Training.
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Maria Aguilar
Maria Aguilar
Maria Aguilar
Operations Support
Maria was born in the province of Cartago but moved to the southern part of Costa Rica in 2018 to work at Pure Life and build new life around nature.
Maria has a Bachelor’s Degree in Ecological Tourism from the Universidad de Costa Rica and a degree (Licenciatura) in Sustainable Tourism Management from the Universidad Estatal a Distancia. Before working with Pure Life, she worked in hospitality for two year – working on projects in a Tourism Cooperative and as an organizer and host in some activities of the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT).
Working at Pure Life allows her to have the opportunity to help other people through tourism activities as well as be a part of an excellent work team. She especially enjoys the opportunity to be one of the people who receives the students at the airport. She understands that the step they are taking is a big one, and can be overwhelming, she loves being able to be part of that moment and helping them in their journey.
She loves her country’s food, the beauty of nature, and their old traditions. In her free time, she loves to spend time with friends and family, taking care of dogs, reading, watching movies, cooking, learning new things, and traveling in and out of Costa Rica.
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Alex Camacho
Alex Camacho
Alex Camacho
Operations Support
Alex grew up in the province of Heredia, Costa Rica for 23 years, but 3 years ago he decided to leave the city for the beautiful mountains of Pérez Zeledón. Alex has a bachelor’s degree in Forest Management and Wildlife from the Universidas Técnica Nacional, hence his love and respect for nature and animals.
Alex’s family is the center of his life and from that he has learned to work hard to have a better future. When he joined Pure Life, Alex realized that serving others was an undiscovered skill and passion. He found a great team with the same goal, helping those who need an extra hand.
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Conrad Lippert
Conrad Lippert
Conrad Lippert
Clinical Assistant
Conrad is a second-year master’s student with 8 years of industry experience. As a therapist, his is approach is relationally based, somatic focused, and trauma-informed. Conrad believes healing happens in relationship and uses in-the-moment, here-and-now processing to accelerate growth. As a certified yoga instructor, Conrad has run the Yoga & Mindfulness curriculum at Pure Life for 5 years offering students opportunity and insight into their mind-body connection.
Conrad’s passion for self-discovery and helping others stems from his own journey. After graduating from Penn State University, Conrad deviated from the professional path to travel the world in search of meaning and purpose. After years of self-discovery and personal expansion, Conrad was guided to the Wilderness / Adventure Therapy Industry in an effort to give back and help others discover their path.
Pursuing a Master of Science in Counseling at Prescott College, Conrad found the clinical framework to encapsulate his years of learning from direct experience in the field, that healing is relational, embodied, and inseparable from who the person is at their core. When not in session with the students, you can find Conrad in the ocean or on his yoga mat. His daily practices are what hold him accountable to be his best version for others.
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Ari Terry
Ari
Ari Terry
Admissions Director
Ari attended Brigham Young University where she earned a degree in Communications and Public Relations. A couple of years after graduation she found the treatment industry. Her career began in admissions at a residential treatment center for girls in Utah, where she realized she had a passion for helping people and families in the mental health space and shifted her focus to developing marketing campaigns and events to spread awareness.
Throughout the years she has worked with hundreds of families, done events for referring professionals, and helped manage various treatment provider facilities. When she isn’t working, Ari loves to spend time with her husband and two boys and can often be found with a good book.
Diego López
Diego López
Diego López
Assistant Guide
