Rebecca Carrillo Steinrueck

Rebecca Carrillo Steinrueck (she/her/ella) joined LandPaths in January 2024. As Youth Initiative Manager, she is dedicated to creating equitable opportunities for all youth to be rooted in nature. Born and raised in Southern California with Mexican-American roots, Rebecca is the youngest of three daughters and looks to the women in her family as models of leadership and strength. Drawn to the outdoors but lacking ready access, she grew up alongside her beloved dog and rabbit in the wilds of her backyard.  

Inspired by family vacations up the California coast, Rebecca attended the University of San Francisco and graduated with a BA in International Studies. She studied abroad in El Salvador where she worked at a cooperative, taught at the public school and learned to live in solidarity with the local community.  

She cut her teeth in education, directing after school and summer programs for Mission Graduates, a community-based nonprofit in San Francisco’s Mission District. These opportunities inspired Rebecca to build meaningful community experiences in all she does, especially with young people.  

Rebecca reconnected with her love of the outdoors when she moved to a rural retreat center in 2012 and co-led a travel and life skills building program called LEAPYEAR. There, she learned the value of intentional time in nature, no matter how far flung or close to home. From the tea highlands of Kerala, India to the oak-studded hillsides of Sonoma County, Rebecca saw that the most positive, transformative experiences for young people occur when they authentically connect with the natural environment around them.   

Most recently, Rebecca led a community-based youth program in San Francisco’s culturally rich and historically marginalized Tenderloin District. Through this work and especially in response to the pandemic, she increased access to outdoor education programming for young people of color in the neighborhood. Equity in access to the outdoors is incredibly important to Rebecca and a key motivation for her work at LandPaths.  

Rebecca lives in rural east Santa Rosa with her husband, dog, three sheep and two beehives. She is grateful to live close to the land and mark time by the rise and fall of the creek that runs alongside her house. After she finishes her farm chores, she loves to crochet, read mystery novels, travel to new places and cook delicious food for family and friends.