Our Team

Meet La Foret's Permanent, Year-round Staff

Rev. Logan Bennett

logan@laforet.org

Director of Transformational Programming

Born and raised in Black Forest, Logan has never lived outside of Colorado for more than a few months. Logan discovered the UCC as a teen and became very involved in her home church- First Congregational Church of Colorado Springs. After feeling called to ministry at the age of 18, she gained a BA in Sociology from Colorado College, and a Masters of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology in Denver. There are two things she is most passionate about: the joy of outdoor adventuring, and spreading the knowledge and experience of God’s extravagant, indiscriminate love through creative programming and worship. She is overjoyed to join these two passions in her position as Director of Transformational Programming at La Foret.

Melanie Brim
melanie@laforet.org

Director of Guest Services

Melanie and her husband Bill have lived in Black Forest since 2006 and can't imagine living anywhere else. Being a Colorado native, Melanie grew up camping, hiking, fishing and skiing. Her nature-inspired childhood developed an exceptional appreciation for the outdoors which she has passed on to each of her four adventurous children. She hopes to marry this love for nature with her experiences as regional director with a local non-profit to help foster the growth of La Foret. Her marketing and communications background along with office management skills will help her deliver the finest in customer service by providing knowledgeable and personal attention to each guest. If you don't run into her at one of our local coffee houses, you'll see her running on the local trails, competing in community races, or sharing her passion for running with our youth by coaching XC & Track for schools in our community.

Kala Walden

Director of Hospitality

Kala is La Foret's Hospitality Director and has been at La Foret since 2004. For the last five years, Kala has led a dedicated team of hard workers whose goal is to provide guests with a home away from home. Kala cherishes her time at La Foret and could not have chosen a better career. In her spare time, Kala enjoys taking hikes and smelling the trees.

Tim Cole

Buildings and Grounds Director

Originally from Dallas, Tim first came to Colorado on a camping trip at the age of 19, and from that day forward he had his sights set to make it his home. It took nearly 20 years, but Tim finally made it to Colorado and started working at La Foret in April of 2014.

"Never did I imagine I would end up in a place that captures the essence of Colorado like La Foret and Black Forest does. I love it here immensely. I am grateful every day for the challenge and opportunity to help La Foret, myself and the rest of the staff move into the future."

Brodie Walden

Head Cook

Brodie is one of our longest serving employees, and is a master in the kitchen as one of our head cooks. He can do almost any job at La Foret, and carries a great deal of the institutional memory for us.

"La Foret has always been a wonderful job, but more than that, it has helped me work on fears, to learn, to grow, to improve not just myself but all aspects of my life. If I could, I would live here."

Brad Carroll

brad@laforet.org

Executive Director

Brad has had a long career that includes, camp and conference center, restaurant work, health/dietary care food service, hotel management, sales and scheduling. Throughout his career, what he has enjoyed the most is; working with staff, planning, preparing and welcoming guests to camps, conferences and retreats. He strives to serve those he works with and all guests with the heart of a servant leader. In addition to career work, Brad has enjoyed serving at local churches in layperson roles, serving as scoutmaster of a local troop, and as an EMT with a local first responder crew.

Brad and his wife Marykay, have two grown sons. In their free time, Brad and Marykay enjoy traveling, camping, canoeing, hikes and leisurely walks.