Our rafting guides love being on the river whenever they can. Their enthusiasm shows when they are working on any of our California rafting trips. In the off season they can be found on the local rivers like the Yuba and North Fork American when the flows are good. Many have rafted the Grand Canyon, as well as notorious international rivers as the Futaleufu in Chili and numerous others throughout Mexico and Central America.
Their love for rafting and being on the river is infectious. They share their enthusiasm for the rivers and their knowledge of surrounding environments and ecology on our trips. Raft California prides itself on the excellence of its well-qualified and personable employees. If you are looking to join our team please check out our employment page.
Jeremiah Copper
Title: Owner / Raft Guide / Driver
Hometown: Zanesville, Ohio
Rafting Since: 1990
Favorite River Trip:
Jeremiah grew up in the Appalachian foothills of south eastern Ohio. His family went on a rafting trip in West Virginia when he was 9 years old. After the trip they visited the gift shop and he bought a patch with his vacation allowance. It is safe to say, that after that family rafting trip, Jeremiah was hooked on white water. To this day, Jeremiah still adorns that patch on the back of his PFD (aka Life Jacket).
After high school, Jeremiah moved to West Virginia and trained as a river raft guide. The desire to see new rivers led him west where he started guiding in California. He eventually fell madly in love with a pretty girl named Eva guiding rafts for another company… skipping the sappy part…Eva and Jeremiah “grew up”, bought a house and while trying their hands at “real jobs”, they found out they were expecting a child. They decided at that point, that the river community was the place for them.
That’s how Jeremiah became a rafting outfitter! He (Eva and their now 2 kids) have spent the last 5 years building a family friendly business that is dedicated to delivering experiences that can change your life when you’re 9 years old!
Jeremiah loves spending time with his family. He and Eva guide many trips together and will usually bring their two boys with them on the river, especially for multi-day rafting & camping adventures. Request them for your next river trip and you will get the whole family experience! We hope we will have the opportunity to go on an adventure with you and be part of a memorable moment in your life.
Dave o
Title: Operations Manager – Maupin Outpost
After getting out of the Army, Dave O admits, he was kinda lost. He was unsure what he wanted or where he wanted to be and bounced around from from one unsatisfying job to another, year after year. On his 25th birthday, his folks gifted him a 7 day whitewater school experience. He had never even been rafting before and was very excited for a new experience. Day 1 didn’t go as he had imagined – he was trying to be a “boater” (in the boat), but often found himself a swimmer (out of the boat). It was a shocking & eye-opening introduction to the raw power of the river. 19 years after his guide training, Dave O craves time on the water. “I have learned to respect the power of the current and use it to get where I want to go. I have found joy, peace, challenge and fulfillment running the river with friends and strangers alike.”
Dave O runs our Deschutes River operations in Maupin and would be delighted to show you, your co-workers, friends and family, this wonderful thing called rafting, that changed his life.
Jenny Ward
Title: Marketing & Merch Manager
Hometown: Carlisle, Massachusetts
Rafting Since: 1998
Favorite River Trip: East Carson River
When Jenny was 16, she went on a 4 week outdoor adventure trip with several other teenagers. The main focus was biking, from Seattle to San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway 1. This was her first trip to the west coast and the crew biked the entire Oregon Coast, it was magical. As part of that trip, the team went inland for a white water rafting river trip. They spent 2 days rafting and camped mid-river on a beach, under the starts – again, it was magical. That biking/rafting/camping trip made a huge impact on Jenny, her desire to be outdoors grew & west started to call to her.
Jenny moved to Colorado for her college years, and obtained a Bachelors Degree in Environmental Design from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She spent a few more years in Breckenridge working several jobs in the outdoor industry, before a chance encounter brought her to Auburn, CA. During that visit in the winter of 2006 Jenny was en route to Kirkwood to go snowboarding on Highway 49 (from Auburn to Highway 50). While crossing over the rivers she had clear memories of her rafting trip – it just so happened she was back at the same place she went rafting 8 years prior, the South Fork American River!
Jenny made the final push to the west coast, moving to Auburn, CA in the Fall of 2006 & took up Inflatable Kayaking the following spring, started on the Lower Middle Fork American and South Fork American Rivers. She still had not been back on a raft, but very much desired to go rafting again. In 2010, while looking for a summer job, Jenny answered a Craigslist advert for a reservationist job at a local rafting company, Tributary Whitewater Tours.
She clearly got the job, and since then, Jenny’s role at Tributary has grown and morphed throughout the years, from reservations helper, to marketing, website work, graphic design and management. You will often find Jenny and her 2 sons at the Lotus outpost helping in the Camp Store, or running around with the other “Trib Kids”.