SCOTT NEFF

Team Member

Originally from Chicago, Scott Neff grew up between Arizona and Michigan—two places that made it clear he wanted to end up somewhere with both mountains and rain. Scott earned a degree in International Relations, which took him to China for a semester at the University of Nanjing, and then, after graduation, to DC, where he worked in refugee resettlement. 

While the work felt meaningful, the pace of a job in social work in the big city didn’t quite click, so, just before the pandemic hit, Scott took his sister up on an offer to crash with her in The Dalles while he figured out his next move. One look at the Columbia River Gorge and he was hooked. What was supposed to be a temporary stop turned into home. 

Scott spent a few years (too many) delivering mail for the Hood River Post Office–where he met a lot of good cats, a few bad dogs and worked way too many hours–before he decided it was time to follow his heart. Scott got into climbing back in college, but it wasn’t until he landed in the Gorge and connected with the Brimstone community that the spark really turned into something bigger.

When he’s not working or climbing, he’s probably out hiking, cooking something elaborate, playing DnD, geeking out over languages or history, jamming to music, or trying to mooch a cat off a friend.