Gianna Ossello

Gianna went on her first mountain bike ride 10 years ago on a rusty fully-rigged bike in her hometown of Golden, Colorado. Despite properly scraped up knees, she was hooked. She has ridden all across the US, from rooty tech in the Smokey Mountains to rock slabs in the Southwest. She eventually landed in Hood River, Oregon, where she coached mountain biking and built mountain bike trails. Long adventure rides in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest are her favorite.

She is equally passionate about science and earned her B.A. in Evolutionary Anthropology from Duke University. She began her career at Duke as a scholarship student-athlete on the lacrosse team. An opportunity to work at the Jane Goodall Research Institute motivated her to leave the team after two years – conveniently freeing up time for more mountain bike trips. After graduating, she worked at the Arizona Canine Cognition Center and the Lab for Evolutionary Endocrinology of Primates researching animal behavior and evolution.

Gianna has been in many different teaching roles, from coaching elite-level lacrosse, advising undergraduates on research projects, and coaching mountain biking/trail building. She is thrilled to be at the World Class Academy, where she can share her love and knowledge of biking and science with others.