Our Story

Wild Hearts Idaho was founded in 2016 by Maggie Benedetti, who was working at that time as a mental health counselor and social worker. She frequently worked with young women in crisis, and was drawn to create an organization that met the needs of girls and focused on prevention and empowerment. Through these experiences she realized first-hand the importance of creating a space for youth to belong, to build self-confidence and be supported in their growth.

Our story began with a question: “How can we empower teen girls to be courageous and confident leaders?”

From the beginning, the voice of girls has created who we are. Our first pilot adventure launched in May 2016 with a hike to Table Rock in Boise. 

Six teens joined us for this inaugural adventure, and we asked them to reflect on words that represented community, outdoor adventure, and togetherness with other women. Together, they chose our name: Wild Hearts Idaho.

Wild Hearts Idaho began with our participants: by girls, for girls.

Our very first pilot hike to Table Rock in April 2016

Our Programs

We are a girl-focused and girl-led organization. Our impact is centered on building leadership skills in teen girls, ages 12-18, through outdoor adventure.

Our programs combine outdoor adventure with girl leadership and community to create engaging and supportive experiences for girls to explore, grow, and lead.

Browse All Adventures

  • We bring girls ages 12-18 on outdoor adventures, all free of cost to participants, breaking through socioeconomic barriers. We provide all gear and our experienced outdoor Adventure Mentors teach leadership, technical, and outdoor skills to all participants.

    Our adventures include half-day, full-day, and overnight options, including:

    Hiking

    Backpacking

    Rafting

    Snowshoeing

    Rock Climbing

  • We already know the outdoors foster a sense of confidence that can change a girl’s life forever. We take our mentorship a step further with leadership training on every single adventure, for every single participant. This includes:

    Leadership Progression Model

    Youth Leadership Board

    Outdoor Leadership

  • We believe deeply in the value of community connection and its positive impact on young girls. Our programs operate with a girl-led, inclusive, and accessible model. Through building close ties among participants, volunteers, Adventure Mentors, staff, board members, and our wider community, we develop the community leaders of tomorrow.

Our Youth Leadership Board

Here at Wild Hearts Idaho, we practice what we preach. We’re an organization for girls, by girls, and our Youth Leadership Board allows us not only to develop deeper leadership skills with a select group of talented young women, but also to take input and direction from the population we’re serving.

2025/26 Youth Leadership Board Members

Vera Brooks, Riverstone International

Stella Fouch, Sage International

Lucia Cocozza, Boise High

Elyse Pippet, Sage International

Truly Iverson, Eagle High

Ella Timbers, Sage International

Meet the team

Our non-profit organization is lead by our Executive Director, Serena Rasmussen, alongside our executive committee and board.

Wild Hearts Team