Chelsea Rude

A former National Champion and longtime professional athlete, Chelsea has spent almost three decades immersed in the climbing world — not only as a competitor and climber, but as a mentor, coach, and advocate for accessible education. She began teaching women-specific climbing clinics in 2001 while still in high school, recognizing early on the transformative impact that supportive learning environments could have for women in a historically male-dominated sport.

Much of the work Chelsea has built through She Sends is rooted in her own experience growing up in climbing. Access to opportunities was not always guaranteed. She was only able to join a youth climbing team because she received a scholarship — an experience that shaped her understanding of how life-changing access, mentorship, and community support can be. Those early experiences continue to influence the values at the center of She Sends today: reducing barriers, expanding access to quality education, and creating spaces where people feel they belong.

Since 2001, Chelsea has traveled throughout the country teaching climbing clinics specifically designed for women climbers. Those experiences deeply shaped her philosophy around education, community, and leadership, reinforcing her belief that climbing can become a powerful tool for building self-trust, resilience, and connection when people feel genuinely supported.

Chelsea is also deeply committed to creating leadership pathways within the outdoor industry. She believes meaningful mentorship and opportunity can change the trajectory of someone’s life because it changed hers. Early in her teaching career, someone gave her the opportunity to step into a coaching role — an opportunity that ultimately grew into a coaching and mentorship career spanning more than two decades. Today, through She Sends Collective, she intentionally creates opportunities for guides, educators, and emerging leaders to develop their own voices, teaching styles, and leadership capacities within supportive community spaces.

Over time, that work evolved into what is now She Sends Collective — a nonprofit organization providing inclusive climbing education, mentorship, and community experiences for women and TGNC climbers. Under Chelsea’s leadership, She Sends has hosted more than 175 clinics, served over 1,200 participants, and subsidized more than $40,000 toward accessible climbing education.

Chelsea’s teaching approach is rooted in trauma-conscious education, autonomy, and the belief that growth happens differently for every individual. She is passionate about helping climbers build confidence not only in their technical skills, but in their ability to trust themselves, take up space, and move through the outdoors with greater agency and connection.

When she’s not teaching or organizing programs, Chelsea can be found climbing, trail running in the mountains with her dogs, exploring wild places, and soon to be pursuing her MBA in hopes of helping organizations grow sustainably and make deeper impacts for our community.