Our Staff & Guides

Aaron Pruzan is the owner of Rendezvous River Sports and Jackson Hole Kayak School. As an instructor and coach, he has introduced thousands of people of all ages to the sport of kayaking since 1993. In 1996, Aaron founded the Jackson Hole Kayak Club to promote youth kayaking in the Jackson Hole area. In 2009, he began working with Teton Adaptive Sports to provide adaptive paddling opportunities in northwest Wyoming. This also includes working with Honoring Our Veterans and Rivers of Recovery who help provide outdoor experiences for returning veterans.

Will Taggart has been kayaking for 23 years, starting at 13 years old. He started out paddling with a trained slalom C-1 racer, Timothy Trezise, and practiced in Logan, UT on the local runs, including a slalom course on the Logan River. The “Ender Hole” was his first play spot on the Logan River, where some of the first controlled cartwheels were happening in the industry. After graduating from Utah State University, Will moved to Jackson, WY for the long paddling season that he missed out on living in Utah. He has since been involved with the paddle sports industry, working at Rendezvous River Sports for over 10 years now. Still paddling nearly every day with the Rendezvous crew, his passion for kayaking lives on.

Max is from Atlanta where he started outdoors fishing with his father. He attended Young Harris College in North Georgia focusing on outdoor education. He graduated from Brevard College in western North Carolina with a degree in Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education. While attending school in the southern Appalachian mountains, he fell in love with kayaking. After a brief stint back in Atlanta he realized it wasn’t for him and moved to Jackson, Wyoming.

Jonathan started paddling in Vermont when he was 8 years old. At age 12 he made the US Cadet SL team and at age 15 the Junior US Slalom Team. He spent the next 4 years traveling around North America and Europe racing and competing in freestyle events including the Jr. Slalom World Championships in Bratislava Slovakia and the Men’s Freestyle World Championships in Ottawa Canada. At age 15, Jonathan also found his passion for teaching kayaking at the local camp Adventure Quest. He took his first ACA Instructors course in 1998 when he was 16 years old and used his skills to teach kayak lessons and coach Slalom and Freestyle through high school. After graduating high school, Jonathan went to Colorado College (go Tigers) in Colorado Springs where he found his niche in the Outdoor Recreation Committee (ORC) teaching kayaking, backcountry skiing, and backpacking to his colleagues. For Jonathan’s Senior Project for his Environmental Science Degree at CC, he traveled to Chile and studied the Environmental and Economic impacts of Hydroelectric Power on the Biobío and Futaleufu rivers.

In 2002 during summer break from CC Jonathan moved up to Jackson, WY to teach kayaking at Rendezvous River Sports/Jackson Hole Kayak School. He continued to work there during the summer seasons until 2004 when Jonathan graduated from CC and moved to Jackson full-time. In the fall of 2004, Jonathan traveled to Costa Rica to coach freestyle and teach Math and Science for the New River Academy’s Huge Experiences program. He returned to Huge Experiences for the fall semester 2005 as the Associate Head of School, Head Math Teacher, and Freestyle coach. He traveled around eastern North America and New Zealand teaching, coaching, and kayaking. In the Spring of 2006 Jonathan took a Professional Instructors Course with The National Outdoor Leadership School and over the years has worked several kayak, raft, and canoe courses in the Rocky Mountains with NOLS.

Jonathan currently lives in Jackson, WY with his wife Charlotte and son Arlo. He is a manager for the Jackson Hole Kayak School, the Head U14 ski racing coach for the Jackson Hole Ski Club, and sits on the boards of the local non-profit Jackson Hole Kayak Club and Snake River Fund. He is a Wilderness First Responder, ACA Certified Level 5 Swift Water Rescue Instructor, ACA Certified Level 4 Whitewater Kayak Instructor-Trainer.

Andy Lex was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and has always had a love of the outdoors. His passion for teaching began at the age of 17 when he started guiding rock-climbing in the Wyoming backcountry. This was just the beginning of his outdoor education experiences. After high school graduation, Andy moved to Steamboat, Colorado to pursue his love of snowboarding, rock climbing, and whitewater kayaking. Andy spent the summers of 2003 – 2004 working for High Cascade Snowboard Camp in Mt. Hood, Oregon, and the summers of 2005-2007 as a rock climbing guide for Rocky Mountain Ventures and kayak instructor at the Mountain Sports Kayak School in Steamboat, Colorado. Finally, at the age of 23, Andy pursued his interest in personal scholarship; taking a hiatus from ski-town life to attend Colorado State University where he earned a BS, Business Administration. After graduation, Andy fulfilled a life-long dream and moved to Jackson, Wyoming to work in the mountains and on the rivers. Andy has worked as a field instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School and served as Head Snowboard Coach for the Jackson Hole Ski and Snowboard Club’s freeride program. At this writing, Andy is pursuing a Master’s degree in Education, Leadership, and Policy – specializing in teaching adult learners. Andy is a certified American Canoe Association (ACA) L4 Whitewater Instructor. ACA L4 Swift Water Rescue Instructor. ACA L3 Stand Up Paddle Board Instructor. NOLS/WMI Wilderness First Responder. This summer Andy will be working on select courses with his returning guests. This will be Andy’s 9th season teaching for the Jackson Hole Kayak School.

JT learned how to kayak in college and has spent every summer since on the river, raft guiding and teaching kayaking in Maine and New York before moving to Wyoming in 2020. This will be JT’s 6th season guiding Rendezvous River Sports. JT thrives spending my time outside and sharing their passion for these places and kayaking as a means of exploring them. “Rendezvous has been my favorite company to work for because the management is genuinely excited to grow and make powerful changes to improve both guests and guides experiences, the environmental impact we have, and the example we set for everyone recreating in the spaces we share. It’s a collaborative workplace where everyone’s varied experiences are valued and taken into consideration as we move forward in the ever changing outdoor recreation industry.” – JT

Kase started working Rendezvous River Sports in 2014 and since then has worn many hats. You might remember him as the angry leprechaun in the shop, or the guy that bought the Jack’s plastic welding fat cat, which hung in the shop for many years. 

Kase likes Rendezvous River Sports because it has the perfect combination of Professionalism and Shenanigans

Priya’s love for the outdoors started when she was camping at just two weeks old in Northern Wisconsin. Fast forward a few years to her spending college in Duluth, Minnesota, discovering the most exciting recreation she could’ve ever dreamed of. While attending UMD for a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Outdoor Education, Priya developed a passion for snowkiting, whitewater kayaking, prone and SUP surfing, along with paddleboarding on rivers and large lakes. This stroke had to be spread by working with UMD’s Outdoor Program as a student staff instructor. After gaining hours of experience and developing skills in these sports, Priya progressed to lead overnight sea kayak trips and training throughout islands on Lake Superior (the world’s largest freshwater lake by surface area). She also assisted in whitewater canoe training for young expedition camp leaders. Some of her favorite opportunities included leading freshmen on a week-long paddleboard trip up the North Shore and creating a program to teach Pilates/yoga on SUPs on the great lake. Surrounded by opportunities on water, Priya is ACA certified in whitewater kayak and stand-up paddleboard instruction and has been a part of the first season of Rendezvous’s overnight Jackson Lake sea kayak trips. She looks forward to sharing her stoke with you.

Kat lives in Jackson and works in the shop at RRS. She loves to do gear repair, kayak, and surf. She learned to paddle at camp in North Carolina, and looks forward to seeing you around on one of our local rivers.

Bella is a kayak instructor for RRS. She learned how to kayak in the PNW with the Puget Sound Kayak Club and this will be her 6th summer working as an instructor for Rendezvous. She has explored rivers around the west and internationally and is excited to teach others the skills they need to get on the water.

Mich is excited to be coming back to RRS for her second season! After getting into whitewater kayaking at UVM, Mich has been passionate about getting out on the water with new and old friends alike, especially in places as majestic as the Tetons. Mich believes paddlesports is the best way to see the world from a new perspective, and to deepen your connection to nature!

From deep pow turns to running the river, you can find Eric outside 99% of the time exploring the greatest playground. Working at RRS gives Eric the opportunity to share the joy of being on the water. Whether it’s a scenic float, lake trip or running the whitewater, there is always fun to be had!

“I should have been an otter, but since I’m a human I just spend my time in a kayak and try to do a good imitation.”

Charlie thinks everyone should try out the otter imitation game, so I work at Rendezvous to help people get in the river and do just that.

Taylor is a ACA L4 Kayak instructor originally from the beautiful state of Oregon! Taylor loves all water sports from kayaking, to surfing, to scuba diving. Taylor loves working at Rendezvous River Sports because she gets to teach and show people about the importance and beauty of our bodies of water all while getting to recreate in the most stunning outdoor spaces!

Emily is a nature lover, and being on the river is one of her favorite ways to spend her time and connect with great people. Emily likes working at Rendezvous so she can share that experience with more people as well as learn more from and fully immerse herself in the community.

Gracie grew up in Colorado right next to the Arkansas River and has since loved the river and being near water. Rendezvous River Sports was the first place that Gracie called home when she moved to Jackson, and since then has developed even more appreciation for the river and the amazing people that it brings together. Gracie has a passion for photography and a great love for the outdoors and tries to combine the two as much as possible.

Sydney is a guide and instructor at RRS.  He grew up in California and learned to kayak on the Merced River, which flows through Yosemite National Park.  After raft guiding in California and paddling across the West, he moved to Jackson to teach kayaking in 2024, and also teaches skiing in Jackson Hole.

Noah Pruzan grew up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where a lifelong connection to the outdoors shaped his passions and lifestyle. Surrounded by mountains and rivers, he developed a love for adventure at an early age. Noah spends his time white water kayaking, skiing, and downhill mountain biking, constantly seeking new challenges and opportunities to push himself in the outdoors.

Jake is from Tennessee and started kayaking about 8 years ago on the Ocoee and Pigeon rivers. Since moving to Jackson, Jake has loved challenging himself on new rivers and rapids in the area. He also enjoys sharing the Snake River and National Parks of the region with new people as a guide.