Team AdvenChair
Every AdvenChair off-road wheelchair is built with insight, innovation, and passion.
The AdvenChair is a human-powered, off-road wheelchair that’s been more than a dozen years in the making. From the first time Geoff Babb tried to go for a ride to the park in his wheelchair and promptly did a face plant as the front wheels got stuck in a crack in the sidewalk, he and his wife Yvonne have been looking for ways to create a hiking wheelchair that can handle all types of terrain, as well as for people who can help them make it. Here’s more about the core team members who have made the AdvenChair what it is today.
Geoff Babb
AdvenChairman of The Onward Project, LLC and the visionary of the AdvenChair, Geoff was an avid backpacker, climber, and mountain biker when his access to the outdoors was interrupted by a near-fatal brain-stem stroke in 2005. Not one to be denied, Geoff has persisted in his mission to make wild places accessible to those of all abilities. Despite a second stroke in 2017 and a global pandemic in 2020, he has worked with his family and friends to create a chair that can travel over the rugged terrain near his home in the mountain town of Bend, Oregon. Or anywhere else for that matter.
AdvenChairman Geoff Babb and head Chair Leader Yvonne Babb
Yvonne Babb
In addition to being Geoff’s wife of 35 years, his primary caregiver, and the head Chair Leader on most of his adventures, Yvonne is a housekeeper, teacher, designer, naturalist, and a mother of twin (now adult) sons. She also manages to run a sustainable landscape business known as Your Garden Companion. Whether on the trail or in town, Yvonne is keenly aware of the weight, ergonomics, and packability of wheelchairs in general, and specifically the AdvenChair, and has made significant contributions to its design.
Jack Arnold
Jack is a design engineer and native of Southern California who spent most of his free time camping, backpacking, hunting, and fishing in the Sierra Nevada range. He moved to Bend in 2004 and got involved with the AdvenChair project in May of 2017 after seeing Geoff’s vision for version 2.0. He used his engineering and design expertise along with SolidWorks 3D CAD and Ansys Discovery to complete the manufacturing documentation and simulation testing. He is truly the mastermind behind the design and production of the AdvenChair and is excited to lead the completion of the first production run.
Dale Neubauer
A backcountry enthusiast, aviation tooling designer and helicopter mechanic, Dale is the inventor of the Heli-LadderTM, a portable, multi-level maintenance ladder for aircraft. A long-time family friend of Geoff and Yvonne, he was the point man in developing the original AdvenChair. Dale brings not only the attention to detail required in the aviation world but also the experience of a successful small business owner working in a niche market with government contracts.
Brian Leininger
Brian has been volunteering his time with AdvenChair since January 2019, lending his expertise with a variety of startups to help the team get established. He is passionate about helping those with mobility challenges since working as the VP of Operations for San Francisco-based LIM Innovations, maker of the world's first modular, adjustable prosthetic socket. Brian sees a lot of parallels between the two ventures, including utilizing modularity as a key design element, allowing the AdvenChair to grow with the user over time. Brian now works for a marketing consultancy focused primarily in the higher education sector. A native of San Diego, Brian can now be found with his wife and daughter enjoying all of the wild places Central Oregon has to offer.
David Green
A life-long outdoorsman, David grew up hiking, canoeing, backpacking, cycling and, after moving north from Oklahoma, nordic skiing – all activities he enjoys today living in Bend, Oregon. He spent his career with the US Forest Service, ultimately leading national-level information projects and managing a team of information specialists working across the country on special projects. Upon moving to Bend in 2015, he met Geoff and became an enthusiastic proponent and mule for the AdvenChair. Since retirement in 2019, he has led the AdvenChair planning and documentation processes, including the writing of the Field Guide and Users Manual, and has greatly facilitated getting the AdvenChair to market.
John Hunsaker
Geoff's friend of over 60 years, John (and Geoff) were both born and raised in White Salmon in the beautiful Columbia Gorge. Many days and nights were spent hiking, camping and exploring all there was to see and do. After a long career in sales and business management, John has recently retired and is excited to be helping on the sales and business development side of the AdvenChair. John and his wife of 40 years currently live in Eastern Washington and enjoy spending time in Kona Hawaii when time allows. His profile picture was taken on top of Mauna Kea on the big island.
The Trail Testing Team
While many people have rolled boldly with AdvenChair, a core group of “mules” has been essential to the testing and continual improvement of the version 2.0 prototype, including the laborious process of drafting and editing the Owner's Manual, Field Guide and Trail Notes. This includes Dave Green, Jack Arnold, Brian Tandy, Amy Kazmier, Dale and Susie Neubauer, Dave and Susan Zimmerman, and Yvonne Babb. AdvenChairing is indeed a team sport!
Special thanks to our partners:
and High Desert Design