Board of Directors
Arron Apperson – Executive Director, Rivian Clubs of America
Arron grew up in Colorado, where a passion for adventure, mechanics, and the outdoors took root early. He spent his childhood helping his father work on cars, trucks, and jet boats, while winters were dedicated to skiing and summers to camping and hiking. As a teenager, he rebuilt the 350 short block and rear end of his 1971 Orange GMC Jimmy, a truck that became his gateway to off-road exploration, towing ski boats, and mastering winter driving on icy parking lots in northern Illinois.
His love for the outdoors led him to California for college, where he worked at REI and began backcountry skiing in the Sierras. Later, he moved to Jackson, Wyoming, working for Jackson Hole Ski Corp.—spending summers on the Dynamite Crew and winters on the Race Crew. These experiences deepened his appreciation for the mountain lifestyle, avalanche safety, and the thrill of high-alpine adventure.
Academically, he pursued a double major in Chemistry and Environmental Resource Engineering, specializing in climate modeling. He spent three summers at NASA Ames Research Center in the Remote Sensing Department, contributing to a program that helped educators integrate science into their curriculum. Today, he applies his technical expertise as an Engineering Technology and Construction & Trades instructor at a local high school, fostering hands-on learning and problem-solving skills in the next generation.
In 2022, after taking delivery of his Red Canyon R1T, he embarked on extensive travels across the West Coast, logging 74,000 miles and forging connections within the growing Rivian community. That same year, alongside Ben Williams, Timothy O’Connor, and Cammie Clark, he co-founded the Bay Area Rivian Club—just as the Rocky Mountain RC and Florida RC were forming. Recognizing the need for a national organization to unite and support Rivian clubs across the country, he joined forces with Ryan, Scott, and Jimmy to establish Rivian Clubs of America.
As Executive Director of RCA, he is dedicated to building a thriving community of Rivian owners, fostering adventure, and strengthening connections among members nationwide.
Ryan Reel – Founding Board Member, Rivian Clubs of America
Ryan’s passion for automotive and outdoor exploration has been a constant thread throughout his life. Raised in a family steeped in cars, he was wrenching on vehicles from an early age and developed a deep connection to the world of motorsports, which led him to road racing in his 20s. His childhood was equally shaped by a love for the outdoors, with camping, spelunking, hiking, and multi-week backpacking trips woven into his formative years. This early exposure to nature expanded into a broader passion for adventure as he entered his 20s, where he embraced activities like scuba diving, skydiving, and rafting.
During his time living in Australia, Ryan worked as a Divemaster, further enhancing his outdoor skills and experiences. While in Australia friends introduced him to Overlanding, a pastime that uniquely combined his love for vehicles with his thirst for outdoor adventure. Overlanding soon became a key part of his life, a perfect synergy of his automotive passion and his drive to explore the natural world.
Ryan’s diverse experiences in both the automotive and outdoor realms led him to co-found the Rocky Mountain Rivian Club and Rivian Clubs of America. As a board member for Rivian Clubs of America, Ryan is deeply committed to fostering a vibrant, passionate community that thrives on shared values of sustainability, adventure, and innovation. He is a strong believer in the power of electrified transport and its potential to pave the way for more responsible exploration and environmental preservation.
Drawing from a lifelong love of vehicles and the great outdoors, Ryan strives to ensure the Rivian community not only grows but thrives—championing a future where adventure and sustainability go hand in hand, inspiring others to embrace the spirit of exploration in a responsible, electrified world.
Romy Vreeland – National Secretary, Rivian Clubs of America
Romy is a proud New Jerseyan whose love of the water is only surpassed by her love of driving. She discovered Rivian at the NY Auto Show in 2019 and knew it was her ideal vehicle, and then fell in love with the company as she learned more about its sustainability ethos, commitment to quality, and fabulous staff.
In her professional life, Romy focuses on nonprofit governance and board management, and loves finding creative ways to help boards support their organizations. She got her start in fine arts at Syracuse University, thinking she’d be an animator, but realized she was better at synthesizing art history and fine arts management. After studying art history and museum administration for her masters at University of Southern California, she returned to the East Coast to work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, managing the art acquisition program there and then managing its General Counsel’s Office and Board of Trustees. She has since managed the boards at Consumer Reports, HSS, and NYU, and offered advice to numerous nonprofit administrators along the way. She is honored to work with the RCA in this capacity.
When not glamping in or driving her R1T and listening to classic rock and 80s electronica, she enjoys reading high-quality true crime nonfiction and scifi, cooking and baking just about everything and anything, and trying new restaurants from holes in the wall to fine dining with her husband Sam.
Bruce Crunican – Membership and Chapter Director, Rivian Clubs of America
Bruce is a proud Oregonian through and through. Born and raised in the suburbs of Western Portland, he learned at an early age the beauty and diversity of the Pacific Northwest. After graduating from the University of Oregon, he chased a career in insurance up and down the West Coast. With stops along the way in Washington, California, and Idaho, he learned to appreciate the beauty of each, along with the differences that make each location and population unique. Luckily, his job brought him back to Oregon, where he built a home a block away from his old grade school. Dorothy said it best, “There’s no place like home.”
Bruce learned early in life the joys of hiking, biking, backpacking, and camping with friends, many of whom he still kicks around with to this day. Over the years, he’s managed to hike several stretches of the Pacific Crest Trail through the Oregon and Washington Cascades and always enjoys the chance to walk the pristine beaches of Oregon, play in the snow on Mt. Hood, or raft some of the State’s wild rivers. He also loves all of popular and lesser known hikes throughout the Columbia River Gorge, one of the most unique places on Earth. Those two passions come together on one stretch of trail known as Eagle Creek. With much of the trail carved into the Basalt wall that defines the creek’s gorge, the 14-mile roundtrip from the Columbia River to Seven Mile Falls is something everyone should experience at least once (provided you don’t have a pronounced fear of heights).
Bruce has a belief that the world is nothing more than 8 billion people he has yet to meet. To that end, he’s spent much of the last seven years traveling the world like never before. After extensive trips to Central America, Europe, Oceana, and all around Southeast Asia a few times, he’s finding that his Rivians allow him to explore parts of the Pacific Northwest and beyond that were out of reach in lesser vehicles. He also enjoys letting those who’ve never experienced an EV take one of his for a test drive. Seeing that patented Rivian Perma-grin appear on a test-driver’s face never gets old for Bruce.
His love for Rivian started the night he discovered an article about Rivian and RJ Scaringe in early 2019. That same night, after scouring the Internet for stories about RJ and his dreams, Bruce took the plunge, clicked the button, closed his laptop, went to bed, and never looked back. Being home alone and fairly isolated through the pandemic, Bruce found a wonderful community of like-minded Rivian lovers online. Being a tech Luddite, he dipped his toes into that whole interweb thingy and jumped in as “DuckTruck” on a few sites, and actually joined the rest of the modern world in the ways of social media. Many a late night found him conversing with people scattered around the country about any number of topics.
Throughout these past five years, Bruce has built a wonderful circle of friends, many he considers family. He’s visited a number of these people and has vacationed with several, as well. While he’s focused his travels on visiting with them, he’s also getting to as many Rivian events as he can. This not only allows him to meet more owners around the U.S. and Canada, but also the team of people designing and building these absolutely game-changing vehicles. These visits and relationships have truly been life-changing for him.
Chatty Bialeschki – Board Member, Rivian Clubs of America
Chatty Bialeschki has been an outdoor enthusiast her whole life and has recently become a Rivian enthusiast. She grew up camping, hiking, canoeing, and riding bikes. The desire to be outside and be active only grew throughout the years as she and her husband, Heath became actively involved in endurance sports such as marathons, triathlons, and epic cycling adventures. Today, she and her husband continue to spend as much time as possible outside and the Rivian has only enhanced their outdoor experience. Furthermore, it has opened up a new world of traveling off road.
Chatty’s Rivian story started with the need to buy a second car when moving to San Diego. In discussing vehicle options, her husband mentioned Rivian as an option. After quickly dismissing the idea saying “I don’t know what a Rivian is”, she looked at the website. It only took a few seconds before she was sold. The technology and quality of the Rivian was superior to other vehicles and it was clear the storage options were endless, making camping, paddle boarding, cycling and other sports even better. She told her husband to “buy it now” only to learn what every other Rivian reservation holder experienced: you had to wait. Bummed out that her instant desire for the R1T would not be fulfilled, she continued to do more research and eagerly await the day when the reservation turned into reality. Little did she know when they bought the Rivian they would gain a community.
The Rivian community has been an amazing opportunity to make connections in the region and across the nation. It’s hard to imagine how the transition to San Diego without the Rivian Club would be. The people are amazing and we get to do great things for the community while being outside. Chatty is excited to bring her passion for outdoor adventure and her professional experience in strategy and technology to the RCA.
Ben Williams – Board Member, Rivian Clubs of America
Ben has always been a builder and an explorer at heart—whether it’s crafting complex systems as a technical architect, hiking rugged trails, or going overboard with gadgets in his smart home. He grew up in St. Louis, where his love for problem-solving started early, often with a screwdriver in one hand and a half-disassembled toy or gadget in the other. Building with LEGO bricks was the highlight of his childhood, and before long, that creative energy turned toward vehicles—both driving them and wrenching on them.
For years, nearly every vacation pulled Ben out west. He was drawn to the towering mountains, breathtaking waterfalls, ponderosa pines, bluebird skies, and fresh, white snow—it always felt like where he truly belonged. In 2019, he and his wife made that dream real, moving to the Bay Area for work. There, Ben helped launch the Bay Area Rivian Club, connecting with fellow Rivian owners who shared his passion for off-roading, camping, and outdoor adventure. Ben is the proud owner of a matte-wrapped Limestone R1T Quad Motor that he has enjoyed countless hours off-roading in.
In 2023, now with two beautiful daughters in tow, Ben and his wife relocated to the Reno/Tahoe area. He stayed deeply involved in the Rivian community by joining the Sierra Nevada Rivian Club—first as Vice President and now serving as President. He’s also been part of the RCA tech team since day one, lending his technical skills to help build and maintain the systems that keep the wider Rivian community connected.
Ben’s passion for projects never stops. He’s always juggling a handful of hobbies; from 3D printing, electronics, and home automation to remodeling the family’s travel trailer for their next big camping trip into the Eastern Sierras. Whether he’s hiking a new trail, carving fresh snow, or planning the next Sierra Nevada Rivian Club event, Ben is always chasing the next challenge or adventure – and he wouldn’t have it any other way.