Meet the Team
Darcy Ostrander-Damon
ᨒ𖠰 Founder and PrincipalDarcy spent 23 years in federal service managing programs that touched all 50 states, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia — and reaching far beyond our borders into some of the most demanding operating environments in the world. Her career took her through the State Department, USAID, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, and the National Guard Bureau, where she oversaw a portfolio exceeding three billion dollars. She designed women's leadership programs with lasting international impact, built compliance infrastructure under pressure, and led teams through conditions that demanded both technical precision and genuine human leadership.
She has since made her forever home in Linden, Virginia. The Blue Ridge Mountains are visible from her front door. Headwaters is not something she brought here from the outside — it is something she built from the inside, rooted in a place she loves and a community she is proud to be part of. She holds an MBA, a Women in Leadership certificate through Empower Global, and a paralegal certificate from George Mason University. She served nine years as an Assistant Scoutmaster and five years concurrently as a Venture Crew Advisor — and the co-founder sitting beside her is a big part of why..
They have both hiked, zip lined, paddled, and ridden horseback through the kinds of places Headwaters calls home. The outdoor programming this company offers is not abstract to either of its founders. It is lived.
Ace Damon
Co-Founder and Creative Director ᨒ𖠰Ace is the creative force behind Headwaters. They designed the brand mark by hand, and their photography and artwork define the visual identity of this company from the ground up. Pursuing a degree in music production and technology, Ace brings a creative instinct that runs deep — from lead theater roles and two years as color guard captain and choreographer, to District Choir recognition and a lifelong love of visual art and photography. What they create is not decoration. It is the language of this brand.
The outdoor credentials are just as serious. Ace earned the Arrow of Light when the Boy Scouts first opened membership, rose to Life Scout, held senior leadership positions including Senior Patrol Leader and New Scout Instructor, and completed two High Adventure expeditions alongside Darcy — a 50-mile kayak journey down the New River and a week-long open-water expedition to a deserted island off the coast of Florida.