Jason and Amelia Caldwell have spent the better part of 2020 hanging out at home with their one-year-old son, Tristan. It’s a far cry from their usual routine of traveling, teaching, working out, and spending time with family and friends from all around the world.
Their story starts over a decade ago when a chance meeting in San Ramon led to a couple of dates in between crazy schedules. As Amelia’s school schedule at University of San Francisco and Jason’s work travels became increasingly mismatched, the blossoming relationship fizzled out. Jason never gave up hope, and with the help of a little liquid courage, he reached back out to Amelia at the end of 2012 and reconnected. They were finally able to schedule a date on New Year’s Eve Day.
“Because I wasn’t totally convinced she was attracted to me, I decided to make sure she knew how funny I was. We met at what was then La Boulange in Danville. After a two hour coffee that turned into lunch, we hugged goodbye and wished each other a ‘Happy New Year.’ 10 minutes later I received a text that read, ‘I had no idea how funny you are!’ At that point I knew I had her,” says Jason of his game plan to woo Amelia for good. The rest is history! They were married on November 21st, 2015 at St. Helena Catholic Church with a reception at the Greystone Castle. Both described the day in one word, “Perfect.”
Amelia is a school teacher and has worked in the SRVUSD for 8 years. In 2018 she was named “Teacher of the Year” at Stone Valley Middle School where she teaches sixth grade core. Teaching is her calling, and Amelia has earned the love and respect of her co-workers and students alike. Her passion for teaching and athletics combined a few years ago and she began teaching spin classes at a local gym as well as continuing to educate young minds.
Jason’s career is one for the record books – quite literally. He owns a leadership development company named Latitude 35. “We run management and leadership training courses for large organizations and business schools around the world.” As if traveling to different countries wasn’t adventurous enough, Jason has added another aspect of inspiration to his career. “Every year I build and train a team for one epic world record attempt. To date I have rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean twice, once in 2015, and again in 2016.” It was his successful win in 2016 that landed him and his team in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest team to ever row across the Atlantic Ocean. It took the four-man team 35 days, 14 hours and 3 minutes to complete “The World’s Toughest Row.” This amazing feat was all captured on film by the Oscar winning producers of Free Solo, so soon we will all be able to watch Jason and his team conquer the Atlantic Ocean.
When chasing world records is your passion, one is definitely not enough: and in 2018, Jason and his team from Lat 35 set another world record by becoming the first people to cross the world’s oldest desert, the Namib, on foot and unassisted. Jason and his teammates will shoot for another record (or two) in 2021 when they row from San Francisco to Hawaii in hopes of being the first team to ever win both the Atlantic and Pacific trans-ocean rowing races.
“We are fortunate to have clients around the world, which has given me the opportunity to travel to over 35 countries across my career, many of which Amelia has been able to travel with me.” One of the things that Jason and Amelia are looking forward to as Tristan grows older is being able to show him some of these amazing places they’ve gone. They’re excited to continue living a life full of adventure so that Tristan “can grow up to enjoy the adventures as well, but more importantly, understand the world better, gain perspective, and develop into a kind, accepting, and inclusive young man. It’s important for Amelia and I to show our son how lucky we are to live where we do, and that diversity is what makes our adventures so exciting.”
The Caldwells recently joined Diablo Country Club, where they’ve been able to meet and connect with fantastic families and enjoy the amenities of the club. Living near SRVHS means that Amelia and Tristan can stroll the Iron Horse Trail daily and the whole family can walk to all of the awesome shops and restaurants we have downtown. They realized that since Tristan was born there hasn’t been one walk through Danville where they haven’t spotted a friend or neighbor and stopped to chat. “It is and always will be one of our favorite parts of living in Danville.”
Although 2020 put a stop to their yearly travel plans, like a week in NYC, filled with traditions important to the Caldwells, it also comes with a silver lining – an even deeper appreciation of the town they live in. “We’ve thought about moving to other places, but in the end could never leave the magic of Danville. It has everything we could ask for, including great hiking and running trails just outside our front door, great restaurants, great weather, friendly neighbors, and great community leaders.”
By Alexandra Sullivan, Resident since 2017
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