Administration Staff

Chief Operating Officer, M.Ed, WFR

Jacob Rothrock

As a kid, Jacob devotedly roamed the creeks, woods and field borders of North Carolina, staying out past dark whenever possible. He frequently had mosquito bites or poison ivy. 

He took his first WFR training as a sophomore at North Carolina State University, and it changed his world. He realized he had learned more in that nine-day course than the entire previous year of college; and he knew what his future would be. 

After earning a degree in outdoor recreation he worked an interesting series of outdoor jobs in the rivers, canyons and peaks of North Carolina, Maine, Colorado, New Zealand and Idaho. He landed at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where he ultimately ran the outdoor program. Those were formative years of introducing new people to his beloved wild places and mentoring future leaders.

As fate would have it, he met Nadia and Desert Mountain Medicine while doing a WFR recertification course. He was quickly impressed with the company’s culture, camaraderie and industry leading content. He also appreciates the importance of a solid team.

Jacob is known for climbing steep places with a heavy pack for fun. He has a master’s degree in education leadership and administration, and enjoys learning and teaching new skills. He is based in North Idaho, where he wanders the hills and streams with his wife Korrine and their daughter Siler, still trying to wring every bit of daylight out of each day. Together, they keep a robust backyard garden, forage for wild foods and play with their furry pal, Chella. 

Chief Executive Officer, MS, RN, WEMS

Nadia Kimmel

Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Nadia was drawn to the Rockies of Colorado as a young adult. She began leading students on month long backpacking trips around the West for various outdoor education companies. Much to her surprise the only medical training that was required of her was basic first aid and CPR certifications.

After completing her first Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course in 1992 she recognized the broader need for a more robust, field-based, wilderness medicine curricula designed specifically for outdoor professionals. Nadia pursued this newfound passion with her usual infectious intensity, and began teaching WFR courses soon thereafter. Her fascination with medicine lead to her receiving an EMT certification in 1994 and subsequently volunteering on SAR and working in various emergency departments around Colorado.

Before founding Desert Mountain Medicine (DMM), Nadia worked for the Wilderness Education Association as an outdoor educator. She also attended Colorado State University and earned a B.S. in Natural Resource Management.  Later she was asked to join Colorado Mountain College to help jump start their Outdoor Recreation Leadership program (ORL) in Leadville, CO after which she earned an M.S. in Forestry with an emphasis in Outdoor Recreation from Northern Arizona University. Her combined education and experience as a guide, outdoor educator, medical professional, and wilderness medicine instructor provided her with a solid foundation of knowledge, skills, and perspective to develop and run DMM under her own unique vision in 1998.

After founding DMM Nadia became the EMS coordinator and EMT instructor for Colorado Mountain College, which inspired her to pursue a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) from Regis University. Nadia continued to work as an ER nurse while cultivating DMM and its community from a fledgling, one-woman operation to the expanding business that it is today.

Over two decade later, Nadia continues to contribute to the field of wilderness medicine as part of the Wilderness Medicine Education Collaborative (WEMC) and as DMM’s Executive Director, focusing on curriculum development.

Program Logistics Coordinator, WEMT

Makena Gross

Makena was born and raised in Colorado, enjoying all the outdoor activities from a young age. Her interests and passions for the outdoors continued to grow during her time in college in Fort Collins, CO where she studied environmental sciences and worked for the Outdoor Program. Makena took her first WFR course while being a trip instructor for CSU, and immediately wanted to dive deeper into the world of wilderness medicine. She continued on to get her Wilderness EMT a few years later after working seasonal jobs as a ski instructor and kids summer camp instructor in the San Juans in Southern Colorado. Makena has spent the past few years using her Wilderness EMT skills as a ski patroller in Southern Utah, and most recently worked as the Assistant Ski Patrol Director for Brian Head Resort. One of her favorite parts about this position was being able to train, teach and empower new patrollers to help them realize their full potential, which is why she also loves teaching wilderness medicine with Desert Mountain Medicine. Her first WFR course was so empowering and transformative, and Makena hopes to build that confidence in others through providing practical, life saving skills!

Makena spends her free time skiing as much as possible throughout the year, taking her Australian shepherd on trail adventures of all kinds, and  road tripping to the desert to soak up the sunshine! She also loves to cook and branch out with new recipes with ingredients grown in her backyard.

Program Director, Director of Women's Wild Medicine, RN, WFR

Emily Tonish

Emily (she/her) grew up in Cañon City, Colorado, where she had a free range upbringing that included skiing, playing, exploring, and getting lost in the high desert and nearby mountains. Her adoration for the outdoors led her to seek out careers that aligned with her obsessions.  Accordingly, she has worked as a guide and outdoor educator since 2008.  She has experience in multiple disciplines, but has spent most of her professional time climbing, canyoneering, and rafting. Emily took her initial WFR course during her first degree in Outdoor Education and later completed her BSN, becoming a registered nurse in 2020. She has worked as an ER nurse in Colorado and urgent care nurse at the base of Big Sky Ski resort. Emily started teaching wilderness medicine for Desert Mountain Medicine and Colorado Community Colleges almost full time in April of 2022. Emily feels very fortunate that she’s able to combine her passions, outdoor education and medicine, by instructing wilderness medicine courses and supporting DMM’s instructors and students. She has a lot of fun passing along her knowledge and facilitating, what was for her, a life changing experience.

In Emily’s free time, she enjoys being outdoors with loved ones and dogs. She loves to climb, snow and split board, spend time on the water, and travel. She also enjoys her time inside with reading, cooking, and binge watching sci fi/thriller/fantasy shows.

Program and Partnership Development Coordinator, Writer/Editor, WEMS

Becky Young

Becky has been a WFR for 10 years and has been teaching for DMM for the past 3 years. As her students know, she is on a quest to become the Best WFR in the World, and encourages all her students and fellow alumni to join her on this quest. She is a Senior-level Command Staff member and Mission Coordinator for Lake County Search and Rescue, in Leadville, CO. Being on a SAR team provides her access to monthly medical training, an advantage she wishes more WFA’s and WFR’s had access to, and which led her to working on the DMM Alumni Project and serving as DMM’s Program and Partnership Development Coordinator.

Over the years Becky has worked as an English teacher, a private tutor, a youth outdoor educator, a lifty and snow bike instructor, a high ropes course guide, a zipline guide (though she prefers the title “Sky Ranger”), a grant writer, and a freelance writer and editor. Through her curious procession of job titles, she remained focused on developing her creative writing skills, and she’s proud to report her work has appeared in Alpinist Magazine, American Alpine Journal, and many literary magazines and journals around the nation. She often writes about her outdoor experiences and her slow crawl towards technical outdoor competence.

In the winter she shreds 30 degree backcountry slopes and gets her snowmobile stuck in beautiful places. In the summer she loves climbing mountains with no trails to the top and flailing on 5.10 climbing routes. During the shoulder seasons she and her husband, Chris (also a DMM instructor), go canyoneering, where her tiny frame feels like an honest-to-God superpower in Mae West slot canyons.