DMM hires instructors who work in medicine and are able to keep their fingers on the pulse of the medical field. DMM instructors are WFR’s, EMT’s, paramedics, PA’s, RN’s, flight medics, ER and trauma nurses. They’re also hikers, backpackers, mountain bikers, skiers, canyoneers, boaters, mountaineers, climbers, guides, SAR members, outdoor educators, and conservationists, just like their students. Click on the images below to learn more about DMM instructors.
Ashley has been an Outdoor Educator for 15 years., leading backpacking and mountaineering courses in Colorado, Alaska, and Patagonia for some of the biggest Guiding Companies in the world. She’s absolutely fascinated by the curious and sometimes tragic intersections between risk, chance, and human resilience in wilderness environments. This fascination led her to create and run her own podcast, “The Sharp End A Podcast from Accidents in North American Climbing,” published by American Alpine Club. “The Sharp End” garners 40,000 listeners per month and has over a million listens on Spotify! Her work reporting on wilderness accidents has convinced her how invaluable wilderness medicine skills are for backcountry users. Ashley teaches wilderness medicine because she feels strongly that the knowledge gained from taking a wilderness medicine course is very likely to come in handy one day, and there’s no reason why backcountry travelers shouldn’t be prepared. When she’s not working, actually, even when she is, Ashley’s specialty is having a great time on Planet Earth. She loves all things snow: snowmobiling, snowboarding, heli-skiing, and backcountry touring. When the snow melts, there’s nothing better than a rough-and-tumble bushwack-sufferfest to push herself and keep rediscovering where the edge is for her.
Must-have met kit item: a roll of medical tape. Your imagination’s the limit of what you can do with it.
After many years guiding and serving as the Operations Manager for Rocky Mountain Outfitters based out of Midway, UT, Becky is currently living the ski bum life in Utah. Though she’s really loving the storm cycles Utah’s been having this season, she’s looking forward to reentering the outdoor industry again this summer. Teaching wilderness medicine is the best of both worlds for Becky, as she loves the rigor of medicine and the environmental challenges of the outdoors. Outdoor recreation is a theme in Becky’s family; her sister is a climbing coach and program manager out of Portland, OR, and her parents are constantly rock climbing, kayaking, and biking. She has another sister in London, too, bless her city-slicker heart. Becky most loves outdoor activities where she can practice the art of suffering, which include mountain biking, snowboarding (front and backcountry), backpacking, and rock climbing. She considers herself pretty good at all these sports, and an absolute expert at puzzles and burrito making.
Must-have med kit item: Triangle Bandages!! Any previous student of mine can attest to that
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.
Ben is the Program Coordinator for the Southwest Conservation Corps. He recruits, trains, and supports young adults and military veterans as they pursue AmeriCorps terms of service performing conservation projects in South Central Colorado. When he’s not in the field, he works in an office with pink walls. This small fact of his work life makes him so very happy. As a WFA instructor, he recognizes how crucial it is that SCC participants know how to take care of themselves and each other. He teaches a lot of inexperienced people how to do dangerous work in remote locations, and the fact that very few of them get injured or sick is a testament to the effectiveness and value of wilderness medicine training. In his free time, Ben loves goobing around in the desert with his pup Hestia, which might include hiking, biking, canyoneering, or getting so, so lost.
Must-have med-kit item: Antihistamines… I’m allergic to everything
Billy started his outdoor career instructing and course directing for Outward Bound in Colorado, UT, Mexico, and Alaska, working long courses from 23-85 days mountaineering, rafting, canyoneering, and sea kayaking. Billy has worked as an avalanche practitioner in several diverse operational settings including backcountry ski guiding, ski patrolling, and avalanche forecasting. He has also taught avalanche courses for over 20 years and is currently an AIARE Rec 1 & 2 Course Leader and Pro 1 & 2 Instructor. Currently Billy is a lead guide for Irwin Guides and Eleven Experience in Crested Butte, Colorado working as a snowcat ski guide in the winter and guides many of summer’s activities. Billy has been a Wilderness EMT-B for 25 years and has patient care experience in ambulance, Search and Rescue, and Ski patrol settings. He has taught wilderness medicine for over 20 years with the Emergency Care & Safety Institute, NOLS Wilderness Medicine, and currently with Desert Mountain Medicine. Billy brings his years of diverse experience to create dynamic courses designed to prepare participants to care for patients and manage risk in real life situations.
Bob has been ski patrolling for 30 years, with 20 of those years at Taos. He’s also worked in Chile and Argentina. Currently at Taos he serves as Medical Department Lead, so he gets to be involved in a great deal of training for new and seasoned patrols, which he really enjoys. He loves the challenges of providing medical care and rescue in the austere environment. Plus, making someone’s crappy day a little bit better is a great thing to be able to do. As a teacher, he loves having the opportunity to pass along the knowledge of what works and what doesn’t to his students. There’s no sense in field staff learning this stuff in a vacuum; He’s learned what not to do so his students don’t have to make the same mistakes. As he nears the end of his patrol career, he’s excited to keep facilitating the skills development of a new generation of field staff, adventurers, responders, and patrollers through DMM. Bob has an amazing wife and two great kids. Their best fun together comes in the outdoors, where they fly fish, mountain and road bike, and just hang out in the woods.
Must-have med kit item: Imodium, for obvious reasons.
Brent (he/him) made his way to Colorado from South Carolina to work at summer camp, then worked in outdoor education for several years before starting a career in emergency medicine. Now, Brent is a WEMT Ski and Bike Patroller at Copper Mountain and works part-time at the Vail Health Hospital as well as teaching for DMM. Most often, you can find Brent cooking his signature dishes, staring at maps in his personal adventure compendium, playing cribbage, or exploring the mountains in his backyard.
Casey is a globe-trotting science nerd. She works in communities impacted by mining and hazardous industries. Her organization supports governments and local leaders by building skills in identifying and addressing environmental issues that impact people’s health. Her job allows her to blend international travel and grassroots community work where she’s continually confronted by the general greatness of people all over the world. Casey is an EMT and a WFR, skills she uses regularly during her work in low resources settings abroad. While much of her work is community-based, the settings often meet the criteria for backcountry limitations. Casey’s not a guide, yet she’s experienced both sides of a wilderness emergency, as a patient and a care provider, so she understands how incredibly important it is for everyone to have the knowledge and tools to deal with an emergency. She’s a master of much, including sitting on a raft while someone else avoids the holes, grandma’ing down what everyone else would call a “green” single track on her crappy mountain bike, and obtaining directions via pantomiming.
Must-have med kit item: I have a pinky finger sized SAM splint that was given to me as a joke years ago that I know I’ll need some day. For something
Chase is the oldest of 7 kids, raised in the great state of Kansas. In 2014 he moved to Red River, New Mexico, a place with “vastly superior climate and outdoor opportunities”. There, he sought out various roles in outdoor education at the Red River Ski area such as teaching skiing to youth and as a ropes course supervisor. Additionally, he worked as a Ranger at the Philmont Scout Ranch.
Chase obtained his first Wilderness First Responder certification in 2008 and eventually continued on to obtain his EMT-I. Teaching Wilderness Medicine is a great combination of three things that Chase loves; EMS, teaching, and being outdoors. He loves teaching the next generation of Wilderness Medicine students and believes that there is no substitute for a tactile learning experience and good humor. When Chase isn’t teaching he works as an EMT-I in Northern New Mexico on an ambulance and at the Taos Ski Valley clinic.
On his days off, you can find him sociably skiing or tapping into his more introverted side while riding his motorcycle through curvy mountain roads.
Chris Moon lives and loves DMM’s core instructional philosophy: learning through experience. He’s a Firefighter/Paramedic for the City of Billings Fire Department, where he routinely employs a combination of hands-on work and experiential problem-solving to get the job done, whatever it may be. Chris likes fighting fire, he likes being a medic, but he loves cutting cars apart. It’s the ultimate hands-on problem to be solved! Chris also patrols part-time for Big Sky Resort, and volunteers with Big Sky Search and Rescue. Chris has been teaching for DMM for 6 years, and has served on the Board of Directors for 4 years. As an instructor, he loves DMM’s experiential approach to learning, and the flexibility to share his experiences with his students. He’s passionate about empowering his students to learn and use street level skills such as improvisation, care prioritization and professionalism in the backcountry. On the board, Chris runs the CEU (continuing education credits) program for instructors. Chris lives with his lovely wife and their three beautiful cats, and they are proud to be the crazy-cat neighbors of their neighborhood. They like to ride bikes, ski deep blissful powder, raft long rivers, and sail Bluewater sailboats. The cats enjoy sunbathing and singing love songs to the moon.
Must-have med kit item: My mind OR triangle bandages + sharpies. Definitely the trifecta of mind + triangle bandages + a sharpie.
Chris first discovered his affinity and talent for medicine during a college WFR course, and has been working in medicine ever since, first as an EMT for various ambulance services in the mountains of Colorado, and now as a paramedic, having barely survived the year of being back in school after an 8 year academic hiatus. Chris has also served on Lake County Search and Rescue for the past 11 years, where he is currently President of the team, but holds the even higher distinction of having broken every single piece team equipment at least once during his 11 year tenure. When he’s not on an ambulance or breaking SAR stuff, he loves playing outdoors on skis, bikes, snowmobiles, and ropes. He despises walking up hills, but for reasons unknown to him, does a lot of that, too. He lives with his awesome fiancee, Becky, the love of his life and manager of his gear that would otherwise be scattered all over the house, (who also works for DMM, and who definitely didn’t write this for him), and their “tripawd” dog Kaiya. He is very thankful to Becky for bringing him and Kaiya together.
Must-have med kit item: Albuterol MDI Inhaler for my exercise-induced asthma.
Christian lives in Flagstaff, Arizona and enjoys mountain biking, skiing, rafting, and trail running, all activities that fold into his larger specialty in life–having fun! He was first introduced to wilderness medicine while serving as a volunteer for the Wyoming Conservation Corps. From there, he went on to obtain his WFR, EMT, and lead instructor position with Desert Mountain Medicine. He currently works as the National Medical Training Specialist for American Conservation Experience. In addition to serving as a lead Instructor for DMM, he is also their Corps Coordinator, which supports scheduling and logistics for DMM corps courses. He loves doing his part to inspire and educate the next generation of outdoor professionals, and enjoys sharing his passion for wilderness medicine via DMM courses he provides to corps staff and volunteers.
Must-have med kit item: Irrigation syringe. Mostly used for keeping students awake after lunch
It could be said that Cody lives in Missoula, MT, but he much prefers living out of his van on the road. When he’s not traveling the West in search of his next adventure, he is a Climbing Ranger for the National Park Service at Devils Tower National Monument. As a Climbing Ranger he is responsible for providing emergency medical care, search and rescue response, and of course climbing! Cody has previously worked as a wilderness ranger and backcountry guide. He received a B.S. in Recreation Resource Management from Utah State University in 2015. He can be found driving his van all across the west searching for adventure, climbing big walls, or planning for the next expedition.
Connor grew up in Lodi, CA, the same town in which Creedence Clearwater Revival got stuck. But he is not stuck anymore! Connor attended Bowdoin College in Maine, where he took his first WFR. That WFR changed the trajectory of his life and sent him down a path of outdoor education, teaching, instructing, and guiding, which built to leading multi-week backcountry expeditions. After 6 years in Maine, Connor moved to Jackson Hole, WY. He balances his love of teaching whitewater kayaking, swiftwater rescue, and snowsports with his work for DMM and as a volunteer firefighter/EMT. In his personal time, Connor enjoys running up and down mountains with his dog, Pepper, and cooking elaborate backcountry meals from his home kitchen. His latest obsession? Homemade sourdough pizza! His go-to must-have medkit item? Snickers!
Currently, Courtney is a high school biology teacher and field hockey coach. She has been teaching for 8 years, and last year she spearheaded a Wilderness First Aid class for Monarch High School, which is how she got involved with Desert Mountain Medicine. She is incredibly excited to be able to offer this hands-on real-life curriculum to her students, and hopes to continue to grow the program. She is also currently on the Emergency Response Team at work and is one of five teachers who help respond to medical emergencies at the school.
When not working, you can find Courtney enjoying all the outdoor sports Colorado has to offer. She enjoys skiing, hiking, camping, rafting, mountain biking, climbing, and riding horses, although admittedly better at some of those than others. She also loves learning new things, crafts, live music, traveling and spending time with those she loves.
Daria (she/her) has worked as a guide for over six years leading backpacking, rafting, climbing, mountain biking and canyoneering trips. She has also worked as a hunting and fishing guide. Daria works as an EMT in Boulder, UT and volunteers in SAR operations in Garfield County.
In Daria’s free time she can be found foraging in the mountains or climbing an apricot tree in Capital Reef. Daria has studied ancestral herbalism in the southwest and the use plants like cacti (for burns and reducing core temperature) and scrub oak (as a clotting agent) for her personal trips.
Must have med kit item: KT tape (probably because she needs it so often)!
Jessica was a commercial river guide on multi-day trips for 15 years, so she knows how essential wilderness medicine skills are for guides and recreational backcountry users alike. Today, Jessica works as an Emergency Resident at University of New Mexico, the only trauma center in the state. It’s a fast-paced environment, and some days its all she can do just to stay afloat, but she has the privilege of working with the best people around, and she learns so much on every shift, so its definitely worth the stress! When the burnout starts getting real, she turns to wilderness medicine. Teaching wilderness medicine stokes her stoke on medicine again! She firmly believes everyone who spends any time in the backcountry needs to know how to care for themselves and their partners. On DMM’s board Jessica serves as physician advisor and supports curriculum development. Within the realm of medicine, Jessica is hoping to specialize in rural emergency medicine, and within the realm of life, Jessica currently specializes in quoting romantic poetry and Shakespeare in any tradition. If you ever have a course with Jessica, definitely ask her about medieval history. On precious days off from the ED, Jessica loves kayaking, climbing, skiing, sleeping on the ground, and learning new constellations, all with the best life partner ever who lets her perform sutures on him in the kitchen after he’s smashed his face in the backcountry. She’s especially loves hiking until her feet her and making plans at her kitchen table for unrealistically long backcountry days
Must-have med kit item: IV catheter for flushing out wounds
Eli (he/him) has been an instructor for DMM since 2022 after taking a incredible WFR recertification with Nadia in Crested Butte. He was raised exploring the wild spaces that surround the San Francisco Bay Area. It was not until a semester NOLS course in the Rockies that he seriously considered a career in the outdoors. Before completely immersing in the outdoor lifestyle, Eli studied Psychology and Neuroscience at Tulane University in New Orleans. While in NOLS, he took great lengths to feed his passion for skiing, rock climbing, and backpacking. Soon after graduating he moved to Crested Butte, where he has guided skiing, rock climbing, and mountain biking for Irwin Guides over the past several years. As an EMT-B and Wilderness First Responder, Eli is an enthusiastic educator in the field of wilderness emergency medicine. In the winter he splits his time between ski patrol and guiding at the cat skiing operation. When he is not teaching or guiding, you can catch Eli playing music with his friends, starting an impromptu dance party in the street, or riding his bike to jump in the river!
Ella (she/hers) has been an outdoor educator since 2014, spending the bulk of her field days backpacking and mountaineering in the Colorado Rocky Mountains as an instructor for Outward Bound. She has taught WFAs and WFRs for DMM since 2017 and now runs DMM wilderness first aid courses in New York City through Wilderness First Aid – NYC. Ella earned her MDiv in racial justice and healing from Harvard Divinity School in 2021 and now spends the bulk of her time working at the intersection of racial justice and outdoor education.
Over a decade of personal and professional backcountry trips—including rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, leading winter camping trips in the Rockies, and thru-hiking New Zealand—Ella has experienced firsthand a number of remote emergency experiences she pulls upon to prepare her students for their role as responsible outdoor recreators, guides, and first responders.
Ella is responsible to her students, to her related and chosen families, to the next generations, and to the lands of the Ute people of Colorado, and the Canarsie and Munsee Lenape people of Queens, New York.
Must-have med kit items: medical tape, pen, and pocket snacks.
Elsie (she/her) has been an instructor with DMM since 2019, but her journey with DMM started many years before when she took her first WFR. Nadia and Morgan were her instructors and her first introduction to wilderness medicine. After meeting these two women Elsie was inspired to join the DMM team
In the summer Elsie instructs for Colorado Outward Bound School and teaches for DMM — in the winter you can find Elsie fixing rope lines at Wolf Creek where she ski patrols. Elsie adores the outdoors and the freedom she feels while romping around the mountains. Her favorite place to be? All bundled up, sipping coffee at sunrise with the people and dogs she loves.
Must have in the med kit: your wits, hand warmers and a sweet treat
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.
Raised in the worlds largest alpine valley, Erin was shaped by the high peaks and windy planes of Southwest Colorado. Her work focuses on mountain guiding, mountain rescue, and mountain safety education. Her passion to share, help, and teach have brought her to all hemispheres of the Earth. Erin is a AMGA Aspirant Ski Guide, AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide, AIARE Course Leader, Wilderness-EMT and IRATA level 1.
Greg currently works for Utah State University Outdoor Programs where he oversees the student-led adventure trip program and outdoor certification courses that include Wilderness First Responder, Wilderness First Aid, Avalanche Rescue, Avalanche Rec 1, and Swiftwater Rescue. He is also volunteer member of search and rescue, serving for 3 years in Salt Lake County and currently on year 7 in Cache County, Utah. When he is not working, you can find Greg on the river or his mountain bike during the spring/summer/fall, and wandering the backcountry in search of the fluffy white stuff during the winter months. Greg has been involved with Desert Mountain Medicine since 2013 and is a lead WFR and WFA instructor.
Jay has been an instructor with DMM since 2019, with a focus on Conservation Corps and outdoor field work, including invasive plant management, chainsaw operations, field surveying, and wildlife management. He originally received his WFR from DMM in 2014 and has been teaching, leading, and educating young people and the public on conservation efforts around the country since about that same time. Jay is an ISA Certified Arborist® and is currently managing the Community Forestry Program at Tucson Audubon in Southeastern Arizona, while also building the organization’s risk management team and helping lead the Heat Committee, advocating for the safety of the field workers in the sweltering Arizona summers.
Jess started her adventure with wilderness medicine in 2008, taking her first WFR in order to become a raft guide. Since then, she has taught outdoor education, led multi-sport trips domestically and internationally for kids and adults, worked in the conservation corps and taught outdoor education with a variety of other things in between. She kept her WFR certification throughout those years and her interest in medicine eventually led to ski patrol. She is a patroller and OEC instructor for Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado and advanced her medical training to a WEMT. A life-long student, she also earned her Master of the Arts in Outdoor Education Leadership through Prescott College in 2022.
Jess is passionate about getting people outdoors in the capacity that suits them. Teaching wilderness medicine is a great way to build confidence in taking steps outdoors recreationally or as a career. Typically in any outdoor setting, Jess will have pocket bacon, which is exactly what it sounds like.
Jesse is the Coordinator of the Outdoor Adventure Leadership Minor at Utah State University. He loves working with his students to learn, experience, and thrive in the outdoor industry. For Jesse, teaching wilderness medicine is an obvious and essential component of a well-rounded outdoor education. His students are learning the fundamentals of the outdoor recreation industry, and wilderness medicine is key to their foundational knowledge. His students wouldn’t be able to safely lead groups into the backcountry without wild. Med. skills, so he considers wilderness medicine courses perhaps the most important part of his students’ education. Jesse’s a relative newcomer to Utah, having lived in the Midwest for 15 years, but’s wasted no time getting acquainted with his desert home. He loves paddle sports and awesome trails, both of which are available in abundance here in the Cache Valley. Beyond those two pursuits, he’s the ultimate generalist. He loves trying different experiences, learning more, and living a recreation-based lifestyle.
Must-have med kit item: Band-Aids and Aquaphor! Between the amount of boo-boos we have when leading youngins’ to chapped lips and chaffing, those two items are the most used every time.
Johann’s first experience with medicine was in 1996 when he was a senior in high school riding in an ambulance alongside his mom, who was a paramedic. Johann would frequently field calls with his mom in those days in the suburbs of Trenton, NJ. He’s still not quite sure how he feels about this curious developmental experience, but his therapist has some ideas. Now as an adult, Johann works as the Coordinator of Outdoor education for Colorado Mountain College, as well as a faculty member in Outdoor Education and Sustainability studies. Johann has been teaching wilderness medicine since 1998, and has been a DMM instructor since 2005. Johann enjoys standard mountain town activities, such as climbing rocks, skiing, riding bikes too fast, drinking coffee, reading books, though not all at the same time. He loves his small mountain town life that allows him to spend time with his family and be of service to his community.
Jon is an academic water rat if there ever was such a mythical person. He worked for North Idaho College in their Outdoor Pursuits program for 12 years teaching kayaking, rafting, swiftwater rescue, Avi 1, sailing, and SUP, before guiding for LTD sailing out of the Caribbean and Hughes River Expeditions on the Salmon River. His wilderness medicine career started 20 years ago when he took his first WFR with DMM owner and director Nadia Kimmel. He began instructing WFA and WFR courses for DMM in 2008, and joined DMM’s board soon after. He’s intensely proud to be a part of DMM’s culture of humble leadership and for the role he plays as board member and instructor in inspiring people to do things they’ve never done or didn’t believe they could do. With his 22 years of combined outdoor education and wild. med. experience, Jon identifies first and foremost as a teacher, with the outdoors being his primary classroom. He’s also a storyteller and musician, skills he’s eager to share around a campfire or on the back of a boat.
Must-have met kit item: Dental cement. I’ve glued several people’s teeth back in their mouths, including my own.
John comes to DMM with almost 10 years nursing experience in critical care and emergency medicine. He is pediatric life support, advanced life support and trauma nursing core content certified. John also specializes in advanced and complex wound care. In December he will graduate from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs as a Family Nurse Practitioner and hopes to continue working in emergency medicine. John grew up rock climbing in New England before moving to Colorado where he now lives in Carbondale and escapes to a tiny house in Marble, CO for weekends. He has 17 years of rock climbing, ice climbing and mountaineering guiding experience and has worked for Alpine Ascents International for the last 5 years guiding in the Cascades, Alaska and Nepal. One of John’s main passions is establishing new rock climbs on the Western Slope of Colorado and has over 75 first ascents to his name. Teaching for DMM is one of John’s more recent endeavors and he hopes to share his passion for the outdoors and provide high quality wilderness medical education based on many years of experience.
Jonathan is a Paramedic for St. Vincent Hospital EMS, Lake County Search and Rescue, Copper Mountain Ski Patrol, and an EMT Instructor for Colorado Mountain College. When away from front-line medicine and education, he is exploring the Sawatch and Mosquito ranges, throwing flies as a Fly Fishing Guide throughout central Colorado, chasing storms, or getting ready for the next big river trip. Jonathan came up in the wilderness medicine world as a Counselor and Director at Cheley Colorado Camps in Estes Park, CO.
Jordan is the Operations Director for Southwest Conservation Corps, where he has a hand in big picture logistics, staff development and training, partner relations, internal compliance, budget monitoring, program development, and program risk management. There’s a lot to love about his job, but it’s the people that keep him around; Jordan loves helping young people learn how to be good, responsible humans that care for each other and the landscapes they exist on. In addition to his work with SCC, Jordan volunteers with La Plata County SAR, primarily on their Winter Response Team, but he’s active with technical rope rescue, as well. Jordan took his first WFR with his mother, who he considers a serious badass. He’s drawn to teaching WFA because he sees a hole that is growing where people are getting outside but don’t necessarily have the tools or awareness to exist safely and responsibly. He’s found that wilderness medicine is a great place for people to start and gain a baseline set of skills and knowledge to not only exist in the outdoors but start to hold themselves more accountable and be more aware of their actions and decisions as a whole. Jordan loves backcountry skiing, mountain biking, packrafting, and traditional archery, and credits gravity for much of the fun he has outdoors, and also the injuries.
Must-have med kit item: Chicken Bullion cubes – sweating is my mediocre superpower.
Joe worked with the Utah Conservation Corps out of Cedar City, Utah for 6 years, where he started as an instructor with Desert Mountain Medicine. With the UCC, Joe worked to oversee southern Utah crews from Zion to Escalante and everywhere in between. He is now based out of Flagstaff, Arizona working for the Arizona Conservation Corps and continuing to instruct with DMM. Joe enjoys getting out climbing, mountain biking, skiing, kayaking, canyoneering, and rafting. Joe also doubles as Lone Coyote Art and y’all should go check out his mural in Cedar City if you pass through.
Julia took her first WFR over 10 years ago & spent most of her 20’s guiding & teaching in the Western U.S and abroad. She enjoyed the Wilderness Medicine aspect of guiding so much, she continued on to obtain her WEMT and eventually became a Registered Nurse. Julia currently works as an ER nurse in Salida & Leadville, CO, provides Advanced Life Support (ALS) for Monarch Ski Patrol, teaches EMT skills at Colorado Mountain College, and Wilderness Medicine for DMM. When not working, Julia spends her free time climbing, biking, skiing, and running around the Arkansas River Valley, often equipped with glitter, a tutu, and her puppy, Lefty.
Kacie (she/her) enjoys being part of the water cycle- skiing in the Rockies in winter and floating western rivers in the summer. Taking her first WFR in 2018 through her college outdoor program, Kacie always wanted to find ways to connect her passion for EMS with outdoor education and has been doing so ever since. She is a ski patroller at Arapahoe Basin and an instructor, course director, & Program Manager for the Northwest and Colorado Outward Bound Schools. She has been a raft guide and operations manager for a rafting company and held multiple roles in collegiate outdoor education.
Kacie is also certified as an AMGA SPI, American Avalanche Association Pro 1, and Swiftwater Rescue Technician.
Med kit must have: Plenty of tape and a picture of her cat, Fitz to boost morale
Kaen (kl) Lapides is a paramedic and educator. She has been a senior lead instructor and staff trainer for Desert Mountain Medicine for over a decade. Passionate about the science of learning and expediting institutional knowledge acquisition in students and staff, she spent enough time as a paramedic and avalanche control route leader at the Breckenridge Ski Area and in the ER to now require hair color assistance for the grey. She owns WildMed Etrier; a company that produces medical reference apps. Prior to that, significant time in the field with the Colorado Outward Bound School mountaineering and backcountry ski programs allowed her to perfect a mean challah bread in a Banks Fry Bake Pan over a MSR stove.
Katie began working for DMM in 2017 after observing a WFR course taught for a Colorado Outward Bound School semester course she was instructing. She was impressed by the depth of curriculum and the hands-on instructional style and soon joined the DMM team. Katie has worked in the outdoor education industry since 2008. She also worked for Grand County EMS as an EMT responding to front and backcountry emergencies in the greater Moab area from 2018-2023. When not in the field, you’ll find Katie seeing clients at her Rolfing® practice, climbing or running with her pup Pickles.
Korinne, born and raised in Colorado, has been a registered nurse for 14 years. While her focus has been emergency and wilderness medicine, she also worked in the operating room, interventional radiology, post anesthesia care unit, and outpatient surgery centers. She has worked in hospitals and clinics across the state of Colorado, California, as well as South Africa and Nepal.
Korinne was introduced to the challenges of wilderness medicine first-hand about a decade ago, when she performed CPR on a young man who had been buried in an avalanche. This experience inspired her to expand her hospital training and learn as much as she could about wilderness medicine. Her pursuit of wilderness medicine training took her to Alaska where she volunteered as a nurse for the Denali Rescue Volunteers and worked as an apprentice ski guide for Alaska Heliskiing out of Haines, AK.
While working in Alaska, Korinne met a Desert Mountain Medicine instructor who encouraged her to join the instructor team. In November of 2018 she took the Instructor Training Course and has been teaching for DMM ever since. Outside of teaching for DMM, Korinne owned her own online retail business and also worked behind the scenes on various Discovery Channel and National Geographic TV shows as safety and medical support. These TV contracts took her to remote wilderness areas of Alaska, the Rewa Jungle of Guyana, and the Bahamas to film sharks.
Over the span of four years, Korinne became a connoisseur of movement: she was constantly on the move across states, countries, and continents. While she found that lifestyle adventurous and exciting, it posed many challenges as well. She started to crave consistent work in the wilderness medicine industry while simultaneously feeling part of a family with a like-minded mission. So when DMM needed someone to join their team as the Assistant Program Director, Korinne was thrilled to apply and ultimately get the chance to call DMM and Leadville her home!
Kyle is the Associate Director for the Southwest Conservation Corps Ancestral Lands. He works to get young, indigenous people outside to gain work experience while contributing to our amazing Southwestern landscape. Kyle is Navajo and Hopi, so he knows that land stewardship exists in the DNA of indigenous peoples, so getting a chance to do this work for a living is not only fulfilling for him, he considers it a duty. He’s drawn to wilderness medicine because of its dynamic nature; it keeps him and his students on their toes. He loves the elegance of transferability of DMM’s curriculum, as it applies to not only medicine, but decision making, leadership, teamwork, and so much more. In his free time, Kyle likes to read about talking, talk about reading, write about nothing in particular, and attempt to cook as one might attempt science experiments. He’s an avid baseball player and a pretty alright guitar player. Though his work takes him to beautiful areas, he spends vacations also going to beautiful areas, a true “busman’s holiday” kind of situation.
Must-have med kit item: Chex Mix. Not technically a med kit item, but y’all get it.
Laura is the founder and executive director of the Arete Project, an experiential education nonprofit that convenes diverse groups of students for immersive place-based leadership courses in the Alaskan wilderness. She loves introducing young people from all around the country to one of the wildest and most intact ecosystems on Earth! Prior to founding the Arete Project, Laura worked in education and as a Park Ranger for the National Park Service, serving on the famed YOSAR (Yosemite Search and Rescue) and on Glacier National Park SAR. Wilderness medicine is part of Laura’s everyday life in Gustavus. Her town is an inholding within the largest contiguous swath of protected land on Earth. The nearest x-ray machine is a bush plane or a ferry ride away, and even in town proper, Gustavus meets the industry definition for wilderness. What’s more, there are a zillion ways to hurt yourself out here, and most Gustavus residents, and the students she leads at the Arete Project, are constantly engaged with the land either through recreation, work, or subsistence hunting and fishing. Teaching wilderness medicine is the most valuable community service Laura can provide. Laura and her amazing husband Zach are the proud humans of an adorable shepherd-husky mix named Aalya, and together they love to hunt, fish, kayak, pack-raft, and backpack. She considers herself a Jill-of-all-trades in the wilderness, because, as Robert Heinlein says, “specialization is for insects.”
Must-have med kit item: Space blankets. A lot of people don’t carry them, but they can be invaluable. I’ve used them repeatedly in a range of circumstances from a simple unexpected cold snap to a lifesaving hypothermia/near-drowning situation.
Liz teaches wilderness medicine because it’s seriously cool! The medical world is ever changing, and there’s always something new to learn. Having the skills to help loved ones, clients, or perfect strangers on their worst day is essential for Liz, and, she believes, for her students. Liz has been a ski patroller since 2013, as well as a Program Coordinator for Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. Prior to joining RMYC, Liz worked over 10 years as a raft guide, outdoor educator, ski instructor, and dog sled guide. These days, Liz spends her limited free time sharing her passion for the outdoors with her 1-year-old son, which is not incidentally why she’s become really good at changing diapers while standing on the side of the trail in fresh powder. She and her husband, Adam, love to take rafting trips, go climbing, hiking. Backcountry skiings, and mountain biking. She’s done the Grand Traverse from Crested Butte to Aspen, twice (so far)!
Must-have med kit item: Vet wrap. I once used it to tape a bike seat back on when the seat post broke. It wasn’t great, but it worked better than a seat post up the posterior!
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.
Matthew is the Field Program Director with the Arizona Conservation Corps. He’s been supervising crews in the field for 3 years while also doing trail and saw work all throughout the Southwest. He’s dealt with many issues in the field, but he considers preventing dehydration his specialty. Matthew loves running and off-roading.
Matt works as an outdoor educator for Colorado Mountain College – Steamboat Springs. His official title is Assistant Dean of Instruction, i.e. boring administrator, but if you looked underneath that mountain of paperwork Matt’s often buried under, you’d see him smiling ear-to-ear. As Assistant Dean he gets to develop and teach programs that will give his students the skills and preparation to earn meaningful jobs that will fulfill them. He’s especially passionate about teaching outdoor education and wilderness medicine because those skills can be applied towards students’ whole lives, regardless of their professions. Outdoor education teaches students resilience, leadership, conflict resolution and communication skills, which are applicable to just about everything. The role outdoor educators play is going to be essential in protecting and growing our open spaces where we call home. That’s why Matt loves taking people outside to connect with nature through water sports—rafting, kayaking, packrafting, SUP’s, and the odd inflatable crocodile—and to show them how important rivers are to our continued existence. Only when people have connected with something are they willing to fight for it. Matt and his beautiful wife are raising their daughters in this tradition of outdoor connection and stewardship, and he loves nothing better than spending time as a family in the wilderness. They primarily ski, raft, bike, and hike, but they’re up for any old adventure with the right people!!
Must-have med kit item: water purification kit (Sawyer filter and bag). WATER IS LIFE!!!
Max works as an EMT and in Outdoor Education teaching a variety of outdoor skills. He also volunteers with Alpine Rescue Team, where his focus is in technical mountain rescue. As a medical provider, he specializes in pediatric emergency medicine. Max has been teaching for DMM since 2018, and loves the creative problem solving wilderness medicine requires; no two backcountry emergencies are alike! Max is passionate about education, and is proud of the role he’s served in helping students be more prepared, skilled, and confident in backcountry settings. In his free time, Max is an avid climber and skier.
Must-have med kit item: InReach Mini
Max (he/him) took his first WFR course with DMM in 2016 and has been involved in EMS ever since. He’s worked as a ski patroller, an EMT on an ambulance and in an emergency department, and is currently a member of his home county’s search and rescue team. Max also has extensive experience working in the mountains, previously as a mountain guide and currently as a ski guide, avalanche science and rescue instructor, and as a field technician for the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Meagan was born in Brooklyn, NY but spent most of her childhood in the Pocono Mountains of PA. She eventually moved back to NYC for college, and quickly subscribed to the daily grind of the 9-5 career. In January of 2020 she quit everything she knew and moved to Leadville, CO where she immediately adapted to the mountain town life.
In June of 2020, she became a full status member of Lake County Search and Rescue, where she is currently serving on command staff and the elected position of Treasurer. Summer of 2020 was one of LCSAR’s busiest seasons and she quickly learned the in’s and out’s of mountain rescues. It was through LCSAR that Meagan was inspired to pursue her EMT-Basic certification with the intention of serving her local community as well as channeling it further into wilderness medicine. DMM was a natural fit for her skills, training, and passions.
When not working or volunteering, Meagan indulges in most Colorado sports, including hiking and mountain biking. Her greatest passion is climbing – whether it’s rock, ice or alpine. She has directed this love into becoming a Rope Rescue Technician which is how she spends most of her weekends.
On any given day you’ll find Meg ripping around Missoula with kids on skis or bikes. By serving as the Recreation Program Manager for Missoula Parks and Recreation, Meg gets paid to run the coolest bike and ski gangs anywhere in the West. Her mission is to create community programming to reduce barriers and get people of all ages and abilities outside and active. It’s the perfect job for her, because Meg was put on Earth to be with kids. Coaching kids on how to rip bikes while yelling and pumping up the stoke is her reason for being. In her 20-plus years working in the outdoor industry, she has paddled more class II and set more top rope 5.8 than any other human alive. That epic mountain that tops out at 6,000 feet? – yeah she climbed that and stopped for 20 snack breaks. Meg loves teaching wilderness medicine because the core skills required–flexibility, creativity, calm, and critical thinking–are also the cornerstone of amazing leaders, and the world needs more of those.
Must-have med kit item: Cartoon Band Aids and snacks – when you work with kids these are primary assessment tools. Will a band aid or a snack fix it? Most of the time, yes.
Megan works both on the hill as a ski patroller and in the Teton Village Clinic as a Medical Assistant. She loves how these positions allow her to practice her skills as a first responder and assist in the continuation of care. Megan loves skiing, rock climbing, trail running, and fly fishing. Though she loves partaking in Wyoming staycations, she is also an avid world traveler, having been to 6 out of 7 continents.
Mesha moved from Florida to Leadville, CO seeking the challenges and thrills of the mountains, and he was not disappointed. True to his life choices, he enjoys outdoor activities that make him question why he’s doing them halfway through. About 3/4 of the time he realizes he had fun, in retrospect. Mesha works on the ambulance and in the ER of Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Leadville, and volunteers for Lake County Search and Rescue. He started teaching for DMM in 2020, and is stoked to share his love of learning about medicine with his students. He wants as many capable people in the backcountry as possible so there will be a statistically good chance that someone out there can save him when one of his adventures goes wrong. He loves mountain climbing, front and backcountry skiing, and climbing on ice and rock, all high impact potential pursuits, so there’s a fairly good chance a WFR will rescue Mesha one day. His specialty in life is cuddling with his dog, Rooster.
Must-have med kit item: Salty snacks, like salt and vinegar chips. Almost exclusively used for morale.
Michelle (she/her) discovered her love for the outdoors while attending Northern Arizona University for a Forestry degree. She continued her passion of being outdoors by joining the conservation corps world in 2012 working throughout the states of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico on chainsaw, crosscut, and trail crews. Michelle took her first WFR course in 2009 and began teaching with DMM in 2018. When Michelle is not teaching WFAs or working, she enjoys spending as much time outdoors (while it isn’t unbearably hot) with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs.
Mike has been working in outdoor education and as a guide since 2006. He cut his guiding chops on the Rio Grande and the Animas Rivers in Colorado, and then worked for Outward Bound for four years. Now he works as a climbing and backcountry skiing guide in the US and internationally. The main mountains he guides are Mount Rainier, Denali, and Aconcagua, but he also guides rock and alpine climbing around Colorado. He’s currently pursuing his International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA) certification. Mike is drawn to wilderness medicine for all the same reasons he is drawn to the backcountry: they require creativity and problem solving to go further and stay safe. He became an instructor to help contribute to the outdoor community as a whole, and to do his part for the safety of all backcountry users. Though many might consider Mike a master of the mountains, his actual mastery is of skills that aren’t very useful, but bring joy to the world. He’s exceptionally good at hitting things with snowballs with surprising accuracy, catching small food items in his mouth from great distances, juggling, and, of course, karate bo-staff fighting.
Must-have med kit item: my tourniquet! I don’t ever want to have to use it, but I like knowing I have it.
Mike teaches high school Social Studies and Outdoor Education at Glenwood Springs HS. He also teaches rock climbing, self rescue, mountaineering and canyoneering courses at Colorado Mountain College. On the entrepreneurial side of things, Mike owns Glenwood Climbing Guides, where he regularly leads trips. Mike loves spending time with his wife and three kids and playing in the mountains. Fun Mike trivia includes such facts as: Mike has climbed the Nose on El Cap in a single day, twice, and Mike currently holds the world record for most vertical feet snowboarded under human power.
Mike ran a college outdoor program and managed an outfitting business for a decade or more (he can’t quite remember the exact dates; a decade is a long time!) before dedicating himself to ski patrolling in the winters and teaching in the summers. He’s currently working as the lead of the medical department for Taos Ski Patrol. Avalanche mitigation work, ski cutting in particular, is a hoot, but his favorite part of the job is medical response. The combination of front-country medicine and resources in a dynamic mountain environment with the added potential for technical ropework is incredibly fun, challenging, and rewarding. As a wilderness medicine instructor, his aim is always for his students to walk out of his classes feeling the same feelings of competence and preparedness that he felt after his first WFR 20 years ago. Mike truly believes that the entire outdoor industry benefits from having more than just our guides certified. As such, he’s super stoked when he comes across students who are taking a WFR course to become better adventure partners to their friends and to support their personal recreation goals. Among Mike’s personal pursuits and talents are skiing, mountain biking, thinking about fishing more, and growing an incredibly mediocre mustache.
Must-have med kit item: Epi and a hemostatic dressing are the root. Everything else you can make up.
Morgan grew up in the funky, midwestern town of Lawrence, Kansas. At age 17 her dream of playing college soccer was realized when she moved to the heart of San Juan mountains to play at Fort Lewis College. There, she obtained a bachelors degree in Exercise Science while simultaneously developing a love for outdoor recreation. Eventually, the soccer cleats were retired and she found herself swan diving, head first, into anything involving mountain adventures.
Landing her first “real” job in a small Emergency Room in Durango, CO as an ER Technician, she discovered her passion for medicine and followed her dream of becoming and ER Nurse. In 2010 she graduated as an RN and soon thereafter began roving the country as a traveling nurse experiencing many different hospital settings anywhere from large level I trauma centers to small mountain town critical access hospitals.
In 2014, Morgan was the first on scene to tragic accident in a remote Utah Canyon that resulted in six fatalities. The aftermath of the accident left her feeling un-prepared as a solo rescuer in a wilderness setting and subsequently she obtained her WFR and began teaching for DMM in 2015.
Morgan is currently the Program Director for DMM where she has taken on the responsibility of teaching wilderness medicine courses, curriculum writing, and instructor progression. In 2019, she started the Women’s Wild Med Program. Wilderness Medicine courses for women, taught by women. The goal is to highlight and celebrate the women who are shaping outdoor recreation and wilderness medicine, and empower the many millions more who are a vital part of these industries.
In her personal life, Morgan is a connoisseur of mountaintop dance parties and a chaser of sunsets with her dog Pinto Bean. Recreationally, she believes in a balance of relaxing and adventurous outdoor experiences. Some days, she needs a leisurely hike capped off by a summit boogie sesh. On other days she needs to push herself until she questions and reaffirms what her limits really are.
Morgan now calls Northern New Mexico home where she is able to combine her two passions which are Wilderness and Emergency Medicine, as a a ski clinic nurse at the Taos Ski Valley.
Nicole worked with the Utah Conservation Corps, an environmental stewardship program, for nearly a decade as a coordinator and leader for backcountry trail and chainsaw crews. In 2022, she began exploring a new profession at Power Engineers, an engineering and environmental consulting firm. While her career path has changed (and her location – she’s now based in Montrose, CO), her passion for outdoor recreation in remote settings continues. She has been a WFA instructor for DMM since 2018 and enjoys teaching wilderness medicine because it promotes safety and responsibility in the outdoors. Whether you’re out for a quick ride, run, or ski, or heading out on an extended backcountry trip, being able to care for yourself and others in the outdoors is an invaluable skill to have.
Must-have med kit item: Duct tape
Pam has been teaching and practicing emergency medicine for over 15 years. While not officially a guide, she’s been an outdoor educator and outdoor photographer for over 25 years taking tiny humans and adults on adventures from the rivers to glaciers and all the magical wilderness in between. Pam has been a patient, and a patient care provider in remote settings around the world.
In her day job she works in emergency services training and coordinating over 90 Fire & EMS volunteers in Moscow, ID.
First aid kit go to: Ibuprofen – especially now that I’m over 40…
Pamela (she/her/ella) has been playing outside for as long as she can remember and has always found a way to incorporate outdoor fun into her professional life. Following many hours of field and lab research studying pipefish, she quickly pivoted to a career in Outdoor Rec. Pamela spent three years managing a kayak rental operation in the heart of Texas (Austin, for those that don’t know) before moving on to the world of conservation corps. Currently, Pamela is the Youth Program Manager at Southwest Conservation Corps, where she enjoys teaching folks new skills to confidently lead high schoolers in conservation projects. Pamela is also passionate about getting BIPOC communities engaged with the
outdoors in safe and responsible ways. In her off time, you can find Pamela romping around in the mountains, whether it be hiking, biking, or skiing.
Must-have in the med kit: k-tape and salt pills! Because blisters and hyponatremia are no fun.
Richard (he/him) has been instructing for DMM since 2017 and slinging logistics for the Southwest Conservation Corps since 2011 and before. They are also an avid outdoors enthusiast with a literal lifetime of outdoor experience, starting on the crags and fells of the Lake District, summits and valleys of the Alps and Pyrenees and landing in the jagged peeks of the San Juan Mountains in SW Colorado where they call home. Richard also serves on LaPlata County SAR since 2017.
Robin became passionate about the outdoor industry after attending an Outward Bound course in Colorado in 2008. He later became involved in the Recreation and Outdoor Education program at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, CO, where he was inspired by the instruction he received. After completing his first WFR course, while attending WCU, he became curious about what it would take to become a WFR instructor. This led Robin into guiding and earning his EMT certification. Robin spent 6 summers guiding multi-day rafting trips, glacier hikes, ice climbing, and backpacking trips in Alaska and started his EMS career working on an ambulance in Seattle, WA. Eventually, Robin made his way back to Gunnison and now works full-time for Gunnison Paramedic, part time at the Crested Butte Mountain Clinic, and teaches courses for DMM. As of 2021, In his free time, Robin enjoys rafting, climbing, and surprising people about his love of electronic music.
Sally (she/her) has been working in the field of leadership education for more than 20 years and is extremely passionate about helping people to learn and grow through experiential activities. Her true passion is in facilitating participants through experiences that promote individual challenge and self-discovery, which sometimes leads to true interdependence and cohesion in a group. She has worked in several different areas within the outdoor recreation industry including an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), a guide in wilderness therapy, ropes course director and facilitator, ski/snowboard instructor, outdoor education instructor, event coordinator for the cities/towns of Crested Butte and Gunnison, and executive educational consultant among others. She has served as a volunteer for several different organizations including the Western State Mountain Search and Rescue Team, Safe Ride, Gunnison Trails, and more. She has been a Department Chair/Faculty member for Outdoor Education and Park Ranger programs at Red Rocks Community College and Faculty at Western Colorado University.
Sam was born and raised in the plains of South Dakota, but his love for the mountains and outdoors drew him west to the Black Hills where he lives today. A high school math teacher by trade, Sam taught for five years before finding his place in medicine. Sam started off as a ski patroller and then took a WEMT course in 2016, Within a few months of becoming a WEMT, Sam joined the local ambulance service and search and rescue. Sam continued his medical education and became a paramedic and is now the director of Custer County Search and Rescue and the training coordinator for Custer Ambulance Service. He applies his wilderness medicine knowledge and skills year round in the Custer area. Although public education is behind him, Sam uses his education background and love of wilderness medicine to better prepare people for when the unexpected happens. When not on the ambulance, rescuing hikers, or teaching, Sam can be found rock climbing, sailing, or enjoying the outdoors with his wife and two daughters.
Originally from Maine and migrating to the west in 2011, Sandra (she/her) has spent the last 20 years guiding and educating in the outdoors throughout the northeast and western states. After working as a guide in Alaska for 5 years, she got hired at the University of Idaho and then landed her dream job as the Director of the University of Idaho’s Outdoor Program. Her passions including sea kayaking, rafting, ice climbing, backcountry skiing, and mountain biking. She first got her WFR in 2005, has helped with DMM courses since 2016 and became an instructor for DMM in 2022. When she’s not teaching, you can find her fly fishing or mountain biking with her family near a remote Idaho river or mountain top.
Must have in the med kit: medical tape and extra pens
Sarah believes in the transformative power of feeling small in big wild places, and enjoys nurturing confidence, empathy, and widened perspectives by teaching outdoor skills. She remembers the empowerment that she felt after her first wilderness medicine course in 2010, and loves getting to facilitate that experience for her students as they learn to make good backcountry decisions and take care of themselves and each other.
Med kit must-haves: tourniquet and sour patch kids. Having the first on hand provides some peace of mind and hopefully wards off ever having to actually use it; having an ample supply of the second makes an astonishing variety of teenage trail ailments lessen or disappear.
Born and raised in Utah, Sarah spent her time recreating and working outdoors, gaining her first Wilderness First Responder Certification through DMM while working in Wilderness Therapy. Through the years Sarah has kept up on her WFR cert, re-certifying through a number of different agencies as she has spent time working as a guide taking visitors through the National Parks, Fighting fires with the BLM, working as a climbing instructor, and most recently, working for the Utah Conservation Corps, first as a Support Specialist to the crews, and now as the Recruitment Coordinator. Sarah started instructing WFA for DMM in 2016 and continues to assist with courses provided to the Utah Conservation Corps crews.
Sarah’s passion is her husband and son and her outdoor hobbies including snowboarding, rock climbing, canyoneering and boating at Lake Powell. Sarah has a love for the outdoors and she is passionate about sharing education on responsible and respectful utilization of the outdoors. Sarah loves working for the Utah Conservation Corps as it allows her the opportunity to work autonomously and be involved in teaching others outdoor accountability. Sarah spends much of her time backpacking and camping and the one thing she never leaves the house without making sure her med kit is well stocked with is 2nd skin blister bandages and Ace Wrap.
Scout works for OARS guiding rivers throughout the West. She loves that her job is to hang out and work alongside people on vacation in beautiful wilderness areas! She began teaching for DMM in early 2019. Teaching wild. med. is constantly challenging, but she loves seeing her students connect the dots and become more confident. Her teaching is also the best preparation for her guiding, and her guiding provides valuable experiences for her teaching. It’s super cool that her jobs support each other so well! Scout’s favorite outdoor activities are rafting, backpacking, sandwich eating in the summer, and skiing and burrito eating in the winter. Her dog has hiked more 14ers than her, so she’s not the coolest adventurer in her family…yet. Lastly, Scout feels it’s important to share the immense pride she takes in cutting uniform cheese cubes for OARS’ cheese board night on the river. She likes to think it speaks to her attention to detail and craftsmanship, but realistically it speaks to her fear of not getting enough cheese.
Must-have med kit item: The thing I personally use the most is the knuckle bandages- metal boxes, sand, and dish water do a number on my hands in the summer.
Shelly works full-time as a nurse at the Gunnison Valley Hospital. She is a fun, loving mom who loves to bike, ski, boat, and travel. She loves any and all adventures that take her outside.
Sophia is a full-time bioengineering PhD student and graduate researcher, with a focus on soft tissue engineering and regenerative medicine for the musculoskeletal system. In plain English, she’s trying to engineer better treatments for bone, tendon, muscle, and joint injuries so we can all play as long as possible. Sophia believes that people are happier, healthier, and better adjusted when they can move about the world pain-free, and this drives her work. Outside of her PhD work, Sophia volunteers for the Moscow Ambulance Company as an EMT. She’s proud that her town of 25,000 people is exclusively served by this 100% volunteer agency! She loves being able to use medicine to help others, whether as an EMT or a bioengineering researcher. Her passion for wilderness medicine stems from her love of the outdoors, and her belief that wilderness is an essential part of human nature that many of us have forgotten to nourish. She is married to her awesome adventure partner, Zack, and together they have two dogs, Athena and Lasso, who are excellent backcountry skiers and mountain bikers. They’ve never wrecked once! Unlike Sophia, who is really gifted at wrecking her mountain bike irregardless of terrain level. Sophia has a deep love of all-things science, which pervades every aspect of her life. For example, her running buddies refer to their regular 5:30 a.m. trail run as “science hour with Sophia.” She loves skiing (backcountry and resort), mountain biking, trail running, backpacking, camping, fishing, hiking, pretty much anything that involves fresh air and time away from a screen. She can talk science through all these activities (maybe that’s why she wrecks her bike so much?)
Must-have med kit item: Tourniquet. They save lives and there are a lot of backcountry situations where one is useful.
Star is a registered nurse working full time as Home Health Case Manager in the beautiful Appalachian mountains of western North Carolina. She spends her free time on her mountain bike exploring the wilderness, volunteering as race medical provider for Pisgah productions, and running the adventure sports team for her 11 year-old son’s school- coordinating and leading ski trips, mountain bike rides, and races and back country camping trips. Star was introduced to medicine with a WFR course in 2001 and loved it! She proceeded to pursue a career in nursing. She decided to bring her career full circle and started teaching wilderness medicine with DMM in 2018.
Taryn is a physician assistant who focuses primarily in occupational medicine and women’s health. Her favorite part of her work and teaching is talking to women about sex and their bodies and creating a safe and comfortable space to talk about what is often an uncomfortable topic. She originally started teaching wilderness medicine so she could feel more confident in the backcountry, but soon realized that the folks who take and teach wild. med. courses are exactly the kind of passionate, vibrant people she wants to spend her time with. Plus, its an awesome feeling to have friends and students leave her course feeling like they can handle an emergency. Though she’s fairly specialized with this whole medicine thing, her actual speciality in life is chopping onions with a culinary school precision. Taryn has the best husband, who works for Petzl and is a pro level baby dad to their 1-year-old daughter, Lucy, who, it has been agreed, is definitely a good baby. Taryn loves riding bikes and snowboards, doing literally anything with her dog Toby, and going on road trips with her family (bonus points if that road trip involves searching for a difficult-to-find hot springs).
Must-have med kit item: ACE wraps. There is nothing I can’t do with an ACE wrap.
Thomas works as a climbing ranger for the National Park System. It’s a pretty amazing job for someone who loves to be outdoors and help others. Thomas loves working with the public and educating visitors about everything from climbing and backcountry travel, to the amazing ecosystems he calls his office and the plants and animals that are his colleagues. He loves finding ways to communicate with different audiences and make real world connections. This drive to help and educate folks is also why Thomas teaches wilderness medicine. Wild. med. Courses give people confidence to venture into the outdoors while also providing a realistic understanding of what can happen in the backcountry. In his courses, Thomas encourages his students to develop situational awareness, and to understand that risk prevention is the biggest skill set an outdoor recreationalist can have. Thomas is especially good at eating donuts, which makes sense considering he also runs a lot and loves to spend his off days scrambling and climbing over miles and miles of ridgelines.
Must have med kit item: A healthy supply of tape goes a long way.
Tommy (he/him) is a seasoned mountain professional dedicated to wilderness safety and rescue. A nearly year-round presence in the mountains, he splits his time between serving as a ski patroller at Mission Ridge, WA, and as a climbing ranger for Mt. Rainier National Park. With the NPS, Tommy specializes in high-altitude emergency care, employing a diverse skill set including climbing, rope systems, skiing, and helicopter operations. His passion for aiding those in need is matched only by his commitment to sharing his expertise through wilderness medicine instruction.
Ticia took her first WFR almost 20 years ago, and knew at that moment that this was exactly what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Inspired by her WFR instructor, she gave up van life and guiding rivers to go to nursing school and become an ER nurse. Today, she works in the Emergency Department in Gunnison, CO. She loves working in a field where she has to think of her feet and face new challenges everyday. She is constantly awed that she has a job where she get to reset someone’s heart, transfuse blood, and help a sick kid feel better all in the same day! Plus, she adores her amazing, intelligent colleagues who have dedicated their lives to helping people in crisis. The fun and challenge of teaching wilderness medicine is all about taking complex concepts and making them simple and easy to understand. A WFR course changed Ticia’s life, so she takes seriously the privilege and responsibility of teaching wilderness medicine, and wants each of her students to leave her courses feeling empowered confident to care for people on their worst days. Ticia lives with her husband and 6 year-old son in a treehouse at 9,600ft in the middle of nowhere, Colorado. They keep the beer cold in the creek and get to ride a zipline to the outhouse. In the backcountry, Ticia loves sports where she can succumb to gravity: mountain biking down endless, flowing single track, white water rafting, and skiing.
Must-Have med kit item: two ace wraps, two triangle bandages, one SAM splint, and some gauze – you can stabilize just about anything.
Trevor has been going on long drifts and getting lost in Idaho his entire life. He currently serves as the University of Idaho Campus Recreation Associate Director, surrounded by an amazing group of students he gets to learn with on a daily basis. In addition to teaching for Desert Mountain Medicine, Trevor instructs swiftwater rescue and avalanche education courses. He is a board member and forecaster for the Wallowa Avalanche Center, a founding member of the Idaho River Rendezvous and involved with outdoor land access issues for national non-profit organizations. When he isn’t in the office, you’ll find him chasing fish, his bird dogs or water in all phases, in and around the great state of Idaho.
Zack grew up in the corn fields of northern Illinois, but was lucky enough to spend his summers paddling around the lakes of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. Zack’s journey into Wilderness Medicine started years ago as a young, bright eyed NOLS student, where he took his first Wilderness First Aid course. It was that very course that led him to a career in the outdoors as a sea kayaking guide in the beautiful Kenai Fjords National Park, AK and his eventual continuation to obtain his Wilderness First Responder certification.
Zack now lives and works in Taos, New Mexico as an WEMT and member of the Taos ski and bike patrol. Zack has a passion for providing Wilderness Medicine education to those who live and play in wild places.
When not working, you can find Zack either looking for trout in the small rivers of New Mexico or chasing his avalanche dog in training, Finn, around the mountains.