Chris Agnew WFR

Originally from an island in the Pacific Northwest, Chris grew up cruising the Olympic Mountains and exploring the shorelines of the Puget Sound. While earning his undergraduate degree in Environmental Education he worked for various outdoor education companies. He began working as a NOLS Field instructor in 2001. Since that time Chris continued to hone his skills as an educator through field work with NOLS, teaching at a high school in Boston, earning his Ed.M., and training K-12 teachers and outdoor educators in India. Chris began his new role as the WMI Staffing Manager in January 2007. While he loves the WMI community and commitment to education, he is still adjusting to the dry air and perpetual sunny days of Lander, Wyoming.

Win Allen, WEMT

Win has been working in outdoor education since 1995 and guiding in the southwest since the early 1990’s. He has been a practicing E.M.T. since 1992. Win currently splits his time between Little Cottonwood Canyon, where he patrols at Snowbird, and Grand Canyon, where he guides on the Colorado River. Win likes to get some up on him in the winter and drive the hot lines in the summer.

Originally from the east coast, Win has a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Vermont.

Tomas Amodio, WFR

Tomas Amodio is a wilderness educator for NOLS and WEA. He has a masters degree in Recreation Administration and amateur boxing card. He prefers playing outside under the sun with water underneath him.

Jared Apperson, WEMT/Paramedic

Jared has been an instructor for WMI since September 1999. He has been involved professionally in EMS for over 10 years, and currently works as a paramedic in the Monterey Bay area in central California and also as a Flight Paramedic for the East Bay Regional Parks Police Dept. in Hayward, CA. In his off time, he enjoys rock climbing, mountain biking, surfing, and snowboarding. Jared continues to work for WMI because "Teaching for WMI has allowed me to integrate my love of emergency medicine, with the outdoor pursuits that I enjoy."

Danny Armanino, WEMT

Danny has worked in outdoor education for over ten years. Currently, he is an instructor of Sociology and Anthropology at Mendocino College in Ukiah, CA, a WMI instructor, and the Director of a wilderness summer program for youth based in northern California. Danny received his BA in Anthropology from Humboldt University and his MA in Sociology from the University of Chicago. He has been an Emergency Medical Technician since 1994 and joined the WMI team in 2001. Next year Danny will begin working towards his PhD as he continues to teach for WMI.

Brian Barret, WEMT

Brian lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Lander, WY. He volunteers for the Lander Valley Fire Department in between teaching WEMT and WFR courses in Wyoming and Colorado.

Read more about Brian here.

BreAnn Behlen, WEMT

Currently in PA school in Portland, ME BreAnn anxiously awaits her return to the Rocky Mountains. She studied zoology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, taught outdoor education in Colorado, guided kids up 14ers, and worked at ski clinics in Crested Butte, CO and Sunday River, ME. Her favorite part about teaching for WMI is meeting amazing new people, staff and students alike.

Andy Blair, WEMT

Andy has worked as a NOLS field instructor since 1992 and as an instructor for WMI since 2001. His favorite field courses include mountaineering, rock climbing and backcountry skiing. The most rewarding part of this work has been sharing wild places and helping people develop the skills they need to travel there. He volunteers occasionally with the local ambulance service as well as the local search and rescue group. In August of 2008, he stepped into the role of program director for WMI. He lives in the lovely little town of Lander, WY with his wife, daughter and father.

Eric Boggs, WFR

Eric Boggs has worked in outdoor education for 10 years. Currently, he is senior field staff for NOLS. He has led kayaking expeditions in Baja, Mexico, Southeast Alaska and Patagonia. He has designed expedition field courses for ISDSI in Thailand, He has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Lewis and Clark College. He is currently working on his book “Zen lessons from Baja road signs.” He specializes in turning WMI curriculum into raps.

David Braun, WEMT

David’s outdoor leadership career began in his home state of Wisconsin, and in the years since he has led expeditions throughout the US in activities as diverse as backpacking, whitewater rafting, rock climbing and dog sledding. His medical background includes volunteer and professional experiences in ski patrolling, search and rescue, and rural and urban-based ambulance services. After graduating from Prescott College with degrees in

Outdoor/Experiential Education and Environmental Studies, David set his expertise towards teaching other professionals. Teaching wilderness medicine in the middle of real wilderness is something unique to WMI. Students get a deep understanding of the difficulties that confront caregivers when you’re far from emergency care and the process required to reach the best outcome. David likes to add elements of fun and humor to his courses. In addition to working as a lead instructor for WMI, he leads field courses for NOLS.

Chris Brauneis, WFR

Chris Brauneis is a senior field instructor for NOLS and has been working for the school in various capacities since 1996. Chris currently divides his time between leading backcountry expeditions in the mountains of Wyoming and the canyoncountry of southeastern Utah and coordinating evacuations for NOLS Rocky Mountain in Lander, WY, which he calls home. His front-country pursuits include running, road biking, and trying to tucker out his two young dogs. He became a WMI instructor in 2005.

Jason Buchovecky, WEMT

Jason has worked as an educator since 1988, with the majority of his time spent as a NOLS Instructor. As a senior level field staff, Jason has led canyon, mountaineering, wilderness and instructor courses. His second home is the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. Jason has a BS in biology, with an emphasis in botany from Northern Arizona University, and is currently completing his BS in Nursing at Montana State University, Bozeman. He is pursuing a career in Emergency Care while fulfilling his passion for teaching as an instructor for WMI.

Paul Buechner, WEMT

Paul is in his second fun-filled year teaching wilderness medicine after retiring from the Army's Green Berets. His career saw him teaching Rangers and paratroopers, as well as kept him in Latin America's remote reaches for 12 years. He is currently working in central California for San Luis Obispo county's ambulance service, is attending the Paramedic program at Cuesta College, and volunteers as a Dive Medic (DMT) with the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber. Paul has a BS from West Point an MA from the University of Florida (Go, Gators!). Distant SCUBA diving and surf destinations are his passion!

Joel Buettner
While guiding in Wyoming one summer, Joel Buettner evacuated a diabetic who was severely vomiting. "I based the evac decision," says Buettner, "on a thorough patient assessment and guidelines I learned from WMI." Good thing for her. It turned out that she had a potentially life-threatening condition that required hospitalization.

After working in adventure education from 1989 to 1999, Buettner came to WMI because "my first experience as a student in a WMI course was so wonderful, I jumped at the opportunity to teach for WMI. Seeing new places, and meeting all sorts of great people make working for WMI not only a job but a lifestyle.

Luis Alberto Camargo, WEMT

Luis has beenactive in the outdoor field for over 20 years. In 1998 Luis founded OpEPA, one of the leading outdoor and environmental education organizations in Latin America. As an educator, Luis has worked as a mountaineering, climbing, caving, sea and whitewater kayak instructor at NOLS and OpEPA. As part of OpEPA and in cooperation with WMI Luis founded the Instituto de Medicina para Areas Silvestres (IMAS OpEPA) as a way to bring wilderness medicine to Spanish speakers and the tropics. Luis has been part of the Colombian Red Cross Quick response SAR team since 1996 and participated as a WEMT and rescue technician in many emergencies and large scale natural disasters in Colombia. Luis has been leading courses for WMI of NOLSsince 2000

Doug Caum, WFR

It all started with a NOLS Semester in the SW in 1994. Doug became a NOLS field instructor in 1998 and a WMI instructor in 2005. He currently serves as the assistant director for National High School programs with the Student Conservation Association (SCA). He holds a B.A. in Recreation from the University of Richmond, an M.A. in Environmental Education from the University of New Mexico, and a Graduate Certificate in Regionalism and Historic Preservation from UNM. He spent 9 years teaching and directing an outdoor experiential education program in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Prior to that, he spent four years leading seasonal trips for various nation-wide outdoor programs.

Melis Coady
Melis Coady has been an instructor since 2002. Often she can be found jet-lagging for WMI to teach Wilderness First Responder courses all over the world. Her wilderness medical experience varies widely from time served on a volunteer rural ambulance squad, as a mountaineering guide, and on search and rescue teams. Her favorite WMI moment was summiting Kilimanjaro with fellow WMI instructor Mark Crawford after performing a day of medical scenarios on the moutnain with local guides. "We brought beers to the roof of Africa to celebrate our ascent and ended up spitting them out because the diamox made them taste so lousy!" She lives in a tiny cabin (8x10) in Talkeetna, Alaska.

David Conlan, WFR

Dave taught his first course in April 2006 and hasn't
looked back. While not tromping the west coast in
pursuit of the ubiquitous WMI student, he spends time
as a senior guide for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. (RMI)
eating partially hydrated ramen with luke-warm water
while on mountains around the world. From Mt. Rainier
to Mt. McKinley to the Andes of South America, you
just never know where you'll run into him. In
between work for WMI and RMI, Dave searches for work
with another company that ends with 'MI,' but with
less success. Dave has a strong background in
education and various outdoor disciplines (he is also
and ACA whitewater kayak instructor) and loves to
bestow the awesomeness of being outside and having fun
to his students.

Lena Conlan, WFR

Lena has a teaching degree from University of Umeå, Sweden. Lena, a native of Sweden, has worked as a wilderness educator for over 20 years. Lena started working for NOLS in 1986 as a climbing and sea-kayaking instructor in Alaska, Mexico, and Chile. For several years Lena was the sea kayaking program coordinator for NOLS. In 1996 she co-founded the adventure company Crossing Latitudes Inc. The company focuses on sea kayaking and hiking trips in Scandinavia, Greece, Alaska and beyond. In 2000 Lena started to teach for WMI. Lena spearheads the WMI program in Scandinavia and Europe by hosting and teaching Wilderness First Aid and CPR courses.

Mark Cornwell, WEMT

Mark is a WEMT and senior lead instructor for WMI of NOLS. Winters find him at Mt. Bachelor in Bend, Oregon working as a professional patroller. The operational tempo is brisk and affords many opportunities for trauma response, search and rescue, and avalanche control.In addition to handling avalanche rescue dogs in a vibrant program which sets the standard for K9 training in the northwest, Mark has been lucky to travel on patrol exchanges throughout the west to learn the latest techniques and practices for saving lives in avalanche terrain. Trained as Swift water Rescue Technician, Mark has been a whitewater and fly-fishing guide on the major rivers of Oregon for a decade. Mark brings recent and salient experience to the wilderness medicine curriculum. Teaching completes a circle for Mark that continues to drive his passion for people and the outdoors.

David Craig, WFR

Dave has been an outdoor educator for over 20 years. During that time, he has directed camps and outdoor schools and taught a broad range of outdoor skills in diverse geographic areas. He has worked for NOLS as a senior field instructor and currently teaches at Prescott College as a professor of adventure education. His current passions are boats, bubbles and bikes. Dave is a mariner, free and scuba diver, and believes in the power of bicycles to heal the planet.

Mark Crawford, WEMT

Mark enjoys fine wine and silk kimonos. He is an avid bird watcher who hopes to someday catch sight of the elusive grey starling, a wingless creature of startling grace and beauty.

Justin Dayley, WFR

Justin Dayley has been teaching outdoor education for over 12 years. He is currently involved in instructing for the Outdoor Education Major and Minor at Idaho State University. In December of 2003 he began teaching for the Wilderness Medicine Institute of the National Outdoor Leadership School. He also has a beautiful daughter and wife that keeps him busy on many of his adventures.

Daniel De Kay, WEMT

A serious stab wound was Daniel’s introduction to wilderness medicine. He recalls that “there were a lot of guys standing around me and nobody knew what to do.” Daniel pursued his interest in medicine by taking First Responder, EMT, and nursing courses.In 1980 he received his RN degree and began working as an Emergency Department nurse. Ten years later he joined a local air ambulance company as a Flight Nurse. Daniel is a surfer and inveterate traveler. When not teaching, he can be found seeking big waves, risk and adventure in the far flung corners of the world. Daniel lives in a small coastal village in southern Mexico. He is currently at work on a book about a young woman’s adventures walking across plague-devastated Europe in the mid 1300’s. Dan can be found telling stories of adventures in wilderness medicine to spellbound students anywhere that WMI offers classes.

Jessica DeMartin, WEMT

Wilderness adventure has always been a part of Jessica’s life; however, it was only after recovering from weeks of malaria sweats, and a secret shaman healing ritual deep in the Brazilian Amazon that it became clear, wilderness medicine was the career path for her. Three weeks later, after a long and tedious river evacuation she returned to the States and began a career path that would allow her to give back to those who helped her in the jungle, as well as be able to teach skills that would allow others to have a safe and quality experience in the wilderness. Over the past 10 years, Jessica’s outdoor education career has included managing numerous summer camps throughout the Sierras, working as a wilderness therapy instructor for at risk teens in Oregon, and consulting adventure programs on risk management and their environmental education curriculum. This career in the outdoors has been weaved throughout with work as an urban EMT for ambulance companies in Oakland Ca, and Dartmouth, N.H. Jessica has been a WFR for 9 years and an EMT 6 years, and recently competed a Master’s Degree in Adventure Education from Prescott College. When not working for WMI, climbing secret granite domes in the Sierras, or playing with her German Shepard Lucky, Jessica is a director for the non-profit, Environment Bolivia, where she is overseeing the creation of a ecotourism training program.

Larry DeNucci, WEMT

Larry DeNucci has worked in outdoor education for years and is currently an Outward Bound Instructor and a Professional Ski Patrol. He is a retired educator with an M.A. in Special Education and a PhD degree in Educational Administration. His passion for the outdoors includes years of experience rock climbing, mountaineering, kayaking and skiing.

Mike Ditolla, WEMT

A WMI Instructor since 2003, Ditolla says that WMI makes a difference in people's lives — both for the students who take the courses and those whose lives they touch. “To help someone in there most desperate moment is one of the most rewarding feelings there is,” he says. “Having the knowledge and skills to make that difference when it counts just feels good. The reason that I love teaching for WMI is that I can empower my students to have that same experience.“

Ditolla became a NOLS Instructor in 2000 and is still teaching a variety of skills for the school. Before becoming a NOLS Instructor, he was a ski patroller and an EMT.  In both roles, he participated in several search and rescue operations.

Dusty Downey, WEMT

Dusty is a graduate of the University of Wyoming. After graduation, he worked a variety of jobs including ground fish observer aboard commercial fishing boats on Alaska’s Bering Sea, biological technician for the U.S. Forest Service, lodge manager near Homer, Alaska, and marine biology instructor on Catalina Island. Dusty has a passion for many outdoor sports such as SCUBA diving, snorkeling, sea kayaking and canoeing, and has been involved with the direction and coordination of education programs in southern Louisiana, California, and most recently as a Community Naturalistfor Audubon Wyoming. Favorite Quote: I believe that all wisdom consists in caring immensely for a few right things, and not caring a straw about the rest. ~John Buchan

Liam Downey, WEMT

Liam Downey spent much of his adult life in a Chicago office, staring out a grimy window at a brick wall. He walked away from that, and now lives in a small desert town in Utah where he is employed as a river guide, archaeologist, and an emergency/wilderness medicine educator. Just for fun he's also an EMT/Firefighter, swiftwater rescue technician, desert survival instructor, and published writer. His philosophies are influenced by the works of Marx – specifically, Groucho Marx.

Read more about Liam

Rachel Drayer, WEMT

Rachel grew up in Dallas, Texas, a far cry from any wilderness. After graduating from Texas A&M with a degree in psychology, she quickly sought the refuge of the White Mountains and, between climbing, hiking and cycling, managed to earn a master's degree in counseling from Boston College. After a few years teaching science and outdoor education, Rachel moved west to instruct for NOLS. As a hiking and climbing instructor, Rachel has an appreciation for dislocations, athletic injuries, wounds, and other bodily injuries. Rachel currently lives in the field, but will soon settle into Lander, WY and get a dog. In hypothetical spare time Rachel spends her time playing guitar, playing outside, and wishing to play outside with a dog.

Paul Dreyer, WEMT

Paul has worked with teenagers in alternative educational settings for over 11 years. A self-proclaimed “jack-of-all-trades,” Paul has had the opportunity to work at a variety of organizations and to support a diverse spectrum of students. He worked as an educator at the Shackleton School, an expeditionary boarding school in Massachusetts, and as a residential and personal advisor at Brush Ranch School, a boarding program for high school students with learning disabilities. Currently, Paul works at The Watershed School in Boulder, CO as an administrative director, and he also provides private educational consulting services for teenagers and their families. Wherever he goes, Paul devotes considerable time to organizing and leading extended wilderness, outdoor education, and service expeditions both for his students and himself. His favorite food is mint chocolate chip milkshakes.

Tomalene Evans
Tomalene Evans is an archaeologist, ski junkie, Boulder Outdoor Survival School teacher, backcountry runner and WMI Instructor. She says the best part about working for WMI is that “it may be serious business we’re discussing, but everyone is having a great time.”

Tomalene believes she’s lucky to be involved helping people get some great training.  She loves to see people outside making a difference or just having some fun. And if students feel safer because of the skills WMI has provided, perhaps they’ll feel less limited or inhibited. “Life is great and we should all have the confidence to experience it how we see fit,” says the WMI Instructor.

Julia Fairbank, WEMT

Julia has been involved in outdoor education for eight years. She got her start in Vermont leading wilderness trail crews for four years before moving west to Colorado. Julia attended the University of Colorado and received a Bachelor of Science in biology and geography. She has been instructing for NOLS for four years. When Julia is not working for WMI and NOLS, she can usually be found playing in snow. During the winter months, Julia works as a ski patrol supervisor in Colorado. She teaches avalanche classes and skis powder in her free time!

Daniela Frum, WEMT

Daniela Frum has been a commercial raft guide in Colorado since 2002. She has a degree in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism from Colorado State University. She is an avid traveler and includes such places as India, Argentina and New Zealand as her favorites. She is currently working as a clinical technician at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado.