2023 Here we come! Plan to attend the 2023 WRMC in Portland, Oregon. Celebrate 30 years of Facing Challenges Together. Save the Date: October 18-20, 2023; Pre-Conference October 16-18, 2023.
Location: Holiday Inn Portland - Columbia Riverfront, 909 North Hayden Island Drive, Portland, OR 97217
Presentations: Presentation slides that are available will be uploaded to Sched in the next few days. Video Recordings: You might have noticed that some sessions were recorded. WRMC is experimenting with video recordings and has not yet decided how those will be utilized. If the recordings are able to turn into high-quality learning, they will be made available to conference attendees at no additional cost through the conference app Sched. Sign up to receive WRMC updates to be notified if recordings become available. The core objective of the Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) is to offer an outstanding educational experience to help you mitigate the risks inherent in exploring, working, teaching, and recreating in wild places. The WRMC is a collaboration between NOLS, Outward Bound USA, and the Student Conservation Association, in partnership with the WRMC Steering Committee. See the guiding purpose and tenets.
THIS SESSION IS FULL - PLEASE DO NOT ADD TO YOUR SCHEDULE
Pre-Conference - Additional cost $50 Go beyond a baseline understanding of white privilege and begin to understand the subtle ways white culture informs your organization’s approach to risk management. This work allows us to study our internal landscapes, engage in community dialogue, and reflect on our workplaces. By grappling with difficult and sometimes uncomfortable ideas, we will grow as inclusive risk managers. We’ll bring new awareness and specific action ideas back to our organizations, in service of more just communities.
I reside and work on the present and ancestral lands of the Chinook, Cowlitz, Tualatin Kalapuya, Kathlamet, Atfalati, and Clackamas people.Lindsay Babbitt is annually reenergized by the community of people at the WRMC. She has led youth outdoor programming and conservation crews all... Read More →
Wednesday October 19, 2022 8:00am - 5:00pm EDT
Emerald IIDouble Tree By Hilton, Burlington, VT, USA
This workshop looks at impermanence and how it relates to being an educator or administrator for a school or outdoor program. Experiential and outdoor educators are passionate, loving, and caring people. That includes YOU. Your caring provides incredible programming and builds lasting connections, AND... sometimes caring too much can negatively effective you and your group. Sometimes you need to care less. This workshop give you some tools to do just that.
Paul Dreyer, a self-proclaimed "mercenary educator," has had the opportunity to work with numerous organizations, including NOLS, Where There Be Dragons, High Mountain Institute, and the Watershed School. Paul has worked throughout the world as a facilitator, curriculum designer... Read More →
Field Operations Senior Manager, Washington Trails Association
Moleek is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. A jack of all trades and master of some, he started his career in trail work with the California Conservation Corps. After college and some music projects in Chico, California, Moleek moved back to the SF Bay Area where he got... Read More →
Thursday October 20, 2022 8:30am - 10:00am EDT
Emerald IIDouble Tree By Hilton, Burlington, VT, USA
You know a lot about operating your program. How much do you know about the legal issues? This presentation provides an overview of the basics: what to tell participants when collecting medical information, what you shouldn’t say in your marketing materials, what to do with releases after you collect them, the primary legal issues to address immediately after a serious incident, what indemnity is and why you should care, what discoverability is, and other topics.
Frances Mock is an attorney specializing in risk management and claims management for wilderness and experiential education programs. She is counsel to NOLS, Outward Bound, SCA, LL Bean’s Outdoor Discovery School, and other clients providing advice about enrollment materials, medical... Read More →
Associate Director and Science Advisor, Nevada Outdoor School
Brandolyn grew up in Alaska, and moved to Nevada to attend University of Nevada, Reno. She loves to laugh and take the back roads in her 2002 GMC renovated Mini-School bus named Hank the Hope Bus. Brandolyn entered outdoor education as an AmeriCorps Naturalist at Nevada Outdoor... Read More →
Thursday October 20, 2022 10:30am - 12:00pm EDT
Emerald IIDouble Tree By Hilton, Burlington, VT, USA
We know that stress injuries don’t happen necessarily from a single traumatic event: it can be a cumulative injury leading to burnout. This session will look at two models of Peer Support Networks aimed at mitigating stress injury formation: Paramedic Critical Incident Stress Program / Ears to Peers: wilderness therapy network. This session will go in detail on how to set one up in your organization including how to train your volunteers and recruit participants.
Rumi is a paramedic in Vancouver, BC with roots in the outdoor/wilderness therapy industry in numerous roles for over 20 years from YMCA to BC Conservation Corps to NOLS and Outward Bound Canada and Alaska Crossings. Risk is inherent in everything we do and the power of bringing practices... Read More →
Field Operations Senior Manager, Washington Trails Association
Moleek is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. A jack of all trades and master of some, he started his career in trail work with the California Conservation Corps. After college and some music projects in Chico, California, Moleek moved back to the SF Bay Area where he got... Read More →
Breaking the Halo explores the deadly thinking errors that can occur outdoors and beyond, and offers a simple, universal approach to confronting complacency, assumptions, and communication breakdowns between subordinates and leaders. Breaking the Halo is inspired by previous works on heuristic traps by Edward Thorndike and Ian McCammon and speaks to a more global audience. This presentation was originally developed as a grassroots risk management tool for local mountaineers and has since become a highly requested and influential leadership program. Participants will learn to recognize halos, participate in small group discussion, and share empowerment tools for breaking future halos they encounter.
Katjarina Hurt (she/her/hers) is a Senior Consultant in Learning & Development for Plante Moran and the Founder and Director of the non-profit organization, Wilderness Chaplains. She has over fifteen years experience as a ski patroller, primarily at Snoqualmie Pass, WA, with a focus... Read More →
Chief Program Officer, American Conservation Experience
Rafael Rosa joined ACE in 2020 as Chief Program Officer. Previously he spent six years with the Student Conservation Association as a Regional Vice President for Partnerships (RVP) and Senior VP of Program. As an RVP his team was responsible for all SCA partnerships in a 16 state... Read More →
Thursday October 20, 2022 3:00pm - 4:30pm EDT
Emerald IIDouble Tree By Hilton, Burlington, VT, USA
This session will consider the ways that an awareness of social identities can inform your risk management practices. Using Montana Conservation Corps’ principles of Identity Conscious Leadership, we will provide a conceptual framework and specific tools to create a safer environment for participants. Come prepared to engage in scenario-based training, identity development models, and action planning. Near the end, we will focus on race and gender specifically and then outline identity-affirming strategies for programmatic integration.
Olivia Klein (she/her) is currently the program manager for the Helena region of the Montana Conservation Corps. She is an enthusiastic learner and educator who received a Masters of Science in outdoor education from the University of Edinburgh. She is passionate about queer theory... Read More →
Vice President of Programs, Montana Conservation Corps
Stacey Williams (she/her) brings over a decade of experience in leadership education and experiential programming. With a background in college student development, her approach to identity includes both critical and developmental perspectives. Her prior work includes facilitating... Read More →
Whether we are highly experienced backcountry ski guides or middle-school teachers taking students on a field trip to the local swimming hole, the success of our programs - and even the lives of those entrusted to us - rests both on the intentional development of our emotional intelligence and a deep understanding of the role it plays in risk management. Learn to build a culture of risk management through the lenses of the four main facets of emotional intelligence.
Risk Management Trainer and Developer, Xcursion Risk Services
As a professional outdoor educator and risk management trainer, Rae Anglen uses her time and experience in outdoor industry leadership positions to better understand emotional intelligence and its applications to risk management. With a professional history in studying how risk is... Read More →
I am the Outdoor Recreation Programs Supervisor for Mountain Recreation, the municipal recreation district for Western Eagle County, CO and we partner with the non-profit SOS Outreach to offer a variety of programs and services to our community. I oversee our Outdoor Programs Department... Read More →
Chief Program Officer, American Conservation Experience
Rafael Rosa joined ACE in 2020 as Chief Program Officer. Previously he spent six years with the Student Conservation Association as a Regional Vice President for Partnerships (RVP) and Senior VP of Program. As an RVP his team was responsible for all SCA partnerships in a 16 state... Read More →
Friday October 21, 2022 10:30am - 12:00pm EDT
Emerald IIDouble Tree By Hilton, Burlington, VT, USA
Medical screening is a ubiquitous yet poorly understood part of our industry. Legal recommendations range from not doing screening at all to managing every condition identified during screening. Medical clearance can include contracted medical advisors, existing policies, or enrollment of a prospective client’s medical team. The balance between these, as well as where to find medical standards, consensus guidelines, and best practices aren't always clear. This presentation addresses these issues with a solution-based approach.
Medical Advisor, North Carolina Outward Bound School, SCA, REI
Dr. Seth Collings Hawkins, a physician board certified in both emergency medicine and EMS and a Master Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, is a frequent WRMC lecturer. He is REI, SCA, and NC Outward Bound School’s medical advisor and Wilderness Medicine Magazine’s executive... Read More →
Justin is an emergency medicine resident physician at UT Health San Antonio. He has been involved in outdoor leadership and wilderness medicine for 20 years and holds a Master’s Degree in Outdoor Education from Georgia College. He currently serves as the Director of Education for... Read More →
Colleen McHugh is the Director of Programs for City Kids Wilderness Project, serving as an organizational leader in program management, staff training, risk management, and curriculum development. They have been with City Kids since 2009 in a variety of roles. Colleen began their... Read More →
The ability to manage risk is a hallmark of excellent leaders. Let’s challenge the current ways in which we plan training and introduce new theories in training design. With recognition of cross industry research as an invaluable resource, this session presents a frontline staff centered framework for training risk management. Let’s round this off with specific training ideas you can walk away with to enhance your training sessions and make them tangible.
Rumi is a paramedic in Vancouver, BC with roots in the outdoor/wilderness therapy industry in numerous roles for over 20 years from YMCA to BC Conservation Corps to NOLS and Outward Bound Canada and Alaska Crossings. Risk is inherent in everything we do and the power of bringing practices... Read More →
Field Operations Senior Manager, Washington Trails Association
Moleek is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. A jack of all trades and master of some, he started his career in trail work with the California Conservation Corps. After college and some music projects in Chico, California, Moleek moved back to the SF Bay Area where he got... Read More →
