Meet Our Team

Heart, Expertise, and Wildness

Our team works behind the scenes and all over the world to give you the best experience possible. Click below to read their stories.

Daniela Lawler
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Daniela grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, but spent many summer vacations adventuring in Colorado with her family. When she graduated from high scho…

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Daniel De Kay
(RN)

Daniel is a native of northern California. Educated at the University of California, he has a degree in Comparative Religion, and is a Wilderness …

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Danielle Dignan
(Board Member)

Danielle first came to NOLS in 1992 on a Fall Semester in the Rockies, and again in 1995 on a Rocky Mountain Instructor Course. She worked as a fi…

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Danny Armanino
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Danny has worked in outdoor education since the early '90s and has broad experience with outdoor leadership activities including serving as backcount…

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Dan Varick
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Dan spent much of his childhood exploring the waterways and forests of the Great Lakes Region and here he developed a passion for teaching and advent…

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Danya Morris
(NOLS Wilderness Medicine Instructor)

Danya is an EMT and structural firefighter based in Northeast Ohio. Despite growing up amidst mostly corn and soybean fields, Danya does not yet know…

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Dan Zacks
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, Flight Paramedic)

Dan began climbing in Joshua Tree, California in 1976, and on most days can still be found on the same rocks outside his back door. Since the 70’s Da…

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Dave Craig
(Instructor, Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Dave is currently in his fourth decade of facilitating learning in the outdoors. His enthusiastic passion for learning, teaching, and mentoring has b…

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Dave Hanaman
(Field Instructor)

Dave Hanaman is an outdoor educator, entrepreneur, and executive with leadership experience in business and the military. He passes on his passion f…

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David Braun
(Physcian Assistant)

David is based in Denver, Colorado where he works full time as a physician assistant in an emergency department. He will always be a teacher and when…

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David Conlan
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Dave taught his first course in April 2006 and hasn't looked back. While not tromping the west coast in pursuit of the ubiquitous NOLS Wilderness Med…

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David Dunphy
(Instructor )

David loves sharing adventures and learning about the natural world with students and co-instructors. He works hard so all can have these experiences…

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David Durant
(Instructor)

Dave started his career as an outdoor educator at age seventeen, facilitating a high ropes course near Philadelphia. After graduating from McGill …

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David F. Gorter
(Advisory Council Emeriti)

In 1979 David took a NOLS Semester Course in Africa with John Gans as a course mate. Since that time he has continued to be a NOLS supporter. In 1…

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David Janney
(Instructor, NOLS Wilderness Medicine Instructor)

After earning a degree in History and Philosophy, David served as a college outdoor programs director, running climbing camps at Joshua Tree National…

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David Lucchino
(Board Member)

David Lucchino

Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer

Frequency Therapeutics

David is a life sciences CEO and entrepreneur with ne…

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David W. Cohen
(Former Board Member)

David is an entrepreneur in the global resource sector, focusing predominantly in the mining and oil and gas industries. David has started and fin…

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David Yacubian
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Dave has been teaching for NOLS since 2000. He teaches all course types for NOLS Wilderness Medicine and Risk Services, and thoroughly enjoys it. See…

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Deane Malott
(Advisory Council Member)

For 46 months straight, my son and I shared a quest to ski together every month. The journey started decades earlier when I got hooked on outdoor …

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Debra East
(NOLS Wilderness Medicine Admissions Manager)

Connecting people to information that serves their goals is a wide-ranging theme in Debra's life. Her community work started as a Michigan State Univ…

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Deev Datta
(Instructor)

Deev is fascinated by nature, and living in a natural surroundings to draw inspiration. He started working as an outdoor educator in 2003 but still c…

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Derek Branstrom
(Wilderness First Responder)

Derek has been instructing Wilderness First Aid courses for NOLS Wilderness Medicine since 2008. He began his outdoor education career instructing fo…

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Devin Jay Duffy
(Instructor)

As a Colorado native, Devin grew up with a love for the mountains and wilderness. It was his dream to become a NOLS instructor ever since he was 1…

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Doug Caum
(Wilderness First Responder)

Doug’s earliest outdoor memory was building a fort 60’ up in a tall ponderosa using an old climbing rope he dubbed “ropey.” He currently works as the…

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Douglas S. Luke
(Trustee Emeritus)

Doug, a NOLS parent, has been volunteering for NOLS since 1994 including serving on the NOLS Advisory Council. In 2002 he took his first course - …

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Doug Lowry
(Instructor)

A NOLS instructor since 1996, Doug has led sea kayaking alumni trips in Alaska, Maine, the Bahamas and the Everglades and is constantly inspired by t…

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Doug Wiedwald
(Instructor)

Born and raised in Oakland, California, Doug began his guiding career whitewater rafting in Northern California while at UC Davis. After rafting and …

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Drew Leemon
(Director of Risk Management)

Drew Leemon, director of risk management at NOLS, began his career in outdoor education in 1979 and has held his current position since 1996. Drew ha…

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Drew Seitz
(Instructor)

Born in West Virginia, Drew is a mountaineer by birth and vocation, and started his outdoor education career at 16, working at a ropes course and tea…

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Dusty Downey
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Dusty is a graduate of the University of Wyoming. After graduation, he worked a variety of jobs including ground fish observer aboard commercial fish…

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