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.

Jack Huffard
(Advisory Council Member)

Jack is a NOLS graduate of the Wind River Wilderness Course (30 day) in 1990. Jack is a native of Georgia and currently lives in McLean, VA with h…

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Jacob Wallace
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, MPH)

Wallace was born and raised in the corn fields of Iowa where he learned how to fix fences, build barns and generally thrown hay bales large than cows…

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Jaime Romo
(WFR Instructor, General Physician)

Since I can remember I’ve always loved the outdoors—camping, hiking, eventually climbing, canyoneering...you get the picture. I grew up in Tijuana Ba…

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Jake Blackwelder
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Jake Blackwelder has been teaching for NOLS Wilderness Medicine since 2010. He is a Flight Paramedic and WEMT and has been taking care of people in t…

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James Xu
(Instructor)

James grew up exploring the Sonoran Desert around Tucson, where he started rock climbing and slacklining in 2010. When he graduated high school in 20…

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Jamie O’Donnell
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Jamie O’Donnell has worked as an educator in numerous capacities since the early 90's: as an outdoor educator, a high school biology teacher, and uni…

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Jane Fried
(Board Secretary)

A dedicated educator with more than 38 years of experience in independent schools, Jane Foley Fried was named Head of the Brearley School in December…

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Jane Schaefer
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Jane's love for all things outdoors began at a very young age, growing up with the Appalachians in her backyard. After earning her B.S in Natural Res…

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Jared Apperson
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, Paramedic)

Jared has been an instructor for NOLS Wilderness Medicine since September 1999. He has been involved professionally in EMS since 2001, and currently …

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Jared Steinman
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Originally from Kentucky, Jared moved to Lander, Wyoming in 2011 to be closer to mountains, snow, and wild places. He has held numerous jobs at NOLS …

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Jason Carter
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Jason's been lucky enough to travel in 20 different countries and live in four of them, although the list is bound to grow. Recently graduating from …

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Jayme Blackburn
(Chief of Staff)

Jayme Blackburn serves as the Chief of Staff at NOLS. In her role, Jayme is a member of the Executive Team, providing essential support to both th…

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Jayson Owens
(Wilderness First Responder)

Born and raised in Texas, Jayson led his first climbing trips during college to Reimer’s Ranch outside Austin in 1995. After moving to Colorado, Jays…

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Jeff Wohl
(Instructor)

Jeff has worked as a NOLS instructor since 1999 hiking, climbing, horsepacking, caving and in winter programs. He loves fueling students' sense of wo…

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Jen Latham
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Jen was born and raised in Atlanta, GA, but somehow ditched the Southern accent when she left. She studied Geology at Colorado College, and really li…

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Jennifer Sentz
(Business Systems & Data Analyst)

Growing up in a military family, Jennifer was born with the opportunity to travel frequently, live in other countries, meet new people, and experienc…

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Jennifer Villafranca (Taylor)
(Wilderness Medicine Instructor / WEMT)

Taylor has been passionate about and professionally involved with education in various capacities for at least a decade. When she is not teaching wil…

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Jen Sall
(Director of Expedition Operations)

Jen Sall is the Director of Expedition Operations. Jen first took a student course with NOLS in 1999, wanting to learn skills for her personal trips.…

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Jeremy Johnson
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, EMT-I )

Jeremy Johnson is a faculty member of the Experiential Education Department of Albuquerque Academy. He has been an outdoor educator since the early 9…

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Jessica DeMartin
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

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 shama…

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Jessica "Jessie" Tietjen
(NOLS Wilderness Medicine Instructor, W-EMT)

In 2012, Jessie took a Wilderness First Aid class, discovered the outdoor industry, and never looked back. She works as a Wilderness EMT, outdoor …

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Jim Hutchison
(PA-C)

Jim has worked in outdoor education since the early 90's, instructing in multiple environments for skills such as canoeing, canyoneering, climbing, s…

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Jimmy Chin
(Board Member)

Jimmy was a NOLS instructor 1998-1999. Jimmy Chin is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, National Geographic photographer and professional …

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JK Nicholas
(Board Member)

JK is a Managing Director at Ithaka Partners LLC, a private equity firm based in Florida. Additionally, JK is on the Advisory Council of the Natio…

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Joan Chitiea
(Trustee Emeritus)

Joan joined the Board of Trustees in December 1980 as the first woman to be elected. These were the years when a young NOLS was working to establi…

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Joëlle Baird
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Joëlle (Jo) grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin and has worked eclectically in many jobs for the National Park Service since the mid-2000s. After be…

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John Babcock
(Board Assistant Secretary)

John Babcock has been a partner at Rustic Canyon since the firm's formation in 1999. During that time, he has backed great entrepreneurs in the so…

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John Burrows
(Instructor)

John grew up in the small town of Brevard, North Carolina where he spent much of his childhood roaming the mountains of Southern Appalachia in search…

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John Crouse
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

John is always looking for the next adventure. His current adventure is parenting! While raising up a tiny explorer, he works as a nurse at a trauma …

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John Gans
(President 1995-2019)

John Gans served as the president of NOLS from 1995-2019.

John first came to NOLS as a student on a Semester in Kenya course in 1979. H…

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John Grunsfeld, PhD
(Board Member)

John M. Grunsfeld is a scientist and former astronaut with extensive experience as a leader in human space exploration, space science missions, an…

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John Harnetiaux
(Field Instructor)

John grew up in the Pacific Northwest and has been working in outdoor education since 1998. He has been a NOLS field instructor since 2007, and wa…

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John Hovey
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Hovey is a former Cornell University engineer and U.S. Marine officer who has been leading NOLS Expeditions and teaching Wilderness Medicine since 20…

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JohnRey Hassan
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, Paramedic, RN)

JohnRey brings a diverse emergency medicine background to NOLS Wilderness Medicine having worked as a Flight Nurse, Emergency Department/Trauma Nurse…

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Jon Lowrance
(Instructor, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist)

Jon has worked as an outdoor educator since 2005 teaching a range of courses with Landmark Learning and NOLS Wilderness Medicine. His student experi…

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Jorge Anhalzer
(Instructor)

Originally from Ecuador, and when he is not climbing or exploring the mountains or deep valleys, he is dehydrating his own beef jerky! He's now livin…

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Jorge Moreno
(Instructor)

Jorge was born in the Bronx, and grew up in Connecticut. As a kid, he headed to Puerto Rico each summer, where he spent most days outside; back in th…

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Jorn Haack
(Instructor)

Jorn took his instructor course in New Zealand in 2009 and has worked in the backpacking and mountaineering programs at numerous locations around the…

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José G. González
(Former Board Member)

José González is the founder of Latino Outdoors. The nonprofit connects families and youth with nature, engages and inspires Latino leadership, an…

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José H. Gonzalez
(Instructor)

José teaches Wilderness Medicine and Risk Management for Administrator courses. He is a Boricua, born and raised in Puerto Rico. José started his ca…

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José Miguel Iturra Escala
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

José Miguel was born in Costa Rica and from a very young age, accompanied by his father, he traveled thru the natural corners of the Rain Forest. He …

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Joseph Kim
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Joe is a recently retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer whose goal is to be a lifelong learner. Joe can proudly say that one of the highlights of…

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Josh McNary
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Josh hails from the rolling soybean fields and verdant suburbs around Memphis, TN. It was in this environment that Josh vowed to go West and only ret…

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Josie McKee
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Josie grew up in Pescadero, California, a small town along the central coast, where there was plenty of space to develop an adventurous spirit. She b…

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Joyce Choi
(Advisory Council Member)

Joyce's 20+ year career in finance has helped to quench her desire to see the world, having worked in HK, London, and NY. Since 2017, Joyce has ru…

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Joy Thompson
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

When Joy is not working as a Trail Crew Supervisor, wildland firefighter, ski patrol, racing her downhill bike, skiing, or riding horses she teaches …

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Judd Rogers
(Instructor)

Judd Rogers is a 4th generation Wyoming native who discovered NOLS when he received a scholarship for a Wind River Mountaineering course in 1989. …

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Julia Fairbank
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Julia has been involved in outdoor education since the early 00's. She got her start in Vermont leading wilderness trail crews for four years before …

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Julia McGoey
(Program Manager, NOLS Yukon)

Julia started working for NOLS as a field instructor in 2015. She has worked as a canoe, hiking, raft/ kayak, and winter instructor in the Yukon, Uta…

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Julie Brown
(Wilderness First Responder)

Julie Brown has been working with NOLS since 2002. As a NOLS Senior level field instructor she has worked in Alaska, Mexico, Wyoming, and Washington …

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Julie Henningsen
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

As a NOLS Wilderness Medicine instructor, Julie teaches both Wilderness First Responder and Wilderness EMT courses. She has a degree in forestry and …

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Julie Polhemus
(Wilderness Medicine, Expedition, and Alumni Trip Instructor)

Originally from the Northeast, Julie has now called Oregon home for most of her adult life. She has a Bachelor’s degree in geology, and she taught hi…

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Justin Dayley
(Wilderness First Responder)

Justin Dayley has been teaching outdoor education since the '90s. He is currently involved in instructing for the Outdoor Education Major and Minor a…

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Justin Doroshenko
(Physician, Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, Paramedic)

Justin (aka Doro) grew up between lush tobacco fields and ever-expanding suburbia in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. After getting a Master’s …

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Justin Overholt
(WFA Instructor)

Justin is a long-time adventurer, military special operations veteran, and firefighter/paramedic. With an ongoing career in the outdoors spanning nea…

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Justin Satterfield Padgett
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician)

Justin Satterfield Padgett is Executive Director of Landmark Learning, a training service for outdoor educators based in Western North Carolina. Just…

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