About Us

Our Mission: The Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine is a regional non-profit organization dedicated to promoting quality medical care in limited resource ("wilderness") environments. The Center serves as a regional resource to southern Appalachian states -- North and South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee.

Our Vision: The Center promotes collaboration in wilderness medicine and addresses unmet needs in our region. We serve as a nexus for regional wilderness medicine-oriented institutions, agencies, and individuals. We are building a program which includes field and classroom seminars, conferences, certification courses, networking/intercommunication, consultation services, research and other activities. Underlying all our activities is a commitment to promote quality activities already in place from other organizations, and to introduce new resources which are not yet present.

Our Structure: The Center currently consists of a Board of Directors and a Steering Committee. Individuals on these bodies are drawn from a diverse set of backgrounds, including risk management lawyers, wilderness medicine specialists and teachers, wilderness EMS specialists, paramedics, field professionals (archaeologists, etc), hospital administrators, university professors, researchers, physicians (representing the broad range of wilderness medicine, including emergency physicians, family practitioners, orthopedists, trauma surgeons, and others), wilderness school and experiential education professionals, non-profit organizers, medical simulation specialists, and many others. We continue to grow rapidly in order to represent the true wilderness medicine community of southern Appalachia.

Our Activities: Central to our mission of connectivity is a monthly bulletin. This bulletin is distributed eleven times a year (every month but January) via email. It keeps the Center community updated on regional wilderness medicine activities offered by us and other organizations. To subscribe to this bulletin or get a sample copy, email us at info@appwildmed.org. You can see the current issue of the bulletin here. We also maintain a calendar of all known wilderness medicine events in our southern Appalachian region. This calendar is always available at this website by clicking on the Regional Training link on the upper navigation bar. In general this calendar promotes the training offered by other organizations, since numerous organizations are already in place that teach excellent wilderness medicine classes. However, we ourselves also offer an annual Advanced Wilderness Life Support course for healthcare providers, which we teach under license from the University of Utah. We also sponsor an Annual Southeast Student Wilderness Medicine Conference held each spring at a different university in the southern Appalachians. We also support a number of other activities, including Adventure/Wilderness Race First Aid and Medical Direction Support, efforts to standardize Wilderness EMS protocols at the state level, and the Green EMS Initiative, an innovative effort to improve sustainability in EMS operations. Future activities may include an Annual Risk Management Roundtable for summer camps and outdoor experiential schools, and evening seminars (open to the public) on Wilderness Medicine topics. All our activities are designed to enhance communication and collaboration in the research, teaching and practice of wilderness medicine in the southern Appalachians. The most up-to-date information on our projects is always on our most current bulletin -- we encourage you to subscribe by emailing info@appwildmed.org!

Our Publications: We authored an article describing the history and philosophy behind regionalization in wilderness medicine organizing, and our specific efforts in this regard, which was published in the January 2009 issue of the scientific journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. Click here for a pdf copy of this article, which is an excellent introduction to our work and mission. Our activities have been featured in the January 2009 issue of Our State, in the December 2008 issue of Best Practices in Emergency Services, and in the Winter 2008 issue of Wilderness Medicine magazine.

Our Awards:

Since 2007, we annually present the Founder's Award to an individual who has provided extraordinary service to the Center.
2007: Henderson McGinnis of Winston-Salem NC
2008: Keith Wells of Cullowhee NC
2009: Stephanie Lareau of Winston-Salem NC
2010: Bryan Simon of Salem WV

Beginning in 2008, we began presenting the Mountain Laurel Award, awarded each year to an individual or group who has made extraordinary, lasting and substantial contributions to wilderness medicine in the southern Appalachians. It is intended to be a lifetime achievement award, and is the highest honor we can bestow.
2008: Tom Kessler of Gallatin TN (WMS Student Elective in the Great Smoky Mtns, TN)
2009: Jack Ditty of Morgantown WV (director of the Appalachian Wilderness Medicine Conference, WVU faculty)
2010: Michael Caudell of Augusta GA (MedWAR founder, MCG Wilderness Medicine faculty)

Board of Directors

Seth Collings Hawkins, Executive Director (Morganton, NC)
J. Pearce Beissinger (Harrisonburg, VA)
Michael Caudell (Augusta, GA)
Kelly Collings Hawkins (Morganton, NC)
Randy Howell (Roanoke, VA)
Stephanie Lareau (Winston-Salem, NC)
Henderson McGinnis (Winston-Salem, NC)
Bryan Simon, Board Chair (Salem, WV)
Deb Simon, Board Secretary (Salem, WV)
Keith Wells, Board Treasurer (Cullowhee, NC)

Steering Committee

Mike Adams, BSEE, NREMT-I

Greenville, SC - Mike Adams is an engineer (full time) and an EMT-Intermediate with Greenville County EMS (part time). He has many years of experience hiking and rock climbing. These years yielded both adventures and misadventures, and the misadventures led to his interest in wilderness medicine. Mike's training includes swiftwater, AWLS, ACLS, PHTLS and volunteering as a crash test dummy so he could sneak in to ATLS. He will be pursuing the WUMP certification in fall 2009.

Roy Alson, MD, PhD, FACEP, FAAEM

Winston-Salem, NC - Roy Alson is an associate professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest University. He is medical director of both Forsyth County EMS and the Special Operations Response Team based in Winston-Salem. He is a nationally-recognized authority on EMS and has a long history in wilderness EMS. He is a member of the Wilderness Medical Society and a founding member of the Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group. 

Aram Attarian, Ph.D.

Raleigh, NC - Aram Attarian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina. He has spent a considerable amount of his personal and professional time as an enthusiast and outdoor leader exploring the national parks, forests, and unique natural areas of North America. He has over 20 seasons as a course director and instructor for North Carolina Outward Bound School (NCOBS), and is currently a member of the NCOBS Board of Directors where he chairs the Safety Committee. He is also a member of the American Alpine Club Safety Committee and a certified Wilderness First Responder. His teaching focuses on adventure recreation, outdoor leadership, and curriculum development. Dr. Attarian’s research interests center on outdoor leadership, adventure programming, and climbing resource education and management (CREAM). He has conducted a variety of workshops and presentations at the state and national level on these topics. He has also been contracted to conduct independent adventure program safety and quality reviews, and has provided expert testimony for negligence cases involving adventure activities. Dr. Attarian's work has been published in a variety of periodicals and books including Wilderness and Environmental Medicine.

William Frederick Baty, WEMT-P

Knoxville, TN - A career firefighter of thirty-four years, Fred Baty is Assistant Fire Chief of the City of Knoxville Fire Department, with an extensive background in firefighting, search and rescue, hazardous materials, and emergency medicine. He is also an adjunct instructor for the Health Sciences Division of Roane State Community College in Knoxville, where he is a founding member of the Wilderness Medicine Program. He has been actively involved in the development of this program and its lead instructor in Wilderness Medicine courses since 1995. He has authored several Wilderness Medicine courses, including a Wilderness First Responder course that has been extensively taught since 1998. Graduates of these courses have been to every continent on the planet.

Andrew Beeghly

Augusta, GA - Andrew Beeghly is an Emergency Medicine Resident at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) and a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM). He is a member of Columbia Co. Sheriff's Special Response Team; assists with MedWAR (Medical Wilderness Adventure Race), and the MCG Wilderness Medicine Student Interest Group. He has spent 3 years with C. Co 2/19th Special Forces Group in Kingwood, WV and is currently a CPT on active duty with the US Army. His interests in Wilderness Medicine have led to supporting multiple medical and disaster response teams to Haiti and Sri Lanka through Mission to the World (MTW) and also find him outside as often as possible hiking, paddling, and biking.

 

J. "Pearce" Beissinger, MS, PA-C, FAPACVS, ACLS, AWLS, Level 1 Avalanche

Harrisonburg, VA - Pearce is a Physician Assistant in Cardiothoracic Surgery who, when not in the OR and ICU, is an active outdoor athlete most often pursuing as much time above treeline as possible. He is frequently hiking, biking, rock/ice climbing but has been known to even fly-fish or kayak. He has been an instructor/ guide for LL Bean's Outdoor Discovery School in both kayaking and snowshoeing. While Pearce has volunteered time with multiple Search and Rescue teams in New England and now more recently in Virginia, his primary personal pursuit in the outdoors has been high altitude mountaineering with much of his wilderness attention being spent in preparation of those journeys. His former training in Orthopaedics, AWLS, Search and Rescue, high/ low angle and crevasse rescue in addition to his knowledge in Cardiothoracic Surgery and Critical Care Medicine have all been a valuable resource as he seeks to educate others in the wilderness environment.

Brad L. Bennett, Ph.D., WEMT, FAWM

Bena, VA - Brad Bennett is an environmental physiologist who spent 27 years in the Medical Service Corps, U.S. Navy conducting biomedical research, development, and medical education and training. He also has a extensive background in prehospital emergency medicine with experiences as a street EMT, paramedic, SWAT or tactical medic, search and rescue member and a wilderness EMT. He has served on the Medical Adviser Board to the former Wilderness Medical Institute, Pitkin, CO and as a part-time instructor with SOLO Wilderness and Emergency Medicine, Conway, NH. Dr. Bennett served as an Assistant Professor and Vice Chairman, Military and Emergency Medicine Department, Uniformed Services University (USU) of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland. During his seven years on faculty he started a Wilderness Medicine Student Interest Group sponsored by the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS). Currently Dr. Bennett serves on the WMS Board of Directors, the Editorial Board of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine; and is the Editor of the WMS Education Lecture Series. His present position is Research Director, Deployment Medicine International. He currently resides on the York River in Bena, VA.

Becky Bloedow, MPAS, PA-C, AWLS

Asheville, NC - Becky Bloedow is a Physician Assistant who currently works at a non-profit community health center in Hendersonville, NC. Prior to her career as a PA, Becky worked for 10 years for the NC Outward Bound School. She worked in the roles of instructor (kayaking, canoeing, backpacking & climbing), course director and program developer in multiple course areas including the mountains and Outer Banks of NC, the Florida Everglades, the Bahamas and Chilean Patagonia. In addition to her love of medicine and her passion for working with the underserved, she enjoys traveling, paddling, hiking, climbing and generally being outside as much as possible.

James Boehmer

Snowshoe, WV - An “army brat” who grew up in Kentucky, West Virgina, Missouri, Germany, Hawaii, and Washington, James Boehmer has worked in EMS for 16 years. Ten years of this time was spent with Randolph County EMS, the largest county east of the Mississippi River. He is a nationally certified firefighter and is trained as a fire safety instructor, ACLS instructor, and PALS instructor. He currently works at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in an urgent care setting.  In this setting he has become very experienced with wilderness trauma (lots and lots and lots of trauma!) He loves the outdoors with particular interest in hunting (especially waterfowl), fishing, and geocaching. He is currently preparing for training as a Physician Assistant.

Jonathon Bryant, NREMT-I

Bryson City NC - Jonathon Bryant has 15 years experience as an expedition leader and jungle specialist. This expedition background led him to start a medical relief charity ‘MedicForce’ that provides medical training and immediate care to remote jungle communities throughout the world. A graduate of the SOLO New Hampshire WEMT program, he teaches wilderness medicine nationally and internationally. He has been the director of SOLO Southeast wilderness medicine school for three years.

Jeanne Carleton-Lee, RN

Morganton, NC - Jeanne Carleton-Lee has decades of experience in healthcare and outdoor education. She has worked as a critical care and emergency nurse since the 1980s. She was a parent leader for the American Adventure Service Corps for many years. She is certified in Advanced Wilderness Life Support and has tabled for The Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine at regional events.

Michael Caudell, MD

Augusta, GA - Michael Caudell is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and the Medical Director for Wilderness Medicine and Survival Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Caudell is one of the founders of MedWAR (Medical Wilderness Adventure Race) and serves as the Executive Director for the Southeast Race. He is also the Secretary of the Wilderness Medicine Section of the American College of Emergency Physicians, Vice Chair of the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) Education Committee, a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM) and serves on the Board of Directors for both the Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine and the North American Educational Adventure Racing. He is a faculty member for the Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) course, the course director and instructor for the American Red Cross Wilderness First Aid, and an active member of the National Mountain Bike Patrol (NMBP). His recreational interests include hiking, running, paddling, cycling, and multisport events.

Sam Chewning, MD

Cornelius, NC - Sam Chewning is an orthopedic surgeon and expert caver.  He is a member of the NC-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), with whom he has completed multiple deployments.

Patrick Craft, MD

Durham NC - A family physician with Duke University Health Systems, Patrick Craft has a wide breadth of experience and knowledge in family and wilderness medicine. Beginning his career in private practice in the North Carolina mountains, he later became a staff attending in rural Emergency Departments in Southwest Virginia. More recently, he worked at a community health center before joining Duke Health Systems. He has completed multiple climbs in the Cascades, canyoneering in the technical slots of Southwest Utah, and thoroughly enjoys backpacking through the Sierras and Rockies. During the winter months, he ascends Mt Washington in New Hampshire and other peaks throughout the Southeast. Closer to North Carolina he has hiked and backpacked throughout the Southeast in temperatures as low as -10 and explored horizontal and vertical caves in Tennessee and Virginia. An Eagle Scout and active Boy Scout leader, he is also certified in ACLS and ATLS. Teaching both in and out of clinical settings, Patrick frequently takes advantage of opportunities to teach scouts and students medicine.

Brent Curry, RN, MPAS, CEN, CCRN, PA-C, EMT-P

Valdese NC - Brent Curry has been an Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant in western NC for 9 years. He is an avid outdoorsman with special interest in triathlon training and hiking. He has been involved with the Special Operations team in Burke county since 1991 and with EMS as paramedic since 1991. He has special interest in education and has been teaching conventional and wilderness care since 1996 including instructor status for ACLS, PALS, BCLS, ITLS, and specialty classes for NASAR at several national conferences. He works part-time doing orthopaedic surgery studying the kinetics of trauma, has certifications in SARTECH II, ATLS, multiple high angle, low angle, and confined space courses, and has an educational interest in envenomations and toxicology.

Chris Davis, EMT-P

Chapel Hill NC - Chris Davis is a lifelong resident of North Carolina where he now works as an adventure travel guide, wilderness medicine instructor and paramedic. Chris has been an avid whitewater paddler since childhood, and spends most of his free time now climbing, mountaineering, sailing and hiking. As a Wilderness EMT, Chris has served as a medic with outdoor programs in remote areas of the US and internationally. An active member of the Wilderness Medical Society, he is currently completing a fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine.

Jeryl R. Davis, APR

Morganton, NC - Jeryl R. Davis has served in leadership roles in public relations, marketing and advertising in hospitals/healthcare systems, in the agency setting and in education in GA, SC, NC, OH and VA over the course of his 40-year career. An outdoor enthusiast, Jerry has served as Vice President, Marketing & Public Affairs for Blue Ridge HealthCare since 2002.

Jack Ditty, MD

Morgantown WV - Jack Ditty is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at WVU Hospital in Morgantown, WV. He is founder and director of the Appalachian Wilderness Medicine Conference and faculty sponsor of the WVU Wilderness Medicine Student Interest Group. He is interested in all aspects of environmental illness and injury, but mostly those related to the river environment and swiftwater rescue. His primary interest outside of medicine is paddling and racing on whitewater. He has paddled class 5 river and creek-boating trips all over North America, South America, and New Zealand, and is a competitive C-1 downriver racer. As a member of the US National Wildwater Team, he competed in the 2008 World Wildwater Championships in Italy, and competed in the 2008 US Olympic Team Trials for whitewater slalom. He is also the director of the Russell Fork Gorge race, one of the premier class 5 river races in the country.

David Fitzpatrick, MD, FAWM

Goose Creek SC - David Fitzpatrick is a Family Practice residency trained physician who spent his first seven years of practice as an E.D. doctor at St. Francis Hospital in Charleston. A native South Carolinian, Dave lives in Goose Creek S.C. with his wife Kelly and four children. The Fitzpatricks are Karatepractitionersand are all active in Boy Scouts. Dave is a beekeeper and an avid outdoorsman. The first WMS CME that he attended was in 2004 and it convinced Dave of what he wanted to do when he grows up (when the youngest child moves out to start college). Dave has been teaching Wilderness Medicine to hundreds of Boy Scouts and is always eager to bring more folks into the fold.

Bryan M. Griesemer, EMT-P

Boone, NC - Bryan M. Griesemer is a full time paramedic and wilderness guide living in Boone, NC. A graduate of the University of Vermont, Bryan studied environmental education and went on to work as a wilderness orientation leader at Penn State University, a wilderness therapy counselor for Aspen Education, and as a whitewater guide. He recently founded Sundog Experiential Learning, a traveling training program focused on backcountry medicine and rescue. Bryan is a member of the Wilderness Medical Society, the ACA Safety, Education and Instruction Council, and American Whitewater.

Kelly Collings Hawkins

Morganton, NC - Kelly Collings Hawkins completed post-graduate training in environmental organizing with Green Corps, based in Boston. She is a professional fundraiser and has worked with environmental organizations throughout the country and currently serves on multiple local, state-wide and regional non-profit Boards of Directors.

Seth C. Hawkins, MD, FACEP, FAWM

Morganton, NC - Seth Collings Hawkins is an outdoor enthusiast with a longstanding interest in wilderness medicine and technical rescue. He has worked on a number of EMS services in rural and austere environments as a wilderness EMT and swiftwater rescue technician. He is now an emergency physician with Mountain Emergency Physicians and Medical Director of Burke County EMS’s Special Operations Team, which provides wilderness medicine and rescue services to Linville Gorge and other wilderness areas. He is an assistant professor at Western Carolina University, where he is teaches in the only distance-learning accessible baccalaureate wilderness medicine paramedic program in the country. He also serves as the Senior Editor of Wilderness Medicine magazine. He enjoys climbing, mountain biking, and paddling.

Laura Helfman, MD, WALS, WFR

Coalmont, TN - Laura Helfman has been an Emergency Physician for 20 years. She got her start in emergency medicine in the mountains of North Carolina, where she moved in order to take advantage of the Southeast’s mild climate, both for paddling and hiking. She has worked part time in many EDs in Western NC and Eastern TN except for a brief stint in NYC to complete an EM residency. While she furthered her paddling career, she became a full time river guide at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, ultimately serving as their medical advisor until 2007. Despite leaving the NOC, you’ll still see her paddling and guiding throughout the Southeast. She has also been instructing for Wilderness Medical Associates since 1997, and became a lead instructor in 2000. She holds an appointment at TC Thompson’s Children’s Hospital as clinical instructor and enjoys teaching residents both Emergency Medicine as well as how to find a balance between career and other pursuits. She has lectured at the WMS student elective for several years as well, and is an instructor for AHA and ACA. She has recently joined the staff of Under One Sky, as Camp Physician, which is a program based out of Asheville for foster children which integrates teaching life skills with outdoor recreation.

Roger Hill, MD, MPH, FAAFP

Swannanoa, NC- Roger Hill has a lifelong interest in the outdoors and became interested in Wilderness Medicine because "things keep happening to him". He says, "it seems that most trips of any length that I go on someone gets sick or injured and you need to know what to do.” He now works to share that knowledge with others. Roger practices medicine at Table Rock Family Medicine in Glen Alpine, North Carolina. He enjoys hiking, biking, paddling, camping, skiing, a little climbing, and just being outside.

Christopher P. Holstege, MD

Charlottesville, VA - Dr. Holstege is chief of the Division of Medical Toxicology and Associate Professor of the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Virginia. In 2004, he integrated wilderness medicine into UVA’s medical toxicology rotation to allow students and residents to gain training in wilderness medicine throughout the academic year. In 2008, he designed and gained UVA School of Medicine approval for a 2 week intensive wilderness medicine course to occur each spring and fall. This course integrates the expertise found within academia, private enterprise, and government entities to give trainees a broad depth of wilderness medicine training. Dr. Holstege has published numerous articles pertaining wilderness medicine and is currently performing research on such topics as Helleborus orientalis toxicity and Crotalus horridus induced thrombocytopenia. In 2008, in collaboration with the National Park Service, he completed a study on medical and traumatic injury encountered in the Shenandoah National Park. His wife and 6 children are avid hikers, campers, and rafters who frequent the Blue Ridge Mountains near their Virginia home and the Big Horn Mountains near their extended family’s home in Wyoming and Montana.

Randy Howell, MPA, PA-C

Roanoke, VA - A PA with Carilion Bone and Joint Center, Randy Howell works in orthopaedic surgery and has been interested in wilderness medicine for many years. He is a mentor and preceptor for PA students, a member of the PA advisory board and guest speaker for the Jefferson College of Health Sciences and is a guest speaker for Eastern Virginia Medical School’s PA program as well. He is a board member of the Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants and is a member of the Wilderness Medical Society and Coalition of Outdoor Medicine PAs.  He enjoys backpacking, skiing and canoeing.     

Greg Huntley, USMC (Ret.)

Morganton, NC - Greg Huntley retired as a staff sergeant from the US Marine Corps in 1992 after more than a decade of service. He was the owner and operator of Carolina Outdoor Adventures, a western Carolina guiding service, until 2003, and remains an American Mountain Guide Association-certified guide. He was a senior instructor at the Marine Mountain Warfare School, a graduate of the NC Fire & Rescue College and the National Avalanche School, and has been trained as an EMT, ART, Rescue Instructor, and Rescue Diver. He brings to the Center expert mountaineering, skiing, and rock/ice climbing skills, both in rescue and recreational settings.

Don Jackson, MD

Columbia, SC - Dr. Don Jackson is an ophthalmologist in Columbia, SC. He served for two years as a Battalion Surgeon in the US Army and is now a glaucoma specialist with Columbia Eye Clinic. He has enjoyed rock and ice climbing throughout the United States as well as backcountry camping and hiking. He has worked as a volunteer with Congaree National Park, Ayatala Search & Rescue in Santa Fe, and at the Glorieta NM Conference Center where he was a trail exploration, designer and development volunteer. He is a member of the Wilderness Medical Society and the Carolina Mountain Club where he serves on the SAR Committee.

Jonathan Kelly, MD

Winston-Salem NC - A native of Winston-Salem, Jonathan Kelly attended Wake Forest University School of Medicine and now teaches there as a clinical instructor. Dr. Kelly also serves as the Medical Director of the Wilkes Regional Medical Center Emergency Department. He has experience mountaineering and trekking in the Cascades, Equador, India, upstate NY, and the Carolinas, as well as extensive international travel experience. He brings to our Center particular training and interest in travel/expedition medicine and altitude medicine. He is an avid biker, runner and triathlete. He and his wife Libby have two children, Amory and Lila.

Kateland Kelly

Roanoke, VA - Kateland Kelly is a graduate of DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, with a bachelor degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry, where she was the President of the Natural Science Club. She is currently a first year Physician Assistant student at the Jefferson College of Health Sciences in Roanoke, Virginia, where she is the Diversity Committee Chair in the Captain Sean Grimes Physician Assistant Student Society. She was born and raised in New Milford Connecticut. In addition to medicine, her interests include writing, reading, hiking, and especially skiing.

Thomas M. Kessler, MD, MSPH; CAPT, USPHS, FS (Ret.)

Gallatin, TN - Tom Kessler has served as the on-site medical director for the national Wilderness Medical Society medical student elective since 2005. He has extensive experience doing humanitarian work overseas, including activities in Darfur, Inner Mongolia, Honduras, Guatemala, and Colombia. He is a former US Coast Guard medical officer and flight surgeon and has provided rural/austere health care through the National Health Service Corps, the Indian Health Service, and the US Public Health Service.

Karen Nolan Kuehl, MD

Roanoke, VA - Karen Nolan Kuehl is an attending physician in emergency medicine at the Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Virginia. She is currently working to develop an emergency medicine residency program at the Carilion Clinic and hopes to accept the first class of residents in 2010. Dr. Kuehl has served as a section editor for Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, the official journal of the Wilderness Medical Society, for the past five years. She is the author of the "Wilderness Neurology" chapter in the newest edition of Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine textbook. Prior to living in Roanoke, she was an emergency physician in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and at Lake Hospital in Yellowstone National Park. Dr. Kuehl acted as an expedition physician for blind climber Erik Weihenmayer's successful summit bid of Mt. Everest in 2001, and completed research on low-dose acetazolamide while at Everest Base Camp. She lives in Roanoke, Virginia with her husband, two young sons and two black Labs. She loves skiing, hiking and international travel.

Blake D. Kyzer, MHA

Columbia, SC - Blake D. Kyzer, a native of South Carolina, earned a postgraduate degree in health administration from the University of South Carolina Arnold School Of Public Health. He currently serves as the operations manager for the Palmetto Health-University of South Carolina School of Medicine Simulation Center. As an ambassador for the use of simulation medicine, Mr. Kyzer looks to augment wilderness medicine training with the use of high technology patient simulation. An outdoor aficionado, Mr. Kyzer has competed in road and mountain bike racing for over seven years with a recent emphasis on endurance mountain bike race events. Mr. Kyzer also enjoys backpacking and hiking. He looks to achieve the lifetime goal of climbing Mt. Everest.

Stephanie Lareau, MD, FAWM
 
Winston-Salem, NC - Stephanie Lareau is an emergency medicine resident  at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. As a medical student she served as the president of the Wilderness Medicine Student Interest Group and as the student representative for the Wilderness Medical Society. In 2008 she co-organized the First Annual Southeastern Student Wilderness Medicine Conference at Wake Forest. Her research interests include injuries in endurance mountain bike racing and the use of simulation and scenarios for wilderness medicine eduction. She loves to spend her "free time" biking, hiking, sailing, kayaking, SCUBA diving or skiing.

Philip Leonard, EMT-P

Morganton, NC - Phil Leonard is a Special Operations paramedic with Burke County EMS. He has completed multiple advanced rescue and wilderness medicine courses and has an interest in developing wilderness medicine courses for paramedics.

Henderson McGinnis, MD

Winston-Salem, NC - A former river rafting guide, Henderson McGinnis is a clinical instructor in emergency medicine at Wake Forest University. He is the medical director of Wilkes County EMS and AirCare, Wake Forest University’s air medical service, and also serves as an assistant professor at Western Carolina University, where he is helping to design a wilderness medicine baccalaureate program for paramedics. He is an avid kayaker and rafter and is now exploring ways to share this passion with his two young sons. He is also the faculty advisor for Bowman Gray’s Wilderness Medical Society Student Chapter.

Randy McKinney, EMT-P

Nebo, NC - Randy McKinney is the former EMS Director for Burke County and a national authority on search and rescue and wilderness EMS. He is a former board member of the National Association for Search and Rescue.           

Justin Padgett, MS, NREMT-P

Cullowhee, NC - With over 14 years experience in EMS and rescue operations, Justin Padgett currently is a senior paramedic at WestCare EMS serving the remote mountain communities of Jackson County. Additionally, he is an emergency care instructor for Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva, NC. Padgett is a NREMTP and WEMT with an MS in Training and Development from Western Carolina University. Currently, he is an Instructor Trainer for the American Canoe Association, American Heart Association, Starfish Aquatics Institute and a Level Two Instructor for the North Carolina Office of EMS. He sits on the Safety Education and Instruction Committee of the American Canoe Association and is a risk management advisor to many well known outdoor programs in the Southeast. Padgett has been teaching wilderness medicine nationally and internationally now for 11 years.

Frances Turner Mock, JD                       

Durham, NC - Frances Turner Mock is an attorney who specializes in risk management for outdoor education and recreation programs. Before going back to law school, she was a Class V whitewater rafting guide, a cross-country skiing instructor for special needs populations, a rape crisis and suicide prevention counselor, and a general outdoor enthusiast. She graduated from Duke Law School magna cum laude and has been licensed as a Wilderness First Responder and a ropes course instructor. She speaks regularly at national conferences on risk management for the outdoor industry. She is Counsel to Outward Bound, Inc.'s national Risk Management Committee.  She advises OB and other clients on a myriad of legal topics and manages OB's claims and litigation throughout the U.S. 

Nicholas Nolen

Chattanooga, TN - Nicholas Nolen is a NOLS and Wilderness Medical Institute (WMI) grad. He says, “I spent 4 years as the ski patrol director at a little mountain in South Dakota, made a brief appearance with ambulance services around Wyoming, and gathered high angle, swift water, and avalanche rescue training with the Bridger Teton Search and Rescue. I also have spent time working urban EMS in Deadwood, SD. My heart is in skiing, but enjoy running, boating, writing and over the last 12 years have volunteered with Black Hills Regional Ski For Light as a downhill adaptive skiing guide. I currently live in Chattanooga, TN with my beautiful wife Amber and wolfhound puppy Taegan.”

Justin Padgett, MS, NREMT-P

Cullowhee NC - With over 14 years experience in EMS and rescue operations, Justin Padgett currently is a senior paramedic at WestCare EMS serving the remote mountain communities of Jackson County. Additionally, he is an emergency care instructor for Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva, NC. Justin is a NREMTP and WEMT with an MS in Training and Development from Western Carolina University. Currently, Justin is an Instructor Trainer for the American Canoe Association, American Heart Association, Starfish Aquatics Institute, and a Level Two Instructor for the North Carolina Office of EMS. He sits on the Safety Education and Instruction Committee of the American Canoe Association and is a risk management advisor to many well known outdoor programs in the Southeast. Justin has been teaching wilderness medicine nationally and internationally now for 11 years.

Justin Price

Hendersonville NC - Justin Price is a resident physician in the Mountain AHEC Rural Medicine program. He was president of the Wilderness Medicine Interest Group at the University of Virginia, and is a National Health Service Corps Scholar. Special interests include global medicine and endurance races. He has traveled and volunteered in rural India, Mongolia, and Central America. While residency has put a few things on the back-burner, Justin enjoys trail runs, adventure races, and photography when time allows.

Scott Scoggins, MD                                   

Morganton, NC - Scott Scoggins is a family practice physician and a partner at Table Rock Family Medicine. He is an avid ice and rock climber and road cyclist. He completed medical school in Florida and his family practice residency at the Mountain AHEC in Asheville, NC. 

Bryan Simon, RN
Deb Simon, RN

Roanoke, VA - Bryan and Deb Simon are traveling CVOR registered nurses that work in the various hospitals around the US. Bryan is a graduate of West Point and was a U.S. Army infantry officer until an injury in 2003 and Deb is originally from Canada where she worked in a trauma center. They are also both ACLS and BLS instructors and have the AWLS certification. The Simons are avid travelers and climbers who met on Mt Kilimanjaro. They are members of the Access Fund and the Wilderness Medical Society where they are pursuing their Fellowship in The Academy of Wilderness Medicine. In their free time they can be found at a nearby crag or off the beaten path somewhere overseas.

Sue Snider, MD

Spruce Pine, NC - Sue Snider practices Family Medicine in Spruce Pine, NC, where she also teaches medical students as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, UNC. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Wilderness Medical Society, and has been involved in teaching at the WMS Student Elective for several years. She has been a trek physician on trips in the Andes, and has hiked and kayaked in many wonderful places on several continents. She also loves to garden and play with her husband, dogs and grandkids. 

Tim Soyars, RN, CEN, NREMT-P

Lynchburg, VA - Tim Soyars is a Registered Nurse in the Department of Emergency Services at Lynchburg General Hospital – Central. He also serves as Medical Coordinator for Primal Quest Adventure Race, Odyssey Adventure Racing and Adjunct Faculty at Central Virginia Community College. Soyars has over 30 year’s experience as a career provider in military, law enforcement and civilian emergency medicine. He has been involved with Adventure Racing for over 10 years, starting with Odyssey Adventure Racing's first Beast of the East in 1997. Soyars has worked in pre-hospital, wilderness medicine, emergency department, inter-facility transport, air medevac, specialized rescue, industrial, dive medicine, and advanced practice EMS. He is an instructor in several subjects, including Medical Continuing Education, Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and Pediatric Advanced Life Support.

Matthew James Stewart

Augusta, GA - Matthew Stewart is a 3rd year medical student at the Medical College of Georgia. Professional goals include completing an Emergency Medicine Residency program in the Southwestern United States and working in the fields of Public Health and Wilderness Medicine. He has served as director of the Southeast MedWAR for the past two years and works with the MCG Wilderness Medicine Interest Group. He is certified in Advanced Wilderness Life Support and is currently working towards the Fellowship of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine. Matthew’s vagabond nature and love for outdoors has led him to complete the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and multiple bicycle tours. Other hobbies include competitive cycling, yoga, drinking coffee, part-time Volkswagen van dweller, reading Edward Abbey, and playing guitar.

M. David Stockton, MD, MPH, FAWM

Knoxville, TN - David Stockton is Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, UT Medical Center, Knoxville, where he serves as full-time faculty and Chief, Division of Preventive Medicine. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medical Society (FAWM), and lectures and precepts yearly to medical students attending the national WMS Medical Student elective in Townsend, Tennessee. Dr. Stockton has participated in humanitarian international medical missions to India, Venezuela, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and the Philippines, and served with the International Medical Corp (IMC) in the 2005 Indonesia Tsunami. An ACLS instructor and holder of ATLS certification, he is also a member of the Knoxville Medical Reserve Corp. An Eagle Scout and long time Scoutmaster, he has led high adventure Boy Scout treks to the Philmont Scout Ranch, Canoe Base in Canada’s Quetico Park, and Seabase in Florida.

Jeanne Stranahan, RN

Cary, NC - An outdoor enthusiast who enjoys hiking, backpacking, kayaking, and anything else outside, Jeanne Stranahan is an RN with WakeMed Health and Hospitals, where she currently works in the WakeMed Cary Hospital ED. She has 16 years Emergency Nursing experience and certified in Advanced Wilderness Life Support through ACWM.

Philip A. Visser, MD

Cornelius, NC - Phil Visser currently works as a trauma/general surgeon with Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. He is an Eagle Scout, a private pilot, and has completed training in wilderness first response and swiftwater rescue. He is a current ATLS and cave rescue instructor and has participated in multiple deployments with the NC-1 DMAT/ Special Operations Response Team, on whose Board of Directors he also served. He has completed multiple Outward Bound courses with his son as well as training as an Outward Bound instructor.

Wes Wallace, MD

Chapel Hill, NC - Wes Wallace is associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Medicine. His areas of special academic interest are wilderness medicine, international medicine and medicine and social justice. He is a member of the UNC-based State Medical Assistance Team II and was most recently deployed to Gulfport, Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Wallace served as outings chair for the North Carolina Sierra Club and was on national Sierra's medical advisory committee for outings. He is an avid hiker and river runner and has been privileged to row the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon twice.

Keith Wells, RN, MSN

Cullowhee, NC - Keith Wells began his career in emergency medicine as a paramedic and worked as a nurse in Wake Forest University’s level one trauma center. He received his master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a concentration as a nurse practitioner in family practice. He is an instructor in Western Carolina’s Emergency Medical Care program, one of the nation’s few institutions offering both baccalaureate and master’s degrees for paramedics, and is helping to design a wilderness medicine track for the baccalaureate program there. His recreational interests include orienteering and aviation.

Jerry Withrow, MD

Charlotte, NC - Jerry Withrow is a family medicine physician at Steele Creek Urgent Care, a subsidiary of Carolinas HealthCare Systems in Charlotte, NC. Withrow has been involved in outdoor adventures and international travel for over 40 years.  He served two years in the U.S. Peace Corps in Nepal working in agricultural development. During that time and on subsequent visits, he has trekked to Everest base camp twice, completed the circumnavigation trek of Annapurna and has explored other Himalayan areas including Sikkim and Ladakh. He also has high altitude experience from his assent of Kilimanjaro in 2006. He has worked in the Ganado Navajo reservation hospital in Arizona and has participated in humanitarian medical clinics in Ecuador. When in private practice in Chapel Hill, Withrow began a travel medicine clinic serving the Research Triangle area. He continues to offer international travel advice in his Charlotte office. Withrow has worked as a trip doctor for National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions since 2002.

Roger Wood, PA-C

High Point NC - A PA for thirty-four years, Roger Wood started his own occupational medicine company, RLW Management Inc, nineteen years ago. He spent three years active duty as an Army Medic and ten years as a National Guard PA. He is currently certified as an AWLS instructor and has taken several wilderness medicine classes. He is a member of the Wilderness Medical Society and a FAWM candidate. He loves fishing, canoeing camping and activities in the West with friends. He is on his third canoe and third set of English Setters!