Swiftwater Rescue Conference

Julie Munger is an internationally acclaimed River Professional. Over her 45-year career she has been an internationally admired river guide, river trip leader, river manager, operations manager and an outfitter. She was inducted into the Whitewater Hall of Fame in 2017. As a Swiftwater Rescue Instructor since 1992, she has contributed to the improvement and development of river rescue, swiftwater and flood rescue, and wilderness medicine programs and curriculums. Her company, Sierra Rescue International, is a recognized provider of river rescue, swiftwater and flood rescue, and wilderness first aid trainings. There are certified Sierra Rescue students and programs worldwide.

A graduate of UC Davis, and the University of Central Lancashire in Technical Rescue Instruction, she has been a Swiftwater and Technical Rescue Instructor for over 30 years. Currently, she is the CEO and founder of Sierra Rescue and the Western Regional Director for Rescue 3 International. She is a past member of the Rescue 3 International Steering Committee and helped in decisions affecting curriculums worldwide. She is the coauthor of the complete portfolio of Sierra Rescue International course books and field guides. A Safety and Rescue Level 5 Instructor Trainer for the American Canoe Association she is also the Vice Chair of the ACA Safety and Rescue Committee, and the Treasurer for the Higgins and Langley Memorial Awards.

Stephanie is an emergency medicine physician at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke Virginia and Associate Professor at the VT-Carilion School of Medicine. She is the Wilderness Medicine Fellowship Director. She is a member of the Wilderness Medical Society Board of Directors.  She is a co-founder of Blue Ridge Adventure Medicine. She is a certified Level 4 Swift Water Rescue Instructor through the ACA. She is passionate about wilderness medicine education teaching, courses from Wilderness First Aid to courses for medical professionals. She enjoys adventuring outdoors including paddling, mountain biking, climbing, sailing and SCUBA.

A full-time outdoor skills educator working internationally, Tom is focused on the development of powerful and effective methods of experiential learning. In 2015, Tom received the ACA’s “Excellence in Instruction” award and has been nationally recognized among the “Best of the Best” of Swiftwater Rescue Instructors. From his start in emergency services in 1990, through his current position as the Team leader of the Washington CO. AR Wilderness Search and Rescue team, his focus on technical skills and rescue techniques has been a lifetime passion.

As a NREMT / WEMT, he functions as medical support and safety on expeditions and large paddling events. Tom is an American Canoe Association (ACA) L-4 Whitewater Kayak Instructor Trainer Educator, L-5 Advanced Swiftwater Rescue Instructor Trainer Educator and L-4 Rafting Instructor and Guide Trainer. In his role as an Educator for the ACA, Tom Chairs the ACA’s Safety and Rescue Discipline Committee, which provides oversight and curriculum development for the ACA’s Safety and Rescue programs and he is a foundational member / SWR 3-V Instructor for the International Technical Rescue Association (ITRA).

Dr. Henderson McGinnis has a long history in expedition medicine ranging from his experiences in the military as well as a whitewater rafting guide for private and commercial expeditions. When Dr. McGinnis isn’t on the river, he is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and the Wilderness Medicine Fellowship Director at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Charlie Walbridge started canoeing at summer camp in the early 60’s and started paddling whitewater seriously in college. He was an active C-1 slalom and wildwater racer and worked as part-time as a river guide in the 70’s. He has paddled rivers throughout the US and Canada, including several first descents, but he now spends most of his time in West Virginia. He ran a mail order company, Wildwater Designs, for 22 years. There he developed the HiFloat life vest and adapted the throw-line rescue bag for whitewater use. He’s been the Safety Chair for both the American Canoe Association (ACA) and American Whitewater (AW) and is well known for articles in American Whitewater that reporting on U.S. whitewater fatalities. This eventually evolved, and became the AW accident database.

He helped develop the ACA programs in both canoeing and swiftwater rescue, the latter with Wayne Sundmacher. He’s written many magazine articles and produced or contributed to numerous books, including The Boat Builder’s Manual, Wildwater West Virginia, Appalachian Wildwater Volumes I and II, The Whitewater Rescue Manual, Knots for Paddlers, and several editions of the River Safety Report. He is on the board of Friends of the Cheat River, a watershed group. Now retired, he does consultations on canoeing safety for outfitters, organizations and attorneys. Charlie lives with his wife Sandy in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia and is active in Cheat and Upper Yough river issues.

George Bassler is a Deputy Chief for New York State Fire, where he manages the Technical Rescue Training including the Swiftwater/Flood rescue training program. George has over 40 years of Emergency Response experience. He is also a paddler and a member of the National Canoe Safety Patrol on the Upper Delaware River. He has been involved in numerous river rescues as a rescuer, a paddler, and occasionally as the victim.

Carver Haines started his training with EMS and wildland firefighter and is now a physician at Virginia Tech Carilion Clinic trained in wilderness medicine and faculty with the wilderness medicine program. Carver is trained in mountain, cave, and Swiftwater rescue and is an ACA L3 instructor. He enjoys kayaking, rafting, and any other sports on the water.

Dean Woodley serves as the chair of the Boy Scouts of America Capitol Area Council Aquatics Committee. He has 30 years of experience working in the SCUBA and Underwater Search and Recovery arena, including hosting trainings for underwater crime scene management for law enforcement at the University of Texas in Austin. Dean is an Emergency Response Diver International On-Scene Supervisor and a Rescue 3 International Swift Water Rescue. He has also served as a Lifeguarding Instructor Trainer for the American Red Cross and as an Instructor for the American Canoe Association.

Dean works to spread the work about water safety to reduce the number of drownings in our communities through serving as a Boy Scouts of America Aquatics Instructor and faculty at National Camping School Aquatics Section, a member of the Central Texas Water Safety Coalition, a Water Safety Ambassador for Colin’s Hope, and an Advisory Board member and Ambassador for Underwater Hypoxic Blackout Prevention. He also participates with the National Aquatics Subcommittee Boy Scouts of America and promotes and Maintains Life Jacket Loaner Stations at Local Parks in Central Texas.

During his summers in High School Don went to camps in Canada and Colorado which started him backpacking and climbing many of the 14000 ft mountains in Colorado. Don spent the last 15 years guiding rivers in CA, OR, West Virginia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Chile, and the South West. For a several years, he was logging 150+ days on river! In addition to his time on the water, he spent 2 years working as a full time firefighter/EMT with Rocklin Fire Department. Don took an 81 Day Multi Environment Outward Bound Course and a Wilderness EMT in Yosemite with WMI of NOLS. It was during this course that he first met Julie Munger, owner of Sierra Rescue, for the first time.

Don has been working with Sierra Rescue for 13 years now and is one of our full time independent contractors, American Canoe Association Swiftwater Rescue Instructor and an American CPR Instructor.  When asked why he became a rescue instructor Lester responded, “I love teaching rescue courses because I want people to learn from the mistakes I have made without having to make them themselves.  I enjoy trying to bring the word and actions of a professional back to the boating world.  It seems to have gotten lost somewhere.  My favorite thing about contracting for Sierra Rescue is being the little fish in a pond full of smarter fish.  I have learned so much from Julie Munger, Abigail Polsby, Zach Byers, Mike Mather, Tren Long and John Rogers. I hope to someday be as good of an instructor as they are/were.” If you’ve ever taken a class from Don, you know he’s right up there with the best of them! When not teaching rope & water rescue classes, you can find Don river guiding on  California rivers with H2O Adventures!

Sam Fowlkes has been a leader in paddlesport for over 30 years. His involvement with the American Canoe Association began in 1977 when certified as a whitewater kayak instructor while working at Nantahala Outdoor Center as a guide and instructor. He has been an ACA whitewater canoe Instructor Trainer since 1981. He is presently an Instructor Trainer Educator in Level 5 Advanced Swiftwater Rescue and Level 4 Whitewater Canoe for the ACA. In addition Sam has been an Instructor Trainer for Rescue 3 International and a NOLS Wilderness EMT. For the last 20 years his focus has been on swiftwater rescue instruction and instructor trainer training. Sam’s interests lie in innovative instruction and in making rescue techniques adaptable and relevant to paddlers. Advanced mechanical advantage systems are one of his rescue specialties.

Sam’s other ACA leadership positions include: 12 years as an ACA Division Divisional Instruction Facilitator, 4 years as SEIC Vice Chair and Chair. He is currently serving as past chair of the ACA Safety + Rescue Committee. He would like to continue moving the  rescue discipline forward as the cutting edge of innovative techniques.

In higher education for 30 years, Sam was on the teaching faculty of Western Carolina University schooling students in water-based sports education. He takes a special interest in providing a multi-level educational experience through providing professional level training for colleges, universities, outfitters, summer camps and clubs. An ACA Legend of Paddling recipient and a Higgins and Langley special commendation award holder, Sam also enjoys rowing an oar rig, stand up paddle boarding and canoeing with his Newfoundland dog “Lexi.’

Brad Vrooman works for the New York State Division of Homeland Security, Office of Fire Prevention and Control, in the Special Operations Branch as a Technical Rescue Instructor and Curriculum Developer, specializing in Swiftwater/Flood, Confined Space, Ice, High Angle Rope, and Inflatable Rescue Boat Operations. He is an International Technical Rescue Association Level 3 Instructor for Swiftwater 3A, 3B, and 3V, Confined Space and Rope, and is a former Rescue 3 and ACA L4 Swiftwater Rescue Instructor. He is also a certified New York State Paramedic and has attended the Critical Care Transport Program at UMBC, Baltimore, MD, and is a former EMS Dept Executive Director and Chief of Operations.

He is a former US Army Infantry Officer and Airborne Ranger, graduating from Norwich University in 1979. He has completed the 10^th Special Forces Group SPARTAN Program, and has served as a military mountaineering instructor at the Northern Warfare Training Center in Alaska, as well as a combat tactics instructor at the US Army Infantry School, Ft Benning, GA. He has served on military Search and Rescue Teams in Vermont, New York, and Alaska. He has been an avid whitewater kayaker, instructor, and guide, beginning his paddling career in 1980, working with the NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation on the NYS Licensed Guide Program, and assisting NYS DEC and local Law Enforcement in whitewater search and recovery efforts in New York State. He has paddled extensively throughout the northeast, southeast, and western USA, Canada, and Central America.

Elisha McArthur is the co-owner/ operator of Canyon River Instruction (CRI) on the Arkansas River near Salida, CO. CRI is an instructional based company that focuses primarily on rafting, river safety, and Swiftwater Rescue instruction. Elisha grew up rafting, and began her guiding career in 1999 on the Rio Grande near Taos, NM at the age of 18. She has worked rivers across the Western US as well as in Scotland, and regularly travels all over the globe to paddle rivers. Elisha first became an ACA instructor in 2016 and is currently an L5 Raft ITE, L4 SWR IT and an L3 River Canoe Instructor. She is also the current chair of the ACA’s Rafting discipline and member of the Safety and Rescue discipline committee. Elisha has a passion for making the whitewater world a more accessible and inclusive place, and helping people feel welcomed and empowered on the river.

Lynsey hails from South Dakota where outdoor opportunities are boundless and a foundation of exploration + service is strongly instilled. Attending university in California introduced whitewater rafting to the activity list as well as an interest in wilderness medicine. AmeriCorps NCCC took her to the east coast and solidified an “off the beaten path” mindset. It is back in California with All-Outdoors working as a commercial river guide that she discovered a new form of boundless that reveals itself when you train/work with the same crew for a decade. She also started training with Sierra Rescue as they developed the rescue curriculum for river runners.

Seasonal opportunities led Lynsey south in the fall. Technical rigging machines for a theatrical snow effect and driving boom lifts added skills to the resume. Traveling further south into Central and South America in the winter confirmed, it’s anything near a river system that truly fills her up.
She stepped away from the outdoor industry in 2016 to start a family. As it turns out, an outdoor professional returning to the industry can smoothly integrate back because the industry is one rooted in community, growth and meeting people where they are at to help build them up.
Lynsey currently resides with her family in Lotus, Ca. She is a Sierra Rescue International Instructor Trainer (Rescue and Medical), Rescue 3 International Flood Tech/A & SRT/A (Water and Rope) Instructor, ACA Level 5 Swiftwater Rescue Instructor and Wilderness EMT.

Nik White owns Whitewater Workshop in the Denver, Colorado area where he is a swiftwater rescue, whitewater kayak, and packraft instructor.

He’s been an ACA instructor for 10 years and is a member of the ACA’s whitewater kayak and packraft discipline committees. Nik got started in whitewater 15 years ago as a raft guide on the Youghiogheny River in Pennsylvania.

Justin S. Padgett, M.S, Paramedic, WEMT  is the founder and Executive Director of Landmark Learning, a school for outdoor medical and rescue skills. Since 1996, Landmark coursework has included Wilderness Medicine, Swiftwater Rescue, Canoe, and Lifeguarding. Justin continues to serve in an advisory role for curriculum with NOLS Wilderness Medicine, American Canoe Association, Starfish Aquatics Institute, and Leave No Trace. As a Level 5 Safety and Rescue Instructor Trainer, Justin has been training students and instructors in the US and abroad for almost 3 decades. Justin “Padj” is well-known as a welcoming and articulate presenter and teacher!

Jim Coffey is a well-known name in the Swiftwater Rescue Community. He is known as an innovator that has challenged, modified, and adapted many “tried and tested” techniques. He is the Director of the “R3-Rescue for River Runners” Video Series and creator of the R3 App for rescue instruction. Jim has an extensive background in paddling (kayaking, canoeing and rafting) and has led expeditions worldwide. Jim brings an extensive whitewater career to the ACA and acts as an L5 Instructor Trainer. Jim puts his “money where his mouth is” as his experience, ability and teaching methodology all align in dynamic fashion. Jim can be found in the summers in his native Canada and teaching throughout the winters in Latin America primarily in Jalcomulco, Veracruz, Mexico.

Robin is an Instructor Trainer Educator in several ACA disciplines, and his professional work as a physician’s assistant perfectly aligns his expertise in the medical world with the evolving techniques and protocols in the world of river kayaking and swiftwater rescue. For his outstanding work in the world of swiftwater rescue, he has received a Higgins and Langley Special Commendation award and ACA’s Excellence in Instruction award. Robin represents paddlers and the ACA to the National Boating Safety Advisory Council, the National On-Water Standards program, and the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators Education Standards Panel; he also serves as the paddlesport specialist for BSA’s Sea Scouting program and as Branch Chief of the USCG Auxiliary’s AUXPAD paddling program. In addition to Robin’s instructional activities, he has led the ACA through positive transitions including the regaining of National Governing Body (NGB) for Olympic and Paralympic paddlesports, grassroots volunteer activation within the ACA State Director program, growth in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives through support of ACA’s LEAD program, and positioning the ACA for future success through strategic planning and meaningful partnerships. In all these roles, Robin illustrates the true meaning of humble leadership and investment in the paddling community. 

After three decades on and in the water, Mike Mather is one of the most experienced and entertaining rescue professionals in the industry. As a Rescue 3 International and American Canoe Association Instructor Trainer he has taught technical rescue courses all over the U.S. and Europe in Swiftwater, Boat Operations, PWC, and Technical Rope. Mike is known to often have an unconventional approach to these topics and he excels at keeping them clear, accessible, and applicable for military, rescue professionals, experienced boaters and novices alike.

Karl’s home river is the James River in Richmond Virginia.  With a wide variety of expeditionary leadership experiences, whitewater pursuits, and a background in wilderness emergency medicine, Karl is certified as an ACA L4 Swiftwater Rescue Instructor Trainer and L4 Whitewater Kayak Instructor Trainer.  Blending outdoor education pedagogy with pragmatic river running rescue techniques, Karl’s approach to Swiftwater Rescue instruction pulls from his experience as a raft guide, river ranger, college outdoor program coordinator, wilderness medical instructor, and kayak instructor.  Karl currently serves as a member of the ACA’s Safety and Rescue Discipline Committee, which provides oversight and curriculum development for the ACA’s Safety and Rescue programs.

Dave is the founder & head instructor for the Gunnison Kayak Program. He has been working in the whitewater industry for over 20+ years as a kayak instructor, swiftwater rescue instructor, raft guide, and NOLS river instructor. He is an Instructor trainer for the American Canoe Association (ACA) in the whitewater kayak, packrafting, and swiftwater rescue disciplines. He is also a whitewater canoe and SUP instructor.