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The Experiential Consultants
Steve Smith
Founder
Steve Smith has worked in the outdoor industry for over thirty years, in the field, in the office, in the board room, and in national conference leadership roles, specializing in program leadership, risk management, and staff training.
His career has included leadership roles with organizations including Outward Bound and The Student Conservation Association. Steve served as the Chair of the Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) for three years (2014 - 2016). He has served on various organizations' accreditation review and risk management teams, including the Gap Year Association and The Association for Experiential Education.
He has a master's degree in teaching English, along with years of university-level teaching experience, and earned a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification from the Society for Human Resources Management, all of which help him view outdoor education through a variety of educational and administrative lenses.
Smith is the primary author and editor of Beneficial Risks - The Evolution of Risk Management for Outdoor & Experiential Education Programs and an upcoming book on safety science. He lives in Langley, Washington and loves exploring the Pacific Northwest.
Gates Richards
Operations Director
& Associate Consultant
Gates Richards has been involved in outdoor education and EMS since the early 90's. Over the years he's worked outdoor programming throughout the Rockies, Pacific Northwest and Alaska as a field instructor and supervisor for several outdoor programs. He's worked urban EMS in DC, WA, CO and WY. Gates is also an active member of the Fremont County Search and Rescue team in Lander, WY.
Gates began teaching for NOLS Wilderness Medicine in 1998 and has been awarded the Wilderness Medical Society's Warren Bowman award for contributions to wilderness medicine by a non-physician as well as the National Collegiate EMS Foundation's Distinguished Service Award. He is the former NOLS Wilderness Medicine Associate Director.
Gates has a passion for understanding how people make decisions, and how to improve that process. Gates, his wife and their children live in Lander, WY where they can be found running, hiking, skiing and fishing. But not at the same time.
Amberleigh Hammond manages safety systems for the Sierra Club at a national level.
Prior to joining the Sierra Club, she managed safety systems and served as the national medical evaluator for the Student Conservation Association (SCA).
Her primary career focus is medical evaluation, leader and staff training, development of field standards, and incident management/response. She has more recently developed resources and presentations on larger organizational matters such as organizational culture.
Prior to the SCA, Amberleigh worked at Outward Bound for six years as the national senior medical evaluator for OBUSA, managing assessment and communications with thousands of students applying for wilderness programs across North America each year.
She is an Outdoor Emergency Care instructor, teaches wilderness medicine courses, and is an EMT, ski patroller, and Mental Health First Aid instructor, in addition to running a farm in Missoula, MT in her spare time.
Amberleigh Hammond
Associate Consultant
Joshua Cole is an owner and guide at North Cascades Mountain Guides in Winthrop, WA and has more than 20 years of experience working in the outdoor education and guiding industries.
He has given trainings and presentations on wilderness risk management to numerous organizations, and has been a regular presenter at the Wilderness Risk Management Conference since 2009. Josh served as Washington Program Director for the Northwest Outward Bound School for 8 years, is a lead instructor for Wilderness Medicine Training Center, and has worked as a professional ski patroller. He is an IFMGA-certified alpine guide and a trainer for AMGA programs.
Josh's years of administrative leadership experience, along with formal training and hands-on application of risk management and experiential education provides depth to our team and offers unique insight to clients.
Joshua Cole
Associate Consultant
Stacy Earlywine began her work in the outdoor education community 30 years ago and has served in a wide variety of roles including, Program Director at Passages Northwest, field staff with Outward Bound, Climbing School Director at Stone Gardens Climbing Gym and volunteer instructor with the Washington Alpine Club for over a decade where she developed curriculum for several new courses.
Stacy currently has a private, clinical structural medicine practice, working with clients to improve their physical health. After 10 years in practice, she began noticing that the health outcomes of many clients were impacted negatively by dysregulation in their nervous system, often because of past traumatic experiences.
She is trained as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and is incredibly passionate about bringing this nervous system lens to risk management within the outdoor community and raising awareness about stress injuries and trauma prevention. She loves supporting individuals and groups through difficult experiences, working to increase resiliency and reduce the potential for long term impacts following an incident.
Stacy Earlywine
Associate Consultant
Elyse Rylander (she/her) is the Director of Equity, Access, and Belonging at Outward Bound USA and has worked in outdoor education and equity leadership for nearly two decades.
She has accumulated over 1,000 field days instructing and directing wilderness and urban programs, and today she leads national strategy to advance justice and belonging across Outward Bound’s nine regional Schools.
In addition to her role at Outward Bound, Elyse is the Founder of OUT There Adventures, a nonprofit dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth outdoor equity, and Co-Founder of the LGBTQ Outdoor Summit. She has also directed CSR-aligned DEI and sustainability initiatives in the outdoor industry and served as a partnership strategist for national coalitions. Elyse currently serves on the Steering Committee for the Wilderness Risk Management Conference.
Rooted in both justice practice and outdoor leadership, Elyse brings a unique perspective to advancing safe, inclusive, and equitable experiences for all who seek connection through the outdoors. When not working, she can be found exploring the Cascades with her family.
Elyse Rylander
Associate Consultant
Jay A. Satz
Associate Consultant
Jay A. Satz brings over 30 years of nonprofit executive leadership, risk management design and implementation, program design and innovation, and youth conservation service/outdoor education program experience.
Drawn to this risk management work early in his career, he attended the very first Wilderness Risk Management Conference in 1994 and has been involved in a WRMC leadership / speaking role ever since, including receiving the conference’s highest honor for risk management service, leadership and innovation, The Charles “Reb” Gregg Award, in 2016. He has built programs, created partnerships, solved problems, overcome challenges, and positively influenced many lives through his youth / conservation leadership at a local, state, and federal level across multiple decades.
Based in Tacoma, WA, Jay brings a depth of experience, broad expertise, and a perspective on experiential / outdoor risk management that serves our clients in unique ways, challenging them to be their best while building on their inherent strengths.
Chris Bartram
Associate Consultant
Chris Bartram, based in Winthrop, WA, is an experienced guide, educator, and program administrator in the outdoor industry with over a decade of diverse expertise. Since 2012, he has worked across multiple facets of outdoor education, ranging from guiding and field instruction to program management and academic teaching. Chris spent seven years in leadership roles, including Maine Bound Director at the University of Maine and Program Director for the Northwest Outward Bound School. In addition to his leadership experience, Chris’ instructional and guiding experience is equally extensive. He has more than 800 field days and has taught over a dozen academic courses.
Chris earned a B.S. in Adventure Education from Plymouth State University and M.A. in College Student Development, with a concentration in Outdoor Program Administration. He also holds over a dozen outdoor related certifications, further strengthening his expertise.
Beyond his practical experience, Chris has co-authored four research articles on diversity and inclusion, incident reporting, and risk management in outdoor programs.