The Speakers

Dr. Edi Albert is a rural and remote generalist, based in Tasmania, Australia. He works with to the aero-medical retrieval team of the Royal Flying Doctors Service in Central Australia.  Previously he has worked as a doctor in Antarctica and has spent 10 winters as a ski resort doctor. Additionally, he acted as the founding director of the pre-hospital care charity in Sandpiper, Australia. Currently, Dr. Albert is the director of the Healthcare in Remote and Extreme Environments Program at the University of Tasmania. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, climbing, kayaking, skiing and sailing.

Lauren’s day job as an Emergency Medicine Physician in San Diego gives her plenty of time for her true passion, playing outside. She trained in York, Pennsylvania, and completed her Wilderness Medicine Fellowship at UC San Diego. She came to medicine after years as a ski patroller, sailor, and mountain guide, and continues to incorporate these into her practice. She provides education and medical direction for ski patrol and search & rescue teams, and teaches medical students and outdoor enthusiasts about marine and mountain medicine.

Dr. Andrea Alvardao is a PGY2 at the Jackson/UM/Holy Cross Emergency Medicine residency program. Prior to this she completed her medical education at New York Medical College in New York followed by a research fellowship at MGH in Boston. While originally from Venezuela, Dr. Alvarado spent most of her childhood growing up in South Florida, but while living in the Northeast, fell in love with snow and winter sports. Although her passion for diverse pathology brought her back to South Florida, she stills remains passionate about cold weather activities. Her current interests within emergency medicine include critical care, medical education, and wilderness medicine. 

Pearce is a California native who grew up on the East Coast. With previous experience in orthopedics, he has spent the last decade serving as a physician assistant in cardiothoracic surgery and emergency medicine. "Going vertical" has been a life-long pursuit for Pearce. Pearce is a Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (WMS) and an AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor (SPI). After having completed his Diploma in Mountain Medicine(DiMM), he has continued to provide locums instruction at the University of New Mexico International Mountain Medicine Center. He has served on the board of directors for the Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine (ACWM)and has dedicated many years of service to search and rescue teams across the country. He is currently the Assistant Medical Director of Portland Mountain Rescue (PMR) and chair of the Rescue Systems Committee. Alongside multiple wilderness medicine publications and his work with the outstanding members of PMR, Pearce serves in the Oregon Air National Guard, 142nd Fighter Wing- CERFP Unit. Pearce is the recipient of the 2017 Warren D. Bowman Award for contributions in service to wilderness medicine and to the Wilderness Medical Society, the 2018 PA-Citizen of the Year Award from the Oregon Medical Association, and the 2019 Founders Award from the Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine.

Dr. Brad L. Bennett served honorably for 27 years in the United States Navy, as a physiologist in the areas of research, development, education, and training in support of Naval and Marine Corps operational forces. In 1994 he was selected to serve as faculty and an assistant professor in the Military & Emergency Medicine Department (MEM), F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Department of Defense), Bethesda, MD. In 1997-2001, Dr. Bennett was selected as the Vice-Chairman, MEM Department. In 2001, Dr. Bennett was selected to enter Navy Executive Management positions and served as the Commanding Officer, Field Medical Service School, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, CA; and in 2004, he served as the Commanding Officer, Naval School of the Health Sciences, Portsmouth, VA. Since 2003 to present, Dr. Bennett has served continuously as a subject matter expert to the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Department of Defense. From 2007 to 2018, Dr. Bennett has served on the Board of Directors, Wilderness Medical Society (WMS), and in August 2014 to August 2016, he was confirmed as President, WMS. Dr. Bennett currently serves as the Section Editor and serves on the Editorial Board for Wilderness & Environmental Medicine journal. 

Tiffany Brainerd is an anesthesiologist and pediatric anesthesiologist with Vanderbilt University. She divides her time between clinical practice in the Nashville, Tennessee area, and her home in Durango, Colorado, where she is Medical Director of La Plata County Search and Rescue. She has served as the Medical Director of the North America UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup Series and was recently named to the Board of Directors for the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE). Dr. Brainerd is a former faculty member of Harvard University and completed a Diploma in Mountain Medicine (DiMM) as well as a Fellowship with the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM) through the Wilderness Medical Society, The University of Colorado, and The University of Utah. Raised in Florida and now a converted rock and ice climber, backcountry skier, trail runner, and mountaineer, she has been privileged to reach the summit of many notable peaks including Aconcagua, the highest point in the Western and Southern Hemispheres at 22,837ft.

G. Patricia Cantwell, MD, FCCM is Professor and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at the Holtz Children’s Hospital/University of Miami. She spearheaded the formation of the Holtz Children’s Hospital Pediatric Palliative Care Team in 2008. Dr. Cantwell provides medical oversight of the Holtz Children’s Hospital PediPals Team, an interdisciplinary palliative care initiative.

She received her medical degree at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine/Wake Forest University, completed her pediatric residency at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital; and pursued her Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship at the Jackson Memorial Hospital and remained on the attending staff since 1990. Dr. Cantwell has received multiple awards for teaching.

Dr. Cantwell has been a Medical Manager for the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue South Florida Task Force 2 since 1994. She has deployed with the team numerous times including to the 2001 World Trade Center, multiple hurricane responses and the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

Stanley Chartoff, MD received his medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1986. He received an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1990 and completed residency in emergency medicine at Cook County Hospital in 1996. Dr. Chartoff then served in the US Air Force for 30 years where he deployed numerous times including several tours as a physician member of Critical Care Air Transport Teams. Dr. Chartoff currently works as an emergency medicine physician at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT and is a faculty member of the University of Connecticut Emergency Medicine Residency and Fellowship for International Disaster Medicine. Dr. Chartoff continues to assist in disaster response operations as a volunteer and North Branch Medical Lead of Team Rubicon International. He has also served as Assistant Chief Medical Officer for the Boy Scouts of America National and World Jamborees since 2010.

Jonathan Clark is an adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology and Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Clark served 26 years on active duty with the U.S. Navy, and qualified as a Naval Flight Officer, Naval Flight Surgeon, Navy Diver, U.S. Army parachutist and Special Forces Military Freefall Parachutist. Dr. Clark worked at NASA from 1997 to 2005, was a Space Shuttle Crew Surgeon on six shuttle missions, Chief of the Medical Operations Branch and a senior FAA Aeromedical Examiner (AME). He was the Space Medicine Advisor for the National Space Biomedical Research Institute from 2005 to 2017. In 2008 he was an expedition physician supporting the Haughton Mars Project on Devon Island in the high Canadian Arctic. He has served as Chief Medical Officer for the orbital commercial space company Excalibur Almaz from 2007 to 2012, and the Inspiration Mars Foundation since 2013. Dr. Clark was Medical Director of the Red Bull Stratos Project, which in 2012 successfully accomplished the highest stratospheric freefall parachute jump from 127,852 feet, achieving human supersonic flight (Mach 1.25) at 843 miles per hour. In 2012 Dr. Clark joined the StratEx Space Dive and was medical advisor for a new high altitude exit freefall record of 135,890 feet, and reaching Mach 1.22 at 822 miles per hour. He currently is a consultant for Virgin Galactic, Heinlein Prize Trust, Paragon Space Development Corp, JAG Human Performance, Space Perspectives, Operator Solutions, and Foundation for Aerospace Safety and Training. Dr. Clark is board certified in Neurology and Aerospace Medicine and is a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association.

Dr. Julio M. De Peña is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, graduated from medical school Universidad  Iberoamericana (UNIBE) School of Medicine, completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Puerto Rico and a Former coordinator for Hospital General Plaza de la Salud Emergency Medicine Residency Program. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine, he is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physician (FACEP); the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (FAAEM) and the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM) and member of FEMA/ Florida Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, Department of Homeland Security.

Dr. De Peña served as medical officer for the first and second Dominican expedition to Mount Everest. Furthermore, he is an avid photographer with his work being showcased in several venues such as the book; “Soñando el Everest” by Federico Jovine, Wilderness Medicine Session for ACEP Scientific Assembly 2011.

 Dr. Ben Easter, an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine! Dr. Easter serves as Deputy Element Scientist for Exploration Medical Capability at NASA and is Co-Founder of the University of Colorado Space and Extreme Environment Medicine Program! Dr. Easter spearheaded the development of the Martian Medical Analogue and Research Simulations (2MARS), an innovative simulation program to teach aerospace medicine to medical professionals in an operational environment.

Dr. William L. Fernandez recently completed his Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Maryland and is now completing the Aerospace Medicine residency program through NASA and the University of Texas Medical Branch. He is currently working on several projects, including the creation of NASA’s Covid-19 clinical practice guidelines for astronauts, evaluating wearable technologies for commercial spaceflight, and working with NASA’s Exploration Medical Capability element for the medical planning of Lunar and Martian missions. After he completes his Aerospace Medicine residency, Dr. Fernandez intends to work with both NASA and SpaceX as an operational flight surgeon.

Dan is based in the Brecon Beacons where he works as a portfolio GP. He also works for Nomad as a travel health physician, and is a trainee BASICs doctor, volunteering with Medserve Wales and the Welsh Ambulance Service. He holds the International Diploma in Expedition and Wilderness Medicine, from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He is also a fellow of the RGS. Dan has worked on multiple endurance events and treks, ranging from the tea plantations of Kenya to the deserts of Jordan to the wilderness of the Canadian Yukon. He has also worked in Fiji with World Extreme Medicine on the US reality TV show ‘Survivor’."

Dr. Harrison completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in exercise physiology at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton NB. He completed a doctorate in exercise physiology and advanced statistical analyses at the University of Regina, Regina SK, prior to medical school. While attending Saba University School of Medicine, Saba NA, he obtained a masters degree in hyperbaric medicine concurrent to his MD. He served as a chief resident at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit MI while completing a combined Emergency Medicine / Internal Medicine / Critical Care Medicine training program. Dr Harrison obtained a masters in public health from the University of Minnesota and completed his fellowship training in aerospace medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN in July 2018. He is faculty at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville FL in the departments of emergency medicine and critical care medicine. Dr Harrison is an instructor of Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) and Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) and an associate fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association. He is an award winning researcher whose interests include spaceflight, military aviation, decompression sickness, and high-altitude physiology and he has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles. He is a three-time Ironman finisher; a NITROX certified rescue diver; an instrument rated private pilot; and the CEO of Lightyear Medical PLLC, a company providing contracted flight surgeon services to the commercial space industry.

Dr. Hillebrandt started walking in the hills aged six and rock climbing  aged 14. He works as a General Practitioner with an interest in rural Pre Hospital emergency care. He has climbed throughout the world with expeditions to Pakistan, India, Mongolia and Chilean Patagonia and made first ascents of both rock and ice routes on the sea cliffs of SW England. During this time he has also managed to become president of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) Medical commission, Vice President of the International Society for Mountain Medicine (ISMM) and is the medical advisor to the British Mountaineering Council, Jagged Globe  (a commercial expedition company) and the British International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations (IFMGA) Guides. Unusually for a non academic GP he has also published some papers on Mountain Medicine.

Richard Ingebretsen graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1993. And he was graduated from the University of Utah with masters and PhD degrees in biophysics from the department of physics and astronomy. He completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in emergency medicine. He was Associate Dean for Students and directed the redevelopment of premedical education. He is now a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and at The University of Utah School of Medicine, at Rocky Vista College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of California San Diego School of Medicine and at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He is the director of the wilderness medicine program at the School of Medicine and is the medical director of Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue. He is founder of the Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) program. He does extensive work in the environment as well. He is the founder and president of the Glen Canyon Institute and is also the vice chair of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. He now teaches wilderness medicine to medical students and residents in Chamonix-Mt. Blanc each year.

Dr. Steve Jameson received his MD from U of MN – Mpls in 1989, and finished EM residency in 1993 at the Medical College of Wi – Milwaukee. Dr. Jameson worked in a level II trauma center in St. Cloud, MN, for 27 years, and transitioned to half there and half time working in rural ED’s and teaching rural and other EM providers (physicians, PA’s, and NP’s). He is the current chair of national ACEP’s Rural Section. Furthermore, Dr. Jameson has worked in dozens of rural hospitals in the US, internationally in New Zealand, China, and even as a ship doctor.

Dr Dan Lack is a Family Medicine registrar in Launceston, Tasmania and currently teaching faculty with the University of Tasmania in the Expedition Medicine section. He is part of the Australian Ski Patrol medical advisory committee and medical officer for the Ben Lomond Ski Patrol in Tasmania. He has also had a 20 year career in climate change research, with field work in remote areas of the world, in addition to a 10+ year career in mountain rescue with the Rocky Mountain Rescue group in Boulder Colorado, with tenures as their training director, mission leader and chairperson of the Rocky Mountain Region of the Mountain Rescue Association. 

Burjor is currently an NHS dentist in England. He is a professor in Extreme Medicine Univ Exeter. Dental director Team5 Medical Foundation. Faculty member of World Extreme Medicine, RCPS Glasgow, COROM,R2Ri, SFMC and editor, contributing author for the dental chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Expedition and Wilderness Medicine. 

He is also the founder of Wilderness Expedition Dentistry. He has many years’ experience in austere dentistry, having first become interested in this specialism while running dental camps in India and later when working in Oman, Antarctic, Malawi, Mobile Surgical Services in New Zealand and recently with Team5.

Dr. Jay Lemery, an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Chief of the Section of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine. He is the past president of the Wilderness Medical Society, is a consultant for the Climate and Health Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and sits on the National Academy of Medicine's (IOM) Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research and Medicine.

Dr. Kjell Lindgren is currently an active NASA astronaut. After serving as the Deputy Crew Surgeon for STS-130 and Expedition 24, he was selected as an astronaut in June 2009 as one of 14 members of the 20th NASA astronaut class.  Dr. Lindgren flew on Expedition 44/45 and logged 141 days in space.  He participated in two spacewalks and in more than a hundred different scientific experiments. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (minor in Mandarin Chinese) from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1995; a Master of Science degree in Cardiovascular Physiology from Colorado State University (CSU) in 1996; and a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Colorado in 2002. Completed a three‐year residency in emergency medicine, including a chief resident year at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2005. Completed a National Library of Medicine Post‐Doctoral Fellowship and Master of Health Informatics at the University of Minnesota in 2006. Completed a two‐year residency in aerospace medicine (2008) and a Master of Public Health (2007) at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas. Dr. Lindgren is board certified in emergency medicine and aerospace medicine. Dr. Lindgren is board certified in emergency medicine and aerospace medicine. As of recently Dr. Lindgren has been training as the backup for the SpaceX Dragon test flight crew and Crew-1 which recently launched on November 14th 2020. 

Sam is an ST4 anesthetic trainee and expedition medic based in Manchester, UK.

Her research interests are in rehabilitation of the high-risk surgical patient and human physiology in extreme environments, including high altitude and long duration spaceflight. Sam will be providing medical support to the UK Analogue Astronaut Mission and holds the UIAA Diploma in Mountain Medicine.

Outside the hospital, she is a mediocre but enthusiastic climber and has volunteer roles with British Exploring, the Youth Adventure Trust and the Social Mobility Foundation, focusing on widening participation and personal development. She is slowly learning the importance of a growth mindset & trying to practice what she preaches.

Claire Nordeen is a physician board-certified in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services. She completed medical school at The University of Pennsylvania, residency at Denver Health, and culminated her training with the University of Washington EMS Fellowship where she worked with Seattle Fire Medic One, the UW Paramedic Training Program, and as a flight physician with Airlift Northwest. She had the privilege of working at the epicenter of cardiac arrest research and teaching with the Resuscitation Academy. Following fellowship, Dr Nordeen spent a year in Alaska working clinically in the Emergency Departments at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage and Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau. She and her husband now live in Bozeman, Montana where she continues to work in the Emergency Department at Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital.

Dr. Ian Norton serves as the Founder and Managing Director of Respond Global, an emergency management organization looking to improve the local and regional responses of frontline workers during disastrous situations. Beginning in 2014, Dr. Norton lead the World Health Organization's Emergency Medical Team (EMT) Initiative program in their Geneva HQ until 2020. During his time at the WHO, he led emergency response efforts in support of various global disasters such as the Ebola outbreaks, Nepal earthquakes, and diphtheria outbreaks in Bangladesh. Prior to working at the WHO, Dr. Norton served as the Director of Disaster Preparedness and Response in Darwin, Australia and training over 700 members of the Australian Government Emergency Medical Team (AusMAT). His work has taken him around the world, training and preparing emergency response teams in well over 60 countries. Dr. Norton has seen the increasing frequency of global disasters and dedicates himself to equipping local and national management teams to provide and efficient and effective response during times of chaos.

Justin Parrinello is the Director of Operations for Florida Tactical and Emergency Medical Services, Inc. Mr. Parrinello is a seasoned fire captain and currently serves as assistant SWAT Team Leader and SWAT Team Tactical Medic Unit. He is on the Regional Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF) and the Joint Terrorism Task Force board for active shooter training and response,. He has helped to develop TEMS curriculum for various law enforcement agencies, the DOD, the US State Department and more. 

Wilderness medicine specialist, Susan Purvis learned in the early 2000’s that if you want to practice medicine

 in extreme environments, keep your bags packed, don’t ask for much money and be professionally flexible.

She’ll be the first to say, “I’m not a doctor.” But she knows a few things about taking care of patients. She worked slopeside at an urgent care clinic at the base of Mount Crested Butte, Colorado for over a decade. Over the past 25 years, Susan’s built a rewarding career anchored in gold exploration, search and rescue, ski patrol/guiding, wilderness medicine and avalanche education. As a wilderness medic, she’s led successful education programs, expeditions, and teams to the hottest, coldest, and highest places on earth. She currently trains elite special forces in winter mobility, avalanche, and wilderness medicine in the mountains of Utah, Idaho, and Montana.

Susan Purvis is a public speaker, wilderness medicine & avalanche educator, owner of Crested Butte Outdoors, and Author of the bestselling and award-winning adventure memoir, "Go Find—My Journey to Find the Lost and Myself." Susan received Congressional Recognition for saving lives in the high country of Colorado with her naughty but loveable black Lab, Tasha.

Her exploits put her in Smithsonian, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, on CNN, the BBC and Discovery Channels. Susan lives on Bitterroot Lake near Glacier National Park, Montana. www.susanpurvis.com www.cboutdoors.com

• Graduated MBBS (i.e. MD) from UQ in 2000 before completing MPH at UQ in 2005 by research with project titled "Epidemiology and treatment of eye disease - The Cape York Regional Eye Health Programme (1999-2004)"

• Worked for Fred Hollows New Zealand as Ophthalmology Fellow at the Pacific Eye Institute in Fiji in 2015. Prior to that worked in ophthalmology in Exeter, UK and New Zealand

• Participated in numerous eye camps to rural Fiji and India

• Cyclone Winston relief operation Team Co-Leader, Fiji, Feb 2016

• Currently Clinical Lecturer in UQ MD programme - Vision module coordinator; Year 2 Clinical Practice Course Coordinator

• Part time PhD candidate at UQ - "Assessing the climate resilience of the Nepal health system"

Ali Saad, MD is board-certified in Neurology, Stroke, and Lifestyle Medicine and has been practicing for over 10 years. He completed a fellowship in climate change and health policy at the University of Colorado's Climate & Health Program where is he now affiliate faculty. Dr. Saad is also chair of the neurology member interest group at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. His advocacy work focuses on poor diet being the leading cause of death and disability worldwide while accounting for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Dr. Aaron Saguil serves as the Associate Dean for Recruitment and Admissions at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine—America’s Medical School—in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Saguil is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and is on the faculty of the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital Family Medicine Residency. He is the Vice Chair of the AAMC’s MCAT Validity Committee, a contributing editor to the American Family Physician, and Chair of the AAFP’s Commission on Continuing Professional Development.

Dr. Saguil received his B.A. in Chemistry from Duke University and his M.D. from the University of Florida College of Medicine. After completing his residency at DeWitt Army Community Hospital in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he has been stationed in Grafenwoehr, Germany; Fort Lewis, Washington; and Fort Gordon, Georgia. He has deployed to Afghanistan and served as the Chief of Primary Care for the NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit in Kandahar, Afghanistan; his actions in theater were recognized with the Bronze Star and the Canadian Chief of Defense Staff Commendation.

Dr. M. Peter Sayers is an Emergency Physician with a subspecialty in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. After completing emergency medicine residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital / University of Miami, Dr. Sayers completed fellowship in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine at the Duke University F. G. Hall Center for Undersea Medicine and Environmental Physiology. While in fellowship, Dr. Sayers was involved with numerous US Navy and NASA-funded environmental physiology research projects and authored several manuscripts, abstracts, and a book chapter on diving medicine. He now practices Hyperbaric Medicine at Mercy Hospital in Miami, the only critical-care capable 24/7 emergency hyperbaric chamber in South Florida, which has treated more injured divers than any civilian facility in the country. He also practices clinical emergency medicine with the Broward Health System.

Heiko Stopsack is a Senior Paramedic / Rescue Specialist with King County Medic One - King County Sheriff's Air Support Unit.  His career began 40 years ago and has witnessed the evolution of prehospital airway management to where it is today.    At home in the Columbia Gorge he volunteers as a member of the Hood River Crag Rats Mountain Rescue team.  Heiko enjoys teaching avalanche safety course as a professional member of the American Avalanche Association. Both of these worlds have collided into a passion to teach and motivate fellow rescuers and medical providers that successful resuscitation and medical care can be achieved in austere environments. 

Prof Derrick Tin is a Disaster Medicine Specialist and faculty at the BIDMC/ Harvard Medical School Disaster Medicine Fellowship. He's an Associate Professor in Critical Care Medicine at the University of Melbourne and has extensive operational experience in austere environments. 

His talk "Journey into the Unknown" describes his personal experience and lessons learnt through many disasters around the world.

Dr. Roople is a practicing neurologist in Bangor, Maine. She completed her medical training in Krakow, Poland, Neurology residency and Vascular Neurology Fellowship at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, and Movement Disorders Fellowship at New York University in New York, New York. She is working toward her FAWM, because why wouldn’t you? She currently serves as the WMS JEDI Chairperson. In her leisure time, she climbs rocks and ice, skis, ice skates, hikes, bikes, camps, travels, teaches yoga and generally enjoys life. She’s currently learning landscape oil painting and her bucket list item is to bike across New Zealand.

Christopher Van Tilburg MD is a wilderness, emergency and occupational medicine physician. He is staff physician at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital where he works in Occupational and Travel Medicine, the Emergency Department, and the Mountain Clinic at Mount Hood Meadows Ski Resort. He serves as active member and medical director of Crag Rats Mountain Rescue, medical director of Portland Mountain Rescue, Chair of Mountain Rescue Association Medical Committee, a delegate for International Commission of Alpine Rescue, Hood River County Public Health Officer, and Medical Examiner for four Oregon counties. He is author of 11 books including Mountain Rescue Doctor: Wilderness Medicine in the Extremes of Nature, which was shortlisted for the Banff Festival of Mountain Books and the Oregon Book Awards, and Search and Rescue Stories: A Wilderness Doctor’s Life and Death Tales of Risk and Reward. He is first author of Wilderness Medical Society Practice Guidelines for Prevention and Management of Avalanche and Non-avalanche Snow Burial Accidents.

Jason is the Director of the International Mountain Medicine Center at the University of New Mexico where he and his faculty train healthcare professionals from across the globe in mountain emergency medicine and rescue. Jason is a paramedic and holds his Bachelors in Emergency Medicine; he obtained his International Diploma in Mountain Emergency Medicine in Switzerland under the shadow of the Matterhorn. He is the founder of UNM’s Diploma in Mountain Medicine (DiMM), a member of the International Commission for Alpine Rescue, chairs the international DiMM Regulation and Assessment Committee, and is on the board of directors of the Wilderness medical Society. Jason is a past member and president of volunteer-based Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council and formed University of New Mexico’s first helicopter mountain rescue team in collaboration with Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Air Support Unit. He has been featured by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation, on National Geographic TV, and has rock climbed throughout world. Despite his breadth of world travel, he’ll let you know this any day: “Nothing beats climbing a granite cliff face in the Sandia mountains with my life-long climbing partner/wife and teaching our four year old daughter to share our love for New Mexican mountains”.