2025 Wilderness Risk Management Conference

Main Conference: Tuesday, September 30 - Thursday, October 2, 2025

Preconference: Monday September 29 - Tuesday, September 30, 2025

*Schedule subject to change.

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8:30am EDT

Chance Favors the Prepared Mind: Purposeful Admissions for Stronger Risk Management

Thursday October 2, 2025 8:30am - 10:00am EDT

The admissions process is a critical transition from a participant’s desire to come on your program to the reality of participation. Constructing this “on-ramp” with intention is critical to effective risk management. In this session we will: a) Provide a framework within which attendees can visualize their own admissions process, goals, and stakeholders; b) lay groundwork for drafting an admissions mission statement; c) introduce a variety of tools for tone-setting, information gathering, and customized support; and d) trace the link between the admissions process and the effective management of field incidents. This session is appropriate for any organization looking to identify essential admissions process steps and integrate their admissions and risk management systems.

Speakers

Dave Haffeman

Risk Management Director, Where There Be Dragons

Dave has worked as field staff and an administrator in outdoor and international settings since 2005. Dave began his tenure at Where There Be Dragons in 2015 as a South America semester instructor. Over the years he has gathered valuable knowledge of Dragons programming while holding... Read More →

Amina Simon

Admissions Director, Where There Be Dragons

Amina joined Dragons as a traveler in 2013, and is entering her 5th year as Admissions Director. Amina is dedicated to maintaining a responsive admissions process and increasing access and inclusion in cross-cultural exchange. Amina is fluent in Spanish, highly proficient in Wolof... Read More →

Thursday October 2, 2025 8:30am - 10:00am EDT
Connecticut / Rhode Island Holiday Inn By the Bay:88 Spring St, Portland, ME 04119

Program Administration, Breakout Session

8:30am EDT

Reason for hope; The Federal EXPLORE Act legislation and its impact on permitting and recreation on federal lands.

Thursday October 2, 2025 8:30am - 10:00am EDT

Vermont

For years, outdoor leaders have struggled to navigate the systems federal agencies use to issue permits for experiential education programming on public lands. Recently, after ten years of legislative advocacy, Congress passed the EXPLORE Act, an expansive new recreation law that, among other things, seeks to simplify these agency permitting systems and improve access to federal lands for guided recreation and education programs. In this session, two leading advocates for the EXPLORE Act will describe the key features of the new law with a special focus on how the law will improve the permitting process for outdoor programs. Attendees will learn about the new programming opportunities created by the EXPLORE Act and hear how they can assist their agency partners with implementation.

Speakers

Paul Sanford

Director of Equitable Access Policy, The Wilderness Society

Paul Sanford is the Director of Equitable Access Policy at The Wilderness Society, where he advocates for policies that ensure everyone benefits equitably from nature and public lands. Paul has been an attorney and public policy advocate at the federal level since 1991. He has extensive... Read More →

Matt Wade

Executive Director, American Mountain Guides Association

Matt Wade is the Executive Director of the American Mountain Guides Association. In addition to his executive responsibilities, Matt oversees AMGA’s policy advocacy work and chairs the Policy Committee of the Coalition for Outdoor Access. He has been advocating for improvements... Read More →

Thursday October 2, 2025 8:30am - 10:00am EDT
Vermont Holiday Inn By the Bay:88 Spring St, Portland, ME 04119

Program Administration, Breakout Session

10:30am EDT

How Administrative Action is Reshaping the Risk Landscape for Outdoor Recreation Service Providers

Thursday October 2, 2025 10:30am - 12:00pm EDT

New Hampshire

Rapid changes at the Federal level have created a shifting landscape for managing physical, emotional, and business risk in outdoor programs. Are you concerned about the future of your organization’s federal contracts in light of recent equity-related executive orders (EO), while weighing the risks that your organization may face if you remain committed to the principles of DEI and accessibility? Although recent administrative actions envision a grim future for equity-based programs, a growing number of federal court cases prove that your organization may be in less danger than you think. Come hear from Jahir Morris, a public policy advocate for equitable access to federal public lands, on the risks that your organization may face from equity-related administrative actions, how to minimize risks without compromising on equity goals, and what we can learn from legal challenges to equity-related EOs. Executive Orders and work by DOGE have also radically reshaped capacity for our Federal Land Managers, and will impact your organization’s risk management resources. What will you do when your permitted lands are impacted by wildfire and there aren’t enough resources to fight that fire? Or, how can you assess avalanche risk if your local USFS avalanche center is understaffed or even closed? Will political attacks on DEI impact your ability to manage emotional risk for your participants and staff? Joshua Cole, IFMGA Guide and Risk Management Consultant, will introduce systems to help assess and mitigate these seemingly ever-changing risks to your operations, staff, and participants.

Speakers

Joshua Cole

Equitable Access Policy Fellow, The Wilderness Society

Joshua Cole is an owner of North Cascades Mountain Guides, a senior risk management consultant for Experiential Consulting, and a former program director for the Northwest Outward Bound School. He is an instructor and examiner for the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), and... Read More →

Jahir Morris

Equitable Access Policy Fellow, The Wilderness Society

Jahir Morris is the High Meadows Fellow for Equitable Access Policy at the Wilderness Society, where he advocates for policies that guarantee safe and meaningful engagement with nature and federal public lands for everyone. Jahir is a recent graduate from Princeton University, where... Read More →

Thursday October 2, 2025 10:30am - 12:00pm EDT
New Hampshire Holiday Inn By the Bay:88 Spring St, Portland, ME 04119

Program Administration, Breakout Session

1:00pm EDT

Adventure-Ready HR: 5 Tips for Outdoor Organizations Without an HR Team

Thursday October 2, 2025 1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT

Vermont

Discover how to effectively identify and manage people-risk and tackle HR challenges, even in a complex environment without a dedicated HR professional on staff. We’ll take a practitioner’s approach, framing all our recommendations around building an equitable, accessible, and fair workplace in light of the changing legal landscape.

Speakers

Tess Carlson

Vic Kerr

Human Resources Director, Outward Bound USA

Thursday October 2, 2025 1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT
Vermont Holiday Inn By the Bay:88 Spring St, Portland, ME 04119

Program Administration, Breakout Session

3:00pm EDT

Sleeping Together Safely: How can national best practices for sexual misconduct prevention be applied to the intimate work of outdoor education?

Thursday October 2, 2025 3:00pm - 4:30pm EDT

Cumberland / Kennebec / Lincoln

In this lively, interactive workshop, we will assess your organization’s readiness to both prevent and respond to incidents of sexual misconduct and related encounters. Participants will dive deep into the Socioecological Model, a national best-practice framework on harm reduction in sexual misconduct prevention and response. Attendees will apply this comprehensive resource to their unique work in outdoor education to discern and improve their organizational readiness to respond in any related situation. For the past three years, Kroka Expeditions has partnered with a local Consultant focused on sexual misconduct readiness, Deirdre Loftus, to use this model to transform staff and student trainings, and protocols and resources to keep all bodies, minds, and hearts safe from unwanted interpersonal risk. With the right mindset, tools and support, we believe every organization can elevate their preparedness for the risk of sexual misconduct - a risk that undermines a program’s intended curriculum, significantly impacts the health and safety of community members, and threatens the viability of your organization.

Speakers

Deirdre Loftus

Consultant

Deirdre Loftus is a consultant with a decade of experience working to end sexual misconduct in and outside of the outdoor industry. Initially working in the Adirondacks, Deirdre provided sexual health education, misconduct prevention, and sexual assault counseling to rural schools... Read More →

Nathan Lyczak

Executive Director, Kroka Expeditions

Nathan Lyczak is the Executive Director of Kroka Expeditions, a non-profit wilderness education school serving more than 1,000 students each year with a unique curriculum of adventure sports, sustainable living, and community development. He has more than 30 years of experience... Read More →

Thursday October 2, 2025 3:00pm - 4:30pm EDT
Cumberland / Kennebec / Lincoln Holiday Inn By the Bay:88 Spring St, Portland, ME 04122

Program Administration, Breakout Session