Lead Instructor/Owner
Darren Stokes
MS, WEMT, EMT-Basic + IV

Darren has been a professional outdoor guide and instructor for over 20 years and holds a Masters Degree in Outdoor Recreation. He lives in Buena Vista, Colorado at the base of the Collegiate Peaks and on the banks of the Arkansas River. Darren is a WEMT and volunteers for Chaffee County Search and Rescue where he serves as Training Officer and as a member of the Swiftwater Rescue Team.

Darren shares his love for the outdoors with wife Tina, son Jesse and daughter Bailey. The kids have been skiing since they were two and rafting since they were three, keeping up with them is Darren's foremost outdoor challenge.

Lead Instructor
Tim Graham
WEMT, EMT-Paramedic, FF

Tim Graham retired from Miami Dade Fire Rescue last year after 32 years as a firefighter/paramedic, diver, hazmat tech, etcetera. A native Floridian the ocean has always been and will continue to be a part of his life. Wave Skis and kayaking occupy his spare moments between volunteering at the local environmental school and running.

Lead Instructor
Dr. Laura Helfman
MD, WFR

Dr. Laura was one of those docs who finished medical school and still didn't know what to do when she grew up, so she decided to do lots of things part-time. On any given day, she might be working as an emergency physician, teaching for wilderness medicine, or working as a whitewater raft guide. Home is northwest of Chattanooga where there is ample opportunity for all three.

Lead Instructor
Susan Purvis
WEMT

An explorer by passion, Susan combines wilderness medicine, desert survival, exploration geology, K9 search and rescue and writing to land jobs on seven continents.

Susan started a non-profit high altitude medicine program for local Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Everest Guides and continues teaching every year. She has served as a medic on an ice breaker bound for Antarctica, explored for gold in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, and produced a documentary in the Amazon jungle.

Susan spent a decade working at an urgent care/orthopedic ski clinic in Crested Butte, Colorado. She has worked as a professional ski patroller, guide, K9 avalanche expert and SAR member and is a sponsored athlete for Marmot.

Assistant Instructor
Graham Stokes
WEMT, EMT-Paramedic, FF

Graham is the owner and Head Guide of Tall Man Outfitters. He's a paramedic and volunteer firefighter with College Township Fire Department in Gambier, Ohio. Graham became a professional outdoor guide in 2006 and first became certified in wilderness medicine in May of that year.

Graham lives in Gambier, Ohio with his wife Ellen and their black lab, Juno. When he's not at the fire department you'll likely find him outdoors.