Gates Richards

About Gates Richards

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. During his tenure at NOLS Wilderness Medicine he coordinated the hiring and training of new instructors; grew the Wilderness EMT program from 5 to 20 courses annually; brought online learning to NOLS; and taught over 300 courses.Gates is currently the Operations Director for Experiential Consulting where he and the EC team help outdoor programs, big and small, to optimize risk in order to achieve their educational goals. 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.

Experience

1. Instructor

   NOLS

   Jan 1998 — Present

Education

• Georgetown University

  BA

• Regis University

  M.Ed.

Skills

• Leadership Development
• Experiential Education
• Outdoor Recreation
• Outdoor Education
• Research
• Event Planning
• Environmental Education
• Public Speaking
• Outdoors
• Emergency Management
• Teaching
• Program Management
• Mountaineering
• Wilderness First Responder
• Program Development
• Volunteer Management
• Leadership
• Rock Climbing
• Community Outreach
• Kayak
• Backpacking