Chris Gibson BSC(Hons) MSc FAWM WP-C TP-C MCPara

Chris Gibson is a critical care flight paramedic, a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine and the Founder of SOS Medical Services. A former British Soldier and Army Commando with operational experience in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Chris is an ISBC board certified Wilderness & Tactical Paramedic, NAEMT Affiliate Faculty member for the Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) and Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) Programmes. 

Chris is a mountain leader, arctic survival trained, and has summited Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina (6,962 m/22,840 ft) and worked as an expedition medic in the Atacama Desert, Khumbu Valley, Nepal and on Mount Ojos del Salado (6,893 m/22,615 ft) in Chile.

As a passionate wilderness instructor, he has taught Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS), Wilderness First Aid and WEMT courses in the Rainforests and mountains of Guatemala, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Nepal, Nicaragua and Honduras. 

A certified Oil and Gas Offshore medic, Chris has provided primary care, emergency care and prolonged field care for rig staff, soldiers and refugees alike across Iraq and Kurdistan.

He has supported humanitarian operations in the Balkans and Kurdistan, a Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) in West Africa, close protection operations in Iraq, and USAR disaster response teams following natural disasters in Guatemala. 

 Chris is a frequent presenter at EMS conferences and continues his paramedic practice in austere environments, most recently in Afghanistan, and with TV production companies in Thailand.

 Co-founder of Guatemala's first helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS), Chris continues to work in HEMS, provide wilderness and disaster medical education across the region and regularly coordinates medical missions for underserved tropical communities.

 Chris’s team sells SOS Coffee, providing sustainable employment in Guatemala and funding medical missions for underserved rural communities in SW Guatemala.

Dr. Benjamin Woodard, DNP, ENP-C, FNP-C, FAWM

Hailing from New Mexico, Benjamin is a board-certified nurse practitioner in both emergency and family practice, with a passion for clinical teaching, mentorship and care in austere settings. He has worked in rural practice, with 5 years in full scope family practice, and now exclusively working emergency medicine.

Benjamin earned his doctorate from Yale University, and focused his work on creating emergency procedural skills trainings for new nurse practitioners in remote settings. He is an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Family NP track at UMASS Medical School, Graduate School of Nursing.

As a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, he has taught wilderness medicine to healthcare providers in the US and internationally, courses for non-medical folks, and is an active member of the Wilderness Medicine Society, and the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners.

Dr. Woodard has a passion for teaching family practice and emergency care to new clinicians, using team strategies to teach wilderness medicine. He is an avid climber, enjoying sport, big wall trad, and alpine climbing, and spends most of his days off climbing, fly-fishing, or bush-crafting. He looks forward to scaling higher more diverse peaks internationally, teaching, and hopes to keep time for his local crags and rivers in New England.

Burjor Langdana MSc

Burjor is an experienced wilderness and expedition dentist providing onsite emergency care, surgery and remote telemedicine support.

He has coordinated mobile dental clinics across Africa and Asia and provided support to the British Antarctic Survey team over 4 years.

Burjor provides clinical education for medical practitioners of all levels, is a presentar at international wilderness medicine conferences and contributes to the wilderness and expedition literature.

Donnie has worked as a faculty for OEMS and their cadaver lab and as an associate instructor with Special Operations and Rescue. He is an EMS instructor with NC Community College and high angle rescue instructor with the Association of EMS/Rescue.

Gabriel Cade, MD, FACEP, FAWM

Gabriel is first and foremost a lover of wilderness, and experiencing wilderness with his wife and two tough-as boys.

Cade dropped out of college to pursue the nonexistent career of living in his car and rock-climbing, which, in 2002, led to his participation as a contestant on Survivor: Marquesas, where the show physician introduced him to the idea of wilderness medicine.

After years of wilderness travel - hiking the entire 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail in one push, adventure racing, climbing some of the highest mountains in the world - he returned to academia. He completed his emergency medicine training as chief resident at a Level 1 trauma center, and followed this by helping to develop and complete one of the early wilderness medicine fellowships in the United States. His focus is on implementation of ultrasound technology in austere and disaster medicine, and his research and AWLS instructor jobs have taken him across the United States, Central America, and sub-Saharan Africa.

He continues to work with local search and rescue teams, teach domestically and internationally, and does peer review for the Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Journal.

Alex Stronge MSc MCGI MCPara

Alex completed a full and varied military career, serving in several operational theatres including Iraq, where he deployed on both conflicts, Afghanistan, Central America  Eastern Europe, and  Northern Ireland.  For the majority of his military career, Alex served with the UK Special Forces, initially with a Sabre Squadron of 22 Special Air Service Regiment and as a member of the UK Counter Terrorist response team, rising to assume the appointment of Officer in Command of UKSF Medical Training, being the first person to hold the appointment.  

Alex also served as an agent handler with the UK Defence Human Intelligence Unit, deploying as part of a small team to develop and manage human intelligence agents overseas.   On transitioning to civilian life, Alex was awarded a close protection licence, number 0830 0185 2861 7807, by the UK Security Industry Authority and has provided close protection services to high profile and high net worth individuals within the UK and overseas in remote and hostile areas of South America and Africa.  Alex is also a State Registered Paramedic and Member of the College of Paramedics, which provides a solid clinical capability to his work in hostile and remote locations. In his private life, Alex enjoys maintaining a high level of physical robustness, he has competed in and completed the gruelling Marathon Des Sables across the Sahara desert.  He holds a pilot’s licence and enjoys using this and his keen motorcycling habit to explore the less visited parts of the world.

COLONEL David Bates, ARRC BN MMedEd MPH FIHM FRSPH MioD

After a career spanning over 35 years, Colonel Bates is the British Army's most senior nurse with a wealth of operational experience. 

An expert creator and leader of integrated health and care systems with a wealth of experience in clinically austere, hostile, remote and rural settings, Col. Bates was described by the Nursing Times publication as one of “the most influential, intelligent and impactful nurses in the profession”.

Passionate about education, training and practice development which are vital in building health capacity and capability. Seeking opportunities to continue helping communities to develop their health and care systems at home and abroad. 

An expert in mitigating, planning for disaster response and delivering humanitarian action with participatory monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning built in.

Colonel Bates is the lead educator and associate professor for Cumbria University's Disaster Response and Humanitarian Action modules.

Paul Pinder McPara FEWM

Paul is a former British Soldier, firefighter a current HCPC Paramedic and Fellow of Extreme and Wilderness Medicine. Paul has extensive experience in remote medical operations from arid Iraq and Afghanistan to tropical  Fiji and Guatemala.

He has a wealth of risk management experience, developing remote clinical governance systems, emergency response plans and coordinating clinics for underserved rural communities, displaced persons and refugees.

Gustavo Flores MD FP-C TP-C WP-C

Doctor Flores is an active emergency medical physician, flight physician and instructor and supports a Puerto Rico based EMS & rescue unit.

Faculty for the NAEMT and AHA, Dr Flores provided on the ground medical care and operational coordination throughout the recent tropical storms and hurricane Irma.

He has recent experience of oil and gas operations in the Middle East and is a regular contributor to EMS  World magazine and the international conference.

Damian Rawcliffe

Damian is the UK-based training manager and frontline healthcare professional, blending current clinical practice with delivering learning.

He has 20 years of operational experience in remote and austere environments, providing risk consultancy, contingency planning, security services and medical care.

Damian has taught close protection, personal safety, conflict management and first aid to civilian, corporate, government and military teams around the world