struggling teen, wilderness adventure camp
Can Adventure Education - Live The Adventure - Learn Its Lessons
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OUR TEAM

CanAdventure Education continues to change lives by attracting
the most respected professionals in the field.

Clinical Counsellors
Management & Administration

Instructors
Advisory Committee

CanAdventure Education's struggling teen programs offer Therapeutic Focus Sessions, which are developed, delivered, and overseen by minimum Masters-level Registered Clinical Counsellors. Our Associate Counsellors are independent professionals who work in private practice and visit CanAdventure Education regularly to help struggling teen participants explore their deeper therapeutic issues. They also bring to CanAdventure Education a wealth of clinical knowledge and experience to support our ongoing personal growth curriculum. Associate Counsellors are selected based on their clinical training and background, their connection to wilderness adventure pursuits, and their ability to connect with struggling teen participants in a positive and meaningful way.

Clinical Supervisor


Scott Lawrence, Ed.D., RCC
Scott is born and raised on the BC Coast. He has both an MA and a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology, and worked many years as a teacher and school counsellor at BC elementary and secondary schools. In Vancouver, he coordinated the District Critical Incident Response team and continues to consult in this area with several school districts. He has been a counsellor educator at UBC, SFU, and City University and is an active member of the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors.

He is passionate about the wilderness, holds a Wilderness First Aid certificate, and has studied and practiced the Vision Fast rite of passage tradition as developed by the School of Lost Borders.

A poet, Scott has authored of four books of poetry, many articles in the journal Raincoast Chronicles and has edited two poetry magazines, Raven and Circular Causation . A long-time student of Asian meditative traditions, he also teaches a range of contemporary approaches to the practices of mindfulness and awareness. He currently lives on Cortes Island , Desolation Sound, on land shared with children and grandchildren.

Our Clinical Counsellors

Ben Kotler, MA, RCC
Ben graduated with distinction from Norwich University with a Masters degree in Transpersonal Psychology and the University of Victoria with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology.  He is a winner of the University of Victoria Jubilee Medal and is an active member of the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors.
Ben has been involved in outdoor education and adventure based psychotherapy for the past ten years.  He has initiated his own adventure-based programs for developmentally disabled adults and adolescent boys and has been excited to work with the CanAdventure program for the past two years, collaborating on increasing the depth of therapeutic applications of wilderness adventure and eco-psychology.
When not hiking through the wilderness with teens, Ben runs a private counselling practice based in Campbell River and Courtenay, BC, and serving the Northern Vancouver Island region.  He draws from a range of psychotherapeutic schools to treat adults, youths and families with an emphasis on honouring the uniqueness of each individual whose life he shares in the therapeutic journey.

Ben enjoys both the communal aspects of the wilderness experience as well as the physical challenge of pushing beyond individual limits.  He holds a black belt in taekwondo and has trained in various martial arts over the past fourteen years, with his current focus being on mixed martial arts.  Ben lives in Sayward, BC, where he is building a cabin and enjoying the fruits of the land.

Jason LeFevre, MA, RCC
Jason graduated from Prescott College with a Masters in Counselling Psychology, specializing in Adventure Therapy, and is registered with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors. 

Jason is a Youth Drug & Alcohol Counsellor and also provides instruction, wilderness leadership, student support and river expertise in Malaspina University’s Outdoor Recreation Program. 

He has vast experience working in wilderness adventure settings with youth that struggle with substance, depression, stress and family issues.  His therapeutic philosophy is a combination of experiential education, outdoor education and social constructivism. In individual and group therapy he uses Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) as his meta-theory and he also uses solution-focused, narrative and systemic approaches.

In addition to having extensive experience in hiking, ocean paddling, climbing and backcountry skiing, Jason is a professional river guide.  He enjoys any opportunity to be immersed in wilderness adventure, especially if his assistant guide/son is leading the way.

 

Our Management & Administration Team:
CanAdventure Education's management team has extensive formal training and certification in the education and wilderness adventure fields, but more importantly offers twenty-seven years experience in developing, leading and teaching school-based and extra-curricular programs for youth. We believe strongly in the importance of a complete education and in the powerful role that recreation and adventure play in the growth and development of struggling teens.

Greg Stevenson, Executive Director
Greg is a co-founder of CanAdventure Education and serves as its Executive Director. A rower with Canada's national team for seven years, Greg has competed in two Olympic Games and has developed an extensive portfolio in youth recreation and sport programming. From the front lines coaching high school rowers to developing the national Dynamic Opportunities for Youth rowing program, Greg has over fifteen years experience managing the effective delivery of youth programs. This experience, coupled with a love for wilderness adventure and a detailed knowledge of Vancouver Island, positions him perfectly to lead CanAdventure Education's struggling teen wilderness adventure camp operations.

Greg holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, certification in Advanced Wilderness First Aid and Bronze Medallion water-rescue, and has training in experiential teaching and wilderness risk management.

Greg Stevenson - Struggling teen management teen

Greg works in CanAdventure Education's head office and is always available to parents or struggling teen participants who have questions, concerns, comments, or suggestions.

Greg and his wife Corinna live in Sayward, where they enjoy an active lifestyle, mainly due to the never-ending energy of their seven year-old son Dakota.

Corinna Stevenson, Director of Programming
Corinna is a co-founder of CanAdventure Education and the creator of its curriculum. She has been a dedicated and passionate public school educator for over twelve years. Her unique approach to experiential education focuses on engaging marginalized students in the educational process and she was awarded  the prestigious Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence for her work developing alternate programs at Stelly's School in Victoria.. Her immense respect for her students and her well-founded belief in the unlimited potential of youth are themes that characterize all of her teaching. As an aboriginal woman of Métis descent, Corinna is able to integrate traditional cultural teachings into a curriculum that inspires personal growth among struggling teen participants while building a love and respect for the great outdoors. Her ongoing work developing and adapting curriculum to better engage struggling teen participants in the educational process enables us to offer one-of-a-kind experiential learning activities in our program.

Corinna loves to teach, a fact that is made clear by the obvious inspiration that she draws from struggling teen participants who are learning, growing, and expressing themselves in positive, creative new ways. Her immense respect for her students and her well-founded belief in the unlimited potential of youth are themes that characterize all of her teaching.

As Director of Programming, Corinna oversees and develops curriculum for our Hero’s Quest school program, the 32 day Journey and Leaders in Training programs. Corinna’s curriculum combines  personal growth,academic and wilderness skill development with cultural and environmental studies. Her training and certification in risk management and Advanced Wilderness First Aid further position her to establish program and out-trip policy and protocol that contributes to a positive experience for CanAdventure Education's struggling teen participants.

Sandra Hamilton – Director of Marketing
Sandra Hamilton can’t think of a better way to use her extensive marketing skills than to improve the lives of children and struggling teens. For over eight years Sandra was the business manager for Olympian Silken Laumann, managing her transition from athlete to keynote speaker to physical activity advocate. Sandra was also the Vice President of Silken’s Active Kids Movement, handled the book launch of Silken’s national bestseller Child’s Play, devoted four years to creating a national program called Play 2010 and pursuing her dream of the Olympic games improving the health of a nation.

Prior to opening her own consulting business in1995, Sandra was the Director of Marketing at The Vancouver Sun, Publisher at BC Woman Magazine and Sales Manager at Vancouver Magazine.

As President of Sequoia Publishing Ltd, Sandra has consulted in both the public and private sector, publishing magazines in three languages for Health Canada on the danger of drug and alcohol addiction in pre and post natal young women and preparing economic development publications for The City of Surrey and The City of Richmond. Sequoia also published Homeswest Magazine for BC Gas.

Sandra has a passion for wilderness adventure, particularly kayaking, and has found nature to be the best environment for thinking and developing creative ideas.

Tania Smethurst, Program Coordinator
Tania has been leading youth in the outdoors for the past eleven years, a source of continuous inspiration and ongoing passion for her work as an outdoor educator. She has lived in Ontario, Alaska, France, and up and down the West Coast of Canada, following the call of the wild. These travels for work and play have taught her the valued wilderness adventure skills she brings to CanAdventure Education.

Tania is a SKGABC certified kayak guide and a NLS lifeguard. She holds an Advanced Wilderness First Aid certification, instructs in English and French, and is always keen on teaching a morning yoga session! When not investing her time into struggling teens at CanAdventure Education, Tania is pursuing a Psychology degree at Malaspina University on Vancouver Island.

Our Instructor Team
At CanAdventure Education, we know that our instructors make the difference between an average wilderness adventure camp experience and one that can have a lifelong impact. This is why we seek out people who are as committed to our cause as we are. Candidates must have extensive outdoor and youth programming experience and they must believe in the principles of lifelong learning and experiential education. All instructors complete a criminal record background check and a 32-day training period to develop experiential teaching methodology. These are the people that create the lasting impressions of our program, so we choose and prepare them very carefully.

Each group is led by a team of instructors that brings to the program:
>Detailed knowledge of Vancouver Island wilderness destinations,
>Certification in Advanced Wilderness First Aid or an equivalent 80-hour course,
>Bronze Medallion water rescue certification,
>Sea kayak guide certification, and
>Food Safe certification.

CanAdventure Education wilderness adventure camps provide a highly personalized approach, guaranteeing a 1:2 instructor to participant ratio on all out-trips and a maximum group size of six struggling teen participants.


Scott Smith, Head Instructor
Scott Smith is a Certified Professional Counsellor and brings nine years of experience in youth recreation and wilderness adventure to his position as Head Instructor with CanAdventure Education. He began his career with the Boys and Girls Club of Victoria and later moved into lifeguarding, swimming instruction, and lifesaving / first aid instruction. Scott is Level 3 certified in Occupational First Aid and holds multiple water rescue certifications. He also volunteers with the Peninsula Emergency Measures Organization search & rescue service and is registered with the Provincial Emergency Program.

Scott always brings a sense of humor and an understanding approach to activities as he develops a caring and trusting environment for struggling teen participants.

Whether motivating a group on a long hike or joining in a splashing contest on water, Scott can be both the task-master and the prankster. Most of all, he strives to make the most of the wilderness adventure experience for every struggling teen that he meets.

William Kosloski, Instructor
William has a degree in Environmental Science and has worked with youth and families in the Campbell River area since 2000 as a Family Support Worker.  He also developed and led a pilot program with MCFD and School District 72 working with at-risk youth in an outdoor environment as an alternative program.  Prior to his experience with youth, he owned and operated an eco adventure company specializing in environmental awareness and education.  William also holds certifications in Bronze Medallion Water Rescue and Advanced Wilderness First Aid.

William Kosloski

William enjoys working with youth in a wilderness setting and likes to use lessons from nature as metaphors for everyday life.  When he isn’t at CanAdventure, you can find him hiking in the hills of Cumberland with his dogs and spending time with his family.  William is also a local artist who takes inspiration from his adventures and time spent in the outdoors.

Katy Winship, Instructor – bio coming soon

Vanessa Stewart, Instructor – bio coming soon

Jean Marc Pruneau, Instructor - bio coming soon



John "Grizz" Elliot, Assistant Instructor
Grizz grew up on Vancouver Island and has 25 years of wilderness adventure experience. He has worked with the Air Cadets and has a private pilot instructor permit. John holds his Bronze Medallion water rescue and CPR certifications. He has also been a snorkel guide, sharing with others the beauty of Vancouver Island's many rivers. His volunteer experience includes working as a fireman on the Gulf Islands and helping develop trails in Vancouver Island's many parks.

Grizz finds meaning in promoting a love and stewardship of the outdoors to struggling teen participants at CanAdventure Education. He is a wildlife art sculptor and has exhibited his work all over North America.

 

Our Advisory Committee
As part of CanAdventure Education's ongoing efforts to maintain a leading-edge program that provides a holistic approach to therapeutic wilderness adventure programming for struggling teens, we are proud to have an Advisory Board of experts in various fields that can contribute to the quality of our curriculum and level of care. Our current Advisory Board includes:

Dr. Steve Martin, MD
Doc Martin is a licensed medical practitioner registered with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. In addition to his medical degrees from McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario and McGill University in Montreal, he is a certificant of the Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine (CASM). His private practice in Victoria focuses on Sport and Occupational Medicine and provides medical support for National Team Athletes through the Pacific Sport Training Centre. He has faculty appointments at the University of British Columbia in the Faculty of Medicine, Family Practice and at the University of Victoria in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Division of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Education.

He has also worked as a Medical Consultant for a variety of agencies dealing with youth including; North Island Youth Services; the Attorney General Youth Custody Services; Ministry of Health Alcohol Drugs program; North Island School District Promotion and Prevention Program; University of Victoria Student Health Services; Planned Parenthood; and the Stelly's High School Global Perspectives Program.

Doc Martin provides CanAdventure Education with an important knowledge base with respect to medical issues. He is consulted when medical conditions require the advice of a trained physician, including emergency situations.

Dr. Martin lives in Victoria, BC with his wife and six kids where he is actively involved in coaching youth soccer.

Dr Henderson GP – bio coming soon


Wes Gietz -Windwalker
Wes has studied and practised natural skills and beliefs for over 40 years. He has been taught by Tom Brown Jr. and Native teachers the skills of survival and living, awareness and philosophy, the ceremonies of daily life, and the ceremonies and responsibilities of the sweat lodge. He has in turn taught these subjects in workshops and at gatherings since 1993. Wes also practises and teaches EFT, a technique for healing emotional disturbances, phobias, addictions and a variety of physical problems.

In his professional life, he has master's degrees in biochemistry and public administration, and 15 years of consulting experience in training, strategic planning, and human resource management. He has taught Leadership, Communication Skills, Business Mathematics, and Human Resource Management at UVic and North Island College .