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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
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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.
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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. |
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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:
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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. |
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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
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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 . |
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