Two young paddlers celebrate successful runs at the Camp Cup Challenge 2008, Nantahala River, North Carolina ALZAR SCHOOL When we need a classroom, the world awaits.
 
Harry Bergmann Harry grew up with the outdoors, hiking and backpacking with his father. He learned many technical skills at Camp Mondamin, rising to become first a Counselor in Training, then a full paddling counselor. He has been a kayak instructor at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was a student on the BSU W.I.L.D. Idaho 2008 course. Currently, he is studying at George Washington University in Washington D.C. and leading programs for their Outdoor Program. He and another former student, spearheaded the creation of the Alumni Fund, one the Alzar School’s scholarship programs. Heather and Ryan Bierle Heather and Ryan Bierle are advocates for the Alzar School, and are based in Austin, Texas. Heather Bierle is a pharmacist and avid sports enthusiast. Ryan Bierle is a paramedic and student. Both Ryan and Heather enjoy spending time in the outdoors, including skiing and tubing, and recently took up whitewater kayaking for their first time. Living so close to the border, they frequently make trips into Mexico. Both Heather and Ryan review the Alzar School’s medical protocols, offering their valuable expertise. Dr. Sam Chewning Sam Chewning loves everything to do with the outdoors. “Dr. Sam” is well-known for being a patient, thorough teacher. His passions include kayaking, caving, sailing, flying, and riding motorcycles. He is a cave rescue and Wilderness First Responder instructor for the Alzar School, and also teaches for Pfeiffer University. Currently, he is retired a spine surgeon, living in Cornelius, NC, but he also provides emergency medical care following natural disasters with DMAT (Disaster Medical Assistance Team). Dr. Chewning reviews and consults with the Alzar School on our medical and safety protocols, and helps with program development. Jeff Cole Jeff Cole is an advocate for the wilderness and the wild things that live there. Currently, he is the Conservation Outreach Director for Idaho Rivers United, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Boise, ID. Prior to IRU, he worked for the Winter Wildlands Alliance. He is an avid boater, backcountry skier, mountain biker, and climber. His passion for the environment developed early in life as he explored the rivers and mountains near his home in rural Idaho. He has done some amazing things in his 28 years, including trekking through Nepal, living in Costa Rica and France, ascending classic climbing routes, and boating Idaho's majestic rivers. He says that enjoying sports in nature fuels his passion to protect the wild places where he plays. He ardently believes one person can make a difference. Jeff is the Development Director for the Alzar School. Ryan Cozens Ryan Cozens grew up in North Carolina, but considers Latin America her second home. She graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a double major in Latin American Studies and Spanish. Ryan has spent the past few years getting involved with international education projects, from volunteering as a teacher in southern Peru to interning as an EducationUSA Adviser with the Institute of International Education in Mexico City. Recently, she worked with at risk youth on the island of Maui to facilitate leadership development, service-learning and acculturation projects. Living in such amazing places has allowed for lots of great adventures! Ryan is moving to Aspen, CO for the winter season and planning to get her Master's in International Education in the fall of 2009. Ryan Crockett Ryan has been playing in the outdoors for years. He was a member of a pioneering youth kayaking club in Idaho, which lead him to work as a professional safety kayaker, raft guide, and kayak instructor on the Payette River for over 13 years. When someone wants to run a difficult stretch of whitewater for the first time, they want Crockett leading them down. He is fantastic at realistically describing the risks and hazards of whitewater. He is also a dedicated skier and ski coach, working with youth Freestyle Teams at Bogus Basin Ski Resort. Ryan has a passion for photography, spending two seasons working in Costa Rica as a photographer for adventure tours. He is currently tuning skis and volunteering at the Eagle Fire Department in Idaho, with the aim of becoming a professional firefighter. Ryan reviews the Alzar School’s river risk management protocols. Brian & Monse Cuttlers Brian and Monse Cuttlers reside in Turrialba, Costa Rica, the mecca for whitewater in that country. Brian is one of the owners of Costa Rica Rios, a hugely successful adventure-tour operator. Originally from Idaho, and a graduate of Albertson College, Brian is a shrewd businessman who is adept at international negotiations. He has worked to make Costa Rica Rios a successful company that is also socially and environmentally sustainable. Monse is a practicing dentist and is native to Costa Rica. She is highly involved in Turrialba’s community, and is one of the bright faces visitors see. This couple is highly motivated and energetic. Katherine Edmonds Katherine is a longtime instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), course-leading 19-day expeditions on the Green River in Utah. She has also taught snowboarding in Driggs, Idaho and kayaking in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Currently, Kat is studying Environmental Ethics at the University of Georgia. Kat is a Wilderness First Responder, ACA Kayak Instructor, and Swiftwater Rescue Technician. She reviews the Alzar School’s leadership and outdoor curriculum, and advises us on environmental stewardship. Kent Ford Kent Ford's highly acclaimed books, videos and instruction have made him one of the most recognized paddlers in whitewater sport worldwide. He is the owner of Performance Video, which offers instructional resources to paddlers and mountain bikers. Kent's unique background includes twenty years of international whitewater racing and coaching, combined with similar experience teaching recreational boating to all levels of paddlers. His fourteen videos and books on paddlesports have influenced the education of half a million paddlers. He is an ACA Instructor Trainer Educator, and was recently inducted into the International Whitewater Hall of Fame. Kent has been working on a documentary on the history of whitewater paddling in the United States and an informative video for kids and parents. For the Alzar School, he reviews our paddling curriculum to ensure we are offering the highest quality instruction and managing the inherent risks of paddling. Rich Gardunia Rich Gardunia lives the outdoors. Literally. He climbs, bikes, and rafts for a living. He has managed to turn his love for outdoor adventures into a career of educating and teaching others. By sharing this enthusiasm, Rich helps others explore their own outdoor interests and develop their own love for their sport of choice. Rich has taught rock climbing at the College of Idaho and at Boise State University for the past five years. He also heads up the volunteer ranger program for Ridge to Rivers as the Ranger for the entire trail system. In addition to all this, Rich spends his summers as a river guide for a program that puts together trips for people with disabilities. As if that were not enough to keep him busy, Rich also dedicates a good chunk of his time to his outdoor clothing/sewing company, Esh Clothing. Not only does Rich manage to get paid for things he loves to do, he also goes on adventure expeditions of his own accord. Most notably is his bike trip from Alaska to Florida to raise money for cystic fibrosis foundation. Rich advises the Alzar School by reviewing our climbing curriculum. Geoff Harrison Geoff has been working in the field of recreation for over 20 years and has been fostering student development with Boise State students as Director of its Outdoor Program since 1998. Geoff is an active member of the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education and has served both as a board member and interim national director. He earned an undergraduate degree in Recreation Administration from Humboldt State University and Master's of Sport and Recreation Management from the University of Idaho. Currently, he is editing an authoritative text on outdoor education programming. Katie Hawkins Katie Hawkins is originally from Tennessee, but has lived all over the world in the past several years, exploring new places, learning about different cultures, and playing in the outdoors. After graduating from Middlebury College in Vermont, earning a joint degree in Geology and Environmental Studies and a certification in teaching English as a Foreign Language, Katie moved to Japan to teach at a college preparatory boarding school for a year. Now living in Colorado, she teaches 2nd & 3rd graders at an Outward Bound Expeditionary Learning School and leads youth outdoor programs for the Colorado Mountain Club. She has also worked as an instructor for kayaking, climbing, and hiking trips in North Carolina, Vermont, Wyoming, and Montana for the past seven years. Katie worked on an ambulance squad in Vermont, and is W-EMT, CPR, and lifeguard certified. Cathy Hearn Coach for the US National Slalom team, Cathy has a rich history of promoting paddlesports and encouraging healthy competition in the outdoors. She lives in Durango, frequently offering training camps for athletes from around the country. She generously helps the Alzar School refine our slalom kayaking/canoeing program, and supports the Camp Cup Challenge. Cathy is the most adorned woman’s paddler in the history of the sport, and to top it of she is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Turin Hill A longtime skier and paddler, Turin currently does scientific research at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. Pursuing her outdoor passions, she has explored much of the United States, as well as Chile and New Zealand. As a teenager, she competed on the junior whitewater slalom circuit. Outside of her duties as an Advisory Committee member, she is active in raising awareness for juvenile diabetes. Turin graduated for Lewis and Clark College in 2009 with a degree in Biology. Jenaleigh Kiebert Jenaleigh has been involved with outdoor education and non-profit organizations in many different ways. She worked at the Boise State University Outdoor Program, serving as assistant manager of their rental program for three years. Upon graduating, she became the point-person for the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education as it prepared for its annual conference in Boise, Idaho, handling pre-event logistics. Currently, she works at the Boise Art Museum, managing the BAM Store. Jenaleigh advises the Alzar School on its fundraising efforts and internal organization and will help us write grants in the future. She is a member of the Alumni Fund Development Committee. She loves to travel, especially when she gets to speak French. Conner Madigan Conner has enjoyed exploring the outdoors since a kid, and is a recent inductee into the boating community. When he is not throwing the disc with his friends, mountain biking in the foothills, going up to the hill to ski, he is at his desk completing schoolwork.  In addition to his outdoor interests, Conner is a music enthusiast, and a member of the T.R.E.E. Club and Debate Team. Conner is a good student and alumni of F.L.O.W. 2009 and Rivers of Chile 2010. For the Alzar School Conner attends board meetings to represent the student perspective and helps with student service projects and grant applications. Jake McGrath Jake learned to paddle on the mighty rivers of Wisconsin, commuting frequently to race whitewater slalom at the artificial course in South Bend, Indiana. He continued to race all over the United States. A graduate of Wheaton College, with a degree in Adventure Education, Jake moved West, guiding rafts on the Kern River in Southern California. He became heavily involved with rock climbing and backpacking. For four years, Jake was a dedicated trip leader, and later the Logistics Coordinator, for the Dunn School’s Outdoor Education Program. Jake is an ACA Kayak Instructor and Wilderness First Responder and is currently managing a raft company on the American and Yuba River drainages in Central California. For the Alzar School, Jake reviews protocol and integration of outdoor and academic curriculum. Connor McLeod Connor has lived in Idaho for all his life and is a kayak instructor and safety kayaker on the Payette River. He has been kayaking all over Idaho and some in Northern California, but he definitely calls the Payette home. A graduate of the Alzar School’s F.L.O.W. 2009 leadership development course, Connor has been boating for 6 years now and loves to compete in any and all competitions that he can make it to (including the Banks Mag Old School Rodeo, the PBR, Hometown Throwdowns, and the Reno Whitewater Festival). On top of his impressive paddling accomplishments, he is a dedicated nordic racer and hopes to compete in the Junior Olympics before he graduates from high school. Connor is also an ACA Level 3 Kayak instructors and a Swiftwater Rescue Technician 1. For the Alzar School, Connor brings the valuable insights of an alumni and represents our current and past students at Board meetings. Nate Ostis Nate Ostis is a Rescue 3 International Swiftwater Rescue Instructor and an Instructor Trainer for the American Canoe Association in the disciplines of Rescue and Whitewater Kayak. Nate’s career in education began as a lecturer for the Outdoor Recreation Department and as Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach for Plymouth State University. He then taught high school English and Physics for an international whitewater kayaking academy. He is a Firefighter, WEMT-B, and serves on the rope rescue team for the McCall Fire Department. In addition to serving on the Advisory Committee for the Alzar School, Nate runs Wilderness Rescue International, is a senior field staff for the National Outdoor Leadership School and the Wilderness Medicine Institute, leading First Aid, Rock Climbing, Backpacking, and Whitewater courses. Nate has worked as a commercial raft guide for 15 years across the US and abroad and has 20+ years of kayaking experience. He has paddled in 7 countries with a first descent on a 160-mile section of a class V whitewater in China. Erik Quissell Erik, an AP Environmental Science and General Biology teacher at Boise High School, loves getting outside, whether its to try his luck fly fishing or hitting the trails on his mountain bike. He has worked as a commercial raft guide, youth soccer coach, and lab technician. He graduated from Northwest Nazarene University, earning both a B.S. in Biology and a Masters in Education. Currently, he is also the sponsor of the T.R.E.E. (Teens Restoring Earth’s Environment) Club at Boise High, which coordinates environmental stewardship projects for teenagers and takes students on trips to ecologically significant locations (such as Yellowstone National Park). As a member of the Advisory Committee, Erik reviews our academic curriculum and efforts to be environmentally sustainable. Ted Singletary, PhD Advocate for environmental education and science teachers of Idaho, Ted holds his PhD in Education from the University of Illoinis. He teaches in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Boise State University. Sean, Alzar Schools’ Head Teacher, and Dr. Singletary published an article in the Journal of Enviromental Educaiton in 2008 titled, Environmental Education and related fields in Idaho’s secondary schools. As an advisor for the Alzar School, he helps review our academic curriculum and was pivotal in achieving accreditation. Catherine Smith A longtime paddler and outdoorswoman, Catherine learned many of her technical skills at Camp Green Cove in North Carolina. She is currently the Community and Partnership Coordinator for the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. There Catherine manages their non-corporate partnership program, as well as their new community program. She is also responsible for overseeing Leave No Trace’s online community development and their website. Catherine works with the Alzar School to continue our mission of being leaders in environmental stewardship. Alison Ward Alison (Ali) Ward is a native Idahoan, growing up in the lush mountains of Sandpoint, Idaho, and has made Boise her home for the past 14 years. Aside from double majoring at BSU, Ali worked as a life guard, learned to kayak, backpack, and telemark ski, worked as a Nordic ski instructor, worked with research projects on Screech Owls as well as Inflammatory Breast Cancer, and learned to play the guitar and write songs. After graduating with a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Visual Arts, she worked for a couple of years in the greenhouse industry and as a gardener-for-hire. After deciding to start a family with her husband Travis, Ali returned to BSU for a Masters in Curriculum and Education, fulfilling a longtime dream of becoming a high school science teacher. Ali is a currently a science teacher at Boise High School, a drummer and singer in a psychedelic-folk band called Hillfolk Noir, an avid gardener, mother of two, backpacker, and a visual artist. Ali has also recently headed up a project called Go Listen Boise, which has the fundamental goal of enhancing and connecting Boise’s local musicians and music scene. Britta Wiesner Britta has been a longtime counselor and instructor for Camp Green Cove in North Carolina. She has been a successful businesswoman, promoting various clothing companies across the Southeast, and an enthusiastic paddler who loves to hit up the Ocoee River. She is currently earning her Masters in Business Administration at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Britta offers business advice for the Alzar School and promotes our courses in the Southeastern United States. She is a member of the Alumni Fund Development Committee. Brent Wilson Brent is an attorney in Boise, Idaho with a special interest in legal matters related to the outdoor recreation industry. Brent grew up in Northern Utah (just south of Napoleon Dynamite country) where he had ample opportunities to play in the outdoors. Brent’s first experience with whitewater came on the Snake River just outside of Jackson, Wyoming. When the guides explained that the group would raft through “Lunch Counter,” Brent was excited about the fact that rafting involved eating lunch, he just didn’t know at the time that it was the river that would eat his lunch. Brent has been an outdoor enthusiast ever since, enjoying rafting whenever possible as well as backpacking, mountain biking and telemark skiing. Brent looks forward to assisting Alzar School with legal matters. Tracy Wilson A Boise, Idaho native, Tracy is passionate about getting kids involved in the outdoors, protecting natural areas, and teaching. She loves any kind of rock climbing, but prefers long ascents in the mountains. On any given day, you can find her teaching English at Colorado Rocky Mountain School, ice climbing outside Carbondale, CO (where she lives with her husband BJ and dog Sarah Nickle-pup), playing chess, or reading voraciously. She is well-known in Boise for her work with the Treasure Valley YMCA, local climbing teams, and for starting the Boise Bike Week. She continues to lead outdoor trips, is a WFR and AMGA Single Pitch Instructor, and is trained in avalanche safety. Tracy exemplifies our leadership element “Community Membership and Service,” acting as VP of the Roaring Fork Climbers Coalition, a commissioner for the Carbondale Parks and Recreation Board, and volunteer coordinator for a local film festival, the 5 Point Film Festival. For the Alzar School, she contributes to our climbing curriculum and is helping us to plan for student recruitment. Scholarships.htmlhttp://www.costaricarios.comhttp://www.performancevideo.com/http://www.esh-clothes.com/http://www.wilderness-rescue.com/index.phphttp://test.lnt.org/index.phphttp://www.petometz.comhttp://www.golistenboise.orghttp://www.5pointfilm.org/index.htmlshapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1shapeimage_3_link_2shapeimage_3_link_3shapeimage_3_link_4shapeimage_3_link_5shapeimage_3_link_6shapeimage_3_link_7shapeimage_3_link_8
“This world… lies wide around.  Its attractions are the keys which unlock my thought and make me acquainted with myself.”
 
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Alzar School
P.O. Box 16604
Boise, ID 83715
info@AlzarSchool.com
Advisory Committee
Dr. Sam Chewning
In order to fuel our vision of creating a better school, the Alzar School invites interested people to join our advisory committee.  This committee reviews our curriculum, practices, and programs to ensure that we are offering the best educational experiences possible.  We are very proud of the folks who choose to help us in our mission of developing leaders.  Read more about the exceptional folks who advise the Alzar School in our practices (listed in alphabetical order).
HistoryHistory.htmlHistory.htmlshapeimage_6_link_0
Board of DirectorsBoard%20of%20Directors.htmlBoard%20of%20Directors.htmlshapeimage_7_link_0
AdministrationAdministration.htmlAdministration.htmlshapeimage_8_link_0
Advisory Committeeshapeimage_9_link_0
Teachers & InstructorsTeachers%20%26%20Instructors.htmlTeachers%20%26%20Instructors.htmlshapeimage_10_link_0
Past ProgramsPast%20Programs.htmlshapeimage_11_link_0
Mission StatementMission%20Statement.htmlMission%20Statement.htmlshapeimage_12_link_0
PhilosophyPhilosophy.htmlPhilosophy.htmlshapeimage_13_link_0
Sponsors & PartnersSponsors%20%26%20Partners.htmlSponsors%20%26%20Partners.htmlshapeimage_14_link_0
Catherine Smith
Nate Ostis
Katie Hawkins
Britta Wiesner
Katherine Edmonds
Kent Ford
Jake McGrath
Harry Bergmann
Brian and Monse Cuttlers
Ryan Cozens (with former students)
Rich Gardunia
Ryan Crockett
Heather and Ryan Bierle
Ali Ward (with daughter Grace)
Jenaleigh Kiebert
Geoff Harrison
Ted Singletary
Erik Quissell
Brent Wilson
Turin Hill
Tracy Wilson
Connor McLeod
Conner Madigan
Jeff Cole
Cathy Hearn