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INSTRUCTORS:
Wilderness Institute instructors are highly trained and experienced professionals. Their goals are to provide the knowledge, guidance, support, and instruction to insure a rewarding experience.
Brad Childs: Founding President and Executive Director.
Mr. Childs is the organization's lead Challenge Ropes Course facilitator, Climbing Instructor, and Naturalist. He is also a past National Park Ranger with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area. His duties included public outreach, backcountry patrols, and search and rescue operations (SAR) having been recognized with several commendations for his work in this area, including the National Park Service Unit Award.
Brad Childs, Vita
Education
Mr. Childs holds a B.S. degree (Parks and Recreation Resources) from Michigan State University and has completed his Master’s degree thesis at California State University, Northridge (studying the psychological and sociological impacts of outdoor challenge experiences). Outdoor Recreation and Leisure Studies Honors recipient
He has achieved a California Department of Education, Adult Education Teaching Credential in Education, Biological Sciences, and Public Affairs and Services-UCLA.
He is a Qualified Personal Strengths Trainer (Strength Deployment Inventory) and Mediation for Managers Facilitator through Personal Strengths, Inc., Critical Incident Stress Management trainee-I.C.I.S.F., and has received training through the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) in Group Facilitation Methods and Focused Conversation Method, and Strength-Based Pathways to Solutions and Core Gifts and Welcoming Places through Community Activators, a licensee and certified user of the Capabilities Awareness Profile (CAP) outcomes measurement instrument, and an Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) practitioner.
He is a graduate of the Coaches Training Institute (Life and Business Coaching), has received training from the Academy for Coaching Excellence and is a graduate of Sierra Business Council Leadership Seminar and the Leadership Auburn program of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce.
Employment
• Mr. Childs is principal of Brad Childs and Associates, a consulting business that provides Performance Coaching, teambuilding and leadership retreats, and meeting facilitation for executives, businesses and non-profit organizations. Focus areas include stress management, emotional and social intelligence, creative visioning, personality inventories, and outcome evaluation measures. He specializes in wholistic integration of the body, mind and spirit and personal empowerment for goal achievement and success.
• Tahoe Adventure Learning Institute, Inc, CEO. TALI is a professional teambuilding and leadership development training organization. Tahoe’s beautiful outdoor venues and our structured activities offer creative learning opportunities for small groups, diversified teams, or your entire organization. We lead, organize and facilitate extraordinary adventure-based experiences that are specifically designed to increase your effectiveness, improve communication, and assist you in celebrating your group's potential. We offer Challenge Ropes Course programs in North Lake Tahoe at Granlibakken Conference Center and Resort and in South Lake Tahoe at the Tahoe Challenge Course, as well as other year ’round outdoor adventure activities.
• The Wilderness Institute, Inc., a California 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation: (1984 to present), Founding President/CEO. Provides outdoor recreation programs and experiential events; featuring eco-tourism, outdoor education, adventure seminars, wilderness survival and rock climbing for the public and special groups (including people with disabilities and youth-at-risk) and Mobile Rock Climbing Wall events. Services include Challenge Ropes Course and Climbing Walls sales, installations and instructor training and certification.
Professional Contract Affiliations
•Loyola Marymount University: Instructor-Leadership and Teambuilding for the Executive MBA program
•Sierra College: Customized Workforce Training Instructor
•American Whitewater Expeditions: Consultant/Trainer-River Guide
Honors and Awards
National Park Service Unit Award (presented by the Secretary of the Interior), National Environmental Education Award (National Association of Resource Conservation Districts), Golden Eagle Award (for outstanding contribution to The Wilderness Institute), CSUN Scholastic Achievement Honors, and the Burt Anderson Memorial Scholarship for the Outstanding Department Graduate Student (for two consecutive years, CSUN).
Community and Civic Service (partial list)
Mr. Childs sat on the following boards and held the noted offices:
•Colfax Area Chamber of Commerce, Board Member, Chair- Events Team Committee,Tourism and Steering Committee Member.
•Placer Collaborative Network, Strategy Team Member
•Placer County Visitor Council, Treasurer, Chair of the Marketing Committee, Recreation tourism representative.
•Placer County Sheriff’s Mountain Rescue Team, Volunteer- Chair, Public Education Committee
•Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Advisory Board member, (represented Ventura County interests on this State of California agency)
Publications, Writing, and Print Media Experience
Mr. Childs is a contributor to the California Parks Access publication, and to Be A Global Force of One (In Your Hometown), author of Team-Building and Leadership Challenge training manual, State of California-Outdoor Recreation Performance Standards (co-author), has written articles on eco-tourism and outdoor safety for numerous periodicals including Sierra Heritage and Foothills magazines, and was Executive Editor of the Wilderness Guide publication.
Professional Association Presentations (partial list)
•California State Department of Education; Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation-Presenter (Outdoor Recreation Standards and Eco-tourism)
•Relationship Awareness National Conference -Workshop Presenter
(Strategic Leadership)
•Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference-Workshop Presenter
(Experiential Learning)
•American Society of Training and Development-Workshop Presenter
(Experiential Learning)
•CSU Sacramento “Recreation into the New Millennium”-Presenter
(Corporate Team-Building Retreats)
•American Camping Association-Conference Presenter
(Risk Management and Outdoor Safety)
•California Park and Recreation Society-Conference Presenter
(Leadership Challenges)
•Outdoor Adventure Resource Conference-Conference Presenter
(Risk Management and Safety)
•Association for Experiential Education-Conference Presenter
(Eco-Games and Initiative Activities)
•Association for Challenge Course Technology-Conference Presenter
(Marketing Corporate Team-Building)
•Sunset Magazine Travel and Tourism Trade Show-Presenter (Eco-tourism)
•California State Trails Conference-Workshop Presenter
(Coordinating Volunteer Events)
•Western Association of Independent Camps- Conference Presenter
(Staff Development and Training)
•Western Association of Private Schools-Conference Presenter
(Experiential Learning)
•Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education-Conference Presenter (Team-building and Outdoor Challenges)
•California Youth at Risk Network-Conference Convener/Presenter
(Group Facilitation/Processing)
Radio, Television, and Video/Film Experience
Mr. Childs has been a guest on numerous radio and television programs and talk shows as a noted eco-tourism professional, naturalist, and team-building consultant. His credits also include principal talent, background, Scriptwriter, Rigger, Stunt support, and Location Scout in TV, Movie, and Video productions-featuring “California Outdoors”, Whitewater Rafting. Calif. Tourism Council/NBC TV, “Path to War”, HBO productions, “Gentle Ben”, Entertainment Partners S.G., “The Retreat”, HKM Productions/Leagas-Delaney Inc. agency (SAG), “The Coleman Guide to Camping”, Naturalist, (with Bruce Jenner), Twin Tower Enterprises, Inc., “Rock Climbing”-Celebrity/Talent Training, Lonely Planet Productions, “Zig Zag Show”-Yosemite Rock Climbing, Tokyo Broadcasting/Sony Television Division, and other productions.
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