WHO AND WHY
A Career in Adventure.
If I am to spend my life at work, the work I do should put me in a state of continual growth.
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This personal philosophy was ingrained in me even before I took home my first paycheck. Implementation of this belief system has led me to hold an eclectic career from bush planes to Alaska to kayaking in Austria.
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As I have grown, my career has become more defined by the passions I have fallen in love with. I have honed in the spectrum of where I want my career to head and defined the areas of growth I desire to pursue.
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Using my diverse work history, I now specialize in Outdoor Recreation and Tourism. I have been blessed to worked in every corner of the outdoor industry whether it be tourism, education or equipment and now use these experiences to pursue publications and research within the outdoor community.
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FROM THE BEGINNING
APPALACHEN ROOTS
My great grandmother lived on the top of the Tocca River in a small town called McCaysville. If you know anything about this town you will surely know the long windy road you must take in order to reach it. This curvy road follows one of the most famous rivers on the east coast, the Ocoee. My face was always found glued to the window the last hour of the journey to my great grandmother as I watched the rafts and kayaks play down the river. Almost 20 years later I would be calling this river home.
THE CALLING
Between that 20 year span I held a plethora of jobs from Hot Air Balloons tours in my home town of Huntsville, Alabama to backpack guiding in the Sierras, but all of these jobs held one common trait, they were in the outdoors. In my last year of my bachelors, I took an internship with a rafting company on the Ocoee. By the end of that internship, I knew the outdoor industry was to be my home.
A FOUNDATION
After graduation I took off and spent the best part of the next two years travelling the USA, kayaking and rafting every river that had water in it. Calling a small car my home, I found myself at the base of the Sequoia’s where I was offered a position managing a kayak school and rafting outfitter. I was surrounded by some of the best kayakers in the world and had the opportunity to learn the back side of the outdoor industry from pro athletes to gear development.
CROSSING THE POND
Taking this career abroad I found myself in Europe for the last 9 years pursing a career in the outdoor industry and adventure tourism. In 2019, I finished a Masters in Austria with my final research focusing on River Based Tourism. Since then I have been working on an international scale within the Outdoor and Tourism Industry.
I currently specialize in Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, with a focus in Tourism Boards, Hotels, Paddle Sports, Biking and Multi-Day Expeditions. Having worked in almost every corner of the outdoor industry whether it be tourism, education or gear, I now use these experiences to pursue publications, and consultation within the outdoor community.
Education:
Jacksonville State University
B.Sc. in Outdoor Recreation and Psychology
Class of 2014
Salzburg University of Applied Sciences
M.A. of Innovation Management, Tourism & Entrepreneurship
Class of 2019