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SFI Instructor Biographies
PAUL BISCHOFF has lived and worked in Sequoia
National Park for 16 years. He has been a cross-country and backcountry
ski instructor for 10 seasons, and has lived and worked in the
backcountry of Sequoia for six summers. This gives him a great
understanding of what this park has to offer. Paul also teaches kayaking
and has worked as a whitewater raft guide on the Kaweah River. He is
the owner/operator of Sequoia
Sightseeing Tours.
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SAVANNAH BOIANO is the Education Director
for SFI. She
has been a naturalist in Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks and has had
several years of experience running an environmental and outdoor
education program for a school district in California.
In addition to
her background as a naturalist and educator, she has worked as a
backcountry
naturalist-guide. She has a passion for teaching and
a great
deal of enthusiasm.
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RANDY COFFMAN
is an experienced mountaineering guide. He has
over 30 years of experience as an instructor for educational
institutions, search and rescue organizations, and the National Park
Service. In 1994, Randy was the summit team leader for the
American-Norwegian International Expedition to Gasherbrum II
(26,360’) in the Himalaya, Pakistan. He has climbed and guided
mountains in the Sierra , the Rockies, the Alps, East Africa, the
Andes, New Zealand, and the Alaska Range. After serving 31 years as
an NPS Ranger (18 as a paramedic in backcountry rescue operations),
he recently retired as the National Branch Chief of Search and
Rescue and Emergency Medical Services for the National Park
Service. He is currently the Ski Patrol Supervisor at Sierra Summit
Mountain Resort.
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RICHARD FLORES
was born
in Los Angeles and has studied fine art throughout most of his life. As
a young man he was critically burned and doctors intended to amputate
 both of his arms, but never expecting him to live, he was given last rights.
Not only did he defy the odds and survive, with much determination and
hard work he regained the use of both his hands and arms. He continued
on to win major art competitions and receive a full tuition scholarship
to Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. He also received multiple
scholarships from Los Angeles Pierce College, Cal-State University at
Northridge and CAL Earth (the Institute of Earth Art and Ceramic
Architecture) in Hesperia, California.
Skilled in both
two-dimensional and three-dimensional fine art, Richard has worked with
the late famed ceramist Beatrice Wood, performed numerous Hot Glass
workshops with Richard Marquis and William Davis and continues to be a
major factor in the education and development of Earth Art and Ceramic
Architecture with internationally renowned Architect and author Nader
Khalili and is also an exhibiting member of the Ojai Studio Artists in
Ojai, California.
Richard now lives in Visalia, California where he shares his wide range
of artistic talents performing inspirational workshops, education
training seminars and instructing seven college courses as the
Three-Dimensional Fine Arts Professor for College of the Sequoias.
“The
connectedness of one thing to another, the resulting balance between
differences and the passionate exploration of life’s textures expressed
through art.” |
COURTNEY
LAURELL (a.k.a. Turtle) fell in love with the Sierra Nevada 2 ½
years ago, and hasn’t left since. As a child she could be found examining ladybugs in an open field, or exploring new territory in the
Michigan forests surrounding her house. Her love of nature emersion led
her on adventures with Voyageur and North Carolina Outward Bound
Schools, as well as multiple adventures canoeing, climbing, kayaking, canyoneering, and backpacking across the country thereafter. Courtney
earned her BA at Prescott College, with a minor in adventure education
and a major in Ecopsychology. She became a naturalist while working at
two different Outdoor Education Schools in California. Courtney is
currently working on earning her Cal. Teaching Credential with a Masters
in the Art of Teaching through Chapman University College. A perfect
day for Courtney involves having the opportunity to share the magic of
nature with others. |
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 BURLEIGH LOCKWOOD is serious
about her work. She is a Chaffee Zoological Garden biologist working in the
Education Department, field instructor, and docent trainer. When she’s not
writing Fact sheets and other publications for zoo docent use, she’s traveling
with the Zoomobile, or appearing on Channel 30 being interviewed by students.
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DEB SCHWEIZER is the Fire Education Specialist for Sequoia & Kings Canyon
National Parks and is a relative newcomer to the southern Sierra.
However, she worked in Yosemite for 12 years and has worked in fire
management for five years. In that time, she has experienced the wonders
of natural fire, the process of prescribed fire, and worked large
campaign fires in southern and northern California. This native of
Western New York was introduced to hiking and backpacking in the Grand
Canyon, got hooked, and never looked back. She is a proud AT thru-hiker
(trail name was Sunstroke) and has hiked throughout the Sierra as well
as in Europe and New Zealand. Deb received her BA in English from SUNY
Buffalo.
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STEVE STOCKING, M.A.
is a recently retired instructor of biology-botany at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton,
CA. He is the author of
The Giant Sequoias of
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Wildflowers of
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks,
and
Day Hikes of the
Grant Grove Area. Steve has been a
regular summer migrant to the Grant Grove area for over 50 years |
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DR.
WILLIAM TWEED, PhD
has been exploring Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for more than
forty years. A writer, historian, and naturalist, he spent 28 years as
a ranger at both parks, rising ultimately to serve as the Chief Parks
Naturalist. He has written extensively about the parks, and his titles
include Challenge of the Big Trees, Sequoia and Kings
Canyon-the Story Behind the Scenery, Kaweah Remembered,
and A Place for Wonder. Dr. Tweed holds a PhD in history. |
 STEPHANIE STRICKLAND
has spent the
majority of her ten years in Three Rivers
exploring the
foothills and Sierras on bike, foot,
or snowshoe. She is the co-director
of Creative Outdoor Recreational Edventures (CORE), a
non-profit outdoor adventure education program;
a certificated California educator with 15 years
of classroom experience; and a burgeoning naturalist. Currently, along with co-director
Petit Pinson, CORE is
working with the Hanford Elementary School District to plan, implement,
and run their experiential science and environmental learning facility
at Burris Park
in Hanford. |
JIM WARNER
has been hiking these park's trails for over 40 years,
including much of his career with the National Park Service and leading
natural history ‘seminars’ for SNHA since his retirement. His education
and experience in field natural history is extensive. His knowledge and
enthusiasm for the flora and fauna of the Sierran National Parks is
contagious. His list of “groupies” continues to grow! |
CJ WILSON'S love of
outdoor adventures began with the Explorer's Club of Pittsburgh
with her dad while in her teens. Her college weekends were spent
climbing, paddling, skiing, biking and spelunking. A Spanish
major, she's combined her life-long loves of language and
culture with mountain adventures throughout Latin America. She
has worked for North Carolina Outward Bound School for many
years, and has led programs in Costa Rica, Mexico and
Argentina. Patagonia "captured" her for most of the past two
years; she lived in southern Chile and explored the region while
practicing Spanish, teaching English, and working for a
travelers' newspaper. She earned her B.A. and M.P.A. at the
University of Pittsburgh.
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History Treks
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and Wildflower Walks
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and Geology Courses
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» 2009 Course Calendar
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