Flight Medic Berry is a critical care flight paramedic, educator, and speaker focused on human performance, decision-making, and mental health in high-stress and austere environments. His work is shaped by years of frontline emergency response, critical care transport, and international medical evacuation, as well as personal experience navigating serious health challenges and identity disruption.

Berry is the author of My IFR Condition, a framework describing how individuals and teams can lose functional orientation under sustained stress, continuing to perform outwardly while internal awareness, communication, and regulation degrade. Through his platform, Beyond the Sirens, he facilitates honest conversations around resilience, burnout, identity, and recovery for those working in wilderness, emergency, and high-impact service roles.

His presentations blend narrative, case-based insight, and practical reflection, emphasizing early recognition of impairment, compassionate accountability, and strategies to restore orientation, connection, and sustainable performance in demanding environments.

Nick is an Australian emergency physician whose career so far has taken him from Antarctica to the outback and from helicopters to hyperbaric chambers. He currently works in the emergency department and for the local rotary- and fixed-wing retrieval services in Cairns in Far North Queensland, where the world’s oldest rainforest meets its largest coral reef system. Despite living in the tropics, Nick has authored textbook chapters on high-altitude and cold-related illnesses as well as heatstroke. Outside of work he enjoys travel, diving, hiking and looking for wildlife.

Svea and her co-presenter Shelley are registered nurses in BC. Svea has rural and remote nursing experience in Northern BC and Shelley has rural and remote nursing experience across Canada. They have both worked with the RCMP crisis response teams (ICRT) in mental health, and have both worked in critical care. Svea and Shelley love skiing and hiking in their free time and call the Okanagan Valley home.

Stephanie Cairns is medical student at the University of Alberta (Class of 2029). She previously worked as a physiotherapist at the University of Alberta Hospital Burn Unit and ICU, and has a keen interest in airway injuries, burns, and traumatic injuries. When she's not at the hospital she enjoys swimming, camping, hiking, and crochet.

Michelle Cruickshank is a second-year medical student at McMaster University with a background in kinesiology and musculoskeletal research. She completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees at UBC, where she developed an interest in spine health and injury prevention.

She also previously served as a ski patroller in British Columbia, gaining experience in prehospital assessment and patient care in remote and resource-limited environments. Her clinical interests include orthopaedics and wilderness medicine.

Michelle is involved in student-led medical education initiatives and enjoys helping organize hands-on workshops for her peers. She is particularly interested in how clinical guidelines can be thoughtfully adapted to various settings.

Brian Drury, MD, MEd, FAWM, DiMM is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at UCSF Fresno with expertise in wilderness medicine, EMS systems, and austere care. He grew up in New England in a family deeply engaged in the outdoors and was introduced early to backpacking, skiing, surfing, and endurance sports.

After college, Dr. Drury spent nearly a decade working as a wildland firefighter in the Pacific Northwest, serving in leadership roles and frequently operating in remote environments. His interest in medicine developed while caring for fellow firefighters, leading him to become an AEMT and often serve as the sole medic on extended deployments. He earned his MD and a Master’s in Medical Education from Penn State College of Medicine, completed Emergency Medicine residency at Brown University, and subsequently completed an EMS Fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University.

Dr. Drury holds Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM) and the Diploma in Mountain Medicine (DiMM), and regularly teaches wilderness, expedition, and endurance medicine through both academic and field-based courses.

His professional interests include wilderness and disaster medicine, EMS systems development, global health, and medical education. Outside of medicine, he enjoys long-distance running, backpacking, rock climbing, and learning the banjo.

Marc-Antoine Doré is an Athletic Therapist, Primary Care Paramedic, and university lecturer based in Québec, Canada. He teaches in the Master’s Program in Athletic Therapy at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) and is actively involved in applied research projects focused on prehospital trauma care and emergency medicine in sports settings.

Outside academia, Marc-Antoine continues to practice clinically in emergency services and regularly serves as a medical coordinator for large sporting events, including endurance and mass participation races. He is also the founder and director of SportMedIQ (SMIQ), a training organization dedicated to delivering advanced education for professionals working across tactical, wilderness, prehospital, and sport medicine contexts. His training programs emphasize high-fidelity simulation, structured communication, crisis resource management, and evidence-based protocols adapted to real-world constraints.

Marc-Antoine bridges academic rigor with practical field experience. His work focuses on preparing clinicians and responders to manage high-consequence emergencies in complex environments, with a particular interest in decision-making under pressure, performance optimization, and transferable skills that enhance both individual competence and team effectiveness.

Sarah Flaherty is an Anesthesiology resident at McMaster University, an MSc candidate in Physiology at the University of Toronto via the RCPSC Clinician Investigator Program, and a graduate of McMaster's MacGlobal certificate program in global health. She is an active four-season canoe and hiking guide with a passion for all things outdoors, feeling especially at home on the Canadian Shield. She has a background in adaptive outdoor sports with organizations including Camp Awakening, Phoenix Adaptive Skiing, and AbleSail.

Major Richard Grainger joined the UK RAF in 1983 as an Aircraft Engineering officer serving throughout the UK overseas including the South Atlantic, Middle East and Europe. In 2001 he moved to Ottawa as an Exchange Officer working in DND HQ as an Aerospace Engineer until transferring to the RCAF and subsequently attending Ottawa University School of Medicine, graduating in the Class of 2013.

As a Medical Officer and Flight Surgeon he has deployed to numerous locations including the Middle East, Vietnam, Africa, Europe, Pacific and throughout North America. He is an Advanced Dive Medical Officer and has medically supported diving operations in the Canadian Arctic.

Dr Delphine Hansen, is a senior resident in Emergency Medicine at the Université de Montréal, based in Montreal, Quebec. She completed her medical degree at McGill University and is currently completing her Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM). She has been actively involved in wilderness and environmental medicine education, research, and simulation since medical school. Her clinical and research interests focus on wilderness and environmental emergencies, EMS and medical education. She has presented nationally and has received awards for her research on medical emergencies in Québec’s national parks. Outside of the hospital, Dr Hansen is a outdoors enthusiast, avid trail runner and an active rock climber. Whether on the trail or in the emergency department, her goal is the same: improving preparedness, decision-making, and patient safety when help is far away.

Born in Tokyo in 1984, Dr. Inada graduated from the National Defense Medical College in 2009, where he founded a mountaineering club and began extensive alpine activities across rock, snow, ice, and alpine environments in Japan and abroad. He was commissioned as a flight surgeon in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, engaging in research and training related to hypobaric and extreme environments. During his service, he collaborated with air rescue units in mountain training, served in remote island medical posts, and published research in mountain medicine.

In 2017, he initiated a Mountain Medical Patrol program in Japan, which he continues to lead. He completed his PhD in 2020 (including one year of study in the UK), focusing on the mechanisms of acute mountain sickness. In 2022, he retired from the Air Self-Defense Force as a Lieutenant Colonel and established a Mountain Medical Support Office.

He is a board member of the Japanese Society of Mountain Medicine, holds a Diploma in Mountain Medicine, a WMAI instructor, a national sports coach (mountaineering and sport climbing), a licensed national guide-interpreter, and a certified mountain guide (Stage II).

Len has over 40 years of experience in a wide range of pre-hospital professions. He is presently employed part-time as an Advanced Care Paramedic with the Nipissing District Paramedic Service. Throughout his career, Len has undertaken various leadership roles in paramedic education and special operations. He continues to participate in major music festivals and multi-day athletic events. Len was raised on a hunting and fishing lodge in northern Ontario, fostering a deep connection to the Canadian Shield. He holds bachelor’s degrees in both Physical Education and Teacher Education, with a specialization in outdoor education. His professional experience includes positions at Outward Bound Canada (OBC), working with adjudicated youth, and leading high school outdoor programs. Since the mid-1980s, Len has been actively involved in teaching wilderness medical programs, delivering courses in ten countries across the globe—from northern regions to central and South America. Notably, he conducted the first wilderness medical program in mainland China. Len currently serves as the Director of Medical Curriculum and Program Development at Raven RSM.

Dave is a Family/ER Physician living in Kamloops BC. He works as a Medical Officer with the Canadian Armed Forces, and has deployed overseas with both the Army and the Navy. He has volunteered for over 10 years with Ground SAR teams in NS, NL, NWT and BC, and he completed his Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM) in 2020. Dave was one of the co-founders of CAWM in 2020 and served as the Association's Founding President from 2020-2023. Dave’s favourite outdoor activities include paddle sports, diving, orienteering, backcountry hiking and sport climbing.

Shelley and her co-presenter Svea are registered nurses in BC. They have both worked with the RCMP crisis response teams (ICRT) in mental health, and have both worked in critical care. Svea and Shelley love skiing and hiking in their free time and call the Okanagan Valley home.

Neal Pollock is an Associate Professor in Kinesiology and Research Chair in Hyperbaric and Diving Medicine and at Université Laval in Québec, Canada. He was previously Research Director at Divers Alert Network (DAN) and conducted research at Duke University, both in Durham, North Carolina. His academic training is in zoology, exercise physiology, and environmental physiology. His research interests focus on human health and safety in extreme environments, including decompression safety for both divers and astronauts. He is an Editor Emeritus of the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. He continues to serve as an Associate Editor for the journal Environmental, Aviation and Space Physiology, and on the editorial board of the journal Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine.

Dr. Alexander Poole (MD FRCSC FACS DiMM) is a rural and remote multidisciplinary general surgeon. He has practiced general surgery in the Yukon since 2002. His interest in mountain medicine and frostbite in particular has been fostered by having lived and worked in the Yukon, British Columbia, and Iceland. He has been on a mission to modernize Canadian frostbite care since 2015, and his commitment to establishing evidence-based frostbite care protocols within the rural and remote environment of the Yukon has established him as a recognized frostbite expert in Canada and the international community.

Dr. Roy is an intensivist-"wildernist" with a specific interest in very remote environments. He holds three diplomas in Mountain Medicine as well as a post-graduate Diploma in Remote and Offshore Medicine. He is co-program director of the WildernessMD/McGill University Resident Physician Elective in Wilderness Medicine and director of Canada's only sub-specialty Diploma in Mountain Medicine, the Diploma in Wilderness & Expedition Medicine. He is active internationally in this field and sits on the Executive Committee of the International Society for Mountain Medicine, the Medical Commission of the International Commission of Alpine Rescue, and the Research Committee of the Wilderness Medical Society.

Cyril is an internationally certified Mountain Guide, EMS Instructor and CAA AvSAR Instructor. He has over fifty years of experience in mountaineering and climbing and over four decades of experience as a professional guide. He operates a sole proprietorship (Rescue Dynamics) which has provided mountain guiding services with a specialization in high angle rope rescue, mountain leadership training, mountaineering, avalanche safety skills and wilderness emergency care. Cyril is an honorary (life) member of CAWM and the Alpine Club of Canada. He was the president of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides during one of our most deadly winter avalanche seasons. He was chosen by the ACC and ACMG to be the patron of the 2022 Guide’s Ball. He is also an Avalanche Professional with the Canadian Avalanche Association and instructs their Avalanche Search & Rescue courses.

Matthew is a critical care flight paramedic currently working for British Columbia Emergency Health Services with the Infant Transport Team and lives in Squamish. He works for the Blackcomb ski patrol in winter and Whistler bike park in summer patroller, He has been a paramedic for 20 years, and has worked as a land ACP, Tactical and CBRNE medic, as well as a member of a mountain bike response unit.

Matt has lived and worked across Canada and the US from the Yukon to BC to Wyoming, and has experience as a raft guide, ski patroller, ski instructor and is a PMBI level 1 mountain bike instructor. He holds a diploma in Adult Education from St FX, and a diploma in Outdoor Education from Columbia College. He previously has been on the board of directors for CAWM.

Dr. Julian B. Sernik, MD, FRCSC is a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon, trauma specialist, and systems-focused educator whose work bridges clinical medicine, wilderness operations, and high-reliability team performance. He completed his MD at the University of British Columbia, orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Alberta, and a trauma and lower-extremity reconstruction fellowship at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He is a clinical instructor with the UBC Faculty of Medicine and serves as Expert Clinical Faculty with the Consultant Specialist Team Care Collaborative, supporting interdisciplinary teams in communication, trust, and system performance.
Dr. Sernik is also a certified ski guide with the Canadian Ski Guide Association, working in high-consequence mountain and heli-ski environments. His teaching draws on aviation Crew Resource Management, quality improvement science, and trust frameworks to examine how teams make decisions, manage conflict, and speak up under uncertainty.

He is a TEDx speaker, with his talk “From the Operating Room to the Boardroom: The Universal Language of Collaborative Problem Solving” exploring how to assemble high functioning teams across diverse settings. His keynote work focuses on translating these principles into practical tools for teams operating in austere environments.

Dalip Shekhawat is a Canadian Armed Forces corporal, educator, endurance athlete, and expedition leader with extensive experience operating in extreme and austere environments. He has summited Mount Everest and Mount Vinson (Antarctica), traveled to both the North and South Poles, and completed multiple ultra-endurance events across the Sahara Desert, Amazon rainforest, Arctic winters, and high-altitude mountain ranges.

Professionally, Dalip works as a senior high school science and biology teacher and has previously supported students with complex medical, neurological, and developmental needs. His academic background, combined with real-world expedition logistics, leadership under stress, and risk management in remote settings, informs his approach to wilderness decision-making and human performance.

Dalip has led and participated in self-supported expeditions involving cold exposure, hypoxia, dehydration, sleep deprivation, and limited medical resources. He regularly mentors youth and adults through adventure-based leadership programs and community initiatives focused on resilience, climate awareness, and environmental stewardship. His work bridges wilderness medicine principles with lived operational experience in some of the planet’s most unforgiving environments

After serving in the Marines on multiple deployments to Haiti and Iraq, I returned home to start a family and currently own and operate Accipiter Fieldcraft and Wild Roots Community Farm in Vermont, teaching regenerative food systems and survival to veterans, first responders and local communities.

I have led, facilitated and supported numerous classes and workshops with Guardian Revival, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Armed Forces Initiative, 104th USAF SFS, all five US based World Extreme Medicine Courses, Northeastern University, FDNY Field Medicine Symposium, and regional wilderness schools.

Sydney White is a physician, former Revelstoke patroller and BCEHS EMR and current apprentice ski guide. Her co-presenter Rose Frouin is an industrial avalanche forecaster, former Fernie patroller and BCEHS EMR, and current apprentice ski guide. Both share a love of skiing in rear entry ski boots and hair pieces, while also nerding out about snow.