Staff & Instructors

Trusting others with the safety of your children is not an easy thing to do, so we wanted to take a brief moment to tell you about who we are:

Ford Church, M. A., Founder and Executive Director:

Ford graduated from the University of Denver in 1998 with a B.S.B.A. in Marketing and he completed his Master’s Degree in Adventure Education Program Management through Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona in 2004. Ford has worked in the outdoor industry for the past ten years and has worked for such organizations as the Boulder Outdoor Survival School, the Colorado Mountain Club, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, The Outdoor Network, and the Institute for Creative Education. He has a background in teaching wilderness and camping skills, outdoor survival skills, avalanche and snow science, and winter camping. In addition to serving as the Executive Director of the Cottonwood Institute, Ford is a Graduate Advisor for the Master of Arts Program at Prescott College. He is also an adjunct professor at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado where he teaches a variety of winter and summer survival courses. Ford is a former Steering Committee member with the Inner City Outings, which is a branch of the Sierra Club in Denver that provides opportunities for urban youth and adults to explore, enjoy and protect the natural world.

Paul Dreyer, M. A., Cottonwood Institute Vice-President and Advisory Board Member:

Paul has been working with teenagers in alternative educational settings for nine years.  A self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades, Paul has had the opportunity to work at a variety of organizations and to support a diverse spectrum of students.  He worked as an educator at the Shackleton School, an expeditionary boarding school in Massachusetts, and as a residential and personal advisor at Brush Ranch School, a boarding program for high school students with learning disabilities.  For the past two years, Paul has been working as an educational consultant, creating academic and life-learning plans for teenagers and their families.  Throughout his past, Paul has also devoted considerable time to organizing and leading extended wilderness, outdoor education, and service expeditions to areas around the western United States.  Currently, in addition to working at Watershed, Paul teaches wilderness first aid courses through the Wilderness Medicine Institute and serves on the board of directors for Teens, Inc., a teen center and alternative high school in Nederland, CO.  Constantly searching for more creative and effective educational methods, Paul loves using the outdoors and experiential environments to promote learning and growth in his students and himself.

April Pishna, Adventure Coordinator:

April is a snowboard fanatic and avid outdoors person.  She loves to hike, camp, and listen to the trees whisper.  She has extensive experience in the administrative field but her desire to work with kids and her love of the outdoors has sent her back to school.  She is currently attending Colorado Christian University with plans of getting her Bachelor’s degree and elementary teacher’s license.  April volunteers as a mentor with SOS Outreach, a non-profit group that teaches life values through skiing and snowboarding.  She also has a great passion for photography and travel, and believes that life is simply beautiful!

Paige Doughty, New Vista High School Community Adventure Program Teacher:

Paige is a writer, an artist, and an environmental educator. She is always looking for ways to blend her creative passions with her deep commitment to education towards a sustainable culture. Paige first came to Boulder in 1998 to attend the University of Colorado. She studied English Literature and French Language, and fell in love with the Rocky Mountains. Paige earned her Master’s degree in Environmental Education with Lesley University and the Audubon Expedition Institute. During this field-based graduate program she called a tent her home for three semesters and has since worked at Living On Earth as an environmental journalist, acted as the Program Coordinator for The Green Streets Initiative, a grassroots organization, was a teacher / naturalist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and moved from the east coast back to the Rocky Mountains.

Richard Vercoe, Cottonwood Institute Instructor:

Richard has been working professionally in the outdoors with youths and adults in North and South America for the past 10 years as a guide, high school teacher, community development manager, and naturalist.  The reason for this dedication?  “Because nature itself is the perfect learning environment for complete development in people, both young and old.”  “In nature all aspects of a person are allowed to develop; the intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual.”  Richard received his Bachelors degrees from the University of California, Davis in the interdisciplinary programs of Nature and Culture and Cultural Anthropology.  He then went on to live and work in Patagonia for 6 years as a co-founder and teacher of the first environmental high school in Chile.  Upon returning to the U.S. Richard has been a camp director and administrator for outdoor education programs throughout the Front Range.  He is currently working on a Master’s degree in Geography and Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming. Richard expects to continue working as an outdoor educator in one form or another throughout his life as “working with youth in the outdoors produces an endless source of energy and learning both for the kids and myself as well as a greater level of appreciation and understanding of the natural world.”

Clark Patton, Cottonwood Institute Instructor:

Clark has trained and volunteered at Tom Brown Jr.’s Tracker School in New Jersey, The Wilderness Awareness School in Washington, and the PAST Skills Wilderness School in Montana.  During his time at these schools, he has delved into the studies of primitive skills, native philosophy, and the practical applications of these skills.  His overall commitment is to pull students deeper into the mystery of the outdoors and to connect them with the natural environment.  From a young age, Clark has considered the mountains of Colorado to be his home.  He spends his free time there running, tracking, camping, fly-fishing, and bow hunting.  At the moment, he is also attending Prescott College and pursuing a major in Environmental Studies.

Nathaniel Bankrier, Denver Hebrew High Eco-Judaism In Action Teacher:

Growing up near the Rockies, and spending most of his summers camping through out the country, Nate has always had a passion for the outdoors. He has been involved professionally with the outdoor education community for the past 5 years as a naturalist, survival specialist, camping director, scuba instructor and an oceanic reef conservation specialist. Nate has worked with such organizations as CIEE Research Centers, PADI Project Aware Group, and the American Camping Association. Nate attended Eastern Michigan University studying English and Special Education. Nate has done a vast amount of work introducing youth to the natural world, and preservation of the environment. He hopes to continue to educate students, campers and families alike about the many wonders that create our environment for the rest of his life. Through out the term of his educational and outdoor careers, Nate feels that he gets just as much out of the teaching experience as his students do. Nate has a passion for photography both above and below the water. Nate feels that there is nothing better than being able to relive the memories of the amazing places one has been, and being able to preserve it for the future generations.