Staff Profiles for:

Certificate in Outdoor Education Level 4

Dave Ritchie Dave Ritchie completed a degree in Physical Education at Otago University back in 1991 and immediately realised he needed to be outside, rather than stuck in a gym. He went kayaking and discovered he was actually rather good at it. Despite now having a family and a desk, meaning less time on the water, he still manages to get out amongst it. He joined Tai Poutini Polytechnic in 2006 and is as motivated and enthusiastic now as he ever was. Dave reckons he gets a lump in his throat when he sees students leave at the end of the programme “it’s great to see them develop and mature, they leave brimming with excitement and enthusiasm for their new careers – that’s the real buzz for me”.

Title: HEAD OF DEPARTMENT - OUTDOOR EDUCATION Directorate: West Coast Office: Campbell Building Campus: Greymouth

Jo Parsons Jo Parsons is Programme Leader for the Department, she teaches across many of the programmes though her specialty is whitewater kayak. She’s one of the few women in the country to have passed her NZOIA Kayak 2, she also holds Bush 2 and Rock 1. She started out with a BSC in Ecology at Otago University but found she was drawn back to the Outdoor Education she discovered at high school. “It’s great when you see high school students being taught by our second years and knowing there’s a few of them who will decide ‘I’m going to do that one day’. And they will.”

Title: PROGRAMME LEADER (OUTDOOR) Directorate: West Coast Office: Campbell Building Campus: Greymouth

Keith Riley Keith Riley is our hard core adventure legend. He has been working in outdoor education for 17 years and is one of the few people to gain his NZOIA Level 2 Awards in Rock, Alpine, Bush and Kayak. His adventures are legendary, he spent three months traversing the Southern Alps, was part of the first successful East to West crossing of the Alps by kayak and is still finding and ticking off first descents on the West Coast. Keith is the consummate technician and leads by example, his passion for the outdoors is evident in his own missions as well as the enthusiasm he brings to his teaching. In his time off, Keith competes in reality TV shows.

Title: LEAD TUTOR - TRAMP AND KAYAK Directorate: West Coast Office: Campbell Building Campus: Greymouth

Paula Roberts Paula Roberts is our Rock and Mountain guru. She’s come to us from Twizel, where she has worked her summers as a Mountain Guide at Mt Cook and her winters ski patrolling and heliski guiding based in Methven and the USA. While her favourite place to climb is in Darran mountains in Fiordland she’s come to the Coast for the opportunity to share her passion with others. Tough and no-nonsense she’ll push you to do things you never thought you could – in the end you’ll thank her for it.

Title: LEAD TUTOR - MOUNTAIN AND ROCK Directorate: West Coast Office: Outdoor Rec Offices Campus: Greymouth

Phil Johnston-Coates Phil Johnson-Coates has worked in adventure tourism and outdoor education for over half his life. He is a former Outward Bound instructor and runs our adventure based learning and teaching programmes including raft guiding, whitewater kayaking and rock climbing. With his NZOIA in Kayak, Rock and Bush 2, and a degree in Business Administration Phil is able to bring 'real world' economics and small business concepts into his teaching. His energy is infectious and if things are ever looking bad he brings out his harmonica – it’s the secret weapon that never fails to deliver.

Title: TUTOR - OUTDOOR EDUCATION Directorate: West Coast Office: Outdoor Rec Offices Campus: Greymouth