Julie Munger is an internationally acclaimed swiftwater rescue instructor and whitewater professional. Over her 45-year obsession with rivers she has helped develop swiftwater rescue and wilderness first aid curriculums, guided and managed river trips around the world, and was a member of the world-champion US Women’s Rafting Team from 1985 to 2001.
A graduate of UC Davis and of the University of Central Lancashire in Technical Rescue Instruction, she has been a swiftwater and technical rescue instructor for over 30 years. She is Western Regional Director for Rescue 3 International, an ACA Safety & Rescue Level 5 Instructor Trainer, and Vice Chair of the ACA Safety and Rescue Committee.
Julie is co-author of all Sierra Rescue course books and keeps the materials current with the latest guidelines. She has taught agencies as diverse as USAF PJs, Coast Guard rescue swimmers, fire and SAR teams, and river guides, and was named Rescue 3 Instructor of the Year.
Abigail has been instructing wilderness skills for the past 25 years. A co-founder of Sierra Rescue, she is the primary author of all the wilderness medicine books and course materials and has assembled an advisory team of world-renowned doctors.
She has been a Rescue 3 International Instructor Trainer since 2006 and is a certified ACA Swiftwater Rescue Level 5 Instructor, with a strong mountaineering, river-running, first aid, and teaching background. She was a lead instructor for Hurricane Island and Colorado Outward Bound Schools, worked professionally as an EMT and WEMT, and founded Arctic River Journeys.
Abigail was voted Rescue 3 Instructor of the Year in 2013. When not working, she can be found surfing in Mexico, skiing in Tahoe, or backpacking in British Columbia.
Born in Fresno, CA, Don Lester started boating, hiking, and climbing at a very young age, spending much of his youth around Yosemite and the Kings River. He went on to guide rivers in California, Oregon, West Virginia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, and Chile — for several years logging 150+ days a year on the water — and spent two years as a full-time firefighter/EMT.
It was during a Wilderness EMT course in Yosemite that Don first met Julie Munger. He has now worked with Sierra Rescue for 13 years as one of our full-time independent contractors, an ACA Swiftwater Rescue Instructor and American CPR Instructor.
“I love teaching rescue courses because I want people to learn from the mistakes I’ve made without having to make them themselves.” When not teaching rope and water rescue, you can find Don river guiding on California rivers.
A native of Tasmania, Tim began his love of all things water surfing and sailing the island’s rugged coastlines before finding his way onto rivers. After a Certificate IV in Eco and Adventure Guiding, he worked as an expedition guide on his home rivers, then internationally, leading trips across Scotland, Canada, Argentina, Chile, and Antarctica.
His second passion is teaching. With a BA in Sociology and a Diploma of Education in Outdoor Education, he spent five years as the lead trainer for rafting, kayaking, and canoeing at the Outdoor Education Group. He joined Sierra Rescue in 2017 and, after becoming an instructor with Rescue 3 International and the ACA, is now one of our full-time lead instructors and Instructor Trainers.
Tim is also a Wilderness EMT. When not teaching, he may be captaining a boat in Antarctica or guiding in California. He lives in Truckee and loves backcountry skiing, surfing, mountain biking, and any river.
Sami was born and raised in Lotus, CA, and started her whitewater career in 2010 guiding rafts on the American River. Pursuing her passion as a whitewater kayaker, she began teaching kayaking in 2014 with Sundance Kayak School on the Rogue River in Oregon.
She joined Sierra Rescue as a wilderness medicine instructor and has traveled to Pucon, Chile to teach kayaking for the California Women’s Water Sport Collective. With deep personal and professional wilderness experience, Sami is a wealth of knowledge. When not teaching rescue, she’s guiding kayak trips on the Colorado, Salmon, Owyhee, and Rogue rivers.
Born and raised in Wilson, Wyoming, Liam started guiding in Jackson for his father and exploring the surrounding rivers, which is where he discovered the importance of rescue and medical training. His love for wilderness took him to Idaho, where he spent ten years guiding nearly every river in the state and still runs the Selway, Lochsa, and Salmon.
While working in the Grand Canyon for AZRA, Liam came into contact with Sierra Rescue and, over the next few years, made the transition from full-time river guide to full-time rescue and medical instructor. He teaches wilderness medicine and swiftwater rescue for Sierra Rescue, Rescue 3, and the ACA. When he’s not teaching, he’s traveling or guiding on the Lochsa or in the Grand Canyon.
Originally from South Dakota, Lynsey came to California in 2000 to attend UC Davis and, shortly after, became a whitewater raft guide. She worked commercially on many rivers but found her team and her home on the Tuolumne.
It was through guiding that she began training in swiftwater rescue and focused her studies on wilderness medicine, which led to teaching rescue courses and training guides. That first splash of whitewater sparked a passion she now tries to pass on in every training, helping create better-prepared outdoor enthusiasts.
Over the past 25 years she has worked with general recreationalists, commercial and private boaters, field scientists, agencies and organizations managing watersheds, and the military, fire, and SAR communities. Lynsey lives with her family in Lotus, California.
Carson was born and raised in Truckee, California and has spent his entire life playing outside — his parents met working for the same raft company Carson works for today. He learned to roll a kayak at 16 and began commercial guiding two years later, and has since kayaked and guided in Chile, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Norway, and Iceland.
“There’s no other place I’d rather be than on the river. Teaching has been even more rewarding than guiding — I’m able to give so many people a better understanding of rivers and river safety. I’ve learned so much from everyone at Sierra Rescue and I’m excited to keep learning from the best.”
Zach Byars, a native Texan, grew up running rivers — his parents met whitewater guiding in California during the early days of commercial rafting in the ’70s, and he followed suit, guiding western rivers for over a decade. Between rescue seasons he still runs the Middle Fork of the Salmon in Idaho for ECHO River Trips.
Zach entered the rescue world in 2008, first as a student on a Rogue River swiftwater class with Sierra Rescue, then as an ACA Swiftwater Rescue Instructor, Rescue 3 Swiftwater and Flood Instructor, and American CPR Instructor. “I love that this job lets me train with professionals ranging from Air Force pararescue to fire agencies to river guides. Safer boaters are better boaters.” When not teaching, he’s on the water or skiing powder in Jackson Hole.
Jessie started kayaking at the ripe old age of 8. After a few years of toil and tears, she realized that rivers were the place to be. As her passion for paddling and other exploratory activities grew, she began to travel throughout the western United States and abroad to Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, Uganda, and Nepal, developing her swiftwater safety skills through years of practice and formal training in both Canadian and American courses. Responding to a medical incident during her first international expedition sparked Jessie’s interest in wilderness medicine. After completing a WFR and graduating with a degree in biochemistry, Jessie became certified as an EMT and was introduced to Sierra Rescue. Jessie is excited to share the skills and knowledge she has cultivated after working as a kayaking instructor and photo kayaker, and after much time spent navigating rivers and responding to accidents. In her free time, Jessie may be found ski touring, paragliding, baking, or – you guessed it – whitewater kayaking. She is currently working at a local hospital and in school with plans of becoming a Physicians Assistant.
With a natural love for water, staying active and the Great Outdoors Ryan Higgins is the perfect fit with Sierra Rescue! Ryan has been involved in water rescue for 10 years, starting in water polo and swimming and quickly becoming a lifeguard for the City of Newport Beach. He spent 7 years there including assignments as “The Wedge”(A world famous shore break).
Being hired as a firefighter for the Orange County Fire Authority at age 22, Ryan put himself through swiftwater training and fell in love with it. Having a passion for teaching and learning from the best is important to him. He volunteers every week to train explorer scouts since he finished the program in 2008. Ryan is part of the Orange County Fire Authority’s Technical Rescue Team (which includes: swiftwater, confined space, helicopter, rope, and trench rescue). He also holds the position of Rescue Specialist with FEMA’s California Task Force 5 (CATF5) and is a California State Fire Marshal Instructor.
Ryan was drawn to contract for Sierra Rescue because of the friendships and bonds that form on the river during our trainings. The ability for instructors to have fun and love what they do makes it a desirable position and keeps him motivated to push the boundaries, train more, try new things, and remain safe. When asked why Ryan loves teaching swiftwater courses he said, “There is something about the water that makes us humble, creating everyone as equal. Not in an effort to fight against it, but to harness and use it to the best of our abilities.”
When Ryan’s not teaching he’s an avid traveler. He went to Australia in 2012 to teach swiftwater rescue down under. He’s been to all 7 continents including Kayaking in Antarctica and recently completed a trip around all 50 states.
James was raised in Modesto California. In High School, He was involved in Swimming and Water Polo. While pursuing a Bachelors Degree and Teaching Credential at Long Beach State, he became an avid surfer, scuba diver, and rock climber. In the spring of 1987, a friend convinced him to try out for the Long Beach Lifeguards. Thinking it would be a great summer job he went for it. Twenty-Five years later, James can look back and say that it was a wise choice! Following his summer as a Lifeguard, James moved up to becoming a Marine Safety Officer. Currently, James is a Rescue Boat Operator and owner of River and Sea Rescue. His love for water sports and the great outdoors is obvious.
In 1997, James took his first Swiftwater Rescue Course from Rescue 3. Since that time he has developed a respectful passion for the river environment for both work and play. In 2001 he was able to become a member of the LBFD SWR team, and now a team supervisor. IN 2008, James was deployed for 3 weeks to Louisiana and Texas as California Regional Task Force 12 . A career highlight for James, being apart of hurricanes Gustav and Ike. During his career in public safety, James has been fortunate having gained valuable training, and experience, in many different rescue disciplines. James gets a great deal of personal satisfaction sharing his experiences as an instructor, knowing that one day the skills learned could save someone’s life.
Currently, James is working for the Long Beach Fire Department / Marine Safety Division as a Rescue Boat Operator. His past accomplishments include LBFD Public Safety Dive Team member, LBFD Swiftwater RescueTeam, Supervisor Member California Regional River/Flood Task Force-12, California State Fire Marshal Instructor, and Rescue 3 Instructor Water/Rope and Boat operator.
Unlike almost everyone else on the SRI team, Kyle Humason has spent very little time on rivers — he prefers his water frozen. That passion was seeded in the mountains around his hometown of Grangeville, Idaho, took root racing on weekends in Tahoe through high school, and grew into an obsession when he moved to Truckee and began patrolling on Donner Summit.
His first WFR course in college crystallized a goal: to be the best student he could be so he could become the best teacher he could be. Over the following decade he built toward it — working as an EMT and WEMT, training in technical rope rescue and snow safety. With nearly a decade of professional patrol experience, he approached Julie and Abi in spring 2024 for the chance to teach wilderness medicine.
What keeps him teaching is watching students transform over a day or a week. “Seeing our students in action,” he says, “is fulfilling beyond description.”