Recognition | Grad Sara Souza Receives 2020

RECOGNITION Grad Sara Souza Receives 2020 Charles “Reb” Gregg Wilderness Risk Management Award

Multiple-time NOLS Wilderness Medicine graduate Sara Souza was named the recipient of the 2020 Charles “Reb” Gregg Wilderness Risk Management Award for her significant contributions to the field of risk management in outdoor education and adventure professions. Sara was recognized in a presentation at the 27th annual Wilderness Risk Management Conference, held online from October 19 to 23, 2020.

Presented annually since 2006, recipients of the Charles “Reb” Gregg Wilderness Risk Management Award—created in honor of longtime NOLS board member and legal counsel—are recognized for exceptional leadership, service, and innovation in wilderness risk management.

Souza launched a unique field research safety program for the University of California system in 2016 through the U.C. Center of Excellence for Field Safety. This program supports the 41 field stations and reserves that make up the U.C. Natural Reserve System. In her nomination letter, colleagues praised her wide-ranging efforts, including steering committee chair Mike Pigg, who noted, “Sara built from the ground up a supportive and effective center which serves 10 U.C. campuses. With her help, field researchers in the U.C. system have been prepared to conduct their research in a safe and regulated way during COVID-19.”

In her role as a field safety specialist, Sara oversees and provides training across various areas of expertise, from field sciences to wildlife researchers. Her responsibilities range from facilitating forums to providing training and risk management assessments. Sara noted as one accomplishment, “we’ve drastically increased our numbers of researchers taking wilderness first aid—we have hundreds of people getting training every year.”

When she evaluated the larger impact of her role and contributions to risk management, Sara emphasized culture and sharing expertise.

“I’m trying to create forums where people can come together and talk about all these challenges, and then facilitate people being open to sharing expertise and being candid about things that go wrong,” she said. This way, “a public health researcher working in Tanzania can talk to a wildlife biologist, and their science is different but a lot of the challenges, hazards, and issues they’re facing are similar. I like to think those forums and connections are some of the big successes in our program.

Sara’s comments on receiving the award can be viewed online here.

Sara Souza was recognized for her contributions to the field of risk management in outdoor education. Courtesy of Sara Souza