Responder Alliance

LAURA MCGLADREY

For the past 20 years, Laura has instructed for NOLS Wilderness Medicine and is currently a Nurse Practitioner with dual certification, practicing both emergency medicine and psychiatry across the lifespan. She is currently a clinician with the Stress Trauma Adversity Research and Treatment (START) Center and provides trauma support for Emergency and Wilderness Responders. She has a background in international and relief work, teaches courses to wilderness medicine providers, and lectures nationally on Psychological First Aid and Stress Injuries. She is the Stress and Resilience advisor for Portland Mountain Rescue and Eldora Ski Patrol, and consults with and advises several other rescue and patrol teams throughout the United States and beyond. She is the founder of Responder Alliance. 

DARCY CHENOWETH

Darcy lives in western Montana where she has worked as an Emergency Department Nurse and spent more than a decade teaching wilderness medicine and avalanche safety courses. She has held risk management advisory roles in several organizations both domestic and international. From her love of neurobiology, education, mountain rescue and human wellbeing she now applies these skills to advocating for resiliency among people working in human services. She is currently helping facilitate resilience trainings in Montana for people exposed to secondary trauma in their work environments. Darcy is honored to be a part of the Responder Alliance which fills a much need and innovative niche supporting responders to not only mitigate stress injury but also thrive in a profoundly difficult profession.

ZACH RYAN

Zach is going into his fifth season ski patrolling at Eldora Mountain Resort in Nederland, CO. Recently completing his masters in biomedical sciences in May of 2021, he is currently applying to medical school in pursuit of becoming an emergency medicine physician with a specialization in pre-hospital/austere medicine. He has been involved in resiliency efforts, specifically within ski patrol, for three years now and is excited to be on board the Responder Alliance team as we continue to push initiatives in mental health forward. Zach also has experience in a variety of wildland fire platforms, urban EMS, and medical education.