Shilpi Ganguly, MS - Founder

MS3 University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Shilpi has a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering with a second major in Spanish and minor in Aerospace Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, and an M.S. in Modern Human Anatomy from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Currently she sits on the executive boards for the University of Miami Emergency Medicine Student Association and Wilderness Medicine Student Interest Group. Her personal interests in wilderness medicine lay within the fields of polar, mountain, tactical, and space medicine. Shilpi is extremely passionate about wilderness medicine and is the master-mind behind this multi-week multi-speaker wilderness extravaganza!  Full Bio

Catherine lawton - Chair 

MS4 University of Queensland Ochsner School of Medicine 

Howdy! My name is Catherine and I'm a fourth-year medical student at The University of Queensland Ochsner School of Medicine. Through this program I spent my first two years of medical school in Brisbane, Australia and am now nestled down in New Orleans, Louisiana completing my 3rd and 4th year clinical rotations. I completed a Bachelor of Science at The University of Michigan majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience and minoring in Biochemistry. I've had the honor of being on the founding executive board of GOWME and have served the past two years as Australian Delegate, Co-Vice Coordinator and Co-Lead. I'm beyond excited to work with the amazing board we put together this year as Chair and can't wait to share what we have been working on with y'all! Full Bio

Katrina stevens- Lead Coordinator 

MS4 SUNY Upstate Medical University

Katrina obtained her undergraduate degree in Biology from Clarkson University. After, she went on to serve in the AmeriCorps for West Mountain Regional Health Alliance in Colorado. While volunteering she served as project coordinator, with a focus on improving social determinants of health in the community, specifically food and housing insecurity. Currently, she is an active member of the Adirondack Mountain Rescue team and is pursuing research in wilderness medicine. In her free time she enjoys whitewater rafting, snowboarding, and knitting. Full Bio

nate barott - Co-Vice Coordinator

MS2 SUNY Upstate Medical University

Hailing from the beautiful Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, Nate attended Cornell University for his undergraduate years where he majored in biology and did a lot of trail running and cross country skiing. Before starting medical school, Nate spent a few years leading backpacking trips, ski patrolling, working at an apple orchard, scooping ice cream cones in Yellowstone National Park, researching altitude illness in Nepal, and riding his gravel bike a lot. Full Bio 

jessie dobler - Co-Vice Coordinator

MS3 SUNY Upstate Medical University

My name is Jessie and I grew up in Denver, Colorado. I am currently a second-year medical student at SUNY Upstate Medical University. When I’m not studying I enjoy volunteering a with a local ski patrol, and as an EMT. I also love distance running (especially on trails) and have been starting to get into triathlons! My favorite aspect of wilderness medicine is expedition medicine! Before medical school I led backpacking and canoeing trips in some of the more remote areas of the American West and Canada, and I loved the creative problem solving that can happen when you’re out in the backcountry for multiple weeks. Full Bio

ellie smith - Communications Coordinator 

UGYA4 Northeastern University

Ellie grew up in New Hampshire and fell in love with the ocean, lakes, and mountains of New England. She's graduating from Northeastern University this May with a BS in Biochemistry and is taking a gap year while she applies to medical school. During this time, she'll work at Beth Israel in Boston as a Patient Care Technician and Telemetry Technician. Ellie got her WEMT certification in the White Mountains at the SOLO School, and the experience solidified her passion for wilderness and emergency medicine. As a former undergraduate representative, she's looking forward to seeing GOWME continue to grow and working with the new board this year! Full Bio

david bagley - Finance Coordinator

MS1 Saint Louis University School of Medicine 

Hi! I’m David and I am currently an M1 at St. Louis University School of Medicine. I grew up outside of St. Louis and spent much of my childhood participating in outdoor activities through the Boy Scouts, eventually earning my Eagle Scout in 2015. I attended the University of Missouri-Columbia for undergrad where I earned degrees in Biology and German. Outside of school, I am still heavily involved in outdoor adventure activities, specifically rock climbing, alpinism, and scuba diving (my true passion). I am a certified PADI divemaster and have previously worked leading scuba diving trips in the Florida Keys. Full Bio

Kelsey Ellis - Social Media Coordinator

OMS4 Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine 

Hello! My name is Kelsey Ellis and I am a current OMS2 at Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. I have a B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology with minors in Chemistry and Animal Science, as well as a M.S. in Biomedicine. While obtaining my undergraduate degree, I rode for the MSU Equestrian Team and MSU Ranch Horse Team, and also worked in a level 1 trauma center. Now at ARCOM, I am involved in several clubs and I spend as much time as I can volunteering at the Good Samaritan Clinic which serves the underserved population in Fort Smith, AR.  Full Bio

april oertle -PR Coordinator

MS1 - University of Illinois College of Medicine 

April received her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of Washington. Prior to attending UW in 2017, she earned her Wilderness EMT from NOLS, in Lander, WY. She has worked at a ranch as a cowgirl and hunting guide in South Dakota. She also worked as a milker and cheese maker at a dairy in Cherry Valley, WA. She is interested in polar medicine, altitude medicine, mountain medicine, space medicine, and rescue medicine. She absolute loves NOLS and strives to make the outdoor and wilderness medicine community welcoming for all. Full Bio

kirra paulus - Webmaster 

MS4 - Boston University School of Medicine

Hi! My name is Kirra Paulus, a West Coast transplant at Boston University School of Medicine Class of 2024. I completed my undergraduate degree in Biotechnology and minored in backcountry skiing, whitewater kayaking, and rock climbing. Last year I was my school's Wilderness Medicine Elective Coordinator, as well co-leader of our Outdoor/Outreach Club and Emergency Medicine Interest Groups. I developed a passion for austere medicine through volunteering with my Search and Rescue team, so my particular interests align with the environments my team works in most frequently: Alpine Rock/Snow and Swiftwater Rescue Scenarios. 

Full Bio

samantha assad - Undergraduate delegate

2023 Graduate of University of California Riverside

Samantha is a recent graduate of the University of California, Riverside who is currently taking a gap year while working in the Binder Lab at UCR School of Medicine. She graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry with an emphasis in medical sciences and an honors capstone on abnormal behavioral phenotypes in juvenile and adult Fmr1 KO mice. Her interest in wilderness medicine was peaked after getting her open water (2013), advanced (2014), and rescue (2020) scuba diving certs. She has dove in 4 countries and over 30 dive sites. One of her favorites being a plane wreck with sharks at a depth of 108'. She is also an avid hiker. Full Bio

henry feng - international delegate

MS3 - University of Sydney Medical School

Henry completed his Bachelor of Science at Duke University, majoring in Evolutionary Anthropology. He later moved to New York City where he completed a Master of Arts in Biotechnology at Columbia University. He has experience in education, public health, and bioengineering at institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History and NASA. Currently, he is back in his hometown of Sydney pursuing medical studies and conducting research on muscular atrophy and dystrophy. Specifically, he is interested in human physiology in extreme environments, space and polar medicine, and critical care. Full Bio