After Hurricane Katrina, the medical director of the Alabama Outward Bound School approached Jason Luthy ’06, who was working at the school, about developing a wilderness medicine training program to prepare coastal communities in how to respond during natural disasters, when emergency medical personnel are delayed.

The two started Longleaf Wilderness Medicine as a way to train communities in remote medical training. In 2011, Luthy took full ownership and moved the business to Sandpoint, Idaho, with the mission of providing wilderness medicine education for both individuals and communities. Luthy is currently focused on program and curriculum design.

“Northland provided my view of the outdoor education landscape,” he said. “My experience led me to work for Outward Bound and provided the framework for how to teach students experientially. The decision to work for Outward Bound resulted in the creation of Longleaf Wilderness Medicine and my interest in working to make educational spaces as impactful as possible.”