About AW
Experience-led education for the real world.
AW Outdoor Education helps people and organizations build practical capability through medicine, outdoor education, preparedness, and hands-on learning.
Founder & lead educator
Meet Ressa Smith.
Ressa brings a rare mix of emergency medicine, wilderness medicine, EMS education, outdoor education, youth leadership, emergency preparedness, and camp medical operations to every program.
Her credentials and experience matter because they support the real goal: helping participants feel prepared to make better decisions when it matters. AW is approachable, direct, active, and built around people—not a résumé or a one-size-fits-all lecture.
Train. Adapt. Thrive.
Medical, wilderness, outdoor, and youth-learning experience come together in programs grounded in practical confidence.
Work with AW
Tell us what you're building.
Whether you need training, a program, consulting, or a future experience update, the first step is a conversation.