Who We Are
Zumundo is a consulting consortium of innovative and dynamic individuals from academic institutions, research orgs....community organizations..
. Collectively, the skills of Zumundo associates...
Jeff Zukiwsky | Jon Heshka |Billy Collins | Don Webster
Jeff Zukiwsky M.R.M (Principal)
Jeff has a uniquely international perspective on life and business. Jeff holds an adventure travel guide diploma (mountain specialization), a Bachelor of Tourism Management Degree (BTM) with majors in adventure and international development, and is a Master or Resource Environmental Management (MRM).
His work experience focuses primarily on tourism and recreation development and climate change adaptation. In the tourism industry, Jeff has worked as a wilderness guide, as well as in the food and beverage and accommodation sectors. He worked on several projects in Chile, both with private and public organizations to assess nature-based tourism potential and recommend development opportunities for poverty alleviation. Jeff’s extensive backcountry travel experience allows him to access remote and rugged to areas to assess tourism potentials. In a similar role, Jeff also works as a risk management and terrain assessment specialist for seismic and forestry industries.
In the climate change adaptation field, Jeff has worked with various levels of government on adaptation planning. Specifically, his expertise is in assessing the social, economic, and environmental risks and vulnerabilities of climate change, and prioritizing adaptations.
In his spare time, Jeff pursues his passion for wild and remote places. This passion has taken him to the summit of peaks in the Canadian Rockies, New Zealand Alps, and the South American Andes; and down rivers as wild as the Nahanni and the Amazon. Jeff looks forward to the next challenge, whether it be bagging a peak, helping develop a backcountry tourism operation, paddling a river, or helping a community become more sustainable.
Jon Heshka (Senior Associate)
Jon
Heshka has two decades of experience in outdoor education and guiding,
search and rescue, and business combined with 4 degrees including a graduate
thesis that examined the liability of adventure education. He has
climbed and led expeditions from Alaska to Argentina, Tajikistan to the
Tetons, and many points in-between. Jon has guided with Outward
Bound and Canada West Mountain School, instructed fall protection and
rescue to a myriad of clients including Golden Gate Bridge, BC Hydro and
AT&T, worked in senior management with Petzl America, and consults
on risk reduction strategies and tourism development to the public and
private sectors. Recent projects include conducting a tourism inventory
and gap analysis on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories,
supervising tourism audits and analyses for communities in the Interior
of British Columbia, repositioning and rebranding a hunting and fishing
lodge, and writing a marketing plan for a multi-day adventure race.
Jon trained and coordinated search and rescue for seven years for BC Ministry of Attorney General / Justice Institute of BC and has performed mountain rescues above 15,000 feet on three continents. He was a Canadian representative to the International Commission of Alpine Rescue in 1996-97 and has worked with Denali Mountain Rescue in Alaska. He co-authored the 2003 Provincial Avalanche Safety Program Review for the BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General and has been retained as an expert witness on search and rescue and adventure guiding by the US Department of Justice in Hawaii to represent the National Park Service.
Jon is an Assistant Professor of adventure tourism at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC. He teaches courses in business administration and strategic planning, legal liability and risk management in eco and adventure tourism, sport marketing, and mountain rescue. He is an internationally renown speaker and is regularly invited to present at forums across the globe. Jon's full university profile is found at http://research.tru.ca/researchers.php?section=single&id=59.
Billy Collins (Associate)
Billy
Collins is currently completing a Masters of Urban Studies at Simon
Fraser University and is a graduate of the Bachelor of Tourism Management
program with an Adventure Major from Thompson Rivers University. He
also holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Business Administration Diploma.
Most recently Billy was involved in the development of the BC Tourism Educators Directory of Professional and Research Interests on behalf of the BC Centre for Tourism Leadership & Innovation. Additionally, Billy was the primary researcher for the Tourism Product Inventory and Gap Analysis conducted for NWT Arctic Tourism in 2005.
He has also researched and written on festivals and festival development and the role of community in that process. Billy also brings management experience to the team having managed the Wells Gray Provincial Park Information Centre and as a senior agent and territory manager for the Paquin Entertainment Group.
Don Webster (Associate)
Don
is an international adventure tourism specialist with a strong background
in adventure guiding, wilderness instruction, and tourism consulting.
He has instructed kayaking, skiing, and wilderness travel in Alaska,
Norway, British Columbia, Chile, the Middle East and the Antarctic.
His consulting and research projects include market analyses for international
adventure operations, educational assessments of adventure tourism programs,
and Tourism Opportunity Strategies both in British Columbia and abroad.
He holds a faculty position within the Tourism and Outdoor Recreation
Department at Capilano University, where he instructs in the areas of
risk management, wilderness leadership, and the adventure tourism industry.
Don is active in the wilderness tourism industry within British Columbia;
he is the past Vice-President of the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British
Columbia, a certified guide trainer, and sits on several industry committees
for stewardship and land management.
His academic background includes a certificate from College of the Rockies
in 'Adventure Tourism Business Management', the Adventure Guide Diploma
from University College of the Cariboo, a Bachelors degree in Tourism
Management (Majoring in International Adventure Tourism Development),
and is currently in the process of completing his Master of Arts in
Environment and Management from Royal Roads University.