Who We Are
Jeff Zukiwsky | Jon Heshka | David Carter | Billy Collins | Don Webster
Jeff Zukiwsky (Director)
As an international adventurer Jeff has traveled, worked and climbed throughout the world, including: South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
He has a uniquely international perspective on life and business. Jeff holds an adventure travel guide diploma from UCC with a mountain specialization and a Bachelor of Tourism Management Degree from TRU (2006) majoring in adventure and international development.
His list of industry certifications attest to both his technical ability and comprehensive skill base. His research interests include community tourism development and their influence on poverty reduction, as well as aboriginal tourist motivations. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in environmental management.
Jeff also works as a rescue technician and terrain management specialist for seismic and forestry industries.
Jon Heshka (Senior Advisor)
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.
David Carter
David Carter is a natural business person; he has extensive training in small business development and has worked on community/regional planning and development projects internationally.
David holds a Bachelor of Tourism Management with a major in adventure and international development. He has developed an interest in the application of law to both community business development and to the responsibilities of wilderness tourism guides; as such he plans to pursue law school in the near future.
Currently, David is working with the Fraser Valley Centre for Social Enterprise in an effort to further understand the relationship between community economic development and the business sector.
Billy Collins
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
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, and the Antarctic.
His consulting and research projects include market analyses for international adventure operations, educational assessments of adventure tourism programs, and several Tourism Opportunity Strategies both in British Columbia and abroad.
Don is active in the wilderness tourism industry within British Columbia; he is the acting 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, and a Bachelors degree in Tourism Management, with a Major in International Adventure Tourism development from Thompson Rivers University.