Get to Know Us: Ricardo Flores, NCOAE Field Instructor

The thing that makes Ricardo Flores exceedingly well qualified to serve as a National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education field instructor is his love of the outdoors and experience in group dynamics through his corporate  management experience.

Specifically, Ricardo formerly worked as a logistics manager and a project manager for Proctor & Gamble, which was No. 42 on the Fortune 500 list last year. That’s not too shabby. In addition, he is a former CEO of an adventure tourism company, and a field instructor for Outward Bound.

In fact, Ricardo has been a wilderness aficionado since the age of 12, having spent 13 years in the Boy Scouts, plus, he’s amassed a boatload of summer camp, personal trip, and tour-guiding experiences. This Port Neches, Texas, native has professional certifications that include Project Management Professional (PMP), Leave No Trace (LNT) master educator, and Wilderness First Responder (WFR).

We asked Ricardo to fill in some blanks in his resume and tell us more about his life. Here’s what he had to say:

NCOAE: Where did you attend college and what degree were you awarded?

Ricardo Flores: I attended the Universidad Yacambu in Cabudare, Venezuela, where I received a degree in engineering in 2006.

NCOAE: What is your favorite part about working for NCOAE?

Ricardo: Being able to help people discover more about themselves, and being able to witness the personal grow of youth and adults who participate in our courses and trainings.

NCOAE: Who is your role model? And why?

Ricardo: That would have to be Steve Jobs. He said three things that still stick in my mind:

• “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
• “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful — that’s what matters to me.”
• “The people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.”

NCOAE: If you had a super power, what would it be and why?

Ricardo: I’d love to have an extraordinary memory where I can save and reach for knowledge at any time with detailed precision.

NCOAE: What do you think about when you’re alone in Wilderness?

Ricardo: That the world is beautiful and that I can feel the energy of nature, keeping us healthy and aware of what is really important in our life.

NCOAE Ten years from now, I will be (fill in the blank) because (fill in the blank).

Ricardo: Ten years from now, I will be a coach and mentor, helping people have better lives and reaching their potential to make this world better.