Bethany Smith

Field Instructor - WFR

Pennsylvania native Bethany Smith joined the team here at The National Center for
Outdoor & Adventure Education in May of 2022, working as a field instructor in both
North Carolina and Oregon. As an NCOAE staffer, she has led a number of backpacking,
inflatable kayaking and whitewater rafting trips, including several of our Teen
Leadership Expeditions.

Before joining us at NCOAE, Bethany was a river guide for Whitewater Challengers in
Carbon Canyon, Pa., and before that, worked as a coordinator and kayak instructor for
L.L. Bean’s Outdoor Discovery School Program. Most recently, she was an ice hike guide
for Valley to Summit Guided Wilderness Adventures in Philadelphia.

Bethany is a member of the National Outdoor Leadership School’s Alumni Network,
Professional Association of Diving Instructors, and the Association for Experiential
Education. In addition to being certified as a Wilderness First Responder, Bethany is a
Leave No Trace trainer, swiftwater rescuer, and PADI rescue diver.

She says she enjoys every moment spent in the great outdoors and believe this joy
translates to the students she facilitates and guides in the backcountry. Bethany’s many
years of risk mitigation, leadership training, and guiding experience is due, to a large
extent, to her experiences in whitewater kayaking and hiking.

Bethany describes NCOAE and its access to pristine areas of wilderness as a literal
playground for backcountry enthusiasts, adding that the opportunity to teach in these
outdoors classrooms is a wonderful experience for all involved.