Samantha Edwards

Field Instructor - WFA

A native of Grants Pass, Oregon, Samantha Edwards has been leading river trips for the
National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) since 2020. When she’s
not guiding NCOAE adventurers, Samantha works as an interventionist at Oregon Health
& Science University’s (OHSU) Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, where she
provides full-spectrum pediatric care.

Before joining NCOAE as a field instructor / raft guide, Samantha was a para-educator at
the Pioneer Special School Program for Portland Public Schools, a youth behavioral lead
counselor for Youth Villages, and a raft guide, trip leader, and challenge course
facilitator at Oregon State University’s Adventure Leadership Institute in Corvallis.
Additionally, she served as supervisor of operations for the Outdoor Recreation
Department at Oregon State University.

Samantha holds a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Lewis & Clark
College (Portland, OR), a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, and a Bachelor of
Arts in Liberal Studies from Oregon State University, with a focus on Life Coaching.
A lover of water and all wild places, Samantha’s family includes her partner, Chaley, two
dogs (Juniper and Yarrow), and three cats (Jasper, Quincy, and Jaxon).