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Instructors

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Chris Rezac

ACA L5 Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor

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I'm from Charleston, SC.  I've been an avid sea kayaking enthusiast for over 15 years, and an ACA instructor for 7 years. My passion is the never-perfected art of mastering sea kayaking, in calm water, current, wind, and waves. 

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I really hope to see you at Oceans '23, and share with you what I love so much about sea kayaking.

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Chris Rezac

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Ashley Brown

ACA L5 Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor

 

Ashley Brown is the recipient of the American Canoe Association 2019 Excellence in Instruction Award! She lives in Charleston SC, a beautiful place to paddle. She is passionate about teaching kayaking at all levels and challenging people to test their limits while learning and having a ton of fun. She holds the prestigious Level 5 American Canoe Association Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor Certification, and is also an ACA L2 Kayak IT, and L4 Coastal Kayak Instructor Trainer Candidate, Canoe Instructor, SUP Instructor. She is an Instructor at many Symposium, mostly on the east coast. She the loves to travel, learn from her students, and enjoys welcoming guests from all over the world to paddle in beautiful Charleston waterways, especially the “edge of America”, the Atlantic Ocean off Folly Beach. As much as she loves to paddle, Ashley loves to teach. Her dedication to teaching brought her to the College of Charleston, where she has been developing university level curriculum in Kayaking and SUP. Ashley serves as an Adjunct Professor of Coastal Kayaking, Instructor Development, and Stand Up Paddleboard in the Health Education and Human Performance Dept.

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Jeff Atkins

ACA L5 Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor

 

Based in the Southeast United States, Jeff is a retired Park Ranger. He now is a co-owner of Wavepaddler where he coaches and guides trips around North America while helping participants grow their paddling and leadership skills.

Jeff also holds several paddling certifications including being an Advanced Open Water Instructor and a Coastal Kayak Instructor Trainer for the American Canoe Association. He is also an Instructor Trainer in Canoe, as well as being an Instructor in Stand Up Paddleboard. With additional certifications as a Wilderness First Responder, a Leave No Trace Master Educator, and a Coastal Master Naturalist, he is often sought after to help train outdoor professionals because of his experience and style as a coach. Paddling is his passion and he loves to spread this “infectious” recreation activity to others. He believes in helping others to expand their confidence and skills by having fun while learning. “There is nothing like the feeling of seeing a person smile because they just did something they didn’t think they could do”

 wavepaddlerjeff@gmail.com

Website: www.wavepaddler.com

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Lee Toler

BCU 5*

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Lee is an amazing paddler with skills honed all over the United States and different parts of the world. He has a lot of experience with sea kayak trip leadership, and really enjoys surfing. 

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Dawn Stewart

 

Dawn is a highly skilled paddler and coach. Her kayaking resume would read like an adventure novel full of expeditions, races, seas and surf. She is a wealth of kayaking knowledge and experience.

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Kathryn Lapolla

ACA L4 Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor

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Kathryn Lapolla is a retired librarian gone crazy for rough water (really, ANY water) and is lucky enough to live in Savannah, GA with easy access to Tybee Island’s dynamic inlet waves. She is an ACA L4 Instructor and enjoys working with students as they learn new skills, build confidence, and get excited about the places they can go in this amazing sport. When the surf’s not up, she enjoys working with her husband Fran to share the beautiful local salt marsh, barrier islands and black water creeks with visitors though their Savannah Coastal Ecotours business. 

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Kathryn Lapolla
Savannah Coastal Ecotours
http://www.savannahcoastalecotours.com

http://www.facebook.com/savannahcoastalecotours
scekayaking@gmail.com

 

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Luke Rovner

Sea Kayak Coach

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Luke Rovner is a sea kayak coach with a fondness for traditional paddling. Combining his experience as a photo and video professional with a love for kayaking, he started Kayak Hipster with the goal of capturing outdoor adventures and sharing kayaking tips.

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Bev Cosslett

ACA L4 Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor

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Bev lives in Charleston, SC and runs Charleston Paddles teaching kayaking, kayak rolling, and Greenland Traditional skills, as well as SUP and SUP Yoga. In addition to being an L4 Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor, she is an L2 Coastal Kayaking Instructor Trainer candidate. She holds an ACA Traditional Skills endorsement, is an L2 Standup Paddleboard Instructor, and an L2 Canoe Instructor. 

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Mark Holbrook

ACA Instructor

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