Instructors
Chris Rezac
ACA L5 Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor
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.
I really hope to see you at Oceans '23, and share with you what I love so much about sea kayaking.
Chris Rezac
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.
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”
Website: www.wavepaddler.com
Lee Toler
BCU 5*
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.
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.
Kathryn Lapolla
ACA L4 Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor
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.
Kathryn Lapolla
Savannah Coastal Ecotours
http://www.savannahcoastalecotours.com
http://www.facebook.com/savannahcoastalecotours
scekayaking@gmail.com
Luke Rovner
Sea Kayak Coach
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.
Bev Cosslett
ACA L4 Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor
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.
Mark Holbrook
ACA Instructor
Alessia Faverio
ACA L3 Open Water Surfski Instructor
alessia.faverio@epickayaks.com
Alessia lives in Erwin, TN, which is way too far from the ocean, but enables her to work for Epic Kayaks. She got her start paddling on whitewater and worked for Outward Bound as an L4 Open Canoe Instructor for 4 years. She then found her love of the ocean in a surfski and has been surfing waves ever since. Alessia values a compassionate learning environment and looks to get people on the water in whatever capacity is comfortable for them!
Laura Phillips
ACA L2 Sea Kayaking Instructor
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ACA L2 Essentials of Kayaking Touring
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ACA Advance Communication Endorsed
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ACA L3 Coastal Kayaking Assessed.
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Paddling since 2016 and teaching since 2018
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Love paddling lakes, streams, class 1 and 2 rivers, and of course ocean
Debbie Kearney
ACA Instructor
Dale Williams
ACA L5 Instructor Trainer Educator
Joey Schott
ACA Instructor
Jake Vitak
ACA Instructor
Matt Murphy
ACA Surfski Instructor