Our mission is to empower a safe outdoor community
through access to innovative and sustainable education.
Base Medical offers training solutions to eliminate the access barriers in wilderness medicine and search and rescue (SAR) education. With our training solutions, wilderness medicine and SAR education is now accessible, affordable, and sustainable for rescue teams, outdoor organizations, and outdoor professionals worldwide.
We are a woman-led organization dedicated to the safety of the outdoor community. Base Medical has offered online, hybrid, and remote learning options since 2017. The learning methods on which the company was founded was in anticipation of the inevitable progression of wilderness medicine and rescue education to more advanced delivery systems and the inherent responsibility. Along our journey we have gained valuable experience and insight that is now shaping the future of the field as we blaze a new trail forward.
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A Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) is a corporation created to generate social good in a responsible and sustainable manner. We felt this business designation most aligned with our values and commitment to the outdoor community.
PBCs have to declare their public benefit purpose in their articles of incorporation. We took this one step further and included a stop-gate mechanism to maintain our company's alignment with our values. Imagine Base Medical 100 years from now. The goal is for Base Medical to do good now and in the future, no matter who is running it, who the investors are, or what happens within the field. The following is directly from our articles of incorporation:
“The Corporation is established as a Public Benefit Corporation with the objective to provide affordable, sustainable, and equitable education and professional development access to increase the safety, preparedness, and emergency response of the outdoor community. At least once per year, the Corporation shall use the following guiding inquisitions to remain in alignment with its public benefit objective:
The Triple Win: Are our programs and education opportunities structured and priced in a way that benefits the community, our clients, and our company?
Downstream Effects: How do our programs positively and negatively impact the community and the professionalism of the industry now and in the future? Are there certain demographic groups more positively or negatively impacted than others?
The Innovation Triangle: Do we have a healthy organizational culture, good retention of team members, clients and students, and supportive systems and processes to serve as the foundation on which we can scale and continue to innovate? “
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Teal Harbin (she/her)
Base Medical Chief Executive Officer & Founder Wilderness paramedic and nurse with a B.S. in EMS and Certified in Mountain Medicine
Teal is a driven, future-focused woman striving to do the most good for the outdoor community and beyond. Born and raised in the southwest USA, she draws upon her Mexican/Puerto Rican/European roots to promote diversity, equity, and opportunity for all. She is an agent of change.
Teal is an experienced medical provider and international social entrepreneur. Her medical background includes ski patrol, mountain rescue, search and rescue, firefighting, pediatric emergency medicine, remote medicine, international telemedicine, and international medicine. She has instructed remote medicine and coordinated medical evacuations worldwide from austere locations. This experience served her well when she stepped in as the EMS Logistics Solutions Officer to improve medical care for the Afghan refugees at the Oman Amid Village at Holloman Air Force Base for Operations Allies Welcome. While living in Germany and traveling the world, Teal founded Base Medical in 2017 in Tallinn, Estonia with the mission to elevate the quality and access to wilderness medicine and rescue education. In addition to serving as the visionary of Base Medical, she is currently an item writer for the international wilderness paramedic exam with the IBSC and serves as the SAR Medical Coordinator for the state of New Mexico.
IG: @teal.harbin
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Tim Durkin (he/him)
Base Medical Chief Medical Director, DO, FAAEM, CAQSM, Author, Emergency & Sports Medicine Physician
Dr. Durkin is a board-certified emergency and sports medicine physician and is Base Medical’s Chief Medical Officer. He has over three decades of response, patient care, and teaching experience that drive his passion for excellence in Base Medical’s curriculum.
His premedical experiences included service as a camp staffer, SAR responder, urban/rural paramedic, BLS/ACLS/first aid instructor, and working on a program management team for DARPA. He completed a residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center, the busiest trauma center in Philadelphia, and a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Florida (Go Gators!). After residency, he practiced emergency medicine at both large and small hospitals in the southwest for 15 years with extensive involvement in EMS, SAR, and sports medicine coverage, including as a medical director for SAR and USFS wildland fire teams. He currently serves SAR program coordinator for Colorado Highland Helicopters and practices sports medicine in the four corners region. He is the author of The Pocket Guide to Event, Outdoor, and Sports Medicine. When not working, he enjoys backcountry skiing and trying to keep up with his wife while mountain biking.
IG: @swsportsandrescuemedicine -
Matthew Angus (he/him)
Primary Educator, Wilderness EMT
Although born in the midwestern flats of Illinois, he has called the San Juan mountains home for the last 6 years in Durango, Colorado. Matthew is a passionate and service-oriented individual, always striving to best support his community in health/wellness and outdoor pursuits. He graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (Go Dawgs!) in 2017 but obtained his EMT license in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. His medical experience began with tending to the health needs of troubled youth as a field EMT for a wilderness therapy guiding program based in the Southwest. It was during this time that Matthew began developing skills of compassionate patient care and practicing medicine in the austere environment where he and the patients he worked for were typically 4 to 5 hours away from definitive care. Matthew now uses his EMT skills at a local clinic and SAR team in the area and has big goals to obtain advanced medical training and search and rescue skills
Matthew also cares deeply for the outdoor classroom and education experience, valuing highly the reciprocal learning process that can happen between peers and mentors. He believes in meeting students and peers exactly where they're at to best support everyone's learning and growth and creating a learning space that centers on inclusion, challenge, and team building. When not working, Matthew is likely pushing his limits by climbing, backpacking, or trail running, so he can get further into the mountains or desert he so greatly loves.
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Lauren Skonieczny (she/her)
Public Relations Director, Wilderness EMT, WFA/R Instructor
Lauren has been a professional guide since 2013 and joined the Base Medical team as an instructor in 2022. Over that time, she has led groups with diverse backgrounds both domestically and internationally and taught WFA / WFR courses for students from high school age through adulthood. A licensed EMT since 2019, Lauren also volunteers with and aids in training for Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue.
Professionally, Lauren has worked in roles across the entirety of the outdoor industry - from running a business to training guide teams to establishing partnerships and business development. Lauren has also trained as a master naturalist and has a deep love for sharing all things science with others. Outside of work, Lauren plays and coaches Australian football, explores the gorgeous Pacific Northwest, and is a mom to a blended family.
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Sam (Marlo) Bragg
Field and Logistics Director at CorpsTHAT, Instructor
Sam is the seventh generation of a large, vibrant Deaf family of Maine's great woods. After obtaining a Master’s degree in Outdoor Leadership from Saybrook University and National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Sam joined CorpsTHAT’s team intending to build a bridge to connect the Deaf community and the outdoors through education, recreation, and careers. Sam is passionate about creating equitable and inclusive spaces in the outdoors for Deaf and hard-of-hearing folks, especially being in the field on and off for the past 12 years through different capacities. Four years ago, Sam assisted with founding the first-ever Deaf-centric conservation crew with CorpsTHAT. Currently, Sam manages field operations for the conservation and outdoor recreation programs with CorpsTHAT.
Sam is Wilderness First Responder certified, a Leave No Trace level 2 Instructor, A Level Sawyer Certified, holds a certification in Mental Health Wilderness First Aid, and is a Wilderness First Aid instructor with Base Medical. During Sam’s free time, Sam enjoys climbing, trail running, skiing, and backpacking.
More from our team
Podcasts
Listen to Teal speak about the early days of Base Medical in Estonia, the barriers to accessing wilderness medicine and SAR opportunities, and what it means to lead forward change.
The Brief
Follow our blog for in-depth articles on all things wilderness medicine, SAR, and outdoor safety.
“The tools and tactics we use to achieve our mission differ than those used by others in the industry. We must dare to be different to create the much needed change to empower you and others to build a safer community.”
-Teal Harbin
Teal Harbin
she/her
Base Medical Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Wilderness paramedic and nurse with a B.S. in EMS and Certified in Mountain Medicine
Teal is a driven, future-focused woman striving to do the most good for the outdoor community and beyond. Born and raised in the southwest USA, she draws upon her Mexican/Puerto Rican/European roots to promote diversity, equity, and opportunity for all. She is an agent of change.
Teal is an experienced medical provider and international social entrepreneur. Her medical background includes ski patrol, mountain rescue, search and rescue, firefighting, pediatric emergency medicine, remote medicine, international telemedicine, and international medicine. She has instructed remote medicine and coordinated medical evacuations worldwide from austere locations. This experience served her well when she stepped in as the EMS Logistics Solutions Officer to improve medical care for the Afghan refugees at the Oman Amid Village at Holloman Air Force Base for Operations Allies Welcome. While living in Germany and traveling the world, Teal founded Base Medical in 2017 in Tallinn, Estonia with the mission to elevate the quality and access to wilderness medicine and rescue education. In addition to serving as the visionary of Base Medical, she is currently an item writer for the international wilderness paramedic exam with the IBSC and serves as the SAR Medical Coordinator for the state of New Mexico.
IG: @teal.harbin
“The tools and tactics we use to achieve our mission differ than those used by others in the industry. We must dare to be different to create the much needed change to empower you and others to build a safer community.”
Listen to Teal speak about the early days of Base Medical in Estonia, the barriers to accessing wilderness medicine and SAR opportunities, and what it means to lead forward change.
Matthew Angus
he/him
Base Medical Primary Educator EMT-B
Matthew is a Primary Educator for Base Medical. Although born in the midwestern flats of Illinois, he has called the San Juan mountains home for the last 6 years in Durango, Colorado. Matthew is a passionate and service-oriented individual, always striving to best support his community in health/wellness and outdoor pursuits. He graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (Go Dawgs!) in 2017 but obtained his EMT license in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. His medical experience began with tending to the health needs of troubled youth as a field EMT for a wilderness therapy guiding program based in the Southwest. It was during this time that Matthew began developing skills of compassionate patient care and practicing medicine in the austere environment where he and the patients he worked for were typically 4 to 5 hours away from definitive care. Matthew now uses his EMT skills at a local clinic and SAR team in the area and has big goals to obtain advanced medical training and search and rescue skills
Matthew also cares deeply for the outdoor classroom and education experience, valuing highly the reciprocal learning process that can happen between peers and mentors. He believes in meeting students and peers exactly where they're at to best support everyone's learning and growth and creating a learning space that centers on inclusion, challenge, and team building. When not working, Matthew is likely pushing his limits by climbing, backpacking, or trail running, so he can get further into the mountains or desert he so greatly loves.
Tim Durkin
he/him
Base Medical Chief Medical Director, DO, FAAEM, CAQSM, Author, Emergency & Sports Medicine Physician
Dr. Durkin is a board-certified emergency and sports medicine physician and is Base Medical’s Chief Medical Officer. He has over three decades of response, patient care, and teaching experience that drive his passion for excellence in Base Medical’s curriculum.
His premedical experiences included service as a camp staffer, SAR responder, urban/rural paramedic, BLS/ACLS/first aid instructor, and working on a program management team for DARPA. He completed a residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center, the busiest trauma center in Philadelphia, and a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Florida (Go Gators!). After residency, he practiced emergency medicine at both large and small hospitals in the southwest for 15 years with extensive involvement in EMS, SAR, and sports medicine coverage, including as a medical director for SAR and USFS wildland fire teams. He currently serves SAR program coordinator for Colorado Highland Helicopters and practices sports medicine in the four corners region. He is the author of The Pocket Guide to Event, Outdoor, and Sports Medicine. When not working, he enjoys backcountry skiing and trying to keep up with his wife while mountain biking.
IG: @swsportsandrescuemedicine
Sam (Marlo) Bragg
Field and Logistics Director at CorpsTHAT
Sam is the seventh generation of a large, vibrant Deaf family of Maine's great woods. After obtaining a Master’s degree in Outdoor Leadership from Saybrook University and National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Sam joined CorpsTHAT’s team intending to build a bridge to connect the Deaf community and the outdoors through education, recreation, and careers. Sam is passionate about creating equitable and inclusive spaces in the outdoors for Deaf and hard-of-hearing folks, especially being in the field on and off for the past 12 years through different capacities. Four years ago, Sam assisted with founding the first-ever Deaf-centric conservation crew with CorpsTHAT. Currently, Sam manages field operations for the conservation and outdoor recreation programs with CorpsTHAT.
Sam is Wilderness First Responder certified, a Leave No Trace level 2 Instructor, A Level Sawyer Certified, holds a certification in Mental Health Wilderness First Aid, and is a Wilderness First Aid instructor with Base Medical. During Sam’s free time, Sam enjoys climbing, trail running, skiing, and backpacking.
Lauren Skonieczny
Public Relations Director - WFA/R Instructor
Lauren has been a professional guide since 2013 and joined the Base Medical team as an instructor in 2022. Over that time, she has led groups with diverse backgrounds both domestically and internationally and taught WFA / WFR courses for students from high school age through adulthood. A licensed EMT since 2019, Lauren also volunteers with and aids in training for Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue. Professionally, Lauren has worked in roles across the entirety of the outdoor industry - from running a business to training guide teams to establishing partnerships and business development. Lauren has also trained as a master naturalist and has a deep love for sharing all things science with others. Outside of work, Lauren plays and coaches Australian football, explores the gorgeous Pacific Northwest, and is a mom to a blended family.
Base Medical Certified Instructors
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I am a 24 year Military and 7 year National Park Ranger veteran, Alpine Climbing, Whitewater, Fly Fishing and Mountain Biking Guide and Instructor. I have serve with Tacoma Mountain Rescue and National Park Search and Rescue. I live to be outside. I don't want a lifetime experience of one peak, I want a lifetime of climbing experience.
Tacoma, WA- The Mountaineers
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Creative Director by day, mountaineer, rock climber, skier, backpacker, and Wilderness First Aid Instructor by night (my nights are quite full).
Portland, OR - The Mazamas
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A New Jersey native, Will spent his summers backpacking at camp in Colorado and fishing at his grandparent's in Western North Carolina. His time spent in the outdoors instilled a growing passion for environmental conservation. After playing lacrosse and earning a BA in Political Science at Kean University, he followed his love for the outdoors into teaching outdoor education. He has led outdoor education trips for Sanborn Camps in CO, Wilderness Adventures in HI, WY, MT, Naturalist at Large in CA, and the Outdoor Academy in NC. After graduating from a fly fishing guide school at Cutthroat Angler in Silverthorne, CO, he went to work for Crested Butte Angler. While exploring the small mountain streams and lakes during his time off, he decided to turn his passion for the outdoors into a career. He returned to school at NYU for his graduate degree in Environmental Conservation Education. During his time at NYU he worked at the Orvis 5th Avenue store in the fishing department, where he taught fly fishing 101 and fly tying 101. He also volunteered for Trout Unlimited, teaching and developing lesson plans for their youth education program, "Trout in the Classroom." His passion for fly fishing, conservation, and teaching inspired him to create Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions as his Master's thesis. His goal is to encourage appreciation for nature through participation in backpacking and fly fishing while inspiring future generations of sporting conservationists. When he's not working, he enjoys adventures with his wife Kim and three kids, River, Bailey, and Blake. He is a Wilderness First Responder, Registered Maine Guide, Montana Outfitter, and Colorado Outfitter.
Egremont, MA - Lillard Fly Fishing
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I'm a dad of twin girls who love being outside. We rip on Mt Bikes, hike and spend a lot of time with a fishing rod over the side of our canoes when we're camping. We've been known to tackle some medium sport or trad routes and I like whisky and IPA....Especially when I get to meet the brewer. I pay my mortgage by working at the fire department and I'm a retired Air Force guy with 4 combat deployments under my belt.
Portland, OR - The Mazamas
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I was introduced to the world of climbing and mountaineering in 2016 by the Mazamas in Portland, OR. Since then, I have climbed many of the peaks of the Pacific Northwest, become a Wilderness First Responder (WFR), and taught wilderness first aid and climbing skills to new mountaineers. Professionally, I am an engineer and teacher and I am passionate about sharing the skills for safe and ethical wilderness recreation with other.
Portland, OR - The Mazamas
And many more!
We have 60 instructors located throughout the country. Our instructors work independently from Base Medical to deliver accessible, affordable, high-quality wilderness medicine training to the outdoor community. Join our mission!
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Hailing from New Mexico, Benjamin is a board-certified nurse practitioner in both emergency and family practice, with a passion for clinical teaching, mentorship, and care in austere settings. He has worked in rural practice and emergency medicine since 2014.
Benjamin earned his doctorate from Yale University and focused his work on creating emergency procedural skills training for new nurse practitioners in remote settings. He has served as an Assistant Professor, clinician, educator, and consultant.
As a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, he has taught wilderness medicine to healthcare providers in the both US and internationally, courses for non-medical folks. He is an active member of the Wilderness Medicine Society, and the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners.
Dr. Woodard has a passion for teaching emergency response and wilderness medicine to folks of every experience level, using team strategies to teach wilderness medicine. He is an avid climber and mountaineer and spends most of his days off climbing, fly-fishing, or bush-crafting, and enjoying the company of his dogs.
Gill, MA