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Professional Staff

Program Director: Doug Gilstrap

Doug has been a ski and snowboard instructor with the Aspen Skiing Company for 14 years and works for their special needs program. Doug's passion for helping special needs children and adults has enabled him to make long term relationships not just with his students, but with their family members too. He keeps in contact with his students and families throughout the year, following each child’s progress. Doug is a successful and highly regarded an instructor with a 98 percent return rate of his students each winter.

In 1993 Doug moved to Aspen from Dallas, Texas, and began his career as a ski/snowboard instructor at Snowmass Mountain. During the 1994-1995 winter season, Doug completed specialized instructor training for adaptive skiing and has been in the adaptive program ever since. By request, Doug has given training seminars to other Aspen Skiing Company instructors on successful support of behaviorally and learning challenged children. He has CPR and first aid certification, is a certified Renegade Trainer, and is a certified Special Needs Renegade Trainer. Doug is also a certified CPI instructor (CPI is a non-violent crisis intervention program for behavior management).

Buddies

Each camper will be assigned a buddy who shares a love of the outdoors to accompany him or her on the day’s activities. To promote generalization and expand overall skill development, the buddies will rotate throughout the week. Buddies have previous experience in working with the special needs population. In addition, all buddies receive training in the Extreme Sports Camp philosophy and approach. The majority of the buddies are adults (college age or above), with a few experienced teenagers involved to promote peer to peer interaction.

Dance Instructor : Amy Merriman

Amy has been the Extreme Sports Camp Dance Instructor since 2006. She will be leading this year's Dance/Gymnastics camp from July 15 to 21. Amy is a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. She started her career as a dancer with Ballet Dallas. She cheered with the Dallas Cowboys’ cheerleading squad from 1991 to 1994, including two back-to-back Superbowls. She has performed in front of many national television audiences, and she has danced at promotional and commercial events abroad including in Japan, Iceland, Greenland, New Foundland, Peru, and Mexico. She has also been a feature dancer in a major music video.

Amy’s has long been heavily involved in community and charitable causes. She is a supporter of countless health and disability related foundations, and she makes regular visits to nursing homes and children’s hospitals. As a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, she has been on 6 consecutive international DOD/USO tours to boost the morale of the men and women in the U.S. military at bases and outposts around the world. She is very excited about working with autistic teens and preteens.

Board President and Camp Founder: Sallie Bernard

Sallie served as the overall manager and administrator of the camp until 2006. She now serves as the Board President. Her organizational management skills were developed as founder and CEO of a successful market research firm, which she led for over 15 years. Sallie has been in the autism “business” since 1992, when her son was diagnosed with PDD. She is an active member of several national autism organizations and has written and presented extensively on autism biomedical issues.

Board Member: Stephanie Malo

Stephanie has a business degree in marketing and graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1978. She has eight years of experience in the securities industry as an institutional stock broker. Since her son was diagnosed with autism in 1993, she has been actively involved in fundraising for education and services for children and adults with autism.

Executive Director: Elizabeth Miller, MA:

Elizabeth joined our team as Extreme Sports Camp's first Executive Director in 2006. We plan to bring Extreme Sports Camp to the next level with Elizabeth on board. By adding more sessions and increasing the number of participants that we serve and ultimately duplicating Extreme Sports Camp across the country, Elizabeth has her work cut out for her. She was the Director of Youth Services for The Buddy Program for ten years & has continued as a consultant for the program. She brings 15 years of experience working in non-profits and youth programs. She holds a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology & Counselor Education from University of Colorado in Denver.

Professional Consultant and Founding Board Member: Andrea Blau, PhD, Esq.

Dr. Blau holds a Ph.D in Speech and Hearing Sciences and brings over 35 years experience in designing communication and intellectual enhancement opportunities for children with autism. She holds numerous national and international certifications and is well known for her dynamic use of technology and customized facilitator training protocols. She additionally holds her J.D. degree and has been admitted to the Bar in both New York State and the District of Columbia. She has published several articles in Law journals across the country, with the aim of influencing national and international policies towards ensuring the availability of appropriate interventions to all children. Dr. Blau will provide guidance to the camp program director and staff on enhancing each camper's ability to translate his/her increased focus and awareness into more active social communication opportunities with those around him/her..