Risk Management in the Outdoors: A Whole-of-Organisation Approach for Education, Sport and Recreation

After a career in outdoor education Tracey Dickson began working as an academic where her research in areas such as risk management, injury prevention, wilderness experiences and facilitation of learning has been informed by her time in the field. With degrees in adult education and human resource management and a PhD in experiential learning and current studies in public health, her perspectives have been influenced by theories as to how the organisational and societal contexts impact upon the actions taken and decisions made in the field. Tracey's contribution to the outdoor industry are reflected in being nominated as a life member of the Outdoor Recreation Industry Council (ORIC) and being awarded the President's Award for Outstanding Services to ORIC in 2008. Tracey maintains her connection with work in the outdoors through her role as an assessor for the ORIC's organisational accreditation program and involvement with the snowsport industry.

Tonia Gray PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Wollongong (UOW), Australia in the areas of Outdoor, Health and Physical Education. She has enjoyed a long and extremely rewarding career in the outdoor industry spanning almost three decades. During that time, she has been instrumental for the Outdoor Education program (both undergraduate and postgraduate courses) at UOW, the editor of the Australian Journal of Outdoor Education (AJOE), supervised many Honours, Masters and Doctoral theses, and currently a review board member for the Journal of Experiential Education (JEE). Tonia's research interests include: experiential learning in a variety of educational settings; risk taking and risk managements; understanding the motivations and personalities of extreme sports participants; facilitation, leadership and management styles in adventure education and ecopsychology. In 2009, Tonia received the UOW’s Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning (OCTAL) and more recently, has won an Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Award for Significant Contribution to Student Learning.