Program Risk Review
A clear-eyed assessment of your program model, policies, roles, decision points, and operational gaps.
- Governance and oversight
- Program and trip review
- Prioritized recommendations
Independent schools · Outdoor programs · Experiential learning
Make bold learning possible.
Manage risk with clarity.
Practical guidance for schools that want strong systems, prepared teams, and the confidence to lead meaningful learning beyond the classroom.
01 Risk that is understood
can be managed.
can be managed.
The work
Safety systems should support the experience—not overwhelm it.
Outdoor and experiential programs ask educators to balance ambition, care, uncertainty, and real-time judgment. Erik helps independent schools turn that complexity into clear, usable practices.
The result is not a binder that sits on a shelf. It is a shared approach that people understand, trust, and can use when conditions change.
Consulting services
From policy to practice
Focused support for the places where program design, institutional responsibility, and field judgment meet.
Policies & Systems
Practical frameworks that align expectations across school leadership, program teams, faculty, and partners.
- Risk management plans
- Approval and screening tools
- Vendor and partner practices
Incident Readiness
Preparation for the moments that test communication, coordination, judgment, and institutional confidence.
- Emergency action planning
- Scenario exercises
- Post-incident learning
Training & Facilitation
Engaging sessions that help teams build shared language and make sound decisions under pressure.
- Leadership workshops
- Field staff training
- Board and trustee briefings
A grounded approach
Clear enough to use.
Strong enough to trust.
Every engagement begins with the realities of your school: its mission, culture, people, programs, and appetite for risk. Together, we identify what matters most and build a practical path forward.
- 01
Listen & understand
Map the program, the people, and the decisions that shape risk.
- 02
See the whole system
Connect governance, policy, preparation, field practice, and response.
- 03
Prioritize what matters
Separate urgent gaps from longer-term opportunities and noise.
- 04
Build lasting capacity
Leave teams with tools and judgment they can carry forward.
“The goal is not to remove risk. It is to prepare people to meet it well.”
About Erik
A thoughtful partner for consequential work.
Erik Gearhart, MAEd, is an outdoor-education leader and risk-management advisor with more than 35 years of experience helping schools build ambitious, inclusive experiential programs. Drawing on work with NOLS, Outward Bound, the National Park Service, and independent schools across the West, he helps educators and boards strengthen off-campus learning through clear, practical systems.
His career includes instructing for NOLS and Outward Bound, working as a backcountry National Park Service ranger and Arctic researcher, teaching in independent schools across the West, and directing multiple school-based outdoor education programs. He also serves on the steering committee of the Northwest Independent School Outdoor Program Managers Group, helping peer schools strengthen off-campus programs and risk-management practices.
Erik has worked with Shoshone and Arapaho Bureau of Indian Education schools and developed collaborative learning programs with the Iñupiat, Gwich’in, Makah, and Lakota Nations. His research into the experiences of BIPOC students and families in independent schools produced practical tools for improving inclusion both on and off campus.
Erik is especially drawn to interdisciplinary programs in culturally significant landscapes—experiences that bring together outdoor education, intercultural learning, and academic study. Through Trailside Advisors, he helps teachers, administrators, and boards demystify outdoor risk, strengthen whole-program risk management, and expand experiential education with clarity and confidence.
Start a conversation
Strengthen the systems behind your school’s most meaningful experiences.
Whether you are reviewing an established program, preparing for growth, or responding to a new concern, the first step is a focused conversation.
Email Erik directly
erik@trailsideadvisors.org