Our courses are delivered by some of the most authentic, diverse and inspirational people on the planet.
Internationally renowned and widely admired, they are true exemplars of what it means to grow through adversity. Why does this matter? You need to capture people’s attention in a few precious moments where they’re ready to pay attention. Our leaders do just that. And in that moment, we have the opportunity to facilitate deep learning.

Course Instructors

Erik Weihenmayer

Erik has become a celebrated and accomplished athlete despite losing his vision at the age of 13. On May 25, 2001, Erik became the first blind climber in history to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest. At the age of 33, he became one of less than 100 individuals to climb all of the Seven Summits. Erik refuses to let blindness interfere with his passion for an exhilarating and fulfilling life and actively seeks opportunities to help others adopt a similar mindset.

Mandy Harvey

Mandy Harvey is a deaf American jazz singer and songwriter. Though her hearing loss is profound her timing, pitch and passion are perfect. With support from friends, family and her faith, Mandy continues to find joy in the music. Through her work as a No Barriers Ambassador, Mandy helps motivate and empower people to break through barriers and find their inner purpose.

J.R. Martinez

J.R. Martinez is an actor, best-selling author, motivational speaker, advocate, and wounded U.S. Army veteran. He is many things. But perhaps most significantly, he is an inspiration. After sustaining serious injuries from a roadside bomb in Iraq, J.R. spent 34 months in recovery and had 34 different surgeries, including skin grafts and cosmetic surgery in the eleven years since his injury. Martinez now travels the world spreading his message of resilience and optimism. He devotes himself to showing others the true value of making the most of every situation.

Hugh Herr

Hugh Herr, who heads the Biomechatronics group at the MIT Media Lab, is creating bionic limbs that emulate the function of natural limbs. In 2011, TIME magazine coined him the “Leader of the Bionic Age” because of his revolutionary work in the emerging field of biomechatronics – technology that marries human physiology with electromechanics. A double amputee himself, Herr is responsible for breakthrough advances in bionic limbs that provide greater mobility and new hope to those with physical disabilities.

Mick Ebeling

Honored as one of the Top 50 Most Creative People and a Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award winner, Mick Ebeling is a film/ television/ commercial producer, philanthropist, technology trailblazer, author, entrepreneur and public speaker. Ebeling is CEO of Not Impossible, an organization that develops creative solutions to address real-world problems.

Gretchen G. Evans

Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Gretchen G. Evans entered the United States Army in September 1979. During her 30+ year career, she was the Garrison Command Sergeant Major of Commander, Combined Forces Command, Afghanistan and served in black operations and as an Intelligence Analyst. She earned numerous medals and awards to include the Bronze Star, the Presidential Unit Citation Medal, and Global War on Terrorism ribbons, 6 Meritorious Service Medals and numerous other awards. Evans was wounded by incoming fire in 2006 while serving in Afghanistan resulting in severe hearing loss, a traumatic brain injury, a right-hand injury and PTSD.

Kyle Maynard

Kyle Maynard is a motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur and athlete. Despite being born with arms that end at the elbows and legs near the knees, Kyle has never let an obstacle overcome him. Maynard has traveled to five continents speaking for corporate meetings, grade schools, universities, and programs supporting injured American veterans. He’s shared the stage with the world’s greatest minds in business, politics, sports, and motivation. Kyle’s deepest passion is helping each audience on their path toward reaching their highest human potential.

Sam Morris

Sam Morris is the founder of Zen Warrior Training. In 1999, at the age of twenty-four and just after leading a bicycling trip for nine teenagers across the United States, Sam was in a car accident caused by a drunk driver which left him paraplegic. Determined to not become the victim of his circumstances, Sam learned and created a system of mental and physical training based in Zen philosophy, meditation and somatic disciplines that healed his mind and his relationship to his body, ultimately bringing him more vitality and clarity than he had before his injury. He created Zen Warrior Training as a means by which to share what he has learned about the power of our minds to create the conditions of our lives with the world.

As seen on:

Rope Team

Erik Weihenmayer

Co-Founder of No Barriers, Vice-President of the Board

Erik has become a celebrated and accomplished athlete despite losing his vision at the age of 13. On May 25, 2001, Erik became the first blind climber in history to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest. At the age of 33, he became one of less than 100 individuals to climb all of the Seven Summits. Erik refuses to let blindness interfere with his passion for an exhilarating and fulfilling life and actively seeks opportunities to help others adopt a similar mindset.

David Shurna

Co-Founder of No Barriers, Executive Director

Dave has spent more than 17 years building strong nonprofit organizations. An innovative entrepreneur and seasoned educator, he has worked with such diverse organizations as the Catamount Institute, the World Wildlife Fund, Duke University, Island Press, The Nature Conservancy, and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Dave earned a master’s degree from Duke University in Environmental Policy and Economics and a B.S. in Biology from Xavier University. He also holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke.

Kati Clement-Frazier

Development Advisor & Leadership Learning Guide 

Kati Clement-Frazier is Global Lead of Strategic Initiatives at Singularity University. She focuses on the organizational activities and behaviors required to build agile learning organizations. Kati has over 13 years of experience consulting with Fortune 500 companies and non-profit and government organizations on educational solutions for strategy execution, diversity and inclusion, talent management and leadership development. With the strong belief that leaders are developed outside of the board room, Kati joined developed our initial program offerings.

Steve Rae

Business & Product Development


Steve is the CEO of ConnectEdPlanet, a learning consultancy focused on the design, development, and management of innovative learning programs through the application of social, experiential, and gamification strategies that maximize learner engagement. Steve recently left Apollo Education Group, where he was the Chief Professional Development Officer responsible for driving new growth for Apollo in learning solutions that targeted the needs of large employers. Prior to Apollo, Steve was a senior executive at IBM where he was a leader in learning design.

Joshua Painter

Business & Product Development


Josh is founder and principal at Reimagine Solutions, a learning solutions consultancy providing strategy, design, and technology to improve the productivity of employers and their workforce. He is also an advisor for several early-stage startups in the Ed-Tech and talent management space. Josh previously served as Vice President of Product for Professional Development at Apollo Education Group, where he managed an educational solution portfolio serving the corporate learning and training market and also spent more than a decade at Intel Corporation helping launch new business initiatives in healthcare, education, and cloud security.

Andrea Delorey

Director of Education


Andrea is passionate about connecting people to their place in the world. With twenty years of experience as an educator, Andrea most recently worked as an assistant principal and as a curriculum specialist. Prior to these roles, she taught in international schools in Venezuela, Chile, and Ecuador, as well as in the New York City public school system, as well as nonprofit public policy work. Andrea earned her master’s in Education from Teachers College Columbia University.

Judy Albers

Online Learning Guru


Judy Albers is a learning strategist who oversees Intrepid’s educational marketing services to help leading companies take their online learning to the next level by integrating research-based practices from marketing, learning, and technology. Prior to joining Intrepid, Judy was first vice president, learning resources and technology, at JPMorgan Chase, where she was responsible for selecting and implementing learning systems. She also facilitated education strategy and governance for Bank One during their three years as the highest rated bank in the Training Top 100. She received her MSEd in industrial design from Purdue University.

Summer Salomonsen

Online Learning Guru


Summer is one of four principal consultants at Intrepid Learning tasked with guiding clients to solid deployments and implementations of online curriculum. She is currently pursuing her doctorate of education at University of Southern California, studying the impact of virtual learning on the corporate space, and is a member of the ATD International Conference & Expo Program Advisory Committee, which is responsible for reviewing and approving the conference submissions within the Learning Technologies track.

John Toth

Facilitator & No Barriers Warriors Director

John has more than 21 years as a United States Army Infantry Officer and is a retired Lieutenant Colonel. He has experience leading soldiers in challenging situations around the globe. During his career, John served tours in South Korea and Egypt, and was deployed to combat in Iraq. His assignments included the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions as well as the Pentagon. He is a graduate of the rigorous U.S. Army Ranger School and is a Master Parachutist, Pathfinder, and Air Assault Soldier. He holds a Masters degree from the prestigious School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He currently runs the No Barriers Warriors program.

Nate Gillette

Facilitator & Director of Fun


Nate Gillette love of the outdoors was fostered from a young age, growing up and playing in the Appalachian Mountains of central Pennsylvania. After earning a degree in outdoor recreation management from Penn State, he moved to Colorado for a bigger, wilder playground in the Rocky Mountains, where he started a career in adaptive recreation. With a passion for adventure, the outdoors, and helping others, Nate joined the No Barriers Warriors team with an already instilled passion for the mission of the organization. When he’s not working, Nate enjoys mountain biking, kayaking & rafting, skiing, and camping in the mountains nearby.

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