Welcome to Inner Roads!
Inner Roads is composed of a group of passionate individuals with experience in clinical therapy, social work, wilderness guiding, logistics and program coordination, and experiential education. We are grateful to be supported by an enthusiastic community and as well as many volunteers, with whom our program is made possible.
Brie Shulman LCPC, WFR (she/her)
Program Director & Youth Therapist
Brie has been dedicated to the field of Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare since her first role as a field guide in 2008. With her BA in Psychology completed in upstate NY, she moved to Missoula, MT, to attain her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Montana. She has worked as both a guide and a licensed individual and family therapist for Missoula's own outdoor therapy program since 2013.
Brie is passionate about equal access to mental health care, social justice issues, and providing adolescents with access to inspiration. In her free time, you'll find Brie at local concerts, playing music and crafting with friends and dogs, and camping even more!
Clay Vernon (he/him)
Expedition Coordinator & Program Manager
Clay has been a firm believer in the healing power of nature. When he was 14, he was enrolled in an outdoor behavioral healthcare program on the North East, and it had lasting effects. Clay has spent the bulk of his adult life working in fields focused on recreation, wildlife, and conservation. He eventually went back to the outdoor behavioral healthcare world to work as a field instructor out West! When not on the clock, Clay spends his time enjoying live music, snowboarding, and exploring new hot springs!
"The wilderness has taught me how to truly care for and value both myself and my body.
A dehydrated, hungry human with negative internal chatter is never going to make it up the mountain. But in learning how to tune-in to my own needs, I have found that I am capable of much more than I once thought. That same confidence and empowerment I feel in the outdoors has leaked into the rest of my life, because I have already achieved the once-impossible. "
Tara Cook, Co-founder of Inner Roads, Inc
Although we're taking a pause on our expeditions this year, we typically hire several Certified Field Guides and Clinical Interns as our front-line staff, responsible for ensuring a safe and therapeutic milieu on a day-to-day basis with our students. They hold current certifications in wilderness medicine, CPR, and de-escalation training. They come to us with significant experience in outdoor leadership & youth mentorship or clinical settings, enthusiastic about living alongside our students as they navigate new perspectives and insight.