Meet the Team
Higgins Outside is made up of a passionate team of outdoor enthusiasts eager to teach others the art of safe and skillful paddling. Keep scrolling to learn more about our team!
Patrick Higgins
Patrick grew up in Iowa and moved to Oregon where he began whitewater kayaking in 2009. He worked his way to becoming the Kayak School Director for Next Adventure in Portland, Oregon and worked at Otter Bar Kayak Lodge in Northern California. He moved to Alaska in 2018 to further his outdoor education at Alaska Pacific University. He has been teaching whitewater kayaking for 15 years, as well as sea kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, and swift water rescue courses for over a decade.
He has an impressive array of American Canoe Association certifications including:
* L5 Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayak Instructor
* L5 Advanced Whitewater Kayaking Instructor
* L4 Whitewater Kayaking Instructor Trainer
* L3 Packrafting Instructor and Instructor Trainer
* L2 Coastal Kayaking Instructor Trainer
* L4 Swift Water Rescue Instructor
* L4 Whitewater Stand Up Paddleboard Instructor
When he isn’t getting his sneakers soggy, he is the Director of Outdoor Studies at Alaska Pacific University and teaches skiing and snowboarding at Hilltop Ski Area in Anchorage, Alaska in the winter. He’s one of the best outdoor educators out there and we are lucky to have him as an instructor and the face of Higgins Outside!
Courtney Gerken
Courtney is a sea kayaking enthusiast and whitewater kayaking addict. She is an American Canoe Association certified instructor in Coastal Kayaking. She also has an adaptive paddling endorsement to be able to work with people with disabilities on the water. She primarily assists in classes and helps out more behind the scenes at HO. When she is not helping with running HO, she is an occupational therapist and runs Forget Me Not OT in Anchorage, Alaska.
