Dave Bernier

Teaching Assistant Professor

Dave has worked in the outdoor adventure recreation field for more than 20 years.  Originally from the mountains of New Hampshire and Maine, he is proud to call West Virginia home. Dave has an undergraduate degree in Outdoor Recreation and a master’s degree from WVU.  He is an AMGA-certified SPI rock climbing instructor and has completed the AMGA Rock Guide Course. He is also an ACA L4 swift water rescue and whitewater kayak instructor and has been commercially guiding rafts on Class V sections of rivers for twenty years. Dave is also a current wilderness first responder. 

He has worked in the college outdoor recreation field for a dozen years sharing amazing experiences with students. Before that, Dave ran a commercial adventure recreation business, worked with adjudicated youth programs and was a National Park Service whitewater rescue ranger. Dave has traveled extensively for recreation and adventure but says that some of the most fun that can be had outdoors is watching students pick up a new life long skill in adventure recreation.

Melanie Seiler

Alumna and Executive Director, Active Southern West Virginia 

Melanie was raised in Fayetteville, West Virginia - the heart of what is now the New River Gorge National Park and Reserve. She worked in the whitewater rafting industry and has guided river trips since she was 18 years old.

She graduated from the ARM program in May 2021 and has used her industry knowledge, love of the outdoors and her ARM degree in her work as the founding executive director of Active Southern West Virginia. 

“I would recommend the program to anyone wanting to advance their career in recreation. It’s also a great program for someone that wants to run their own business in recreation by learning skills to manage services from top to bottom,” she says.

“I’m applying what I’ve learned to my work, including risk management, legal and ethical issues, and uncovering bias in our culture that contribute to health inequities. This helps provide better programming to our community, like an indoor aerobics class, organized sports or outdoor recreation,” she notes.

Joshua Roe

Program Director & Teaching Assistant Professor

After working for a decade in the outdoor recreation industry, Joshua is in the final stages of completing a PhD in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism at the University of Florida. His dissertation research uses GIS and place attachment to better understand and promote diversity among user groups of public recreation areas. 

He has guided mountaineering expeditions to Mexico and Ecuador, worked as a guide in southeast Alaska for three years, spent a season guiding in the deserts of Arizona, taught Spanish and English in Korea, and was the teaching assistant for a month-long experiential education program in New Zealand for the University of Florida. 

Before coming to WVU Tech, he was a lecturer with the Hainan University-Arizona State University International Tourism College (HAITC). Prior to ASU, he taught outdoor recreation and leisure courses at the University of Florida both in class and online. 

He is a certified Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and swift-water rescue technician and previously certified as a wildland fire fighter with the USFS in the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska. 

He has two wonderful kids and an amazing spouse that love to go hiking, biking, and exploring with him.

Shannon Fray

Freshman, Adventure Recreation Management 

Shannon Fray is a freshman originally from Mississippi, where he grew up kayaking and adventuring in rivers near his hometown. Tech became the perfect fit for him so he could major in Adventure Recreation Management and wrestle.

“I always wanted to be a tour guide, but since joining the program I realize there’s so much more to the industry than that,” he says. Fray says he’s enjoying his new surroundings in West Virginia and all the hiking that is available in the area.

Before he began his studies in ARM, Fray said he just wanted to go back to Mississippi and guide on the rivers he grew up on. Now, he wants to help create access to places where there are not as many opportunities for recreation and go into a management position. 

“There are some places in Mississippi I used to go to all the time that are completely shut down. You can’t even get to the road or go on certain parts of the river. I want to go back there and learn how to manage and turn those places into a park or have access to recreation again,” he said.

Fray says to not worry what people think when you’re considering a major in adventure recreation management, because the opportunities that exist in the industry aren’t always well known to people.

“Do what you believe in and find what you find fun. At the end of the day, what you find fun is going to bring you happiness. I love adventuring, especially here and experiencing West Virginia.”

Though Fray is new to West Virginia and the ARM program, he’s been enjoying visiting all of what southern West Virginia has to offer, visiting Grandview and hiking.