Our Team

Richard Williams

Dr. Williams is the current family medicine residency director at UNR and has been an educator for UNR for over 15 years.

Areas of Expertise - Human biological process elimination in austere environments, Dutch-oven cooking, families in the wilderness, high-impact camping.

David Fiore

Dr. Fiore is our winter and whitewater expert. His true passion is backcountry skiing. He is an avid student of snow science and sits on the Sierra Avalanche Center Board of Directors. However, he does also enjoy the wilderness in the non-snow-filled months. He has gone on multi-day raft and kayak trips all over the western United States (and occasionally abroad) including a trip on the Green River in Utah where he had to coordinate a helicopter evacuation of a young man with acute appendicitis - in a blizzard!  Dr. Fiore also enjoys and has presented on, mountain biking.

Areas of Expertise - Backcountry skiing - Cold illness/hypothermia, altitude illness, avalanche science, decision-making processes in the wilderness. White water rafting and kayaking, mountain biking injuries. He enjoys "dawn patrols" and other ways to play outside during the workweek.

Gary Johnson

The "dean" of wilderness medicine... Dr. Johnson began the student elective in wilderness medicine at UNR in the spring of 1996. As far as we can tell, it is the oldest program in the country! He is still the director of the UNR student elective in Wilderness medicine and brings a wealth of meditative wisdom.

Areas of Expertise - Wilderness Medicine student education, Dutch-oven cooking, Meditation, Musicology (he is the master) and drumming.

Dan Spogen

Dr. Spogen, the current chair of the Department of Family Medicine at UNR, is a "cowboy" physician. He ran a herd of 200 head of cattle for years here in the Reno area and is an avid outdoorsman. He has parleyed his cowboy and medical background into an incredible Wilderness Medicine fund of knowledge.

Areas of Expertise - Large animal maintenance and trail management, Fly Fishing, trekking

Arthur A. (Tony) Islas  

- el Jefe- Dr. Islas is the wilderness medicine fellowship program director and is also the sports medicine fellowship director at UNR. He is an Ex-president of the Wilderness Medical Society and has been a National Park Medical Director for Guadalupe Mountains National Park previously and now for Great Basin National Park.

Areas of Expertise - Musculoskeletal evaluation and care in austere environments - Heat Illnesses, Lightning, wound care in austere environments, altitude illness, and the wilderness.

Wilderness Fellows

Donald Mario Robert Harker – Wilderness Fellow

Dr. Harker is a Nevada native and was born and raised in our wonderful city of Reno. He completed his high school education at Galena and left home to pursue dual bachelor of
science degrees in Human Biology and Cognitive Science with a focus on Neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego. He knew from a young age his passion was medicine, caring for others and always having an answer to every problem; which eventually drove him toward choosing the specialty of Family Medicine given its breadth, allowing for him to care for virtually every patient throughout their life. Being a Reno native, "Mario" has a great love of the outdoors and is interested in supplementing his traditional medical practice with expedition medicine in austere environments. To complete his training, he will complete a fellowship in Wilderness and Austere Medicine where he works as a physician at Great Basin National Park, faculty to the residency program, educator to search and rescue personnel, and as a physician to expeditions in Nepal.