Our Team
Wilderness Water Safety instructors are all trained in Wilderness Water Safety and kept up to date on the latest techniques. All have spent extensive time in wilderness environments.
Dave Golden - Owner
Dave first got hooked on aquatics as a swimmer, swimming instructor and lifeguard in 1972. He has been teaching lifeguards, teaching lifeguard training, teaching CPR, First Aid course etc. at different levels over the last 50 plus years. He is also an American Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor. He was a former waterfront director at summer camps for 8 years he has led numerous backcountry trips while working at camps. In 1982 Dave found a love of paddling during a trip with his brother that started on the Minnesota River in Bloomington Minnesota to the Mississippi and down to New Orleans. He then started traveling much more frequently as time would allow into the BWCA, Quetico, Woodland Caribou, other parts of Ontario, Algonquin and other opportunities here and there. Dave started working for the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology in 1984 where he also discovered a love of Public Health. He continued to have a 38 year career with the University and retired as the Director of Public Health at Boynton Health, University of Minnesota in July of 2022.
In 1989 he co founded Wilderness Water Safety with his longtime friend and colleague Jim Sebesta. The course has changed a lot since 1989 but many of the principles and purpose are the same and Wilderness Water Safety is a great opportunity to merge experience in the backcountry with experience in lifeguarding. Dave continues to travel in the wilderness and looks forward to doing even more with his wife, three offspring, daughter in law, son in law, two grandchildren and some great friends and family in the future.
Mateo Frumholtz - Instructor
My name is Mateo Frumholtz. I studied public health at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and have been working for the Minnesota Department of Health ever since. I have been teaching wilderness water safety since 2019. My experience guiding in the backcountry started during college as a community organizer for the University of Minnesota Outdoors Club. I led trips all around Minnesota's north shore including extensive canoeing in the Boundary Waters, backpacking along the Superior Hiking Trail, and rock climbing on the cliffs of Tettegouche. More recently, I've taken up bikerafting as a hobby and hope to bikeraft from the gunflint trail all the way back to Minneapolis via the Mississippi River. My favorite part about teaching wilderness water safety is getting to meet new people and getting to swim in our beautiful lakes.
Suzanne Taylor RN - Instructor
Suzanne has been part of the Wilderness Water Safety team since 2016. She grew up being the first one in, last one out of the water and usually still is. She first took wilderness water safety as an 18 year old camp counselor and was initially nervous but has loved it ever since. She has many years of experience leading wilderness trips through Camp Manito-wish YMCA, Thistledew Wilderness Programs, and Big City Mountaineers. She has taken kids and teens canoeing everywhere from Northern Wisconsin to the Canadian Arctic in between many other "rest of the year" jobs. These days she works as a nurse in Minneapolis and gets outside as much as possible on her days off. She especially loves canoeing, cross country skiing, collecting beach rocks with her niece, and voluntarily going into cold water.
Matti Erpestad - Instructor
Matti hails from Duluth Minnesota by the big lake Gitchi Gumee. After many years of guiding canoe camping trips in northern Minnesota, Matti moved to his second homeland, Finland, for a brief stint as a dog handler in the Finnish army and a degree as a Professional Wilderness Guide. After getting married, Matti moved back to Minnesota for 9 months, but this quickly turned into 14 years and counting. After a handful of more years guiding canoe and kayak camping trips in Minnesota and Wisconsin, Matti currently runs an outdoor guiding business in Duluth and is an instructor of Environmental and Outdoor Education at the University of Minnesota Duluth. When not swimming in cold water, Matti enjoys many outdoor activities on his own and with wife Kaittlin (another WWS instructor), twin boys and his little girl. Matti has taught Wilderness Water Safety since 2013 and is excited to swim in more cold water again!
Abby Golden - Instructor
Abby has been teaching Wilderness Water Safety for 15 years. She is a certified Lifeguard, WFR and very experienced wilderness trip leader. She has led trips in the Lake Temagami area as a trip leader for Camp Wabun and has traveled extensively throughout the Boundary Waters Canoe Area since childhood. Born and raised in the St. Croix river valley, Abby enjoys hiking with her husband and her dog Foxy.
Erica Wilson - Instructor
Erica was introduced to Wilderness Water Safety in 2007 as a canoe trip guide at Keewaydin on Lake Temagami, Ontario. She has a passion for the outdoors and has traveled extensively guiding canoe, kayak, rock climbing and skiing trips. Erica grew up just outside of Rochester, Minnesota where she spent most of her childhood days working outside on her family’s walnut tree farm. During the fall and spring months, Erica coaches a collegiate softball team and teaches an outdoor survival and camping course at Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota. She enjoys sharing her love of nature with those around her and taking people into wilderness environments in which they can learn and grow.
Brad Damon - Instructor
Brad took his first Wilderness Water Safety class in 2008 while training as a guide at Amnicon Adventure’s & Retreats. Over a dozen summer guiding seasons (and WWS classes) later, he is thrilled to be able to teach these skills to others. Brad has been canoeing the lakes and rivers of the North Woods since he was a small child, and the wilderness has always been part of his life. Brad’s interests and experiences are broad. He has worked in custodial service, food service, retail, theater, education, outdoor ministry, and in 2015 he became an Associate Director at Amnicon. Since then, he has lived year-round at Amnicon on the south shore of Lake Superior with his wife and son, overseeing the programs, managing the facilities, and training seasonal staff. Fun fact: Brad is a classically trained actor and can be seen occasionally performing in Duluth with his friends at Wise Fool Theater Company.