Instructor Biographies

No other river outfitter in the Wild West offers more educational river trips than Centennial Canoe. We’re proud of the instructors we’ve assembled over the years and invite you to meet them. Each is an expert in their respective field and brings a passion for teaching to the river. It’s not uncommon to float through a deep river canyon and be impressed by its beauty. It’s another thing to understand how the rock formations got there, what creatures make the canyon their home and the importance of the water flowing under your canoe.

If you have a thirst for knowledge and want to have fun at the same time, consider one of our themed trips that include astronomy, archaeology, paleontology, ecology, geography, ornithology and western history. We even offer educational beer & wine tasting trips.

Dr. Jimmy Dunn is an associate professor of geography at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. Jimmy’s career includes 17 years of paddling down rivers in the Canadian Arctic, the Yukon Territory, and Alaska. He has conducted field research for Environment Canada and more recently directed graduate programs in geography that included trips with Centennial Canoe on the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers. Dr. Dunn’s research specialties include biogeography, arctic environments, and geography education. Centennial Canoe Outfitters have provided services for Dr. Dunn’s field courses in western Colorado. The program is a popular part of students majoring in geography and accepts students in any major. Dr. Dunn is investigating the invasion of the tamarisk trees in western Colorado and has completed many years of studies for the Bureau of Land Management and the Tamarisk Coalition.
Dr. Sanlyn Buxner has her PhD in Science Ed/Space Science Ed and teaches at the University of AZ. Sanlyn has been teaching astronomy on the river with Centennial for nine years. School teachers seeking continueing educatiuon credits through Colorado School of Mines, rave about her.
Francisco "Tito" Salas, originally from Venezuela, has been conducting stargazing trips for Centennial Canoe since 2002. Tito has been affiliated with the University of Colorado for many years. He began working at CU’s, Fiske Planetarium, first as a student, then as a lecturer. In combination with his work as a lecturer, he taught astronomy, geology and physical science, at Boulder High School, for two years. In 2001, he was asked by CU's Astronomy Department to become the Education’s Program Manager at Fiske Planetarium. After three years, Tito became the Operation’s Manager and Program’s Director. At this position he oversees all of Fiske Planetarium. When he is not working, he enjoys mountain biking, skiing, canoeing, backpacking, and scuba diving.
Dr. Andrew Gulliford, is a Ft. Lewis College professor and will share his stories of the colorful characters and circumstances that helped shape the western landscape as you journey along the river. Plus, plenty of campfire stories!
In the late Quaternary, Ed Adams received his Masters Degree in Earth Sciences and spent the next 25 years teaching both high school and college classes in all different sciences. Now, though, he spends as much time as possible sleeping on the ground on the Colorado Plateau and studying canyon formation and sediment transport in desert rivers. Ed has been an avid canoeist his whole life and has recently started piloting his own white water raft. Ed has been working with Centennial Canoe for many years. He has taught Colorado School of Mines teacher enhancement classes on the Green, Colorado and Gunnison Rivers. He uses the rivers as huge laboratory classrooms where students can explore the fundamentals of geology. His students have calculated stream incising rates, sediment transport loads and stream discharge while "in class", as well as witnessing first hand how geology happens today.