MITA COKER

A woman with short dark hair, glasses, and a black tank top laughing outdoors, showing her arm with snake bites covered in fake blood and glittery decorations on her forearms, in front of a building and trees.

Mita has been a Wilderness First Responder since 2017.

Starting her outdoor career with Texas A&M’s Outdoor Program, she lead canoeing and backpacking trips, kayaking, and rock climbing trips in Big Bend, Ouachita National Forest, and the Gila Wilderness. After university, she worked first as a backpacking guide, then as a canoeing guide, a ski instructor, and raft guide. This is her 5th year teaching whitewater kayaking, and her 7th year in Western North Carolina.

Since starting The Resusci-Taters, she has done a deep dive into everything emergency and wilderness medicine. Her knowledge and enthusiasm are apparent in every class.

With a background in finance, Mita has been a driving force in marketing, advertising, and organization.

She enjoys kayaking, gravel biking, gardening, and adventuring with her dog, Slinky.

HALEY MCKEE

Woman wearing a headset giving a presentation in front of a volleyball net, with a volleyball and other sports equipment on the floor.

A Wilderness EMT-B since 2004, Haley has had a long time to hone her understanding of wilderness medicine.

She started teaching CPR & First Aid in 2007 for her mom’s business in Michigan called “Dummies on the Run” She started teaching wilderness medicine in 2014 while traveling through sub-Saharan Africa.

A Jane of All Trades, Haley started working in the outdoor industry in 2004 as a raft guide in West Virginia. Since then, she has lived or worked on all 7 continents. Primarily working on rivers as a whitewater kayak instructor or raft guide, she has also guided backpacking, glacial travel, ice climbing, and rock climbing. She managed a ski patrol medical clinic for 2 winters in New Hampshire, and spent a summer season working at the South Pole in Antarctica. She has bicycled through 4 countries and kayaked in even more. She has hiked to the base camp of Everest, traveled with camels in the Sahara, and lived in the jungle in Uganda.

She enjoys gardening, kayaking and cooking.

SLINKY

A happy dog with its eyes closed, tongue out, wearing a colorful harness, standing on a dirt trail surrounded by green foliage in a forest.

Slinky lives at Mita’s house and makes sure Mita gets away from work long enough every day for a good long walk.

Slinky has been a driving force in the development of The Resusci-Taters Pet First Aid course, which she has plans to launch spring of 2027. Her primary goal in developing the program is to be able to go to work with mom.

TWINKIE

A black and white cat lying among garden plants with orange flowers and a garden irrigation hose in the background.

Twinkie lives at Haley’s house. He has absolutely no interest in teaching CPR & First Aid or wilderness medicine, but has his owns company where he gives out financial advice. He currently has two passive incomes, a house, and two servants.

His primary job in life is to hunt things, but purely as a leisure hobby, he doesn’t believe in working for a living.