Our Team
Dedicated to change

The founders and leadership team of Legacy Outdoor Adventures bring together accomplishments and experience across the full spectrum of wilderness therapy.  Members of the team, led by Gil Hallows, Executive Director, and including Troy Faddis, Clinical Director, Ray Barlow, Program Director, and Larry Bray, Operations Director, have had a profound impact in defining the field of wilderness therapy.  Team members have played major roles developing effective wilderness programming, establishing risk management and clinical best practices, refining substance abuse treatment in the wilderness, and setting the standard for training professional field instructors and wilderness therapists.

"I am not sure what would have happened if my son, my family, and I had not recieved the help that we needed."  - A grateful parent 

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Gil Hallows - Executive Director

Gil’s career in wilderness therapy brings together his passions for working with young people and connecting with the healing power of the outdoors.  He moved back to his hometown of Loa and the beloved mountains and deserts he wandered during his formative years to work for Aspen Achievement Academy in 1995. Aspen Achievement Academy, with Gil as the Executive Director since 1996, became the most influential wilderness therapy program in the country. Gil served on the committee appointed by the Utah State Office of Licensing in 1997 to review and update the licensure standards for Outdoor Youth Programs. In 2000, he assembled and led the team that conceptualized and founded Passages To Recovery, the pioneer in wilderness therapy substance abuse treatment for young adults. Gil heavily influenced the development of comprehensive best practices for managing risk in the outdoors for the Aspen Education Group outdoor programs. He was a founding member of the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council (OBHIC) in 1996, and has served as its president and Research Committee Chair. He helped found the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Research Cooperative (OBHRC) and support it in becoming the leader in outcomes research.  Gil has been on the board of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) from 2002 to 2011, and has served as Ethics Committee Chair and board liaison to the Research Committee.  Gil was recognized by NATSAP in 2009 as the recipient of the National Leadership Award.  

Gil and his wife Flora are the parents of five children and have six grandchildren. The Hallows family spends its free time outdoors in all seasons hiking, camping, skiing, exploring, bonding, and enjoying the calming beauty of nature.

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Troy Faddis LMFT - Clinical Director

"I know of no more effective way to work with teens than wilderness therapy. The experience of nature, peers, staff, engaging with parents through letters, working with a therapist, and doing family therapy outdoors, has a profound effect on personal growth. All of these tools combine to allow a person to look at themselves without defensiveness or justifications. Nature allows you to see yourself for who you really are without your excuses; like a magic mirror. I love taking my own family outdoors as a place to bond and grow. I spend my free time taking my kids out on the boat, cutting firewood, and riding ATV’s in the desert. I believe that some of the best family therapy time is spent by having the entire family within the same 19 feet of each other on the boat or outdoors working together."

Troy has over ten years of experience working in wilderness therapy. His clinical experience includes working with adults and adolescents with substance abuse and dual diagnosis. Troy also works with difficult family systems including impacted by divorce and easily frustrated and chronically inflexible children.  He excels in helping clients develop resiliency and self-efficacy skills, and working with clients who have gifted intelligence. Troy has worked many years as a field therapist and clinical director for Aspen Achievement Academy. One of his duties at  Aspen was to take parents out to the wilderness to see their children and do family therapy. Troy began his studies at Brigham Young University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in family sciences. He received his Masters of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from Seattle Pacific University . Troy is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and an AAMFT supervisor. Troy has been a board member for The Utah Association for Marriage and Family Therapy since 2005 and is currently serving as the treasurer. He was raised in Seattle, WA and Utah. Troy spent much of his time growing up outdoors hiking and playing in the mountains of Utah and the Pacific Northwest. Troy is the oldest of seven siblings, three of whom are adopted. Troy is married and has five children, including three teens. This experience as a father to teens gives him perspective when doing therapy with families. Troy was raised on Celtic music and likes to play the bagpipes.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/troyfaddis 

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Ray Barlow LSAC - Program Director

Ray’s passion for this work comes from his personal life-changing experiences in the wilderness and a strong belief in the power of mentoring. Through his own remarkable journey, he has gained the experience, insight and passion to help others find their vision for the future and make the successful transition to manhood. For Ray, this work is much more than a job; it is a life calling. Ray has over 20 years’ experience working in the wilderness and has helped countless people overcome the obstacles standing in the way of their success. Ray is a Licensed Substance Abuse Counselor and has personal experience with the heartache of addiction and the joy of recovery. Ray is a certified Wilderness First Responder and a certified Positive Control Systems instructor, and has had extensive training and experience in the area of wilderness risk management, Motivational Interviewing, 12 Step Recovery, the Gorski Relapse Prevention Model, the Stages of Change Model, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and wilderness survival. 

Ray has a wife and four children who love to spend time in wilderness with him fly-fishing, skiing, camping, hiking and exploring wild things and wild places. 

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Jeff Johnson - Admissions Director

Jeff entered the world of Special Needs over 23 years ago.  He has been in a variety of Admissions and Program Development capacities ever since. He has really come to love this field and has been trained by some of the best people in the special needs and treatment world. "I'm very excited to be working with this highly skilled group of people at Legacy Outdoor Adventures. There is so much talent and too many combined years of experience to count." 

In the last few years, he has been working specifically in substance abuse treatment. Jeff has worked with adults in several treatment settings. He understands how powerful the outdoors and a 12 step model is for recovery, and is committed to providing every family he works with the best possible opportunity to find success. Jeff has based his career and his life's reputation on maintaining integrity in the admission process. "I won't bring a family into a program if I don't have absolute confidence they can be successful."  

Jeff is available any time to answer your questions and assess whether Legacy Outdoor Adventures is a good step for you.

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Larry Bray - Operations Director

Larry was born in Salt Lake valley but grew up on a small farm on the north slope of Boulder Mountain near Loa, Utah.  The mountains and deserts where Legacy now operates served as the outdoor classroom and playground for him as he grew into adulthood.  He served six years active duty in the US Army and taught high school math for fifteen years before transitioning into outdoor treatment.  Larry's college degrees are in Computer Science and Mathematics.  His interests and curiosity steer towards natural history, and his passion lies in working with others in the outdoor environment that has been so impactful in his life. Larry has four grown children and lives with Mary, his wife of 30 years, on the small farm where he was raised.

Larry served for six years as the Program Director and Risk Management Director of Aspen Achievement Academy. His strengths are in the training and coordination of emergency response personnel, developing risk management policies and procedures, and real-time management of incidents on the ground. 

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Keith Hooker MD. - Medical Director

Dr. Hooker began teaching an Outdoor Survival course at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. In 1972, he instigated rural health programs, after seeing a need in small rural areas and then set up, and made regular calls to the clinics up and down the state; he was also among the first to train and utilize Nurse Practitioners. He co-founded Youth Rehab Wilderness Programs and serves still as Physician backup for several in a three-state area.

Voted Utah’s Emergency Physician of the Year in 1989 and 1997, Keith is a popular lecturer and speaker, as well as an Advisor for many EMT units and paramedic departments throughout the State. At present, Keith remains a longtime ER Doctor at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah. Keith enjoys life, living in Mapleton, Utah, with his wife of five years, Juanita Weber-Hooker. Between them, the couple has 11 children and 36 grandchildren; they both enjoy traveling in their Cessna 182. Keith is an avid mountain climber and has scaled Mount Everest and Mt. McKinley, among others. He is a supporter of the Boy Scout program, is an accomplished snow-skier, and mediocre golfer.

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Mary Bruce - Office Manager

Mary has worked in the field of wilderness therapy for well over a decade.  As a transport agent at Aspen Achievement Academy, she spent time with new clients helping them prepare for their adventure in the wilderness, and made many new friends along the way.  As the friendly presence in the front office, Mary solves problems, answers questions, keeps everything running smoothly, supports the entire treatment team, and functions as the hub of the operation.  Mary is the mother of a teenage son and spends most of her personal time with him.  She enjoys gardening, fishing and watching her son participate in high school sports.

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Derek Daley - Field/Medical Manager

Derek has spent much of the last decade working with individuals to create sustainable life changes.  He began facilitating personal growth experiences as a head instructor with Red Cliff Assent in 2001. In 2004, as a senior field guide for Aspen Achievement Academy, he co-created an education resource manual designed to help guides understand and teach program curriculum.  Derek was a key member in the start up and program development of Open Sky Wilderness Therapy.  In 2006, he welcomed Open sky’s first student into the program and during the next 5 years served in such roles as Assistant Field Director, Guide Trainer and Field Manager. Derek played a key role in the medical and emergency response teams and is experienced in field based incident command, medical first response and medication administration.   During Derek’s time spent working in the wilds of the West, he has witnessed the influencing power of nature many times. Derek seeks to harness and share that innate power of nature. 

Derek’s philosophy is based on the belief that within each person lies undiscovered strengths and the capacity to live a balanced and rewarding life. He is passionate about his work and deeply committed to the people who are in need of help and are interested in the process of self-discovery.   Born and raised in Utah, Derek is now raising a family of his own.  His love and appreciation of family and community serve as the foundation of his work.

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Legacy field instructors are the best trained, most experienced professionals in the outdoor treatment industry. Our guides average over five years of experience working with clients in a wilderness treatment setting.