Jungle Marine Immersion Staff

Program staff for our residential Jungle Marine Immersion program bring with them years of study in real world experience in the skills they teach. They comprise both the best in the most innovative in creative leaders in their field. We encourage you to personally connect with each one in the process of choosing to join TrackersTEAMS.

Casey Nutt, Program Director

Casey was born and raised in Berkeley, growing up fishing and sailing around the Berkeley Pier. Casey's grandfather mentored him in wilderness skills through endless backcountry trips as a boy. After graduating from the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, Casey began apprenticing under an old shipwright in a boatyard back in Berkeley. Eventually Casey went off on his own as an independent shipwright and never looked back. He has done major structural rebuilds on a number of sail and power boats ranging from 30-50', replacing planks, keels, stems, decks and cabins among other things. He now combines all his passions for primitive skills in his work as a found instructor of TrackersBAY and program director for TrackersTEAMS. On any given day with Trackers Casey finds himself tanning hides, sailing, tracking animals, leading archery wargames and building boats. Learn more about Casey

Alex Perrotti, Sailing Instructor

Alex Perrotti was born and raised in Berkeley, CA where he currently lives. When he was 18, he bought a sailboat at an auction and spent a year fixing it up before setting sail on a 5 year circumnavigation of the globe. Alex became adept at navigating through unfamiliar waters and managing crisis situations during foul weather. He has worked a sailing instructor and delivery captain for the past 4 years and holds a 50 ton commercial captains license as well as instructor certification for ASA and US sail courses to the Coastal Passage Making level. Alex is also a passionate permaculturalist who has had the opportunity to design and implement (with the help of numerous volunteers) several collaborative garden installations. Twice monthly, Alex facilitates workshops at the nearby Solano State Prison with the Alternatives to Violence Project. Learn morea about Alex

Brian Schuch, Primitive Skills Instructor

Brian Schuch has been traveling, living, and teaching wilderness survival skills since 2003. He's worked and lived primitively in many environments including the jungles of Costa Rica where he built and resided in a bamboo tree-house for many months. Immediately after completing high school he did a year-long intensive course in primitive skills. He stayed for another year learning and teaching school groups and summer camps. During that time he also worked at a museum to recreate and demostrate skills of indegenious technology. This included building a bark longhouse, bark canoes, dugout canoes, bows, arrows, 3 sisters gardens, maple sugaring and more. Brian eventually discarded all possessions other than his clothes. He spent his time traveling, living, and teaching around the country. Learn more about Brian

Elisa Barrios, Spanish instructor & Videographer

Elisa Barrios was born and raised in Portland and Astoria Oregon. She lived a dual lifestyle with the privilege of living half of her time in a small town coastal community and the other half in a creatively blooming city. She was raised a free and wild outdoor child from the moment she learned to walk. She feels most at home when she is at the ocean. Elisa was raised bilingual through an education in a Spanish/English immersion program which later drove her passion to travel. She has spent considerable time exploring other parts of the world. Elisa graduated from the Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington, where she focused in Media Studies. She discovered her passion at Evergreen for the moving image, after anticipating a study rich in her interest in photography. She also found ways to combine her interest of documentation with her fascination and studies of the human psyche. Elisa's strengths lie in her ability to understand, work, communicate and lead people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

Tony Deis, Founder & Tracking Instructor

Tony has lived and studied skills and concepts of sustainability his entire life. In his early years he intensively studied regenerative design through hands on projects and trained wilderness skills through backcountry travel. Beginning 1993 he has made his living as a contractor and consultant in the field of environmental education. Eventually he founded TrackersNW and the Trackers Family of programs. Learn more about Tony

Michael Landry, Jungle Survival Instructor

Michael Landry is of French Canadian and native American (Mic Mac) origin. From an early age he was exposed to his native culture. By the age of 15 was a proficient flintknapper. During his youth he enjoyed spending his time survival backpacking. He studied anthropology at Ventura College, UC Santa Barbara and Sonoma State University. During the following three years he worked as an organic gardener at Sisar and Matilija Creeks in Ventura County, saving up his money and buying a farm on the back side of the Jimenez mountains. He became a lama herder but also did some extensive travelling during the next years in Oaxaca, Chiapas and Guatemala. In 1987 he bought his 70 acre farm in the hills behind Pavones in southern Costa Rica where he began a permaculture reforestation project and still lives off the land to this day. Learn more about Michael