Dr. Lauren Snyder grew up in beautiful Southern California, a classic upbringing with skateboarding and surfing in the sunshine. Yosemite and Lake Tahoe are some of her favorite places, with year-round opportunities for outdoor fun. Family vacations growing up included rock climbing, fishing, water skiing and camping, fostering a love for outdoor activities at a young age. Dr. Snyder's father (Ed, a now retired firefighter/paramedic) has even joined a few Wild Med trips in recent years, including putting his firefighting knowledge to use during a middle of the night wildfire on a now infamous Wild Med trip in Costa Rica. Moving for medical school introduced Dr. Snyder to new environments and seasons, including hiking and backpacking in the Phoenix area, Sedona and Havasupai regions of Arizona. Moving to New England for residency and a Wilderness Medicine fellowship was an interesting experiment for a SoCal native, but Dr. Snyder fell in love with 4 seasons of outdoor adventures and explored the beauty of the east coast from the Outer Banks to Maine. Dr. Snyder completed her Wilderness Medicine fellowship (2019) and FAWM (2021), and has helped lead Wild Med trips to Kilimanjaro, Guatemala, Bahamas, Costa Rica and throughout the states. Dr. Snyder currently works in Portland, OR where she continues to find outdoor adventures in the vast PNW, often adventuring with her canine side kicks (Gunner & Bailey).