Lily Salzer, BA
(she/ her)
Treatment Coordinator
Lily attended the University of Wyoming where she studied International Studies, Spanish, and Environment and Natural Resources, with the intent to go into international aid work. Sometime near the end of her studies, she became interested in the mental health crisis and began to appreciate the high level of need for mental health support in the United States. This inspired a shift in her focus, and she followed the call into the field of mental health and trauma healing to wilderness therapy in Oregon. Lily worked in wilderness therapy for a year and a half, supporting her students both as field staff, and in the office as an education and student mastery coordinator.
In wilderness therapy, Lily learned about trauma-informed cared by working closely with clinicians and therapists to best serve the needs of her adolescent and young adult students. Lily has training in Crisis Prevention, Non-Violent Communication, outdoor skills such as Leave no Trace and Wilderness First Responder certifications. At the Academy, Lily loves building longer-term relationships with students and observing deep growth and healing over the course of students’ stays. Lily finds great fulfillment in helping students learn emotional regulation and communication skills to carry with them for the rest of their lives. She also adores co-leading adventure group, which allows her to take her students into the magical and unique Central Oregon wilderness to explore and share new experiences. In her free time, Lily loves being in the outdoors. She enjoys cycling, hiking/backpacking, surfing, rafting or floating on the river, and doing yoga. She’s a fierce music enthusiast who is happy wherever live music can be found. She is also a dedicated plant mom.