Evan Smith

Evan was raised in the small town of Coloma, California; home to one of America’s most popular rafting destinations. With his backyard in sight and sound of the South Fork of the American River, Evan was introduced to whitewater at a young age. Following in his father’s footsteps, he started raft guiding in the summers, and he took to kayaking with his dad and many of his local high school teachers.

His passion for free rivers and the sport of whitewater grew, and Evan chose to translate this into his academics, studying for an undergraduate degree (Hydrological Sciences at UC Santa Barbara) and a Master’s Degree (Water Resources Engineering at Humboldt State University) based on his time and experiences on rivers.

While academics were the primary focus of Evan’s time in university, international travel and kayaking were always on his mind, and he was able to work his schedule and school around traveling and kayaking in multiple countries during his college years. While traveling, Evan met up with WCA in Chile, Canada, and the U.S.A and saw how special and unique the program can be, and wanted to be a part of it.

Evan joined WCA as a Math and Economics teacher in 2015 and spent three years with the Kayak Academy taking on the roles of Program and Budget Director. Now residing in White Salmon, WA, Evan has expanded upon his passion for kayaking, now spending time mountain biking and kiteboarding. Evan brings his extensive knowledge of World Class Academy program needs, international travel logistics, and sport-specific background to the WCA administration team.