Paddle Fest 2026
A one-day event dedicated to education and story-telling about adventures in all-things paddling!
This year we are excited to feature the voices of the next generation of paddlers! While still in high school, both our keynote speaker, Isis Timm, and opening speaker Adali Borglum, are already well-versed in adventure paddling.
We invite you to hear voices across the generations share wisdom, experience and inspire a sense of adventure in YOU at Paddle Fest 2026.
Paddle Fest 2026
2026 Presenters
Isis Timm
Keynote Speaker
In September, 2025 Isis Timm became the youngest woman, and a part of the first father daughter team to complete the 220 mile Voyager Challenge: a self-supported, 8 day endurance paddle across the entirety of the BWCA. She is a 16 year old Junior attending high school in Decorah, Iowa and took her first trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness when she was 3 years old. Timm’s interests include art, tennis, downhill skiing, ice hockey, wilderness adventure and much more. She plans to study Biology in college and is considering pursuing a career in veterinary medicine.
Adali Borglum
Adali is a senior at Waverly-Shell Rock with a passion for wildlife and exploration, and will attend Western Colorado University to major in Wildlife Biology. In addition to going to Wabakimi, she works on Cerulean Warbler surveys in Yellow River State Forest, and is an avid backpacker, birder, kayaker, and river surfer.
Renee Borglum
Renee, a Colorado native, has been a High School Science Teacher for 18 years. In addition to a few international student trips, she leads the Wilderness Studies program taking students backpacking along the Colorado Trail.
Amy Davison
Amy Davison is the Nature Center Manager at Hartman Reserve Nature Center part of Black Hawk County Conservation. She loves to participate in outdoor adventures and lives in Janesville Iowa with her family.
Scott Duffus
Scott is a retired Lutheran pastor, long time paddler, and co-founder of Fastest Known Paddle.
Vern Fish
Vern is the former Executive Director of the Black Hawk County Conservation Board in Waterloo, Iowa. He serves on the board of directors of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Board and he is currently the president of the Friends of Wabakimi. An advocate for clean water, he serves as an elected commissioner on the Black Hawk Soil and Water Conservation District. A passionate paddler he has run wild rivers from South America to the Mexican border and north to the Arctic Circle with stops at Hudson Bay.
Glenn Harman
Glenn is an ACA L4 Whitewater Kayak IT, L4 Whitewater Canoe Instructor and L4 Swiftwater Instructor and has worked for the State of Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as an Environmental Specialist Senior in the DNR Rivers Program for more than 18 years. In the River Program Glenn leads DNR’s paddling instructional programs and works on all aspects of Dam removal and modification projects. He is passionate about instruction, river quality and restoration.
Dave Hillman
Dave is a longtime Iowa paddlesport enthusiast and has been growing paddling gills since 1977. He is an ACA Level 4 Whitewater Kayaking Instructor and the current president of the Iowa Whitewater Coalition. In 2022 he paddled 3800 miles from 3 Forks MT to the Gulf of Mexico in 124 days. His paddling adventures have taken him to Australia, South America, Europe and all over the USA.
Jim Jansen
Since 1975, Jim has made over 35 trips deep into the heart of the BWCAW/Quetico wilderness. Sharing personal experiences and practical know-how has always been a way of giving back to the paddling community. Now retired, he has written numerous articles appearing in the Boundary Waters Journal, with the most recent appearing in the Summer 2025 edition.
Shawnna Larison
From Elkader, Iowa, Shawnna started paddling at the age of 50 and hasn't looked back. She enjoys flat water and whitewater canoeing, kayaking and SUPing. She is a 15 year participant on the Iowa Project Aware river cleanup. In addition, she enjoys wilderness backpacking, which brings her closer to nature and wildlife.
Dale Mills
Dale and Judy Mills have lived on the Winnebago River southeast of Mason City for 50 years and have offered complimentary paddle trips to overnight guests at the Cupola Inn Bed & Breakfast for the past 29 years. With no more farm livestock or work for the Iowa DOT, “retirement” has allowed even more paddling adventures, just across the road from their back door.
Jerri Neal
Jerri is an Ames resident who has spent much more time on dry land than water. She was lured into kayaking and SUP-ing by the enthusiasm of the Skunk River Paddlers and her friend Piper Wall — although she has steadfastly stayed with flatwater. This summer marked her first two major canoe adventures, Upper Missouri River Breaks and the incomparable Boundary Waters. She’s decided canoeing is actually kind of cool!
Darrin Siefken
Darrin is the former owner of CrawDaddy Outdoors and has led hundreds of trips over the past thirty years.
Chuck Ungs
Chuck has been a nature enthusiast his entire life. He grew up on the banks of the Maquoketa River, earned his Fisheries and Wildlife Biology degree from Iowa State University and has been a professional Naturalist since 1990. An ACA Level 4 Whitewater Kayak Instructor, he teaches kayaking safety in various forms as a Naturalist for Linn CCB.
Piper Wall
Piper Wall DVM, PhD lives in Ames and paddles canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddle boards at Ada Hayden with and without 2 big dogs. She grew up canoeing and has paddled flat water, moving water, and whitewater in various states and in Canada and Costa Rica. She loves whitewater slalom, is an American Canoe Association Whitewater Canoe and Whitewater Kayak instructor and teaches paddling skills for a variety of groups in Iowa and beyond.