About Confluence Rescue
Our Mission
At Confluence Rescue, we believe that rescue courses should not be cost prohibitive. Scholarship funds are available for most of our courses. 20% of every students registration goes into CR's scholarship fund, which is intended for river runners who need financial assistance. That means that by taking a course with CR you are assisting other river runners to get training. And they just may be the ones rescuing you.
Our Owner
Kaz (Karen) Locke, owner and founder of CR, began their rafting career on the New and Gauley Rivers, where they spent six years as a paddle guide, leading more than 500 river trips. Seeking new challenges, Karen moved to Norway to put their raft-flipping skills to the test on the Sjoa River. After a season guiding on Washington's White Salmon River, they relocated to Moab, Utah, to manage an Adaptive Rafting Program on the Green and Colorado Rivers.
Recognizing the need for more female instructors and professionals with expertise in adaptive paddling, Karen became a Swiftwater Rescue Instructor in 2018. In 2024, they earned the prestigious Instructor Trainer certification through the ACA, further expanding their commitment to training the next generation of rescue professionals.
Karen has also served for five years with Grand County Search and Rescue (Moab SAR). In addition to being a certified EMT, they are an American Heart Association CPR, AED, and First Aid Instructor. In October 2024, Karen was honored as the ACA Instructor of the Month in recognition of their outstanding contributions to paddlesports education and safety.
Testimonials
"I can't say enough positive things about Karen as an instructor. Her public service motivation is obvious - she really wants to help people be safe and confident in their safety and rescue skills. She explained things clearly, gave great demos, and provided lots of opportunity for us to practice hands-on techniques. She used positive reinforcement to help cement what we learned. I was impressed how she made excellent use of us, the participants, in a large group of 10 by having us serve as safety sentinels (upstream and downstream safety) while we did exercises and scenarios. She made the course fun, which in turn made learning easy and enjoyable. I'd recommend her to anybody wanting to learn more about swiftwater safety and rescue, and I hope to take one of her courses again!"