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Kevin Cherilla  

Founder of K2 Adventure Travel, Mountaineer, Motivational Speaker & Disability Advocate

Kevin Cherilla has been an international mountaineer for over 20 years. Conquering the summit of Mt. Everest in 2007 was his greatest personal accomplishment. Since then, he’s made it his personal goal to change lives one adventure at a time—whether by scaling Everest, Kilimanjaro, Machu Picchu or Aconcagua. Kevin’s passion for climbing and helping others has even been passed on to individuals who are blind, paralyzed or have lost limbs. He “Enjoys the smiles on the faces of those we help both in the United States and around the world.”

His own adventure began when he wanted to have a bigger impact on people through his travel expeditions. Kevin was the expedition leader for 25 individuals, eight of whom were blind, on a climb to Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for people with disabilities. Kristen Sandquist was one of the guides on his team. The team broke four world records, raised over $200,000 for the blind in Arizona and assisted a local orphanage that housed 24 blind and albino children in Tanzania. After this historic climb in 2009, Kevin and Kristen joined forces to create K2 Adventures Foundation and K2 Adventure Travel, and they’ve been helping others around the globe ever since. Together, they run K2 Adventure Travel, which organizes voluntourism trips to Africa, Peru and Nepal.

Kevin has personally summited 5 of the 7 Summits, as well as led over 1,500 individuals safely to Kevin has personally summited 5 of the 7 Summits, as well as led over 1,500 individuals safely to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, guided tours through the Andes in South America and the Himalayas in Nepal. He has also led hundreds of clients across the Grand Canyon for the 25.5 mile Rim-to-Rim hike.

Kevin graduated from John Carrol University with a BS in Physical Education and received a master’s degree in Health Education from Case Western Reserve University. He is an international mountain guide and a certified NOLS Wilderness First Responder. He is also trained in CPR and First Aid.

Speech Topics

Shattering Expectations: Overcoming Challenges and Obstacles

Kevin Cherilla has led teams of disabled people to summit the world’s tallest mountains. Many of his clients have disabilities such as blindness, paralysis, and muscular dystrophy and vary widely in age. During his presentations, he addresses how he leads and motivates people past their perceived boundaries in order to achieve the seemingly impossible. He also addresses goal setting, learning from failures, taking risks, making sacrifices, persevering through tough times, and accomplishing monumental goals.

Teamwork: Working with People of Diverse Backgrounds

Kevin Cherilla has led more than 300 people on international trips and expeditions across six continents and 20 countries. His teammates have ranged in age from 11 to 80 years-old, and they have had a phenomenal success rate of summiting the mountains they ascend of over 92%. (Comparatively, of the 25,000 people from around the world each year that try to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, only about 40% succeed.) In his presentations, Cherilla discusses leading diverse teams successfully, goal setting, learning from failures, taking risks, making sacrifices, persevering through tough times, and accomplishing monumental goals.

Kevin Cherilla draws from his academic background and personal and professional encounters as he tailors his program to meet your organizational realities, challenges, and conference themes. His presentations include breath-taking expedition photos and award-winning video footage of his expeditions, inspiring and leading teams, and reaching individual and team goals. In his presentations, Cherilla addresses leadership, overcoming adversity, shattering expectations, goal-setting, and motivating a group.

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