Maurice Phipps is Professor Emeritus of Parks and Recreation Management in the Department of Human Services at Western Carolina University. He is currently on the Presidential Council for the Wilderness Education Association, having been an instructor and board member for 28 years. He has written and contributed to fifty different articles and publications and is the author of three books.

He has worked in public, non-profit and private agencies for 24 years, including at Iowa State, Cal Poly, and the Western State University of Colorado. He has taught in the US, the UK and Australia, and gained qualifications through the British Canoe Union (British Canoe Coach), the Australian Canoe Federation (Diploma) and the Wilderness Education Association (Instructor). He has also received several teaching awards from Western Carolina University, and three service awards from the Wilderness Education Association.