Tom Whittaker

Tom Whittaker rocked conventional wisdom when, as an amputee, he created a world first by becoming the first person with a disability to climb Mount Everest.

On Thanksgiving Day of 1979, a car accident shattered both his legs. Emergency surgery saved his life but required the removal of his right kneecap - and the amputation of his right foot. Tom Whittakers life had changed forever but his adventures had just begun. Nineteen years later, Whittaker made history and stunned the world when he became the first disabled climber ever to conquer Mount Everest.

In 2006 he was inducted into “The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace when he was awarded an MBE, for service to people with disabilities and mountaineering.

With 35 years of experience in teamwork, leadership and motivation training Tom Whittaker is an educator and expert and human achievement. He has two Masters Degrees from Idaho State Universitys College of Education and pursued Doctoral studies at Colorado State University in the School of Human Resources.

Tom Whittaker currently serves as the Executive Director of the Call to Duty Foundation that is dedicated to integrating service men and women from Iraq and Afghanistan back into the society they fought to protect. He lives in the mountains of Arizona with his two young daughters.