Thomas Plotkin

University of Iowa
National Outdoor Leadership School
September 22,2011
Uttarakhand, India

Thomas smiled easily, worked hard, listened well, and hugged often. Growing up, Tom played club hockey for the La Jolla Jaguars (MVP), then varsity for Hopkins High School (Minnesota), and club for University of Iowa. Tom declared himself an economics major at the University of Iowa. He was interested in the environment, sustainable development, and social justice. He imagined a better world beginning with 3-stage composters, which he could build.
Thomas was 20 years old when he left on August 22, 2011 to study abroad in India with National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). One month later, Tom was dead. The following year, NOLS issued their report about the “presumed death of Thomas Plotkin.” The students who had traveled with Thomas began to tell what they knew.
They reported that Thomas suffered a catastrophic fall on September 22, 2011, in the Milam Valley of Uttarakhand, India. Moments before Thomas’ death, he took the lead position on a hiking trail. The ten students hiked a 6-foot wide ledge, over a nearly 300-foot drop, into a Class V river at flood stage. Thomas’ left boot slipped on a wet rock and he landed on his back, momentarily half-on-half-off the trail. His backpack pulled him over the edge and he plunged headfirst into the Gori Ganga River. Four hours later, our family was called. NOLS said, “Thomas has sustained an unsurvivable fall.”
A journalist who covered Thomas’ death for University of Iowa’s newspaper discovered that there was a border patrol less than a mile from the spot where Thomas fell. NOLS did not notify them, claiming their philosophy of “self-sustenance.”
Months after Thomas’ death, NOLS risk management director compiled a report. He remained in his Wyoming office, using source documents our family will not be permitted to see without first signing a “settlement agreement and release.”  The report discounts these factors leading to Thomas’ death: insufficient calorie intake; backpack weight; condition of the trail; weather; fatigue; inexperience of students; absent guides; diminished daylight; lack of equipment for emergency rescue; delayed notification of local authorities (police and U.S Embassy); and condition of the river. NOLS’ report states, “…it was appropriate for NOLS to allow the students to hike on this trail in these conditions on this day with these packs without instructors in the group.” NOLS continues, “Tom understood the risks inherent on this course and chose to participate,” and concludes, “We will use this knowledge to convey to our future students the importance of their acts and actions.” The Indian Magistry issued its own report stating that it is not prudent to be on the trails during monsoon season.
Our family later learned that our child was NOLS’ 12^th death. Thomas’ body was never found.
The study abroad industry has grown exponentially.  It has grown with the financial support of parents who want the best for their children. ClearCause advocates for qualifications, oversight, standards, transparency and accountability in study abroad programs so deaths like Thomas’ can be prevented.
We applaud the University of Iowa for sanctioning NOLS and no longer accepting credits for NOLS programs. Never again should student travel programs be permitted to market themselves without full disclosure. Programs cannot be allowed to investigate themselves after tragic outcomes. Future students and their parents will only be able to make truly informed decisions when all data about study abroad is available.
Elizabeth Brenner, mother of Thomas

Watch the video below to learn more about Thomas' story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfD0ZKt4e2w

Justin Johnston

June 2, 2011

Costa Rica

Justin Johnston was an exceptional, outgoing and charismatic 16-year-old youth who cared about helping others. He made our days brighter with his free and lighthearted spirit, personable smile and ever present “thumbs up”. He was an honor roll student and participated in cross-country and power lifting. He received the runner up state medal for bench press his sophomore year. Baseball was his passion. Justin was also serious about Catholic faith . He was a regular Scripture reader at Sunday mass. One of the last scriptures he read, a week and a half before his death, was this: “Select from among you…. reputable men filled with the Spirit” and “a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit.” These Scriptures describe Justin well.

Justin had planned to attend the University of Kansas with the desire to study forensics, criminal law, or police work. He truly was an all American boy who lived his life to its fullest. He made an indelible impression on all of our hearts, always with one or two thumbs up, until the morning of June 2, 2011.

On May 30, 2011, Justin and his high school Spanish class left for Costa Rica. The trip was booked with EF Tours and was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime – safe, but full of fun and adventure. Tragedy struck a few days later while the group was staying in the city of La Fortuna de San Carlos. Justin and another student were heading back to their hotel room when Justin was fatally shot by a hotel security guard. We found out later that the guard who shot Justin was actually an illegal immigrant from Nicaragua with no security training, no uniform and no license to possess a firearm.  How could this happen?  A Costa Rican court convicted the guard of homicide with 15 years in prison. It has been appealed with a new trial issued. No date has been set yet.

We had hopes that the court’s decision would send a strong message to the hotel and tourism industry in Costa Rica to comply with the laws designed to protect the safety and welfare of both tourists and citizens alike. We want to prevent another senseless act causing death. We hope no other parent will experience the anguish of losing a child on an educational trip abroad. Justin’s death was caused by failure to comply with basic laws.

We are suing EF Tours because the lack of adequate emergency medical resources in Costa Rica caused a delay in obtaining medical emergency case treatment for Justin. This contributed to his death. EF Tours either knew or should have known that emergency medical services in Costa Rica are not as readily available as they are in the United States.

ClearCause gives us a chance to make a difference. Parents need to be aware of tour companies’ safety records before sending their kids abroad. Federal laws need to be created to hold the tour companies responsible to protect our students. Safety is NOT an accident.

Justin will remain in our hearts and our lives as a divine and powerful influence.


Wendi Johnston, Justin’s mother

Ravi Thackurdeen

Duke University
Organization for Tropical Studies
April 2012

Meet Ravi Thackurdeen: leader, scholar, role model, dedicated friend, loving son and brother. Ravi was keenly interested in public health, preventative medicine, and ethno medicine. Ravi joined Swarthmore Fire and Protective Association within weeks of starting college. In the summer of his first year, he earned his EMT state certifications. In spring 2012, Ravi explored the medical field as an intern at Weill Cornell Medical College. Ravi also received a research grant from Swarthmore to serve as a research assistant in summer 2012, researching quorum sensing in bacteria for the development of novel antibiotics.

Ravi traveled to Costa Rica in the spring of 2012 to study Global Health and Tropical Medicine with the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) in Duke University’s (DU) Global Health Program. Ravi lived at the biological stations and did research in the field with fourteen other students. The students were taken on a surprise end of semester, celebratory trip to Playa Tortuga on Costa Rica’s Southern Pacific Coast by OTS/DU program. 

The students were instructed to “swim parallel” if they got caught in a rip current prior to their arrival. This was simply not enough.  Playa Tortuga is known for being extremely dangerous. Locals don’t swim there.  In addition to rip currents and riptides, it has four rivers emptying into it causing severe water turbulence and there have been many deaths from drowning. OTS placed its students on this dangerous beach without any safety backups, despite United States travel warnings.

Ravi and another student were wading in shallow water when they got caught in a rip current. Ravi screamed for help while calming his classmate. The classmate survived, saved by a tourist who risked his own life.  Ravi was pulled over 300 yards away from shore. He heroically treaded water for over thirty minutes, waiting for help that never came.

All of our hopes and dreams for Ravi were destroyed in that one horrible, irresponsible and 100% preventable decision. The time spanning the initial contact to the inadequate search for Ravi was all very traumatic. Ravi’s body lay on the beach in 90-degree weather for over two hours before being carried in the back of an open pick-up truck in the sweltering sun.  We couldn’t see our son after that.
It was during intense research and letter writing campaign to my state and federal officials that I came across ClearCause Foundation. I have since reached out to many parents across the country whose children have also died on student travel and study abroad programs.

We have come together to support ClearCause because we want accountability, reforms, truth, justice, transparency and protection. We need mandates to govern safety within study abroad programs. In honor of my son, Ravi, and all our amazing children who have senselessly loss their lives, there can be no stopping until laws are put into place to protect our students.

Safety must be mandated and enforced, as America’s best and brightest are dying abroad. No other family should experience our excruciating pain and loss.


Ros Thackurdeen, mother of Ravi


Watch the video below to learn more about Ravi's story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdCiwMBCoHA

Joshua Shane

My son Joshua was a sustainability major at Arizona State University (ASU) and participated as one of 20 students in a four-week study abroad program in Thailand in 2012. Joshua was not your typical 21-year-old who did not know what he wanted to do with his future. He had been passionate about environmental studies for years, had worked on his passion and was busy preparing for his future.

We chose Arizona State University (ASU) because they offered a degree in sustainability. In college, Joshua served as President of the ASU chapter of Oxfam America. In July 2010, Joshua was chosen to go to Boston to receive extra Oxfam America leadership training. He was a leader and took on all the responsibilities that came with that position. Traveling to Thailand to continue his sustainability studies with ASU would have been great for his continued growth and his resume. Little did we know how the trip would end.

The day that Joshua died, he was in his room working on his studies when he received a phone call from his fellow students, inviting him to join them on the beach. Once Joshua arrived at the beach, he saw four students in the water were caught in a riptide and were yelling for help. Joshua entered the water in order to help them. When two of the students were able to make it to shore, one of them went for help. The help that came was able to pull out the other two swimmers, but they did not realize Joshua had also entered the water and by that time, had been pulled into the riptide. Joshua was the only one that did not make it out. Joshua’s death was on June 12, 2012.

Losing a loved one like Joshua changes who you are. We have come to the realization that our family will never be complete without him and there will never be an occasion that is complete without him. His dreams and goals he had are lost, and we lost them with him.

After it happened, no one from ASU called me to tell me what had happened to my son. I had to call the U.S. Embassy in Thailand to find out Joshua’s death was true. They gave me the accompanying ASU professor’s contact information and the first words out of his mouth when I called him were, “Joshua was doing something we told him not to do . . .” At the time I had no reason not to believe him, until the students that were with Joshua came forward and told me that Joshua only entered the water to help save their lives. ASU had a spokesperson, and we didn’t.

I expected ASU to tell the students going on this trip that drowning was the leading cause of death, but they did not. I expected them to explain the danger of the beaches, but they did not. When I later asked to see the packet of safety information they gave to students pre-departure, they also refused. We want ASU to give us answers.

ASU met with us in August but refused to talk about Joshua's death or any of the circumstances surrounding it. They wanted to talk about how much Joshua loved ASU and what he did on campus. They all acted surprised that we wanted to talk about the circumstances and questions surrounding Joshua's death.  Keep in mind that none of the people we met with had ever even met with Joshua.
Horrifically, there have been many other deaths on that beach. Between May 18th - June 12th, the day of Joshua's death, there were at least 7 reported drownings in or near Phuket that were monsoon and/ or rip-current related. The students that were on the trip with Joshua were never told of these deaths.
ClearCause gave me a place to focus. In Joshua’s case, there was no investigation, no legal rights for us and no legal ramifications for ASU. As I told my attorney: it is not about suing ASU for money, it is about bringing about changes in their programs to protect students. ClearCause has done the groundwork to get oversight, accountability, and transparency for students nationwide. This is it. We have to do something to prevent what happened to Joshua and our family from happening to another student and their family.


Mindy Shane, Joshua’s mother

View the Wrongful Death Lawsuit. 
View the Receipt of Filing. 

Jasmine Jahanshahi

University of California, Berkeley
Science Po, Paris
Paris, France
April 2011

Twenty year old Jasmine wouldn't let herself be mediocre in anything, which led her to do well in everything she did. She was a phenomenal pianist, held a Brown Belt in martial arts and was an excellent snow skier, as well as the Co-President of her graduating class in her high school. She chose University of California, Berkeley and majored in Political Science and History. Jasmine was the Chair Woman at UC Berkeley U.N. model and also volunteered in assisting homeless and abused women with their medical needs in California.

Jasmine was later was accepted into Science Po, an elite university in Paris where she thought she would live out her dreams. She had already traveled to many places within Asia and Europe and spoke English, Persian and French very beautifully. Yet before she could continue trekking the globe, her time was unexpectedly cut short.

On April 14, 2011, Jasmine died in an apartment fire in Paris that took the lives of four others and injured another 57 people. The fire was horrifically preventable, and the condition of the apartment building surprisingly bleak for a developed country. The lack of knowledge about fire prevention in different countries clearly highlights a need to better disseminate information to all, especially to students who are studying abroad.

What made Jasmine different was not what she did, but who she was.
Megan Clement, Jasmine’s friend and roommate at Berkeley described her tenacity as such: "Jasmine never wasted time. She never stopped studying because, she told me, she could never know everything, so how was she supposed to know when to stop? Whatever she dd, it was in her nature to do it with her entire being. This is how she accomplished so much."

Reed Johnson, Jasmine’s boyfriend from college said, "She understood that life is not suppose to be easy; that you are suppose to work terribly hard at times, to become and remain someone you can be happy with. It is especially remarkable that she did this without trying."

Through her experiences, Jasmine learned to see with her heart. I salute ClearCause for passionately demanding transparency and mandated standards for study abroad programs and educating parents and lawmakers about the lack of safety standards for our students and scholars. As a father who lost his dream girl to a student abroad program, I would have suggested a different path for my daughter's adventure if I was more aware of all the facts regarding her safety.

Below is a quote that a professor extracted from one of Jasmine's
papers:









Reza Djahanshahi, father of Jasmine

Zoe Damon

Binghamton University
Tropical Forest Initiative
July, 2011

Just shy of 21, Zoe was a beautiful and exceptional individual going into her senior year of college, double majoring in biology and painting. She was a high honors student, who for years had been a scholar athlete lacrosse player. She played classical piano since the age of 9 and painted like a true artist.  She wrote poetry like a sage and deeply loved her life, her family and her friends. Our Zoe never came home from a one month study abroad program through Binghamton University and the Tropical Forestry Initiative (TFI) in Costa Rica.

Two weeks into the program, I was visited by 2 State Troopers delivering the news that she died in a car crash the previous night. Her professor had been driving a van of students and lost control.  Their van tumbled down a ravine and landed in a river upside down – my daughter was the only one who didn’t survive.

I am still feeling the shock of her death as I describe it again.
I am a seasoned trauma therapist, licensed clinical social worker and Diplomate of the American Academy of Experts on Traumatic Stress and the National Center for Crisis Management.  I understand and feel the full and lasting impact that this event will have on my life and the life of my surviving family. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) complete with panic attacks, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, nightmares, will plague us for some time. The grief will be with us forever.

How could we have expected this? How could this have been avoided? Would I have sent her on such a trip if I had understood that the professor would be driving instead of a local professional driver, or  if I’d known that there are a percentage of students who never return from their studies overseas?
A few months ago I came upon a website founded by Sheryl Hill, www.ClearCauseFoundation.org. I was relieved to see someone else who had been through a similar experience, years earlier, who was wanting to protect children and families by advocating for more transparency,  more oversight,  and some form of  regulation of these programs.

In researching this issue, we find it is common that schools abdicate responsibility, professors do the same, and the trips resume, without any reporting to the subsequent groups of students and parents. ClearCause Foundation is attempting to bring more awareness to this growing problem, as our President with his 100,000 strong initiatives and more and more schools and colleges are encouraging students to study abroad.

I believe the students and families should be given full disclosure of their schools’ safety and security records, of all the risks connected with travel programs, so parents and students can make informed choices about the risks they are taking.

We will be living with the loss of our daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin, friend, for the rest of our lives. Being left with a feeling of powerlessness is a natural response to loss, but I have decided to direct that energy toward making changes that can help others. As a result, I have recently joined the Board of Advisors of ClearCause.  I hope that together our efforts to create a mandate for more transparency and regulations can help to save the lives of some future travelers.


Noelle Damon,
Bereaved mother of my beautiful and mutli-talented, 20 year old daughter, Zoe (Bless you!)

See Zoe's press release here.
Watch the video below to learn more about Zoe's story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgkyTx2kxN4