The Golden Giddyup
Al Head is a small business owner, father of two, and co-founder of the Golden Giddyup, a Golden, Colorado nonprofit created to engage mountain bikers in volunteer trail stewardship and advocacy. The Giddyup began by engaging mountain bikers to volunteer time and energy to reopen damaged trail systems after the catastrophic floods of 2013 decimated Jefferson County Open Space Parks. To Al, participating in your community, whether it be on the trails, with your voice, or with your vote, is what the Giddyup is all about, and the meaning behind the Giddyup’s tagline, #shapewhatyoushred.
Semi-Rad Media
A freelance writer, filmmaker, speaker, author, and creator of Semi-Rad.com, most of Brendan’s work centers around adventure, travel, and the human experiences with each. Contributing editor at Adventure Journal and a columnist at Outside, Brendan’s stories have appeared in Backpacker, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Men’s Journal, Sierra, Adventure Cyclist, and other publications.
Startup Colorado
As a Colorado native and rural resident, Delaney is honored to steward the inherent genius she believes exists because of living farther off the beaten path. Influenced by the culture of Western Colorado, she has studied the social landscape through work that bridges the public and private sector. She is an unwavering believer in the potential of ideas, the people behind them, and the places they create.
CO.STARTERS
Driven by a passion to help others, Enoch currently supports hundreds of emerging startup communities through the CO.STARTERS platform, helping local ecosystem builders around the world take the first steps in accelerating the success of thousands of creative starters. The CO.STARTERS community has grown to a global network providing programs, resources, and a community of support to hundreds of entrepreneurial ecosystem builders and thousands of creative starters who are pursuing their dreams each year.
Front Range Mountain Biking
Matthew George is a high tech and aerospace construction manager with a 20+ year mountain bike obsession. He started the leading social media mountain bike group in the Southeast and later started the Front Range Mountain Biking group, which is now the biggest mountain bike group in Colorado. Matt is working to move the group into a not for profit model to utilize its size and influence for the betterment of mountain biking, including women’s riding programs, minority involvement, trail building, education and mental health in the outdoors.
Editor at Large, Esquire
As an author, Potter co-wrote of “The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics,” the memoir of Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, and he authored “Shadows in the Vineyard: The True Story of the Plot to Poison The World’s Greatest Wine,” published in July 2014. While he was Executive Editor of 5280, Denver’s city magazine, it was a finalist for the National Magazine Award—the most prestigious prize in magazine journalism—six times. He is currently an adjunct faculty member in the Journalism Department at the University of Colorado.
The Spark Insights
Sarah has more than 16 years of experience in sales, sales strategy, solutioning, and professional services at companies such as AMResearch, CEB, Monster, and TeleTech. Over the past 6, she has had the opportunity to provide strategic and operational guidance to world-class, innovative sales organizations that are undergoing a sales transformation including Yahoo, Facebook, and Australia’s Fairfax Media.
CUBE
Bret believes that an education disruption is essential to preparing students for the future economy. While he has a Finance degree from Notre Dame, an MBA from Penn State, and worked at DSST for more than 10 years, Bret found it was his experience in education outside the walls of the school setting (sports, travel, and service) where he learned the most. You will find Bret exploring the trails of Colorado via bike or foot, playing lacrosse with his three radical boys, or sipping coffee on the front porch with his beautiful wife.
Colorado Nature Conservancy
Working with partner organizations, government agencies, elected officials and other key decision-makers, Carlos and his team strive to build alliances that advance conservation outcomes both in Colorado and around the world. He joined the Conservancy in January 2003, working as the Foreign Legal Advisor for the South American Conservation Region. Carlos is an advisory council member with the Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation and a member of the steering committee of the Colorado Outdoor Partnership.
VF Corporation
Former Everest guide and former director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, Luis is now the VP of Government Affairs and Global Impact at VF Corporation. During his time as director of Colorado Outdoor Industry Recreation Office, Luis helped more than double the state’s outdoor economy from $28 to $62.5 billion. He, along with former governor, current presidential candidate John Hickenlooper, was instrumental in bringing Outdoor Retailer to Denver from Utah.
Real Life Portraits
In 1984, she was the first winner of the women’s Tour de France and the first American to win a stage at the Tour. For her win, Marianne got a trophy and $1,000 which she split with her team. Laurent Fignon, the men’s winner, got $100,000. Marianne move from being a pro cyclist to a career as a pro photographer in Colorado Springs, and continues to support pro women cycling any place she can.
The Gates Family Foundation
Russ’s career in nonprofit conservation has carried him from organizational development and strategic planning to large-scale project management, major gifts fundraising, and public policy. His primary conservation interests focus on finding mutually-beneficial solutions to the increasingly complex demands facing people, communities and their environment through creative collaboration and leading through innovation. He spent a decade with Trout Unlimited, most recently as the Agricultural Policy and Partnerships Advisor to TU’s Western Water Project. Russ now works with Colorado’s Gates Family Foundation as Program Officer for Natural Resources.
Icelantic Skis
Ben Anderson started building skis in his parent’s garage in 2002. With the help of some of his
best friends, Icelantic has grown into the industry’s largest USA manufactured ski company.
SaraBella Fishing
April leads the SaraBella Fishing team with tenacious vision, an eclectic background ranging from international tax to higher education, and passion for human & environmental impact. She enjoys educating new/beginning anglers of all ages, serving on several community boards of directors, cherishing every opportunity to fish, and celebrating life with her husband (JT) and their 3 adventurous daughters.
First Descents
Ryan has a unique blend of for-profit, non-profit and direct experience with the young adult cancer community. He is the Founder/Chairman of Rise Above It (RAI), an organization deeply committed to advancing the field of adolescent and young adult oncology (AYAO). Ryan served on LIVESTRONG’s Grant Review Committees and as a member of the Young Adult Alliance Oversight Committee prior to joining the Foundation’s staff full-time in 2011. Prior to joining LIVESTRONG, Ryan worked in Accenture’s Strategy Practice where he managed Fortune 500 client accounts across several industries.
CKD Technology Partners
Tynan is a lifelong technologist, entrepreneur, and trusted advisor. His leadership in healthcare technology has been anchored since 2003 in the enterprise innovation studio he founded, CKD Technology Partners, which builds lean mobile and web-based software in Digital Health. Under Tynan’s leadership, CKD Technology Partners won multiple awards and has supported innovative new healthcare platforms for Allscripts, DaVita, the University of Texas Medical Branch, Envision Healthcare, and US Oncology. He is a passionate believer in teams and culture, and works side by side with his teams to promote prosperity, employee autonomy, creative thinking, risk-taking, and the power of open communication.
The Hot Tomato
Jen was born and raised in New Jersey where, like all good Italians, she learned to punctuate important verbiage (ok most verbiage,) by using her hands. Throwing pizzas in the air was a natural extension of all this hand-waving. That, plus Italians are great at all things that involve carbohydrates slathered in sauce and cheese, so the Hot Tomato was a no brainer. Pizza is basically in Jen’s DNA.
The Hot Tomato
Anne grew up in the Pacific Northwest which is the type of place that tends to breed quiet reservation and subdued excitement, so hand waving is in short supply, as are Italians. Anne is the half of the Tomato who wasn’t raised with a steady stream of pizza consumption, as a child she actually used to request pizzas made with no red sauce, a fact that Jen likes to dig up on occasion and chide her about. Pizza came later in life, so she is trying to make up for lost time by consuming impressive amounts of it.
CCALT
Jay is the founder of CCALT and a pioneer in conservation in Colorado. He also serves on the board of directors of Conservation Colorado. In 1997, Jay was President of CCALT and received the prestigious American Land Conservation Award from The Conservation Fund for his efforts in land conservation and for his vision in creating CCALT.
Felt Soul Media
Travis is a filmmaker and a partner with Ben Knight in Felt Soul Media, which makes documentaries. The duo is known for thoughtful and beautiful films about the sport of fishing, and they have gained attention at festivals worldwide. They were on National Geographic’s 2015 Adventures of the Year list, and have won 53 film festival awards in 12 years, with two Oscar qualifications.
NPD Group
From redesigning inner city schools, to assessing the health of remote Alaskan villages, and now analyzing the outdoor business – Bruce’s career has been a winding path following a single question: “what if?”. Bruce is a Colorado native in his fourth year working with NPD, where he has written about the data behind the headlines in the sports and outdoor industry to answer questions like, “how do forest fires impact gear sales?”. In his current role as Director of NPD’s Data Activation Team, he designs the analytic tools that help today’s leading sports and outdoor brands quickly understand shifts in the marketplace and gain a winning advantage. Bruce is a 2017 graduate of the Outdoor Industry Association’s Skip Yowell Future Leadership Academy, and the current Board chair of the group’s alumni organization.
The North Face
Experienced Director of Sales with a demonstrated history of working in the consumer goods industry and a focus in the outdoor space. Skilled in Sales Strategy, Retail, Management, Marketing, and selling on the Amazon Platform. Graduated from Lehigh University with a B.S. in Marketing and Spanish and the Skip Yowell Future Leadership Academy class of 2016.
La Sportiva
For over 15 years Michael has had the opportunity to learn how to work hard, persevere, provide a positive outlook, connect with strangers, create community and invoke change. He currently manages all aspects of product inventory at La Sportiva for the categories of Footwear, Apparel and Ski Hard-goods within the US and to coordinate all data with Operations, Sales, Marketing and Logistics. Michael loves community and meeting new people and is always ready to talk about footwear, business or running (or any other outdoor sport for that matter).
AC Golden Brewing Company
David is President of AC Golden Brewing Company, an independently operated skunkworks brewery associated with the Coors Brewery in Golden, CO. David’s career includes time in the oil and gas industry in West Virginia and then several different roles in the beer business both in the US as well as internationally for the past 10 years. David is a loyal advocate for agriculture and an enthusiast for the great outdoors.
Fluent Studio
Keevin is a people person with a passion for helping startups grow. He’s helped build and manage two accelerator programs. Prior to Fluent, he worked with over 100 accelerator programs and 15 corporate partners at the Global Accelerator Network. Additionally, he founded Streamweaver and is an alum of the Iowa Startup Accelerator.
Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center
Greg Weiss is a CPA who works on the sexier side of accounting: valuation, fraud investigation and forensic accounting. With 7-years in the investment industry and 11-years in public accounting, Greg has a broad base of experience that helps him get to the bottom of the issues at hand and communicate his findings in a way that is easy to understand and truly provides value.
Icelantic Skis
Annelise became the CEO of Icelantic Skis in 2014, and the company has seen 30% year-over-year growth since then. Icelantic’s “Return to Nature” theme is one that resonates soulfully through its leaders. Annelise is passionate about building sustainable systems, specifically as it relates to communities, nature, and holistic health.
Greater Colorado Venture Fund
As a sixth generation Coloradan, Cory first started his entrepreneurial journey while in college, as the cofounder and CEO of SnowGate, which he took from napkin to acquisition in three years. He then served as a consultant and interim CFO/COO for multiple startups before joining the Boomtown Boulder accelerator, where he spent three years as the Entrepreneur in Residence. In 2016, he cofounded Kokopelli Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund. Cory can often be found criss-crossing Colorado in his truck, often stopping to check out our state’s trails along the way.
Fishpond
A 5th generation of the Bruchez family to farm and ranch in Colorado, Paul currently operates the family ranch near Kremmling with his brother and father. He is spearheading a 12-mile restoration of the Colorado River with 12 landowners collaborating to sustain agriculture and the environmental health of the river. Paul is the Agriculture Representative to the Colorado Basin Roundtable, on the board of directors for the Colorado Water Trust, the Chair of Grand County Open Lands, Rivers and Trials Advisory Committee, and am on the Advisory Committee for the Colorado Ag Water Network.
Fishpond
As the director of design and development, product design is an integral component to Johnny’s focus and vital to the complete understanding of how photography and product design work together to create a successful brand. With his current responsibilities as the CEO of Fishpond, Johnny is using the brand strength to help open doors into the sphere of habitat protection. He serves on the board of directors of the Woods Hole Research Center in Woods Hole, MA, (voted #1 climate change think tank in the world) and is also a founding member of a Beyond The Pond, a 501c3 funding board for the National Fish Habitat Partnerships.
Colorado School of Mines
Microbial communities are inherently dynamic. Understanding and ultimately controlling these dynamics is important in many applications of environmental engineering microbiology. Junko’s current research activities include evaluation of the compatibility of reductive dechlorination activity with polymers used for flow control, microbial communities associated with methane generation from coal, and the coordinated use of molecular biology and chemical analyses for microbial source tracking. She is also involved in educational research projects to develop new curricula related to humanitarian engineering and to broaden participation in engineering disciplines.
Waste Farmers
In 2009, when it started becoming fashionable to build start-up’s for investors, measure companies by the amount of capital raised, and praise serial entrepreneurs, pivots, and exits, John-Paul Maxfield “resigned” from a position at a private equity firm without a clear plan for his future. All he had was a belief that idealism and capitalism can coexist. He didn’t know what the next 9 years (and three kids later) would look like, but he knew that building an enduring company is the most powerful lever for addressing emerging social and environmental needs. That’s why he founded Waste Farmers and why we’re building the most responsible conglomerate in the history of mankind.
NREL
Alberta Carpenter is a member of the Resources and Sustainability Group in the Strategic Energy Analysis Center. She leads NREL’s efforts for strategic analysis for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office. Dr. Carpenter also manages the team that developed and runs the Materials Flow through Industry tool.
NREL
Owen has more than 25 years of experience in financial auditing, analysis, and management. He previously served as the Acting Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where he was directly responsible for DOE’s strategic plan, budget, finance and accounting, risks and internal controls, corporate business systems, and program performance functions. Barwell also worked for NASA as Deputy Director of the Integrated Enterprise Management Program and Senior Financial Advisor for the Office of the Administrator. Throughout his career, Barwell has gained extensive experience in the implementation of new business systems to provide transparency for program and financial performance.
VF Corporation
Using sustainable business to drive broad-scale change via key guiding principles: Partner and scale, systems-based approach to challenges, stakeholder collaboration and facilitation drives buy-in, seek tangible outputs/next steps and ‘Connect the dots’ among relevant stakeholder groups.
People for Bikes
Jordan works with coalition members, coordinating events with their Representatives and Senators to discuss proposed legislation and how it affects the bike industry. She thinks greater access to bike riding is an incremental step toward improving lives. One of her favorite bike adventures was riding around her dad’s Virginia hometown with her family.
HOKA ONE ONE
Taylor grew up along the Chesapeake Bay and played lacrosse for the University of Maryland, where she studied marketing and Spanish; 6 years ago she traded life on the coast for life in the mountains in Colorado. Taylor has spent the past decade in the outdoor and sporting goods industry in roles varying from product sourcing to sales, and is currently the Outdoor Business Unit Manager for HOKA ONE ONE. She also graduated from the Skip Yowell Future Leadership Academy and is the Class 3 Chair.
Think Radio
Alan Wartes is a writer, award-winning journalist and media producer. He is the executive producer and host of ThinkRadio Presents, a series of interview podcasts for online, radio and video distribution. Each week he talks with innovators, artists, community-builders, authors, scientists, entrepreneurs who are on the cutting edge of change in their communities. Alan is the founder of Alan Wartes Media, a production company working with rural businesses and non-profits to help tell their stories well.
Outdoor Industry Association (OIA)
Alex Lemley is a Colorado native with experience on many sides of the outdoor industry as a writer, ski instructor and lifelong outdoorist. She is the market & consumer insights coordinator for the Outdoor Industry Association and has written for SKI and Skiing magazines, various blogs, and newspapers. Alex graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a Bachelor of Arts & Science in Linguistics. She is a Boulder resident, runner, climber, skier and puppy enthusiast.
Camber Pitchfest, CampSight and Elevate Coworking
Amy’s always on the hunt for fresh powder and fresh ideas. She has one ski planted in the outdoor and adventure world and the other one in the digital space. A veteran of Vail Resorts and the brand journalism world, she’s worked on award-winning projects like EpicMix and created CampSight, a storytelling “un”conference for the outdoor industry. Her mission through ELEVATE coworking and Mountaintop Media is to help outdoor, travel and tech companies build their communities and do good through business strategy, storytelling, marketing and events.
Coors
Ben works on all aspects of environmental policy for Molson Coors, including water rights, compliance, and renewable energy policy across their global footprint. Key projects are working on water quality issues along Clear Creek, the lifeline for the Golden Brewery, as well as setting expectations for the company to achieve aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals. Outside of beer, Ben works on environmental issues with non-profits and volunteers with the Golden Fire Department.
Big City Mountaineers
Bryan brings over 15 years of experience in the recreation and conservation space as both a practitioner and an advocate. He is deeply passionate about the outdoors and what outdoor experiences mean for kids. He believes that meaningful experiences in nature have tangible benefits for communities all over the country. Whether it’s a walk in the city park or an extended backcountry experience in Wilderness, the outdoors has the potential to change your life for the better.
Cari Higgins Real Estate
As a typical Boulderite, Cari left the corporate life she had led to become a professional cyclist. During her nine years racing professionally, she traveled all over the world and raced at the highest level of the sport. Despite the commitment needed to become a nineteen-time US Elite National Champion, Cari has been a key to her husband’s real estate investment company by doing the research of buying and selling homes in the Boulder and surrounding communities. The same focus and attention to detail that she needed to be a world class athlete is what also drives her to be the best real estate professional.
American Alpine Club
Deanne Buck has over 20 years work experience in all facets of the climbing and outdoor industry. After graduating from CU-Boulder law school, she worked as a corporate lawyer for outdoor companies. Quickly realizing a passion for advocacy, conservation, and equity, she has focused the past 15 years her on community building, conservation, and policy under the umbrella of an equitable and inclusive outdoors in roles at the Access Fund, Colorado Conservation Trust, and Camber Outdoors. Deanne has also been active on the American Alpine Club board for the past 7 years, serving as chair of the Governance Committee, Secretary, Vice President, and now, Board Chair.
Colorado Lieutenant Governor
Dianne is a leading patient advocate who has spent three decades fighting for every Coloradan’s access to quality, affordable health care. Her personal battle with cancer inspired her to make it her life’s work to ensure every Coloradan has access to the health care they need when they need it. Dianne has held prominent positions within the Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury Center and most recently served as CEO of the Susan G. Komen Colorado, one of the largest organizations in the country dedicated to breast cancer prevention, treatment, research, and education. She is a lifelong Coloradan and an avid country dancer.
The Public Works and Supple Collection
Frank’s love of the outdoors has created a foundation for thinking and striving to make sure that his contribution in life would be a positive impact on the people around him, his community and the world – especially its wildernesses. Frank now lives in Evergreen, Colorado with his wife and two daughters, and gets to spend his time working with Mike Arzt, with whom he founded The Public Works, along the rest of his best friends there. He loves all of the moments of his week, but especially enjoys when he finds his way into those moments of flow, whether those are within the fine art of wrenching on metal or working with wood, or if they are found in the outdoors fueling his adventure fix, hooking into a fish, cutting through snow, or ripping through the woods on two wheels.
The Colorado Sun
Jason has spend more than 20 years traversing Colorado’s high country, documenting the Western Slope’s rich characters, communities and businesses. He is a writer and co-founder at The Colorado Sun.
Blue Moon Brewing Co River North
The first commercially available batches of Blue Moon Belgian White were brewed by John at Sandlot in 1995, and under John, The Sandlot has won more than 40 medals for beers at the Great American Beer Festival, as well as Small Brewery of the Year in 2005. John has worked closely with now retired founder, Keith Villa, to produce numerous test batches for Blue Moon including many of the current Blue Moon seasonal offerings. In 2015, John was tapped to head up the design, construction and commissioning of the new Blue Moon Brewing location in Denver’s RiNo Arts District. John is currently the Brewmaster and Manager overseeing both Blue Moon Brewery RiNo and the original birth place of Blue Moon, the Sandlot Brewery.
Gearo
Justine is the CEO and Co-founder of Gearo. She spent the last decade growing companies and improving operations. She loves any adventure that her pups can join in on. You can catch her out and about snowboarding in the winter, and camping and hiking in the warmer days!
City of Steamboat Springs
In her role as water resource manager for the city of Steamboat Springs, Kelly manages the city’s portfolio of water rights, monitors and helps make management decisions regarding the Yampa River and works to help the public better understand the river. Before she worked for the city, she was a seasonal hydrologist in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, then as a consultant helping private companies comply with environmental regulations.
Jefferson County Economic Development Corp
As a professional who grew up in Colorado, Kristi understands the importance of collaboration with her neighbor and recognizes that her word is the most valuable thing in her possession. Kristi currently serves on the board of the Economic Development Corporation of Colorado and was appointed by Governor John Hickenlooper to the Colorado Charter School Institute, the statewide public charter school authorizer for the State of Colorado. Kristi and her husband Tim are the parents of three energetic boys who are their life’s passion. She enjoys long-distance running, hiking, skiing and boating in her free time.
Optic Nerve Eyewear
With a background in marketing, a knack for sales and a passion for conservation, Mae is an active member of the outdoor industry. She is apart of a number of organizations rooted in leadership and learning and continues to develop a keen sense of what it means to be a responsible community member and professional. Mae is originally from Chicago and relocated to Denver in 2012. In her free time, she loves long bike rides, exploring trails, and warm patios.
WILDSTORY
Marc is a storyteller, entrepreneur, adventurer, and idealist. He’s also a friend of beer, coffee, water, wind, waves, beaches, mountains, & snow. Marc is passionate about helping visionary companies stand out from the crowd and harness their most valuable, ownable asset: their story. WILDSTORY has worked with brands like El Cap, Planet Granite, Earth Treks, Inboard, Outward Bound School, and First Descents. Marc is also the host of the Baby Got Backstory podcast delving into the story behind great brands such as Priceline.com, Ugg, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Kswiss, and the State of Colorado Outdoor Recreation Office.
Protect Our Winters
An avid alpinist, snowboarder, mountain biker, guide, and life adventurer, Molina previously served as international director at The Climate Reality Project, where he designed the organization’s climate leadership trainings and oversaw its post-Paris Agreement international strategy. Prior to his work at Climate Reality, Molina led strategy and programs as deputy director at the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE).
Molina grew up in the highlands of Guatemala, and has a deeply rooted respect and relationship with the mountains and outdoor culture. He has trained corporate leaders, government officials, NGO groups, athletes and activists, on climate change strategies, communications, and engagement. He has spoken widely on climate policy including for the World Bank, IBM, the Mexican Senate, the Brazilian Forum on Climate Change, and various global stages. Mario now calls the Rockies home, where he lives with his wife and peak-bagging Australian Shepherd outside Nederland, Colorado.
Topo Designs
With a childhood spent growing up in Pennsylvania, California and ultimately Colorado, Mark has always been drawn to spending time outdoors. From zipping through Denver streets on his single speed, to bombing down ski slopes after his daughter, Mark is determined to wring out every drop of life out of any situation. Prior to starting Topo Designs with Jedd full-time in 2008, Mark’s background ranges from teaching middle school, doing field biology work in Northern California and Oregon, to loading ice cream trucks and software design (not bad for an English Lit major).
Argo Mine & Mill, Shotcrete Technologies, Inc.
As co-owner of Shotcrete Technologies, Mary Jane adds the driving business force and marketing skills that help set the company apart in the industry. Her technical expertise, market knowledge and customer service are well known within the industry since the company’s inception in Norway 30 years ago. Her recent co-acquisition of the Argo Mine in Idaho Springs, Colorado is an exciting project that will restore a historic monument along the I-70 corridor.
Paraclimbing Champion
Mo works closely with the adaptive climbing community through Paradox Sports and the Paraclimbing section of USA Climbing and helps manage the Front Range Adaptive Climbing Team. As a competitive climber, she has won five national titles, a gold medal at the 2014 Paraclimbing World Championships in Spain, and defended that title with a gold medal at the 2016 World Championships in Paris. In 2017, Mo became the chair of the USAC Paraclimbing Committee. In addition to climbing, Mo loves gardening, her chickens and dogs, sleeping in cars, and fine Scotch whiskey.
Hottman Law Office
Megan provides large law firm services with the customized, personal and frequent customer service that only a small firm can offer. Superior legal representation in personal injury cases (specifically, cycling-crash cases), is her goal and promise to clients. Megan is proud to be an EO Colorado member, volunteer with GoFarm and Hope Sports, and member of CTLA and other legal/cycling/entrepreneur organizations.
5Point Film Festival
As an inspired audience member at 5Point Film Festival, Meredith didn’t hesitate when GoPro called and hand-picked her to run the Action Sports Media Team, where she produced thousands of short films for GoPro including films and series with Travis Rice, Lindsey Vonn, Julia Mancuso – to name a few. When 5Point called to bring Meredith back to the Aspen valley, she was honored and her production story came full circle. The element she looks for in films is the human element – whether it be joy, triumph, loss or grit, Meredith is inspired by powerful individuals who can teach us about the meaning of life through their stories and through exploring the outdoors.
The Public Works
Mike has been a force of the winter sports industry for over nineteen years, helping shape an industry close to his heart. Mike grew up snowboarding the mountains of Vermont, where he decided to take his passion for the mountains, the snow and the sport, and turn it into a career. Today, thanks to many years at some of the top names in the industry, Mike has an in-depth business knowledge of branding, development, athletes and imagery that helped form The Public Works. Not to mention a number of passport stamps in search of the world’s best snow.
Colorado Outdoor Rec Industry Office
Nathan has worked with federal and state agencies, national and statewide non-profits, and local community groups to protect land and water across the Southern Rockies by developing strategies that balance resource conservation with responsible economic growth. He has been in the outdoor arena for 20 years. For the past 12 years, he worked as the Regional Director of the Colorado River Stewardship Program at American Whitewater where he was responsible for program development, fundraising, grant writing and growing the network of affiliates from four regional paddling clubs to over 20. Concurrently, he served as a public policy consultant at Berbur Consulting, where he worked with the Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation helping to create the Member Pledge, Regional Partnership Guidelines and the Advisory Council protocol.
Colorado Lending Source
While Rachel likes to surprise people, it’s no shock that her compassionate demeanor and incredible attention to detail has been an asset to Colorado Lending Source since 2010. There are so many deserving businesses that need financing, and Rachel is passionate about showing them the ropes for how to get there. Something most people don’t know about Rachel is that she really loves to fish.
Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office
Samantha stepped into her role as operations manager for the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office (ORec) in 2017. Her work supports the office’s mission of inspiring industries and communities to thrive in Colorado’s great outdoors. Prior to her work with ORec she worked for El Pomar Foundation where she directed the Regional Partnerships program and worked to support regional grant making in Northwest Colorado. She spends her free time participating in a variety of outdoor activities, with some of her favorites including skiing, backpacking and rafting.
Fjallraven
Originally from Oregon, Sarah has called Colorado home for the past 8 years. In her role with Fjallraven, Sarah’s goal is to nurture and expand the relationship between consumers and the outdoors by providing access to functional, durable and sustainable gear/apparel. Sarah is currently enrolled in the 2019 Skip Yowell Future Leadership Academy. Outside of work, you can find her exploring the Colorado wilderness with her husband – preferably on skis!
Topo Designs
Sarah cut her teeth as a humanitarian aid worker, where she learned that the ability – and willingness – to connect with any person in any situation is a unique and profitable skill. Starting as an associate in one of Topo Designs’ four permanent retail locations, Sarah joined the marketing team in early 2017 and quickly established herself as a passionate community builder. She loves talking all things growth strategies, engagement rates, and how to keep it real in the increasingly unreal world of social media. On the weekends you can find her hiking, enjoying one of Fort Collins’ many breweries, or trying to ride her bike without swallowing flies.
Mountain2Mountain, Combat Apathy, Endangered Activism
Shannon is a global women’s rights activist, author, artist, explorer, and advocate for sexual assault survivors. In 2009 she became the first person to mountain bike in Afghanistan, where later she eventually met, supported, and trained the first Afghan Women’s National Cycling team and helped build and support the burgeoning right to ride movement in Afghanistan. Shannon continues to present and speak nationally and internationally about social justice issues at venues such as the United Nations, The Harvard Club, The Explorer’s Club, National Geographic Headquarters, the Italian Parliament, multiple TEDx stages, and keynoting corporate conferences.