Some of you may be eyeballing that number 11 and wondering, but isn’t this the 10 Under 30? To that, we say, you try narrowing down this field—our deepest ever. This season’s challenges revealed the strength of our industry’s rising stars. The 20-somethings profiled here—all nominated by their peers—demonstrate the leadership, passion, grit, and perspective to navigate the obstacles of the present and seize the opportunities of the future. 

Our 11 profilees represent a variety of sectors of the industry, including mountain ops, food and beverage, IT, marketing, and diversity, equity and inclusivity work, to list just a few. They operate on the corporate level and at hills with 200 feet of vertical. They have a current impact on their teams and communities and a vision for where snowsports should head next. 

jul21 11under30 bradfordAs a systems analyst for Boyne Resorts, Taylor Bradford puts his computer science and engineering degree to use working on major revenue applications and developing efficiencies across Boyne’s network of resorts. “Taylor’s ability to understand and translate the challenges and opportunities we face, to provide guests and end users better service, is tremendous,” said a nominator. And Taylor does it all remotely. He is based in Big Sky, Mont., where he started with Boyne as an instructor six years ago. An AASI Level 3 certified snowboarder, Taylor still gets out on the hill, sometimes with clients, but often for fun. “My office is 100 feet from the chairlift,” he says, noting his favorite job perk. 

Describe a challenge you encountered this season and how you overcame it. 

This year, everything was changing. Every week, there was something we wanted to do differently that we’d never done before. It was really challenging but also really fun—you are presented with a problem and you have to figure it out. Our New England resorts went to largely selling only online, which is a massive shift. The success of that was really a proud moment for our team. There were a lot of elements that had to go into that. It was a huge project, but it was one of those things that all of our resorts learned from.

What leadership qualities do you admire?

I love leadership as teamwork. My best working sessions with my boss are when we put out a problem and try to work it out. And I try to do that with others. It gives both people the opportunity to grow and learn together.

What industry developments have you stoked for the future of snowsports?  

I’d say a lot of the direct-to-lift opportunities. The ability for guests to not even to have to go online, to just be charged for the day, is just fantastic for the guest, and a more efficient process. Nobody likes standing in line to buy their ticket. They’d rather just go out and ski. 

Is there a lesson you learned this season you can carry forward?

Never let “we don’t think it’s possible” get in the way of actually accomplishing something, because we were able to accomplish 99 percent of the things we set out to do. There are always lots of challenges, but we just have to work through them. The first solution may not be the perfect one, but you try it out and figure out how to make it better next time.

You’re trapped on a desert island. You can bring three objects. What are they, and why?

I would bring a sailboat because I love sailing. When it’s not winter, that is my favorite activity. A comfortable chair to sit on the beach. And, hmmm, something to start a fire. I would enjoy sitting on a quiet desert island relaxing for a while. 

LISTEN TO EXCERPTS FROM TAYLOR'S 11 UNDER 30 INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE.

jul21 11under30 homerCamryn Homer joined Sierra-at-Tahoe as an events coordinator, but her role now encompasses much more than that: snow reporting, communications, PR, ad creation, grant writing, environmental stewardship, she’s even an on-camera personality. (Camryn was the masked face of Sierra’s Covid safety videos.) “She is a Swiss Army knife,” said a nominator. Camryn, who grew up near Santa Cruz, doesn’t come from a “ski family,” per se. A mostly self-taught snowboarder, her love of the mountains led her to Tahoe post-college, and she hasn’t looked back. 

Describe a challenge you encountered this season and how you overcame it. 

I delivered a lot of the Covid communication in video, and I had to try to make it engaging and connected with our brand while also delivering important and serious information. Social media blew up as far as responses. I’m in the marketing department, but that is also customer service. We had way more questions than we’ve had in previous seasons, so we had to adapt. We had a plan, but there was a lot of pivoting, more than normal.

What’s the best professional advice you’ve been given?

“Be like a goldfish” is my favorite saying. As in, have short-term memory and keep on swimming. Not in all settings, of course. But when stuff gets hard—you get mean or aggressive social media messages—you have to try to solve the problem to the best of your ability and then let it go. 

What’s a hot button topic in your department?  

Long term, my goal is to focus on environmental sustainability. I want to make sure that wheel is turning. We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world; we want to protect it. I think about, how can we educate our guests so we can be better? 

In my first season at Sierra, I put on the Sierra Earth and Wellness Festival. It’s a fun way guests can learn about recycling in the basin and the ways that they can come help and participate in the community.

What industry developments have you stoked for the future of snowsports?  

Coming from my perspective as a person that didn’t grow up in this, that is maybe an intermediate, it is very exciting for me to see different sculpted terrain and new ways of teaching people the sport. It’s so important to bring people in and let their first, second, third, fourth experience be exciting and fun. That moment when you are on the mountain and you are like, “oh my god, I did it,” is such an empowering and exciting feeling.

You’re trapped on a desert island. You can bring three objects. What are they, and why?

A water filter, that’s going to be number one. A multi-tool knife. A pillow. If I am going to survive, I’m going to need sleep. Entertainment I’m just going to have to figure out—I’ll talk to the fish. 

jul21 11under30 mayRiley May joined Schmitz Brothers, which owns and operates Little Switzerland, Nordic Mountain, and The Rock Snowpark in Wisconsin, as a media intern. With his camera in hand, Riley would cycle between the three ski areas capturing content. He quickly became enamored with the behind-the-scenes stuff. Riley’s savvy and enthusiasm for all sides of the business led to his quick promotion from intern to marketing director. He transitioned to operations last year as the assistant GM at The Rock and was named general manager at the 2020-21 end-of-season party. “He has a truly inspirational and contagious positive attitude,” said a nominator.

Describe a challenge you encountered this season and how you overcame it. 

Our tubing was just jam packed every day, even on weekdays. We moved all tubing tickets 100 percent online. We had capacity set, but we accidentally oversold a time slot, so we had more tubers than tubes. We had to approach people and really just talk them down. We comped tickets. We also offered skiing or snowboarding as an option to people waiting around to tube. They definitely weren’t expecting it, but they’d made the trip already and we wanted them to get out on the hill. In the end, they had a good time.

What was your most memorable working moment on snow this season? 

One of the most fun things about this job is being able to create the atmosphere and this place for people to come and enjoy, whether that’s snow tubing, or your first time on skis, or building a really sick park for the park kids to ride. Having a part in that and seeing all the Instagram clips the next day of how much fun they had in the park, or on a busy Saturday, seeing people enjoying drinks on the patio—the little things—is always fun. 

It sounds like you’ve created a real experience for visitors.

Right, exactly. And The Rock is relatively new. The hill has been around since the ‘80s. It’s an old landfill. It went through a few owners, and about four years ago, Mike and Rick [Schmitz] bought it and really turned it around. We are still in a huge growing phase. It’s fun each year to see the numbers increase and the awareness in Franklin and Milwaukee increase.

What do you think is the biggest opportunity for growth in the industry? 

There were more never evers introduced to the sport this season. If we can capture them again this year with retargeted marketing or whatever means, that will be huge for the sport. For our operation, snow tubing will always be massive, which is great because it allows us to fuel our ski passion. We are growing the sport with whatever gets new people here—skiing, snowboarding, tubing.

You’re trapped on a desert island. You can bring three objects. What are they, and why?

Well, I’d bring a device to watch ski videos and snowboard edits. Second, I would bring a kayak. I think I’d like to paddle around. Third, some sunscreen. I’m going to get burned, so. 

LISTEN TO EXCERPTS FROM RILEY'S 11 UNDER 30 INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE

jul21 11under30 mackeiverOne of Katie Mckeiver’s nominators praised her as a continuous learner. This is a valuable trait, considering the number of operational hats she wears at Boler. Not only does Katie serve as the risk manager, she also manages the rental shop, the terrain park, and the challenge course. She is a graduate of Selkirk University’s risk management program, but has done most of her learning on the job. Katie didn’t always gravitate toward snowsports, though—she was a competitive horseback rider pursuing a pilot’s license at the time she started as a lift operator. Boler drew her in. “I love having the freedom to do a lot of different things,” says Katie. 

What leadership traits do you admire?

The way Marty [Thody, director of operations] has always taught is by letting us do it and stepping back. He was always so willing to allow us to learn more. I try to do that with the staff I have, if I see that they are excelling in a certain area. The season can be long and it’s nice to have staff return every year, so if people have an interest in something, I try not to hold them back.

What was your most memorable working moment on snow this season? 

Opening day for us was huge. It wasn’t until Feb. 16 that we were actually allowed to open here with the lockdown. It was actually pretty emotional once we are able to get the chairs turning. We were all anxious to see how it was going work. But listening to the Huddles on SAM and seeing other operators open was super helpful for areas in Ontario. We had a 90-year-old who has been a member forever and an 85-year-old member, and they got to ride first chair. Just to see them go out was pretty awesome.

What do you think is the biggest opportunity for growth in the industry? 

The first thing that comes to mind is technology. Across the board, here at least, we have been slow to invest in stuff. This year was a big push to invest in good technology. It is going to make for a better experience for the guests and the staff, and also help things run a bit smoother.

What industry developments have you stoked for the future of snowsports?  

There are so many negatives we can take from this past year, but as an industry we stepped up. We put in some new things we maybe never would have. We never, here at Boler, had a booking system. I like how we now have a system for risk management, too. Everything is on one computer. In years past, you’d be going through banker’s boxes. It can be frustrating to learn new technology, but it’s also cool. Every hill is doing it differently where we are, and it’s cool to be able to learn ideas from other people.

You’re trapped on a desert island. You can bring three objects. What are they, and why?

I’m going to be obvious and bring a phone in the hopes that it will help me get off the island. I’m the pickiest eater, so I’m going to bring goldfish. A lighter—I feel like that’s an obvious one—to have some warmth. 

LISTEN TO EXCERPTS FROM KATIE'S 11 UNDER 30 INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE

jul21 11uner30 orourkeA poster for Sierra Nevada College’s ski resort management program on the wall at Mountain Creek, N.J., set Kristopher O’Rourke on his path to working in the industry. He worked in the field, developing his snowmaking and grooming skills, while studying full time at Sierra Nevada. Back East, he got a foot in the door at Mountain Creek. In 2019, when Mountain Creek’s owners opened Big SNOW—North America’s first indoor ski slope—they asked Kris to manage the hill. “He’s been a true leader in uncharted waters,” said a nominator. 

What leadership traits do you admire?

I always like to do something and learn something before I ask someone else to do it. I’m trying to be there with my team and trying to understand what it takes to get the work done. I don’t want to set unrealistic goals or get frustrated with someone when the job is difficult. That’s where I can really connect with my team and say, “I’ve been here, I’ve done this.”

What was your most memorable working moment on snow this season? 

We were shut down from March to September, and I was literally the only guy here. Someone had to keep this place cold. I pretty much stripped 4 inches off the slope, melted it, and remade the entire surface with just one or two other guys. Having the whole resort to yourself was ghostly almost. Having the whole team come back after such a wild and crazy experience, to see everyone’s faces again, that was a great experience.

What do you think is the biggest opportunity for growth in the industry? 

Grabbing those new customers and find new ways to bring people into the ski industry. We do a part of it here. We take people all year round and bring them into the ski industry. I’m watching a person right now put a helmet on backwards and one of our staff is showing them how to put it on the right way. People are learning and experiencing it. It’s common sense to us, but to these guys they might have never put a helmet on ever in their life. So, having a person there with the stoke high showing them how to do it is pretty awesome.

What’s your favorite job perk? 

Being able to snowboard 365 days a year, whenever I want. I try to get on the hill and do quality checks. That’s a big part of our job here. Being indoors, our snow doesn’t melt. So, I actually have to get rid of it. I melt snow twice a week and make snow four days a week to keep up with that top layer, so it doesn’t get stale. There are all these little things you take for granted at an outdoor area, but here I have to account for every piece of snow.

You’re trapped on a desert island. You can bring three objects. What are they, and why?

Definitely a fishing pole because I like fishing and I’d catch some food. Water to survive on. Actually, no, let’s make that beer. And sunscreen. I have red hair. I am going to burn.

LISTEN TO EXCERPTS FROM KRISTOPHER'S 11 UNDER 30 INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE

jul21 11under3 pierceA graduate of Colorado Mountain College’s ski area operations program, Maddy Pierce is poised to climb in the industry. “She’s worked almost every job on the mountain and continues to excel in every position she takes on,” said a nominator. As a snowmaker and groomer at Copper, Maddie is on snow a lot, and loves the work. She credits the owners of her home hill, Oak Mountain, N.Y., with sparking the passion and work ethic that’s taken her from volunteer junior instructor at age 11 to Colorado Ski Country USA’s 2021 Snowmaker of the Year at just 22 years old. 

Tell me something you learned this season that you’ll apply in the future. 

There are different ways to make camaraderie happen. Every year we get 6 to 8 new people in snowmaking. Usually, we all have lunch together in the same room, everyone is joking around, and you get to know people really well that way. This year, it was tough to make that happen. It makes it all work when you have camaraderie because you have to trust the guy you are working with. So, we said, OK, let’s play disc golf after work because that’s outside, or go riding or fishing or hiking. We were learning to make that bond in a different way.

Describe a challenge you encountered this season and how you overcame it. 

I’ve been working on the same crew for three years grooming, and I was getting bored of doing the same trails. Guys that had less experience than me were getting to go do stuff. It was solely because they were the ones who were like, “I’m good at grooming.” I had to learn how to put myself out there and say, “I can do that. I want to do that.” Being a female in the industry and being a person who hangs at the back of the crowd, I’m not an asker. For me, the theme of this year was being an advocate for myself.

What’s a hot button topic in your department?  

Snowmaking pay. A lift operator or a parking attendant gets paid more than a rookie snowmaker. That’s crazy to me considering that you put a lot on the line as a snowmaker. During the four months I make snow, even though snowmaking is my specialty, I make less than I do in a snowcat. In every ski area and ski town, the housing cost doesn’t go down, it goes up, and not proportionally to the amount that anyone is getting paid. But we do it for other reasons. We enjoy what we do.

What industry developments have you stoked for the future of snowsports?  

Everything is expanding. People are building lifts and expanding snowmaking. That’s the stuff that gets me excited. I see it happening at our resort and my resort back home. Everyone is excited about being outdoors and outdoor sports. It’s like, “holy cow,” even tiny places are thriving right now.

You’re trapped on a desert island. You can bring three objects. What are they, and why?

If there’s snow, a touring set up or cross-country skis. A nice warm tent. And equipment for fire. Maybe I’ll swap out one of those for beer. 

LISTEN TO EXCERPTS FROM MADELINE'S 11 UNDER 30 INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE

jul21 11under30 prangeTyler Prange has worked in just about every department at Boyne Mountain. The grandson of Boyne Resorts founder Everett Kircher, Tyler practically grew up at the resort. His intimate knowledge of Boyne is an asset, but Tyler is a very boots-on-the-ground kind of guy. “Tyler leads by example and embraces new challenges, from building lifts to fine-tuning a snowmaking system,” said a nominator. A Floridian by birth, Tyler knew he wanted to build his life in the mountains. He studied ski business and management at Sierra Nevada College before he eventually followed his passion for the business back home to Boyne. 

What was the defining moment in your snowsports career?  

Getting in my first snowcat. I found my place to grow. I found something in the business where I could hone a skill and get out and enjoy it. I played around in the parks for a couple of years. I got in a winch cat. It let me travel. I had the bigger mountain fantasy. The last season I was at Diamond Peak, [Calif.,] one of the operators groomed in New Zealand. I spent the summer of 2016 grooming down there, which was a fantastic opportunity. It was a totally different perspective on the industry and how things work.

What do you think is the biggest opportunity for growth in the industry? 

Staying relevant, staying out there, continuous improvement—all those little things get people excited to come next year. I still think there is a huge amount of growth and opportunity in parks, too. Especially here in Michigan. We don’t have the large cliffs, deep snow, or 3- or 4-mile-long groomers. Parks help keep us relevant. Continuing to grow, continuing to push it and refining what we do—we can get stuck in a rut of “this is how we do it,” and challenging those thoughts isn’t a bad thing.

What leadership traits do you admire?

I spend a lot of time just being out there with my team. I spent a few days making snow. I was out building trails early on in a snowcat. I really believe in being a hands-on leader. I don’t try to be the guy with all the ideas. If I have a conundrum, I bring it to a group. We hash it out. I want to make sure everyone is heard. That’s something I learned from my GM [Ed Grice]. He says, “if it was just me, who knows where we’d be.”

What industry developments have you stoked for the future of snowsports?  

A lot of resorts are starting to heavily reinvest in themselves, whether its new lifts, more powerful snowmaking, lodging upgrades, or really getting a grasp on summertime. There is a lot of heavy investment and reimaging of things we’ve done forever. It should really enhance the experience here [at Boyne Mountain]. I’m excited to be a part of the team moving that needle and driving into the future. We’ve been doing the same thing for the last 30 years, and it’s time to freshen it up.

You’re trapped on a desert island. You can bring three objects. What are they, and why?

My inner Florida boy says an umbrella, a beach chair, and a cooler of beer. It’s not going to get me very far, but that’s the beach boy in me.

LISTEN TO EXCERPTS FROM TYLER'S 11 UNDER 30 INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE

jul21 11under30 rydenAllison Ryden got her start in the industry at just 3 years old, watching her dad at work as the director of food and beverage for Vail Mountain. “My daycare was a Cisco box,” she says. She’s been honing her expertise ever since. She gravitated toward Sunlight because of the mountain’s family feel, and that sense of camaraderie is something she continues to cultivate in her team. “Her department follows her unparalleled work ethic,” said a nominator. Two years ago, when the previous F&B manager left just weeks before the start of the season, Allison was the obvious choice for the role.

What leadership traits do you admire?

Especially in a kitchen, you hear those horror stories of chefs yelling and throwing things. I’ve seen that in my experience, and that holds everyone back. I like to make sure everyone is in a comfortable environment. It really helps the morale of a kitchen. It’s sweet to see people want to come to work and want to express their creativity. I like to listen to their opinions and ideas, and bring them together as a team.

Describe a challenge you encountered this season and how you overcame it. 

Our biggest challenge this season, as with everybody else, was Covid. Since we are a tourist area, the restrictions are different in every state. So, people would come in thinking they don’t need a mask, or saying, “I don’t need to do this.” The way we worked with that is we had one of our cashiers go around lodge reminding people [about resort protocols]. There is no challenge that we can’t overcome together at Sunlight.

What’s a hot button topic in your department?  

We cook all of our food to order. That all comes down to the staff. I try to give a “Rocky” pump up speech at the beginning of the day because if the staff is happy, the customer is happy. Since food is cooked to order, we have to alleviate the stress of the staff. I would rather guests have fresh food than subpar food. I want to provide them with the best quality food that we can, and our staff really understands that and instills it within their work. 

You’ve been working on some sustainability efforts. Tell me about them. 

I’m all about sustainability, especially in the bar. The trash can is just full of cans that go to the garbage, and this past season, with Covid, paper product use doubled. Every paper product that we have is compostable or biodegradable. I want to bring in reusable, hard plastic cups. We are looking at silverware versus plasticware and more recycling containers to help encourage visitors to try to recycle instead of throwing things out. 

You’re trapped on a desert island. You can bring three objects. What are they, and why?

If animals count, I would bring my cats. I would bring good music. And my roller skates. 

How are you rolling skating on a desert island? 

I would find a way. 

LISTEN TO EXCERPTS FROM ALLISON'S 11 UNDER 30 INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE

jul21 11under30 seierAshley Seier’s first job at 16 was in the Blue Mountain cafeteria. She climbed from there, taking any job she could—ambassador, marketing intern, sales associate, marketing specialist, and then marketing manager. When the previous marketing director left, Ashley put her hand up for the role. As director, Ashley has been key player in Blue’s safety and conversion efforts, engaging guests in campaigns and using feedback and data to help shape resort programming. “She has shown true innovation in growing our sport,” said a nominator.

What leadership traits do you admire?

It is really great to work for people that are passionate about the same things I am—the outdoors and creating an experience. I also really appreciate that it is a “work hard, play hard” industry. We still find time to enjoy the things we sell and market.

You helped Blue win the NSAA Conversion Cup in 2020. Tell me about it. 

Conversion—getting beginners into the sport—is something I am passionate about. I helped develop new programming by really listening to guests and analyzing guest feedback. We actually ended up building our family-and-friends lesson program based on that feedback. The core of that program is that it keeps friends and family together regardless of ability or age because what we saw is that people really wanted to come to the mountains and be together. It ended up being really successful.

What do you think is the biggest opportunity for growth in the industry? 

I think just getting people to try it once. I always see so many snow tubers in particular who are intimidated by putting on a pair of skis. If you can get people to try it once, you can get them hooked. I think taking that fear factor out of it and creating that family-and-friends product to make it more of a social experience makes it less intimidating. 

What’s the best professional advice you’ve been given? 

I think to just work hard and take every opportunity that you can. I think you can’t be intimidated to ask for an opportunity or more responsibility. Even if you feel young for a position or a task, don’t count yourself out if you can show you are qualified. You have to try because you never know. Initiative says so much more about a person than age ever could. 

You’re trapped on a desert island. You can bring three objects. What are they, and why?

You’d have to bring a lighter—fire is basic survival. I would have to bring a journal because this will one day make a bestseller. My third item, I’m not sure it would rescue me, but a kayak. You have to make the most of your time. I could paddle around the island even if I couldn’t paddle back to the mainland. 

LISTEN TO EXCERPTS FROM ASHLEY'S 11 UNDER 30 INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE

 jul21 11under30 smithKolton Smith’s peers named him Snowbird’s employee of the year this season, a testament to the impact he’s made at his home hill. “Something that truly sets Kolton apart is his willingness to help wherever needed,” said a nominator. This winter, Kolton bussed tables, parked cars, and patrolled lift lines for mask infractions in between his job managing Snowbird’s digital presence—anything Snowbird on the internet falls under Kolton’s purview. In a season where communication was king, that means Kolton was quite busy finding creative solutions to complex problems. 

Describe a challenge you encountered this season and how you overcame it. 

Parking reservations was our biggest challenge of the season. It was like building the ship as we were trying to sail it. From the technology point, there was a lot we were trying to figure out and manage, and the bigger part of that on the marketing side was trying to explain that as best we could. We had to build a no-show policy and system that didn’t exist within the platform we were working with at the time. There was a lot of development work that had to get done. It was our department responding to the emails from people frustrated with the situation and on social. We were getting it at all ends—we were trying to solve the problem and we were in charge of communicating what the system was.

What leadership traits do you admire?

We run a fairly small team. There are about 10 of us. We do a lot of job sharing and helping each other out. Everyone here can wear multiple hats. It’s not really super segmented by roles. The way we all work together and collaborate makes it easy for us to want to support other departments, too. I’ve never heard anyone say “that’s not my job.” We do whatever we can to help each other out.

What’s a hot button topic in your department?  

Creating more contact points with guests when they are at a resort. We build all these campaigns around pre-arrival and post-departure, and then a lot of resorts go pretty dark once their guests are actually here. One of the things we did this year that I’m really proud of is the new Snowbird App. It was a project really focused on improving communication. We’re not spamming people with marketing messages. We are using it specifically to inform people. We have an 80 percent opt-in rate to those messages. We are pretty much in the pockets of one in every three passholders.

What industry developments have you stoked for the future of snowsports?  

Two areas that I’m really excited about is being more ADA accessible with websites and web projects and improving inclusivity within the snowsports industry for people of color. Those are the two directions to help grow skiing that I’m really excited to support in marketing. Those are the kinds of projects that I want to be more and more involved with. I’m working on making sure our website is a website built for everyone.

You’re trapped on a desert island. You can bring three objects. What are they, and why?

I would bring a surfboard, for sure. I love surfing. I would bring my corgi. And I would have to bring my wife, too.

LISTEN TO EXCERPTS FROM KOLTON'S 11 UNDER 30 INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE

jul21 11under30 winemanHannah Wineman’s role at Alterra Mountain Company formulated practically overnight. Fresh out of college with a degree in sociology, Hannah knew she wanted to do impact work. She’d always loved snowsports but wasn’t sure if her passions and career goals overlapped. Alterra, like many companies at the time, was ready to commit to diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI) action, so Hannah jumped on board as a DEI-focused intern. Her initial strategic planning work now underpins a whole department and netted her a full-time role at the company. “She’s innovative, creative and changing the game in this space [DEI],” said a nominator.

You took the lead establishing an internal DEI advisory team. Tell me about that.

That has been the most rewarding part of this job, being able to collaborate with these industry leaders who have so much wisdom and so much diversity of knowledge. We interviewed more than 50 employees, and I had conversations with everyone, asking, “what changes would you like to see in the industry?” I really tried to take a front seat but listening approach to capture what I call this “inventory of lived experience” because I am young in my career and I’m just one person with one narrow lens of the world—we all are. What I’m trying to do is collect everybody’s experiences and use those in my decision-making and strategic planning. 

What’s the worst professional advice you’ve been given?

I don’t know if it was something that someone told me, but it was an assumption that I had— the idea that you need to know everything. Because I am young in my career, I think it’s something I struggle with, but it’s so unproductive to a lifelong learning mentality. The willingness to ask for help, to say, “I don’t know, let’s do this together,” is so important. 

Tell me about how you’ve been helping to develop some of Alterra’s signature programs. 

As we look to the coming season, we are looking for collaborative partners to work with to prioritize expanding access, particularly to youth. Youth, to me, is really important because this sport has the opportunity to change lives. I’ve seen how it has had such an impact on my life and the people I work with. Also, youth are the next generation of our employees and our customers. As we commit further to diversity, equity and inclusion, we know this is a long haul. It often takes that planting of the seed when you are young to be really excited about the snowsports industry. It’s tricky. There is a pressure on organizations and industries to see results very quickly. We recognize that it takes a while for the seed to grow and bloom.

What industry developments have you stoked for the future of snowsports?  

I work on our Environment, Social, Governance team. Something I’m really excited about is the industry’s commitment to sustainability and environmental action. We are at this pivotal point in history where if we don’t take intentional action now, we won’t have an industry to celebrate and enjoy for the generations of youth we are trying to bring in. I feel motivated that we can be torchbearers for other industries getting onboard with environmental action.

You’re trapped on a desert island. You can bring three objects. What are they, and why?

Aquaphor. I think it can heal any ailment. Can the objects be magical? A Hydroflask that never runs out of fresh water. And a book that never ends. I wouldn’t mind being stuck on the island for a while.

LISTEN TO EXCERPTS FROM HANNAH'S 11 UNDER 30 INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE