SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Oct. 12, 2022—SAM has launched its fifth annual Summit Series leadership development program and is calling for ski areas to nominate emerging leaders to participate as mentees. Mentees will engage with respected industry leaders in dialogue around key topics, gaining tangible takeaways to apply to their careers, operations, and teams. 

“Many of us have benefitted from being mentored at some point in our career,” said SAM publisher Olivia Rowan. “As we face some of our biggest challenges and opportunities, this dialogue between current and emerging leaders is critical to reimaging, reinventing, and resetting our businesses and providing a foundation for the long term.”  

The 2022-23 mentors include the following esteemed leaders:

• Dee Byrne, President and COO, Palisades Tahoe, CA
• Tim Foster, Chief of Mountain Operations, Sun Peaks, BC
• Dan Fuller, President and General Manager, Bristol Mountain, NY
• John Hammond, President, Sugarbush, VT
• David Norden, CEO, Taos Ski Valley, NM
• Kelly Pawlak, President, National Ski Areas Association
• Melissa Roberts, General Manager and CFO, Berkshire East, MA
• Tara Schoedinger, Vice President and General Manager, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO
• Charles Skinner, President and Owner, Snowriver Mountain Resort, MI Lutsen Mountains, MN, and Granite Peak, WI

The program will consist of five professionally facilitated group calls on topics driving our industry evolution, including community engagement, values-driven leadership, resiliency, problem-solving, and sustainability. These discussions will become the source of podcasts and articles in SAM so others can benefit from the knowledge shared. Additionally, each mentee will be paired with a mentor for one-on-one calls to discuss career goals.

Supporting this effort to develop new leaders is Summit Series sponsor, MountainGuard.

“We’re honored to be a part of this program and to help foster the development of men and women who will be leading our industry in the coming years,” said MountainGuard senior vice president Tim Barnhorst.

Potential mentees must be currently employed within the mountain resort industry and willing to critically assess their skill sets and development. 

The nomination period for the 2022-2023 Summit Series Mentees is now closed. Check back soon for the video lessons captured this fall!

For questions or comments, email jack@saminfo.com