A religion major who hung with NBA stars, a park manager who fashions park features at his desk out of paperclips, and a marketing wizard who wants to bring the sex back to skiing. These are a few of SAM's 15 future leaders--the next hot commodities in the ski industry. These are the individuals who are not only here to stay, but have already made an impact. They've turned ski areas around, created innovative marketing solutions and revamped resorts.

We're not saying these are the only people under 30 (or thereabouts; in the interest of full disclosure, a few of the following are 30 or 31) who will be around for the long term. Once we got people thinking about future leaders, we generated leads on at least 15 others. But this collection showcases the diversity of talent already percolating to the top at resorts across the continent.

Explore the hall of fame of past honorees, some of whom you might recognize as current leaders in the industry! 

Subscribers can read their full profiles in the SAM Digital Archives.

	melissa altman Lodging Director, Tamarack Resort, Ida. Age: 30
	dan blood Assistant General Manager, Devil's Head, Wisc. Age: 27
	john paul bradley  General Manager, Sipapu, N.M.
	Jesse boyd General Manager, Jack Frost/Big Boulder, Pa.
	kirstin cattell Communications Manager, Sierra-At-Tahoe, Calif.
	isabelle falardeau Park Designer/Welder, Aspen/Snowmass, Colo.
	elia hamilton Mountain Manager, Mount Snow, Vt.
	nick herrin Asst. Ski/ Snowboard School Director, Telluride, Colo. Age: 28
	allison kohn Groomer, Beaver Creek, Colo.
	julian lamarche Park Manager, Keystone, Colo.

brad larsen Marketing Director, Snowshoe, W.V. Age: 29

ethan mueller Director of Operations, Crested Butte, Colo.

laura schaffer Director of Public Relations, Snowbird, Utah

Brian Scheid Owner, High Peaks Chairlift Painting

Marilyne Tremblay Adjointe, Opération (assistant to the operations manager), Le Massif, Que.