In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight personnel moves in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to awards, obits, and supplier news, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive.
PEOPLE
JENNY WEAVER and ELIZABETH HOWE, TELLURIDE SKI RESORT, CO
Telluride Ski Resort hired Jenny Weaver as safety manager. Most recently, Weaver was the safety manager at Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
Telluride also named Elizabeth Howe as its new ski patrol director. Howe’s previous experience includes serving as vice president of resort operations at Telluride, senior director of mountain operations at Vail Mountain, Colo.l, and chief operating officer of Mountain Capital Partners.
TOM CHASSE, SCHWEITZER, ID
Tom Chasse, president and chief operating officer of Schweitzer, will retire following the 2026–27 ski season. Chasse has spent 49 years in the ski industry, including 20 years at Schweitzer. Prior to joining Schweitzer, he served as president and managing director of Attitash, N.H.
SCOTT HARRISON and ERIC RUSCH, KILLINGTON, VT
Killington’s senior vice president of hospitality, Scott Harrison, will retire at the end of May 2027. Harrison joined Killington in 1992 and went on to lead teams across lift operations, food and beverage, lodging, construction, parking and water resources.
Eric Rusch was promoted to vice president of food & beverage. Rusch joined Killington’s food & beverage team in 2010 and has been the executive chef since 2013.
MELISSA CARRABINE, PSIA-AASI CENTRAL
PSIA-AASI Central appointed Melissa Carrabine as executive director. Prior to joining PSIA-AASI, Carrabine spent nine years working in higher education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
RACHEL RAVINS, MT. HOOD MEADOWS, OR
Mt. Hood Meadows has hired Rachel Ravins as vice president of finance. Ravins has previously held leadership roles in finance and accounting in the outdoor industry, including serving as VP of accounting at Kent Outdoors.
GUNNAR POPE, WHALEBACK, NH
Gunnar Pope has been named executive director of nonprofit Whaleback Mountain. Pope brings more than 30 years of ski industry experience to the role, including jobs in lift operations at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyo., ski patrol at Whitefish, Mont., and adult race league operations at Whaleback. He has also served on Whaleback’s board for the past two years.
DR. TOM HACKETT, U.S SKI & SNOWBOARD
Dr. Tom Hackett was named as chief medical officer for U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Hackett was the head physician for the U.S. Snowboard Team for more than 20 years, across five Olympic cycles.
RACHEL WYCKOFF, MICHAELA KENNEDY, ED GUEVARA, and ALLEN BURNS, SHAWNEE MOUNTAIN, PA
Shawnee Mountain has promoted Rachel Wyckoff from marketing director to vice president and Michaela Kennedy from marketing assistant to marketing director. Ed Guevara has been named as lead accountant, and Allen Burns has been promoted to ski patrol director.
ALI HOYT and PAUL MORRA, KING PINE SKI AREA, NH
A newly established leadership structure for the Hoyt family’s group of businesses includes the addition of Ali Hoyt as managing partner, hospitality and strategy, and Paul Morra as managing partner of development, design, and brand, to help guide the evolution and long-term vision of King Pine Ski Area, Purity Spring Resort, Tohkomeupog Summer Camp for Boys, and Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.
KELLY VOHS and ROBERT FOLEY, ALTERRA MOUNTAIN COMPANY
Alterra Mountain Company has appointed hospitality and operations leader Kelly Vohs as its new chief executive officer. Vohs brings nearly 30 years of experience leading businesses across hospitality, real estate, and technology to the role. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.
Robert Foley is the new executive director of the Alterra Mountain Company Community Foundation. Foley has decades of experience in nonprofit leadership and community-focused development, most recently serving as grants program director at The Colorado Trust.
DAVE HIRASAWA, ALTA SKI AREA, UT
Alta Ski Area has appointed Dave Hirasawa as its new general manager, succeeding Mike Maughan. He is Alta’s fifth general manager in the ski area’s 89 years of operations. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.
DEIRDRE RILEY, ATTITASH and WILDCAT, NH
Vail Resorts named Deirdre Riley as general manager of Attitash and Wildcat Mountain. Riley most recently served as general manager of Vail Resorts’ Crotched Mountain, N.H., for the past two seasons. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.
ROB PERLMAN, STEAMBOAT SKI & RESORT CORPORATION, CO
After previously spending nine years in the role, Rob Perlman has returned as president and chief operating officer of Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.
RACHEL CANADA, MT. ASHLAND, OR
Rachel Canada has been appointed as the new general manager of nonprofit Mt. Ashland Ski Area. Canada most recently served as director of mountain operations at Willamette Pass, Ore. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.
SUPPLIERS
Entabeni Systems has named Trish Morrissey director of customer relationships. Morrissey brings experience from roles with Wintersteiger, Axess, and Aspenware, and most recently served as a senior analyst on Boyne Resorts’ corporate IT team.
ABB has named Matt Robinson as senior application engineer in its Motion – High Power division. Robinson has extensive experience with drive technologies in ski lift applications. Prior to joining ABB, he served as an electrical engineer at Applied Power Industrial Sales.
Snowvana has appointed Jolie Clausen as production manager and Graeson Fish as merchandising and social media manager.
SE GROUP named Kaitlin Bazin as communities market coordinator. Most recently, Bazin was a workspace manager for Connects Workspace.
Mackenzie Yeager and Ellianna Brown were appointed as landscape designers. Most recently, Yeager was a project manager for lo LandArch and Brown was an associate at the TB Group.
Mathew McCarthy was named environmental analyst and planner. McCarthy brings in over five years of environmental planning, permitting, and policy research
AWARDS
U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME
The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame has named nine to its Class of 2026:
Dave Holli
Brad Holmes
Ted Ligety
Scott Markewitz
Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson
Tim Petrick
C.B. Vaughan Jr.
Stephani Victor
Full report on SAM’s Headline News.
Mount Snow’s (Vt.) Josh Storino won the 2026 Rise Up Challenge, sponsored by Leitner-Poma of America. Storino and Mount Snow received a $3,500 education grant along with a swag pack provided by LPOA.
OBITUARIES
George Gillett Jr., the former owner of Vail Associates who helped usher Vail and Beaver Creek into a new era of resort development and later founded Booth Creek Ski Holdings, died Sept. 22 at a memory care facility in Denver after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Vail Daily. He was 87. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.
Colin Hilton, president and CEO of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation (UOLF), died Aug. 21, at age 58. He led UOLF for more than two decades, overseeing the continued development and operation of the Utah Olympic Park, Utah Olympic Oval, and Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.
Timothy “Tim” Brennwald, executive vice president and COO of Powdr, died Aug. 13, 2026, at age 62. Brennwald spent nearly four decades in the ski industry, including 17 years with Powdr, where he helped oversee operations across the company’s mountain resort portfolio in North America.
