Scott White – President (Boise, Idaho)
Systems Architect, Hewlett-Packard
Scott is a longtime endurance athlete who grew up climbing, cycling, and running in the Arizona desert. After landing a job in Boise after graduate school, he made the trek north and quickly realized that winter is not just a theoretical season in Idaho. Scott and his wife, Mallory, immediately embraced recreating on snow and have both been avid backcountry snowboarders and skiers, as well as Nordic skiers, for the last 25 years. Scott believes in the transformative power of wilderness experiences, especially in winter, and spends as much time as possible in the mountains with friends and family.
Megan Birzell – Vice President (Seattle, Washington)
Washington State Director, The Wilderness Society
Although born a flatlander, Megan was fortunate to be introduced to Colorado’s champagne powder at the tender age of 3, which set the course of her life. She moved West for college, where she fell in love with the quiet and solitude of backcountry skiing and decided to devote her career to protecting wild places. She holds degrees in recreation management and forestry from the University of Montana and Northern Arizona University. The meanders of life brought her to Seattle several years ago. When it’s not snowing, she enjoys hiking, backpacking, and climbing with her family. She joined the WWA board because she believes everyone should have the opportunity to experience the transformative power of wild winter.
Jaime Musnicki – Treasurer (Victor, Idaho)
Mountain Guide, Business Owner
Jaime was fortunate enough to begin her love affair with winter at the bright, young age of two years when her parents first placed her on skis in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Following her undergraduate years on the east coast, she moved west, settling in the Teton area of Wydaho in 2002. Jaime spent 10-plus years working for NOLS, teaching wilderness and leadership skills on snowy mountain expeditions in AK, WY, BC, WA, WY, and ID. She co-supervised NOLS’s winter/backcountry skiing program based in Driggs, ID for several winter seasons before seeking new professional challenges as the Executive Director of the American Avalanche Association from 2013 to 2018. In July 2018, Jaime embarked on the adventure of small business ownership and has been running Teton Fasteners, a mobile hardware store serving building contractors in Jackson Hole and Teton Valley, since then. She continues to work occasional courses for NOLS and ski guides and teaches avalanche courses on the side for Yostmark Backcountry Tours on Teton Pass. Jaime’s favorite, faithful backcountry adventure partner is her always-enthusiastic yellow dog, Telly.
Laura Yale – Secretary (Crested Butte, Colorado)
Documentary Filmmaker, Writer
Laura’s focus is on stories of land and waterscapes and how they inexorably shape us. Winter is her favorite season, and she has no shame in admitting that most of her life decisions are based on maximizing her time on skis. With a degree in journalism and a background in political organizing, she offers a well-grounded approach to unearthing historical, political, geographical, and emotional contexts. Laura is invested in collaborative storytelling and moving beyond extractive and biased approaches. Some of her films, like Jumbo Wild and Treeline, hope to inspire a deeper relationship between recreation and conservation.
Harold Hallstein IV (Boulder, Colorado)
Financial Advisor, Managing Partner, Sankala Group
Hal’s interest in ski touring has been evolving for more than 30 years. When he isn’t dreaming about the alpine, Hal is managing the Sankala Group, an investment management business based in Boulder, CO. He caretakes his local community garden, and appreciates environmental stewardship from the national policy level down to the fine weeding and sweeping. He is also a volunteer for Long-Term Ecological Research Network (LTER) helping conduct snowpack, water, and atmospheric research on Niwot Ridge. His time spent in such protected areas has shown him the spiritual value that lives in quiet places. He hopes his work with the WWA ensures the viability of such reflective winter experiences for future generations.
Robin Harms (Seattle, Washington)
Director of Information Technology, Weyerhaeuser
Robin grew up exploring the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia with her father on foot and on horseback. Her passion for the mountains spurred her to move west where mountain exploration quickly evolved in to backcountry skiing, back packing tours, long mountain bike adventures, trail running, and fishing remote rivers across Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. She has worked in the Outdoor and Action Sports industries, leading advocacy programs and working with great teams to elevate sustainability and environmental stewardship. Working for REI, she was fortunate enough to be able to combine her passion for advocacy, environmental stewardship, and love for the outdoors with her career as a technology leader. Robin lives in the Seattle area with her family where they spend their time mountain biking, fishing, skiing, and exploring all the beauty that the Pacific Northwest has to offer.
Mary Beth Hennessy (Bishop, California)
Mary Beth retired from a career with the USDA Forest Service in 2019. Her early career included seasonal work with both the Forest Service and National Park Service as well as in environmental education. She most enjoyed her time before becoming a full time employee: wilderness ranger in the summer and time off in the winter for backcountry ski adventures and volunteer Nordic ski patrol where she conducted snow surveys, ski patrol and trail maintenance. The last years of her career with the Forest Service included overseeing forest planning, engaging in winter travel management planning and a variety of other land management policy issues in the Pacific Southwest region. A native of California, annual family vacations in the Sierra Nevada established her love of the mountains. She currently lives in Bishop on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. When not skiing, she enjoys gardening, backpacking, birding, and playing mountain dulcimer.
Erik Lambert (Golden, CO)
Marketing Consultant; Co-founder and President, Bluebird Backcountry
Erik started skiing at age one when his dad pushed him around the sleepy woods of Poughkeepsie on some homemade planks. He’s spent the past 10 years as a marketing and communication professional in the outdoor industry, as digital editor for Alpinist and Backcountry magazines and as marketing director for the American Alpine Club. In 2016 he launched Bonfire Collective, a consultancy and creative shop for outdoor brands and non-profits. Clients include the American Mountain Guides Association, Professional Ski Instructors of America, and Colorado Mountain School, among others. Erik serves on the Winter Wildlands Alliance board because he believes that the outdoor community has an unparalleled passion that can and should be organized to protect the unique places we play.
Jennifer Miller (Sacramento, CA)
Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellow, U.C. Davis Health
Jen was born in Colorado and has been fortunate to live and work in most Western States. She spent 12 years working for Outward Bound, NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute, and for a variety of university outdoor programs, mountain guiding companies, and as a ski patroller. She believes that time outside provides unparalleled solace and hopes to inspire others to follow their outdoor pursuits and passions with curiosity, respect for all seasons and an eagerness to advocate and protect our essential wild spaces. When not outside enjoying the snow or a stellar mountain bike ride, Jen works as a pulmonary and critical care physician.
Jason Pouncy (Northeast US / Nosara, Costa Rica)
Turnaround Specialist, Co-founder, Virtuoso Strategic Group
Jason’s passion for the mountains had humble beginnings riding the icy slopes of Connecticut & Vermont. From there, his evolution in the sport took him to demanding ascents and descents across the globe including Chile, Central B.C., & Alaska. Jason’s penchant for progression has also influenced his professional life in which he began his career as an investment banker at UBS Warburg. He used that as a platform to become a turnaround specialist at firms including The Monitor Group & American Capital Ltd., where he sought stakeholder value by working on special situations such as restructurings, carve-outs and repositionings. He is founder of the Virtuoso Group and has numerous partnerships across the consumer business landscape. Jason is also an avid surfer and splits his time between his native Northeast and Nosara, Costa Rica.
Denis Tuzinovic (Seattle, WA)
Environmental Coordinator, Patagonia
In his first five years, Denis grew Patagonia’s environmental program in Seattle five-fold, and created strong relationships with local non-profits. Denis is involved in DEI initiatives at Patagonia and helps lead their LGBTQ+ Community Group, where he works closely with leadership to ensure equitable representation for the LGBTQ+ community within Patagonia. He also volunteers for the Raincoast Conservation Foundation as their US Operations Coordinator. In his free time, he enjoys birding around the Seattle area, skiing, and hiking with his partner.
