Board of Directors

The Winter Wildlands Alliance Board is composed of key figures in the conservation and human-powered recreation communities. Each board member serves as a volunteer advisor, drawing on deep experience to help set organizational policy and guide WWA in the fulfillment of our mission and vision.

Harold Hallstein IV (Boulder, CO) – President

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, WA) – Vice President  

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. She recently joined REI and is 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 recently relocated to the Seattle area with her family where they will be spending their time mountain biking, fishing, skiing, and exploring all the beauty that the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

Jaime Musnicki (Victor, ID) – Treasurer

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.

Scott White (Boise, ID) – Secretary

Scott relocated to Boise, Idaho after spending most of his childhood and college years in Tucson, Arizona.  He is a long time endurance athlete and loved his years of 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 better part of 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 (Seattle, WA)

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, and she currently serves as The Wilderness Society’s Washington State Director. 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.

Jennifer Bock (Steamboat Springs, CO)

Jennifer didn’t learn to ski until she moved to Colorado after college, and is still catching up, but very lucky to continue learning in Routt County’s beautiful backcountry. Jennifer is the Staff Attorney at the City of Steamboat Springs, and has a background of working in organizing, policy and law for non-profits and local and state government.  Her environmental expertise is in wilderness, public lands, water, and oil and gas. Jennifer is excited to serve on the Winter Wildlands Alliance board to preserve the joy she has found in quiet winter recreation for her daughter and for generations to come. Jennifer holds a J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law and a B.A. in American Studies from Georgetown University.

Tony Ferlisi (Victor, ID)

Tony is a passionate backcountry skier and is the current executive director of Mountain Bike the Tetons, the flagship IMBA Chapter of the Teton region. He holds a graduate degree in Natural Resource Management from the University of Idaho, has worked as a USFS Wilderness Ranger, as a mountain bike guide and trip designer at Trek Travel for well over a decade, in wildlands conservation advocacy and mountain bike race operations. Tony strives to build bridges among the complex communities of public lands recreation and conservation in the west both through his day job and through personal community involvement. When not exploring his backyard Teton and Absoroka mountain ranges on long winter ski tours, you’ll find him on a southern Utah mountain bike mission, searching for elk in the Snake River Range or slinging dry flies at cutthroat on the Henry’s Fork.

Michael Fiebig (Durango, CO)

Michael is River Protection Director for the Southwest U.S. at American Rivers, leading river protection efforts in the Green, Colorado, and Rio Grande river systems with a focus on public lands policy, protecting wild rivers, and climate change response. Prior to that, Mike was Conservation Director for the Northern Rockies Region of American Rivers, and a Presidential Management Fellow/Climate Action Plan Coordinator for the Greater Yellowstone Area at the U.S. Forest Service. He serves on the boards of Winter Wildlands Alliance and Montana Backcountry Alliance. As a former river guide, kayak instructor and a Senior Field Instructor at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Mike has paddled thousands of miles of rivers across the West, including a recent decent of the Green/Colorado Rivers from Wyoming to Mexico. Mike holds an M.S. in Natural Resources Policy and Conflict Resolution from the University of Montana (2008), a B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.A. in Philosophy from Michigan State University (1997). He lives with his wife and their dog in Durango, CO, where he spends as much time as possible on water and snow.

Erik Lambert (Golden, CO)

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.

Rich Meyer (Berkeley, CA)

Rich is a co-founder of the Tahoe Backcountry Alliance (TBA), a grassroots group of Winter Wildlands Alliance working on behalf of the human-powered winter backcountry community in the Lake Tahoe area. As a Mountain Guide leading trips around the world, Rich shares a love and respect of wildlands and wild places.  Whether guiding clients in the backcountry or skiing and climbing on personal occasions, Rich strives to find pristine locations whenever possible.  He believes wild peaks and passes have a special meaning and that the human-powered backcountry experience is like no other.  Rich believes all of us have the responsibility to protect truly quiet, natural and tranquil wildlands.

Jennifer Miller (Boise, ID)

Jen spent 12 years working for Outward Bound, NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute, and for a variety of university outdoor programs. She hopes to inspire and challenge learners of all ages to follow their passions and outdoor pursuits with awareness and eagerness. After so many years in the outdoor industry as a mountain guide, ski patroller and educator she can no longer eat oatmeal or bagels, but can always rally for the chance to ski some freshies.  She believes that the solace time outside provides is unparalleled and that supporting those who are advocating and protecting wild spaces is essential. Jen has a BA in International Relations and Hispanic Studies from Lewis & Clark College and is currently in medical school.

Jason Pouncy (Northeast US / Nosara, Costa Rica)

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.

Laura Yale (Crested Butte, CO)

Growing up in Denver at the edge of the Rockies, Laura realized at a young age that the magnetism of mountains would guide a majority of her life decisions. After earning a BA in Journalism from the University of North Carolina, she has nestled herself in the magical world of ski towns across Colorado and British Columbia. She works to preserve the character of these special communities through the protection of surrounding public lands. First as a community organizer and now as a film producer, Laura collects stories from people who care for their wild backyards and disseminates them to anyone willing to listen in order to inform better policy and protection of wilderness.