Jaime Musnicki – President (Victor, Idaho)
Mountain Guide, Business Owner
Jaime began her love affair with winter at the bright young age of two, when her parents first put her on skis in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Eventually, 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 expeditions in AK, WY, BC, WA, WY, and ID. She co-supervised NOLS’s winter/backcountry skiing program based in Driggs, ID for several seasons before becoming 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, ever since. She continues to work occasional courses for NOLS and ski guides and teaches avalanche courses for Yostmark Backcountry Tours. Her favorite backcountry adventure partner is her always-enthusiastic yellow dog, Telly.
John Commiskey – Vice President (Seattle, WA)
Business Strategy Leader
John is a seasoned business and strategy leader with more than two decades of experience at leading technology companies, including 18 years at Amazon and five years at Expedia. In addition to his professional work, John is deeply committed to nonprofit service, having served as Board President of the Northwest Avalanche Center and in leadership roles with the Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition and Blue Earth Alliance. Outside of work, John prioritizes time outdoors, with a long-standing focus on backcountry skiing, which he has pursued for more than 20 years. He also enjoys hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, cycling, sailing, and traveling the world in pursuit of adventure. John has lived in Seattle for more than 25 years, a city that has strongly influenced him through its proximity to the ocean, mountains, glaciers, and vast wilderness. He is committed to expanding access to outdoor recreation and protecting the wild places that have shaped and defined much of his adult life.
Brooke Sarkaria – Treasurer (Los Angeles, CA)
Investment Banker
As a California native, Brooke’s love for skiing began at the age of two, guided by parents who were passionate self-taught skiers and outdoor enthusiasts. This early immersion in nature fostered a lifelong commitment to conservation and preserving the wilderness. Initially pursuing Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology at UC Davis, Brooke later transitioned to Animal Science, balancing her environmental values with practical career aspirations. She went on to earn an MBA from Vanderbilt University, leading to a successful six-year career in investment banking. Her favorite clients were those in the outdoor industry, with her coverage in Colorado and Utah allowing her to weave in her love of skiing. Now, driven by a desire to reconnect with her roots, Brooke is excited to bring her skills and passion to Winter Wildlands Alliance, supporting efforts to protect our winter landscapes and promote sustainable recreation
Denis Tuzinovic – Secretary (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.
Marla Bailey (Steamboat Springs, Colorado)
Head of Business Planning, Flylow Gear
After 13+ years at Smartwool, holding numerous positions from Inventory Analyst to Head of Strategic Planning, she now leads all-things-business-planning for Flylow, an outerwear brand founded on skiing and now expanding into other outdoor pursuits. As an avid backcountry skier, mountain biker, river runner, backpacker, and reluctant snowmobile owner, Marla’s passions to preserve wild places and protect their awe-inspiring ecosystems run authentically deep, fueling a drive to contribute her energy towards action-based conservation organizations like Winter Wildlands Alliance. In her words, “We—businesses and individuals alike—depend on nature as much as nature depends upon us. It’s our shared responsibility: one that should, and can, unite us all in a collective cause.”
Ron Abramovich (Boise, ID)
Retired Water Supply Specialist from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Snow Survey
Ron’s love for snow started while growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. He then headed West to attend Colorado State University and majored in Watershed Sciences. This is where his love for snow became real – learning to backcountry ski on Cameron Pass in the early 1980s. Summers were spent exploring Colorado while working for the USGS in southern Colorado chasing thunderstorms. Moving to Telluride for the winter is where he fell in love with the mountains and snow even more, and his wife, Janice, a ski racing coach. A full-time job with the NRCS Snow Survey took him to Salt Lake City and Portland. Ron applied and won the career lottery as Idaho’s first Water Supply Specialist. For nearly 30 years Ron provided snow survey and water supply information to the many users that rely on Idaho’s annual snowfall and river forecasts. Ron worked with many diverse users and learned as much from them about Idaho’s complex hydrology as they did from him. Ron retired in 2019 and still presents snow and flow information each year. He also blogs about snow, weather and flow relationships to help educate others about the importance of snow in the West. Ron and his family enjoy skiing, rafting, hiking, camping, fishing and exploring around the West. In the winter you’ll see him smiling behind a frozen beard and dropping his knees to make tele-turns.
Stephen Hatfield (Portland, OR)
NW Associate Director of Philanthropy, Trust for Public Land
Stephen first discovered the joy of winter recreation growing up in western New York State. Settling in the Pacific Northwest after college, he soon discovered the joy of climbing and skiing the Cascade volcanoes. His love of wild places and passion for connecting people to transformative experiences outside has led to a varied career. Along the way, Stephen has developed a field-based outdoor program for REI Co-Op in Oregon; taught natural science and led winter expeditions at the High Mountain Institute in Leadville, CO; worked as a naturalist guide and Zodiac driver in Antarctica and on South Georgia Island; developed sustainable tourism initiatives and led a statewide outdoor recreation network at Travel Oregon. A longtime resident of Portland, Oregon, Stephen enjoys spending time outside with his wife, two daughters and chocolate lab Tilly Jane.
Frazier Miller (San Francisco, CA)
Advisor & CEO Coach
Born into a ski family, Frazier spent most of his childhood vacations on I-70 between Kansas City and Aspen Colorado. With a father who was a former Nordic ski olympian (alternate), and a grandfather who raced for Dartmouth in the 1936 Dartmouth/Harvard race at Tuckerman’s Ravine, he really had no choice in childhood activities. It wasn’t until he lived in Alaska that he found his way to backcountry skiing. After a spring day on Hatcher’s Pass on a pair of 210 (70 underfoot) Karhus, Frazier fell in love with all things winter backcountry. His love of the outdoors has taken him all over the world on various mountain and backcountry adventures over the last 3 decades. Professionally, Frazier has spent 20 years in technology in the Bay Area where his passion is working with early-stage technology companies and their investors. He holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Outside of work and skiing, Frazier shares a rowdy 3-boy household with his wife and backcountry partner Tia. The Miller family calls Kirkwood their home resort and both Frazier and Tia still keep their heels free all these years later. It’s a dream of theirs that one of their boys may one day follow.
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.
Megan Birzell – President Emeritus (Seattle, Washington)
Washington State Director, The Wilderness Society
Although born a flatlander, Megan was 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.
Recently termed off after 9 years of service
(thanks for all you’ve done; we miss you already!):
Mary Beth Hennessy – Vice President (Bishop, California)
Retired United States Forest Service Ecosystem Planner
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.
Scott White – President Emeritus (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.
Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to
inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.
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