Jenny Fellows
Job: NASTC Director and Chief Logistician
Co-founder of NASTC in 1994 with Chris; ex-collegiate ski racer; has skied and climbed all over the world; level II ski instructor; started teaching skiing at Squaw Valley in 1990; coached and taught at Squaw Valley Academy 1990-1996. Mother of three.

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Kimberly Mann
Job: Office Manager / Course Administrator

Experience: Kimberly is a level III instructor from Alpine Meadows and has managed their training program and women’s clinics. Kimberly grew up skiing in the Alps and has skied almost all over the world. She has recently returned to the Tahoe area after a two-year stint at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. Kimberly’s passion for skiing and teaching brought her to NASTC’s doorstep.
Additional Info: Kimberly has an MA in International Relations and speaks five languages fluently. She has lived all over the world and, naturally, loves to travel. When she’s not on her skis, you can find Kimberly duking it out with sharks and the ocean while surfing or daydreaming about her next travel adventure.

Jeff Smith
Job: VP of Marketing
Experience: In addition to his current NASTC responsibilities, Jeff is currently the CEO of JPS Enterprises which is a diversified private equity management company. JPS Enterprises has equity investments in a number of software, services, and franchise management companies. Jeff participates on several boards and provides interim executive management in business development, sales and marketing. Prior to JPS Enterprises Jeff was Vice President and General Manager of Commerce One Ventures where he managed a $100 million fund focused on strategic investments that strengthened the company's core business. Jeff joined Commerce One in 1997 as Vice President of Business Development. Jeff has over 20 years of sales, marketing, and business development experience. Jeff is an honors graduate of Boston College School of Management, received his MBA from New Hampshire College and Masters in International Management/Finance from Thunderbird.
Additional Info: Jeff is an avid outdoorsman, skier, former National Ski Patrol and likes to spend lots of time playing with his 2 kids Shelby and Casey and his wife Tami.

TRAINERS & GUIDES

Victor Gerdin
Job: NASTC Trainer
Experience: A former 3 term member of PSIA's Alpine Demonstration Team. He is an instructor and trainer at Colorado's Ski and Snowboard Schools of Aspen and has been a trainer for the North American Ski Training Center since 2000. He is just as passionate about teaching now, as he was when he started more than 35 years ago. Victor taught in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for 16 years and was the assistant ski school director there before moving to Aspen in 1987. He has also been a PSIA Examiner and Chairman of PSIA's Steering Committee. Victor has an engineering degree and also works as the Mountain Planner, designing trails and lifts, for Aspen Skiing Company.
Additional Info: Victor lives in Aspen with his wife, son, and daughter. Teresa joins us in Portillo and she loves the steep and deep!

Mike Hafer
Job: NASTC Trainer
Experience: Mike has been with NASTC since 1998. He is a top-notch instructor and excellent all-mountain skier. He is a member of the PSIA Western Demonstration Team and part of the Western division examining squad. He is a staff trainer and instructor at a Northstar-at-Tahoe, in charge of training the level III's. He is also a contributing author to sport and skiing magazines.
Additional Info: He sleeps with his mountain bike chained to his bed, windsurfs like a pro, and has logged 8 deep water dives in the Red Sea...want to know more?

Kemp Dowdy
Job: NASTC Trainer
Experience:Kemp started teaching skiing at 18 at Northstar-at-Tahoe. After his 9th season he became fully certified, a supervisor, a trainer and is currently the Adult Progams Supervisor and one of the Mentor trainers for the mountain. He is also on the PSIA-W Technical Team and an Examiner. Endless Winter is what Kemp loves most, and has enjoyed 3 seasons Down Under at Falls Creek, where he teaches skiing as well as being one of the staff trainers.
Additional Info: Kemp graduated with an AA degree in Criminal Justice from school. Jr. A hockey with the Shelbourne Wolve & and Orlando Fury Hockey Clubs. Then played in the minors for a short time after that in the UHL & WCHL.

Michael Rogan
Job: NASTC TRAINER
Michael grew up in Rhinebeck, NY and has been teaching skiing since 1985. He is the Director of Skiing at Portillo, Chile in the summer and a Trainer/Instructor at Heavenly Valley CA during our winters. He has been on the National Demonstration Team since 1996 and the Nordica Factory Team since 2000. His other interests include mountain biking and golfing.

Robin Barnes
Job: NASTC Trainer
Experience: Robin has been teaching skiing since 1988. Her recent claim to fame is "rediscovering summer" after having enjoyed 31 consecutive winters! Her fifteen years of year-round teaching and skiing were divided between Heavenly Ski Resort and Portillo, Chile. She is an instructor and trainer at Heavenly and is a member of the PSIA-W Tech Team. Robin is also a ski tester for SKI magazine. She is the owner of Tahoe Outdoor Fitness where she does outdoor athletic training and personal training.
Additional Info: Robin spends heaps of time on her bikes, speaks Spanish and Portuguese, and can typically be found skiing with a grin wrapped around her face!

Kevin Mitchell
Job: NASTC Trainer
Experience: Kevin Mitchell moved to the North Lake Tahoe area in 1989 to give skiing a try. After two seasons at Boreal, Mitchell moved over to Northstar-at-Tahoe in search of a strong training program in which to grow. At Northstar, Mitchell achieved his Associate, then Full Certificiation as well as a Level I Nordic and became a Snowboard Examiner with AASI. Off-seasons were spent further dedicating time to his trade by teaching at Coronet Peak/Remarkables in New Zealand. When Alpine Meadows opened to snowboarding in 1996, Mitchell left Northstar to help develop a teaching program at that mountain. Upon returning to Northstar in 1997, Mitchell assumed the role of Level III staff trainer for both skiers and snowboarders and achieved the position of PSIA Examiner for Level I and II. In 1999, ten years after moving to Lake Tahoe, Mitchell qualified for the Western Regional Demo Team. He is also a National Demo Team alum, on the team in 2000-2004
Additional Info: Kevin is also one to watch in the terrain park!

Leigh Pierini
Job: NASTC Trainer
Experience: Leigh grew up in Simsbury, CT and has been a ski teacher and PSIA member since 1989. She has been a trainer/instructor around the country, most recently Jackson Hole. She has run the Women's Camps at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for 7 years. Leigh is a PSIA-I regional Alpine Demo Team member and has been an examiner for the past 10 years. Currently she is the Director of Children's Snowsports at Sierra-at-Tahoe.

David Achey
Job: NASTC Trainer
Experience: David has been a leader in the ski industry for over 30 years. Growing up in Vermont, sharing his passion and knowledge of skiing with others is part of his life. David has been a senior member of PSIA and the western division for 20 of those years. During these years he has been an examiner, clinician, and regional tech and demo team member. He was a board member of PSIA-W for over ten years. He is currently the Past President of the division after serving four years as President, prior to this he was the Certification Vice President and the Executive VP. After 10 years of ski area management David is continuing to share his experience and technical knowledge expiring others to reach their skiing goals. We are happy to have David part of our NASTC team.

Jeb Boyd
Job: NASTC Trainer
Experience: He has been teaching and coaching skiing professionally for over 20 years and currently a staff trainer at Cannon Mountain in Franconia, NH. He is currently a member of the PSIA National Alpine Team and serves as the Head Coach for the PSIA Eastern Division Board of Examiners. Previously, he served as the Director of Skiing at Loon Mountain.

Jim Schaffner
Job: NASTC Equipment Tech & Trainer
Born in Chicago IL. Started skiing at age 4 on the icy slopes of the mid-west. Former nationally ranked armature and professional ski
racer. Former World Cup serviceman. Manager for Salomon North America's Racing and Promotions Department. NASTC Trainer and Technician since 1999. Owns and operates The Start Haus in Truckee with Fritz Volant, which provides World Cup-level boot balancing and ski tuning services. www.StartHaus.com

Rich Meyer
Job: NASTC Guide
Experience: Rich has been guiding for over ten years. From local ski tours in Tahoe, to guided expeditions in Alaska. Some of his adventures include: trekking in Bhutan, skiing the Haute route in the Alps, guiding on Mt. Shasta, Mt. Rainer, Denali, and guiding the volcanoes of Ecuador. Rich has logged numerous ski descents in the lower 48, Alaska, Canada, Argentina, Chile, France, and Switzerland. Rich is most often found in working in California, where he guides various routes and ski descents in addition to teaching glacier seminars and avalanche courses. Rich has had extensive training from a variety of schools, including the PSIA and the AMGA.


Alaina Henry
Job: Former Office/Projects/Events Manager
Experience: Alaina worked with NASTC as the Projects/Events Manager since 1999. She is also a Level II ski instructor and certified Level I in avalanche safety. She has skied all over the world with NASTC: from Whistler to Chamonix to Portillo to Jackson. She previously worked as a children’s skiing specialist at Alpine Meadows.
Additional Info: Alaina grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and has enjoyed skiing since she was 3 years old. After attending the University of Kansas and receiving her Environmental Studies degree, she moved out west to Tahoe. In the Fall of 2005 she moved to NYC for another extreme adventure, now she has returned to the Tahoe area. You are sure to still see her on the slopes with NASTC!

Stacey Westrum
Job: Website Manager
Experience: Stacey moved back to her home in Mt Shasta, but is still working with NASTC to keep the website updated. Skiing is her passion and she really enjoyed being the Office Manager at NASTC. She is excited to still stay involved in the NASTC Nation. She has acheived her PSIA Level 2 in Alpine and Level 2 in Telemark. She also received her Avalanche Level 2 and attended the National Avalanche School.

TECHNICAL & RESOURCE STAFF

Darcy Norman, PT, ATC, CSCS
Experience: Darcy has worked with NASTC since his move to the Tahoe Area from Arizona. He was a PT and performance specialist for the world famous Athletes' Performance. He is now the clinic director of Tahoe Forest Physical Therapy and works with Tahoe's Center for Health & Sports Performance while still consulting for AP on various projects. Darcy also has had the opportunity to speak throughout North America and abroad on various topics of physical therapy and athletic enhancement. His experience of working with the wellness, rehabilitation and injury prevention of patients and thletes spans from junior, collegiate, amateur, Olympic, professional and elite athletes. Darcy is Level 1 PSIA ski instructor, and competed FIS , and collegiate in alpine skiing.
www.normankinetics.com

Scott Williams, PT, OCS
Experience: Scott has been working with NASTC providing movement analysis and education on the importance of fitness and muscle balance as it relates to injury prevention, performance improvement and rehabilitation. He has a bachelors degree in Kinesiology from Long Beach State and a masters degree in physical therapy form UC San Francisco. He has treated many professional and amateur skiers, snowboarders, cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts while working at the Tahoe Center for Health & Sports Performance in Truckee, CA. He has his avalanche level 1 and PSIA alpine level 1 certifications and hopes to add Nordic to this next year.
Additional info: Being an avid cyclist Scott has also taught and let mountain bike tours in the Tahoe area for 7 summers. Scott together wtih Darcy train many of the NASTC and PSIA ski instructors and are available to work with you as well.

Walter Lightner
Experience: Walter is the owner of Tahoe Yoga & Wellness Center. His creative vision was realized in 2003 with the opening of the center which offers yoga, massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, a retail boutique and more, all in one convenient location. Professionally, Walter has been a Chiropractor since 1990 emphasizing personalized care with a niche of working with athletes. His treatments have a body balancing emphasis using acupressure and shiatsu soft tissue techniques to compliment spinal and extremity adjustments. Also a yoga teacher at the center, Walter often combines the use of yoga therapeutics with his treatments while encouraging his patients to participate in their own health care.