PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with Dana Forbes who is the Executive Director for the Rocky Mountain Region. Dana wrote an article about a lesson experience that was completely discouraging and made her question whether or not she was a good instructor or not. This feeling is not unique to Dana though. Many instructors have these moments that make them question whether or not they're cut out for this. Dana explains several ways she worked through these feelings and how to overcome those thoughts of doubts. She goes on to tell a few lived experiences that helped her turn discouragement into pride.

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host catches up with Jessie Unruh, the marketing director for Breckenridge Distillery. Breckenridge Distillery is one of PSIA-AASI's newest Official Suppliers and has worked with the National Team to create a unique and branded bottle of whiskey. Jessie talks about the history of Breckenridge Distillery and the differences in whiskeys across the country. The PSIA-AASI branded bottles were picked blindly by the National Team at a special tasting session in late 2023. Breckenridge Distillery supplements its whiskey with snowmelt straight from the mountains that flow into the Blue River. PSIA-AASI members can get free shipping on all orders. Visit breckenridgedistillery.com to order and use code PSIAFREESHIP to get free shipping. Use the hashtag #ApresAnywhere for a chance to win cool prizes.

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast catches up with CEO Peggy Hiller. Peggy and George chat about Interki 2027 and the USA winning the bid to host the international event. Interski is an international group formed by instructors represented by more than 30 countries around the world. The different countries come together once every four years to share their expertise and learnings of their own snowsports education ways. Peggy talks about what went into sending a bid to the Interski Presidium and how much went into winning the bid. Lots more information to come about interski but to see more about Interski 2023 visit: https://thesnowpros.org/events/interski/

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with Matt Boyd, a recently announced Alpine Development Coach of the 2024-28 National Team. George and Thomas chat about all things snow pros and what it's like being a coach for the best-of-the-best snowsports instructors from around the country. Matt talks about Interski and how important it is to be a player on the world stage. He goes on to chat about the incoming 2024-28 National Team and how much work goes into to being on the team and becoming a productive unit.

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with PSIA Alpine Team member Ben Potts. As winter winds down in the northern hemisphere, the southern hemisphere is bracing for a successful winter season. Ben travels to New Zealand for their Rookie Academy where instructor training is conducted. This isn't for locals only, this event brings in members of national teams, like PSIA-AASI's, to teach and connect with others like them. PSIA-AASI is looking to offer Level I and II training as well as other certification opportunities. You can go to www.RookieAcademy.com. Ben worked for Trebel Cone Ski School in New Zealand and randomly met current PSIA-AASI National Team member Jon Ballou and built a connection from there on out. Here about what Rookie Academy is like and share this pod with your friends!

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with Mermer Blakeslee! Mermer shares how she got into snowsports instruction. Mermer is still instructing at Wyndham Mountain in the Eastern Region as she has been for the last 4 decades. Mermer was a key player at Women's Summit 2024 in Solitude, UT this year and speaks about her experience there. A previous keynote Mermer gave was on stretching yourself to the point of failure and learning from that. This is what she addressed at Women's Summit 2024. Listen to this pod for examples on what she delivered. Mermer has her Alpine Level 3 and Children's Specialist 2 certifications.

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with Katie Brinton. Katie is the Senior Editor for Ski Area Management (SAM) Magazine, . Katie talks about her journey into snowsports instruction and how it's not too dissimilar from other stories she's heard. She left a career as a "professional" and got a job for a winter as a ski instructor. She eventually went on to earn her Level 1 certification from Okemo Resort in Southern Vermont that season. "It was eye-opening and refreshing." Katie met people who instructed in New Zealand and Japan and was able to work a season in the southern hemisphere. Katie now has her Alpine Level III, Children's Specialist I, Freestyle I certifications and is an Alpine Examiner for the Eastern Region of PSIA-AASI. Additionally, Katie is on the training staff at Okemo and serves as Vice Chair of the Eastern REgion's Board of Directors. Katie was named one of SAM magazines 10 under 30 at which began the connection with her and the magazine. On top of all of this, Katie just had her first child with her husband who is also an examiner with the Eastern Region. Katie was a guest at this year's Women Virtual Summit where she sat on a panel discussing diverse career pathways in the snowsports industry. She mentions that all career pathways in the snowsports industry are unique and there are no 'fixed' directions that you should go. Be on the lookout for a recording of Katie's panel discussion in April 2024.

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with instructors from Mt. Hood Meadows in Oregon on the process of Ed Staff training and tryouts. George catches up with Jeremy Riss, Jen Lockwood, Tyler Barnes and Katie Foyt. Mt. Hood Meadows had 5 members of their team chosen to join the Northwest Region Education Staff. Hear from Katie on why she chose Mt. Hood Meadows as her home resort to teach at. Tyler chats about his 18 years at the Mt. Hood Meadows snowsports school and how he's sharing the culture and knowledge to the rest of the staff. Jeremy started his skiing career when he was a teenager and worked his way up through the snowsports school and now is the COO of Mt. Hood Meadows. Jeremy talks about the perpetual stoke of the industry. If the instructors are happy, the guests are happy and people will return to experience the great culture of an area. George questions the group on the training culture at Mt. Hood Meadows and why it's such a valued area to work at. Jen talks about how they've had to get creative with their training and adjust to changing conditions on snow. Katie talks about the focus on building skills in the teaching and people skills followed by the technical skills of the Learning Connection Model. The crew talks about the importance of focusing on inviting people into the community at Mt. Hood Meadows and how the culture of the snowsports school is changing the course of snowsports instruction.

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas catches up with Ying Liu who attended this year's Women's Summit in Solitude, Utah. Ying chats about how she learned better ways to teach and how to communicate more effectively. The feedback that Ying has gotten from students after utilizing what she learned from the Women's Summit has been great so far. Angela Lemmons was the Keynote speaker the first night and talked about daring to be extra and the importance of pushing forward and surrounding yourself with like-minded people. The on-snow portion of the event covered drills like progressions, connecting your body to your skis or board and steering with your knees. Ying talks about the mentorship session that happened the second night and how it was so valuable to see the stats around women's mentorship in snowsports. Ann Schorling hosted a Q+A around gender equity in snowsports instruction in which a great talk happened about the importance of female instructors. Ying talks about how seeing females in 'traditional male' roles on the mountain is exciting to see and helps a lot with the barrier of seeing someone like you in a role that you didn't think was a traditional fit.

PSIA-AASI First Chair Podcast host George Thomas checks in with Ying Liu who is at the 2024 Women's Summit. Ying talks about her highlights from the Women's Summit and mentions how she has been working with Mermer Blakesly on steering with the inside ski and how Mermer was able to guide her through that progression. The Women's Summit this year is at Solitude, UT and is made up of over 130 women from all over the country. Some of the workshops were geared towards 'daring to be extra' and the 'importance of mentorship and career progression.' Ying helped lead a mentorship session which showcased that everyone brings something unique to the table that others can benefit from. There was a great panel discussion with the CEOs of PSIA-AASI, NSAA, NSP and Solitude who are all female leaders. Learn more about the Women's Summit, the Women's Virtual Summit and stay tuned for more!

Women's Summit info: thesnowpros.org/events/womens-summit/