New Representatives Join USSA Board of Directors

PARK CITY, UT (May 20, 2016) – U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) Chairman Dexter Paine welcomed eight new members to the USSA Board of Directors on May 15 at its annual meeting during USSA Congress. Liz Arky, (Washington, DC), Rosie Brennan (Park City, UT), Warner Nickerson (Tilton, NH), Dylan Omlin (Truckee, CA), Bill Shiebler (Park City, UT), Tom Wallisch (Pittsburgh, PA), Andy Wirth (Squaw Valley, CA) and Tom Yaps (Brooklyn, NY) join the group of knowledgeable individuals responsible for leading the organization.

Brennan, Nickerson and Wallisch join the board as athlete representatives. Brennan currently competes on the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team and will serve as the cross country athlete representative. U.S. Alpine Ski Team alum Nickerson will serve as the alpine athlete representative. With the formation of USSA’s new freesking sport committee, Wallisch will serve as the board’s first freeskiing athlete representative.

Omlin, who was brought on as the new snowboarding sport committee chairman after Jon Casson’s departure to join the USSA staff, will serve as the snowboarding representative. Yaps was elected chairman of the freeskiing sport committee and will serve as the freeskiing representative. Wirth and Arky will hold two of the three at-large positions while Schiebler, a long-time U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation trustee and chairman of the USSA Audit Committee, joins the board in an ex-officio position.

After over 10 years of service, term limits have required that past Vice Chair Jeanne Jackson vacate her board seat.  While her abundant skills will be missed on the Board, Jackson will remain involved with the USSA as a Foundation trustee and as an advisor to the USSA branding committee.

USSA Board of Directors
Chairman: Dexter Paine, New York, NY (FIS)
Treasurer: John Buckbaum, Chicago, IL (Foundation)
Vice Chairman: Greg Boester, Rye, NY (Foundation)
Tiger Shaw, Park City, UT (CEO)
Dan Leever, Palm Beach, FL/ Vail, CO (Foundation)
Andy McLane, Weston, MA (Foundation)
Kipp Nelson, Ketchum, ID (Foundation)
Erik Resnick, Vail, CO (Foundation)
Darryl Landstrom, Minneapolis, MN (Alpine)
Dylan Omlin, Truckee, CA (Snowboarding)
Chris Seemann, Winter Park, CO (Freestyle)
Tom Yaps, Brooklyn, NY (Freeskiing)
Cami Thompson Graves, East Thetford, VT (Cross Country)
Martina Lussi (Jumping/Nordic Combined)
Warner Nickerson, Tilton, NH (Alpine Athlete)
Tricia Byrnes, Aspen, CO (Snowboarding Athlete)
Emily Cook, Park City, UT (Freestyle Athlete)
Tom Wallisch, Salt Lake City, UT (Freeskiing Athlete)
Rosie Brennan, Park City, UT (Cross Country Athlete)
Bryan Fletcher, Steamboat Springs, CO (Jumping/Nordic Combined Athlete)
Liz Arky, Washington, DC, (At-Large)
Lisa Kosglow, Hood River, OR (At-Large)
Andy Wirth, Squaw Valley, CA (At-Large)

Ex-Officio
Grete Eliassen, Salt Lake City, UT (USOC Athletes’ Advisory Council)
Bill Shiebler, Park City, UT (USSA Audit Committee Chair)
Michael Berry, Lakewood, CO (National Ski Areas Association
Nick Sargent, Stowe, VT, (SnowSports Industries America)
Bill Marolt, Paradise Valley, AZ (USOC)
Hank Tauber, Park City, UT (FIS)

New Board of Director Member Bios

Rosie Brennan (Cross Country Athlete)
Rosie Brennan is currently a member of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. She was born and raised in Park City, UT where she began cross country skiing at the age of 14. Brennan has skied for Dartmouth College as well as the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center. She’s a five-time national champion and two-time overall SuperTour champion. When she's not racing and training, Brennan volunteers with Fast and Female - a program dedicated to empowering young women through sport - and Skiku, which provides nordic ski instruction to children and communities all around Alaska.

Dylan Omlin (Snowboarding)
Dylan Omlin has been with California’s Auburn Ski Club for nearly 20 years. He rode professionally in the early 90s before transitioning to coaching. Omlin played a key role in starting the snowboarding program at Auburn and now acts as the club’s snowboard program director and leader of the Riders Club. He’s coached a number of slopestyle athletes at FIS Junior Worlds and has coached at USSA’s Project Gold camps. Omlin was named USSA Snowboarding Domestic Coach of the Year in 2010. Auburn also won Snowboard Club of the Year in 2010.

Tom Yaps (Freeskiing)
Tom Yaps has been Chairman of the USSA Freeskiing Sub-Committee for USSA since its inception in 2011, and will continue as Chairman now that Freeskiing has its own standalone sport committee. Over that time, he and his committee have overseen freeskiing’s inclusion in the Olympics and helped to develop a clear pipeline for junior athletes to rise through the ranks and become members of U.S. Freeskiing. Yaps has worked at Evolution Management + Marketing for the past 10 years, where he is now managing director of action and Olympic sports. At Evolution, Yaps manages all aspects of the careers of many top action sports athletes, including negotiating their sponsorships and endorsements.

Warner Nickerson (Alpine Athlete)
Warner Nickerson is a long-time elite athlete and former U.S. Ski Team member who has remained engaged with the team throughout the years. Nickerson competed in World Cup competition for nine years on and off the national team. His athletic highlight was being part of the 2011 World Championships team for giant slalom. After battling through injury, Nickerson raced his final year of World Cup competition during the 2013-2014 season. Since hanging up his race skis, he’s taken a job as a private coach for two years and is actively pursuing his next chapter.

Tom Wallisch (Freeskiing Athlete)
A two-time X Games gold medalist and U.S. Freeskiing alum, Wallisch is one of the most notable freeskiers in the world. After a very successful competition career, Wallisch has transitioned to park and urban filming, primarily with Good Company. He currently holds the world record for the longest rail grind at 424 feet.

Liz Arky (At-Large)
Liz Arky is currently the principal in Arky Group Consulting, LLC, a specialty firm providing strategic, government relations and development advice to corporate and non-profit clients. She was formerly Global Managing Director, Office of Government Relations for Accenture, a $30 billion global management consulting, technology and outsourcing company. Arky also currently serves on USSA’s cross country sport committee.

Andy Wirth (At-Large)
Throughout his entire life, Andy Wirth has been connected to the mountain resort and hotel industry. He began his career at Steamboat Resort and is now the CEO of Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, Wirth brings over 25 years of experience to his current job to make the ski area one of the top winter tourist destinations in the world. Wirth was officially named CEO of the company in 2010 and immediately oversaw a $70 million upgrade to the resort. The other major change to Squaw Valley that Wirth has been involved with is the merge with Alpine Meadows Ski Resort. Wirth has been a strong supporter of bringing USSA events and athletic programs to both Steamboat and Squaw.

Bill Shiebler (Foundation)
After a career as a senior executive in the asset management business, Bill Shiebler is currently active in a variety of business, community and charitable organizations. He is Chairman of Nextalk Inc., a Salt Lake City based specialty telecommunication’s company. He is a Director of Sallie Mae Bank in Salt Lake City, as well as an advisory board member for several corporations in the U.S. and Europe. He is a Trustee of the Buffalo Bill Historic Center in Cody, Wyoming and Chairman of the advisory board of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Research Facility at The University of Utah (CARMA). He also is a long time member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Foundation’s Board of Trustees.