Pat joined the Board in 2014 shortly after retiring from a career with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Pat previously served on the Nordic committee. Pat is married to Melissa Blessing and together they share four daughters. Natalie and Erika were both Nordic skiers in the BSF program, skied in college, and Erika is still skiing professionally. When not working on BSF activities Pat can be found skiing, chasing trout and pheasants, and bemoaning the sad plight of the Cleveland Browns.

John joined the BSF board in 2012. John’s daughter Libby skied on the Alpine team from 2007 to 2016. The O’Donnell family are active skiers and are grateful for all that BSF does for the Bozeman community. Born and raised in Denver, CO John ski raced for the Winter Park Alpine team. After John and his wife graduated from the University of Colorado they moved to Seattle where John worked at Costco Corp HQ and then co founded Onvia.com. In 2000 the family moved to Bozeman and John started an incubator program at MSU called TechRanch. In 2007 John started work in the venture capital and private finance sector. John also serves on the boards of Investment Trust Co of Colorado, Montana State University College of Business and the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association. John is an avid skier and sailor and spends as much time as possible enjoying the outdoors.

Swithin has been with BSF since 2008. She grew up alpine ski racing in Norwich, VT, before attending MSU, where she was on the Alpine Ski Team from 1979-1983. She met her husband, Ron Matelich, at MSU, who was also on the Alpine Ski Team. She graduated in 1984 with a BS in Social Work and went on to work in admissions at ski racing academies and coached Alpine ski racers in Carbondale and Aspen, CO, from 1985-1989. In 1993, Swithin earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Montana School of Law. She worked as a Law Clerk for a Federal Judge and practiced law (civil litigation) from 1993-2008 in Great Falls and Whitefish, MT. In 2008, her family moved back to Bozeman, where Swithin began working at BSF with the Alpine program. Swithin joined the BSF Board of Directors in 2010 and was a Co-Chair of the BSF Reorganization Committee, which was tasked with restructuring BSF to merge the disciplines and hire executive leadership for the organization. In 2011, she was hired as the Executive Director. In 2014-2015, she co-chaired the USSA Certification Committee with then Board President, Susan Carstensen, together leading the organization to Gold Certification from USSA. Swithin has two children, Nick, a Nordic skier with the BSF PG/Elite Team, and Julia, a former alpine ski racer with BSF and now a Bozeman High Hawks soccer player.

Bruce, in his second term on the board, joined in 2013 and currently supports the marketing, freestyle and scholarship committees. Bruce is married with 3 kids, all involved in BSF – daughter in YSL, and two boys ripping the moguls on the Freestyle team. He is currently employed by Adobe as a Product Marketing Manager and enjoys spending every possible minute in the great outdoors of Montana with his family.

Jim Rucker moved back to Bozeman in 2016 after graduating from Montana State University in 2003. He studied Accounting and Math and has worked in both public and private accounting. Passionate about growing companies his focus is always on the consumer’s experience. He is fanatical about nordic skiing, trail running, and other mountain pursuits making the Bridger Ski Foundation a natural fit. He is grateful for his wife (Shannon) and three girls (Claire, Samantha, and Marit).

Caroline and her husband, Will, have two teenage boys who are on the BSF Freeskiing Team. Caroline has been on the board for over a year, and she is co-chair of the annual Ski Ball fundraising event. She is also a member of the Freestyle Committee, working closely with Mike Papke. Caroline also enjoys being outdoors hiking, biking, and skiing. Additionally, she is a Spanish Teacher at the Bozeman District World Language Program.

Dick joined BSF board in 2015. His daughter and son BSF nordic skiers when they were teenagers and his wife, Lori, formerly served on the board. The Dolans still take advantage of the great ski trail grooming that BSF provides for the community. Born and raised in Billings, Montana, Dick has lived in Bozeman since 1976. After practicing law in Bozeman for many years, Dick made the switch to the non-profit world by serving as Program Director for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and then as a Managing Director for the American Prairie Reserve, where he was a major gifts officer and leader of the land acquisition and finance teams. He know serves as the Northern Rockies Director for The Trust for Public Land, an leading national land conservation organization. Dick holds a B.S. Degree in Finance from the University of Oregon (go Ducks!) and a law degree from the University of Washington. Dick is an avid angler and also devotes much energy trying to keep up with his family in their many outdoor pursuits.

Melodee has been with BSF for over 34 years. Retired Microbiologist for the State of Montana, Past President and Secretary for BSF alpine, and past secretary for BSF Board. She has been involved with two reorganizations of BSF as well as the Ski Swap for 30 years.

Rebekah has lived in Bozeman since 2002. Upon settling here, she and her husband started the Bikram Yoga studio, which they co-owned and operated for 10 successful years. Rebekah and her husband recently sold their yoga studio and are now co-operating their non-profit organization, Beyond Boundaries Institute, through which they offer classical Hatha Yoga. She also teaches general music education to the Bozeman Summit School and the Yellowstone Montessori Elementary School. Rebekah received a BA in Biology from the University of Colorado where she also raced for the CU Nordic Ski Team. Her coaching experience includes helping coach the U16 nordic athletes for BSF for two years and the U10 athletes for two years. She traveled with the US Para-Nordic Ski Team as an assistant coach for four years, including the Paralympics in Torino, Italy in 2006. Other coaching experiences include being the assistant coach for her high school Nordic ski team, including coaching at Junior Nationals in McCall, Idaho. She is a current BSF Board member and is the co-director of the Nordic Youth Ski League.

Travis Svensrud is a Bozeman native and BSF alumnus. Following his glorious childhood of ski racing through the ranks of BSF's alpine program, Travis transitioned to the national team where he was a member of the US Ski Team's men’s downhill team for seven years. After an early retirement due to numerous injuries, he attended MSU and while achieving his degree in Economics, he coached for BSF. Travis is married with three boys and is an active Real Estate Broker in Bozeman. He is also shifting into a parent role with BSF while serving on the board. Full circle baby!

Swithin has been with BSF since 2008. She grew up alpine ski racing in Norwich, VT, before attending MSU, where she was on the Alpine Ski Team from 1979-1983. She met her husband, Ron Matelich, at MSU, who was also on the Alpine Ski Team. She graduated in 1984 with a BS in Social Work and went on to work in admissions at ski racing academies and coached Alpine ski racers in Carbondale and Aspen, CO, from 1985-1989. In 1993, Swithin earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Montana School of Law. She worked as a Law Clerk for a Federal Judge and practiced law (civil litigation) from 1993-2008 in Great Falls and Whitefish, MT. In 2008, her family moved back to Bozeman, where Swithin began working at BSF with the Alpine program. Swithin joined the BSF Board of Directors in 2010 and was a Co-Chair of the BSF Reorganization Committee, which was tasked with restructuring BSF to merge the disciplines and hire executive leadership for the organization. In 2011, she was hired as the Executive Director. In 2014-2015, she co-chaired the USSA Certification Committee with then Board President, Susan Carstensen, together leading the organization to Gold Certification from USSA. Swithin has two children, Nick, a Nordic skier with the BSF PG/Elite Team, and Julia, a former alpine ski racer with BSF and now a Bozeman High Hawks soccer player.

Jenny has been the Marketing and Communications Director at BSF since November 2014. She also works as a freelance writer and editor. Jenny grew up in Vermont, was a collegiate runner at St. Lawrence University, and earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Montana. Before turning to freelancing, she spent a decade as a magazine editor. She loves BSF and the challenge of communicating all the amazing things that happen within this nonprofit. In her spare time, Jenny runs, skis, bikes, and plays in the mountains.

Lisa has been Director of Development at the Bridger Ski Foundation since February 2012. Prior to that she was Executive Director of the Yellowstone Park Foundation and Regional Development Director at The Wilderness Society. She became involved with BSF as a volunteer when her sons joined the Nordic ski program in 2004. Lisa grew up in Spokane, Washington and learned to ski at Lookout Pass when it was just a rope tow and a t-bar and Jackass (nka Silver Mountain). She was on the freestyle ski team at Mt. Spokane and an alpine ski instructor at 49° North Mountain Resort in Chewelah, Washington. She has a BA degree from Yale University and an MES degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She enjoys family, skiing, trail running, and fund raising.

Rachel has been with BSF since 2015. She retired from American Airlines after working as a Flight Attendant for 28 years flying international routes. Rachel is a former Snowboard racer and instructor and lived in Alaska for 13 years enjoying the great outdoors. She is a bit of a sky junkie and has a pilot’s license, paragliding license and have over 1000 sky dives.

Jason has been coaching with BSF since 2012. He grew up skiing in BSF programs through junior high and high school, and raced at the college level for Green Mountain College in Vermont. After 15 years of coaching and directing collegiate and ski club programs in Vermont, he returned to BSF as the Alpine Director. In addition to his BSF coaching, Jason also works as an Alpine camp director for Disabled Sports USA.

Roger has been coaching since 1983, and more than half of those years have been with BSF. For a third of his coaching career, he coached the U.S. Ski Team. Roger started racing late (age 14), when he moved to Utah. He raced through high school, for two years afterwards, and then moved to Bozeman to race for the Bobcats. He started coaching BSF then, interspersed with winters elsewhere, including four years with the Park City Ski Team in Utah, one year in Minneapolis with Team Gilboa, and many winters in Europe coaching with the U.S. Ski Team. His coaching philosophy: Help make better people through the sport of Alpine Ski racing.

Emily has been with BSF since 2013 and loves it! She is from Cervinia, Italy and moved to Montana to ski race for Montana State University, GO CATS! Emily competed with the Bobcats all 4 years of undergrad while majoring in psychology with an emphasis in sport psychology and coaching. Before competing for the Bobcats, she was part of the Italian development team and competed with them for 4 years. Emily is USSA 200 Level Coaching Certified and is still learning as much as possible to help the BSF athletes succeed in all aspects of skiing. Emily also loves running and competing in running races, adventuring in nature, and her favorite thing to do is LAUGH!

Jenny is originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Jenny is a newer coach with BSF, beginning in 2015, and looks forward to transitioning from the athlete role to the coach role of ski racing. She grew up skiing in the Banff area, racing for Banff Alpine Racers until the age of 17 when she decided to come race for the Montana State University Ski Team. She spent two awesome and fun years of racing with the University team, but now Jenny is excited to share her love of skiing with the younger generation!

LaRue was born and raised in Montana and calls Bridger her home mountain. She raced for BSF for 11 years and continued on to ski race for the College of Idaho. In addition to coaching, LaRue likes to get to share her love for skiing with her kids Erik and Eleanor.

Stephanie is originally from Calgary Alberta, and grew up skiing in and around Banff. She has a long history of skiing and ski racing, starting on the Banff Alpine Racers club team, moving up to the Alberta Provincial Ski Team, then on to the Canadian Alpine Team, and finally her last four years on the Montana State NCAA Team. She has been fortunate to experience all levels and series of racing from USSA to NCAA to Europa Cups to even one World Cup start. Stephanie has coached with BSF since 2015.

Mike started out as a competitor in BSF. He skied his way up to the US Junior National teams, Nor-am Teams, as well as the US National Team. Mike has over 29 years of experience in the sport of Freestyle Skiing. Mike is a certified level 3 aerial coach through USSA as well as a level 2 mogul proctor. Mike also sits as the Moguls Committee chair of the Freestyle sport committee with USSA. Mike has been the Head coach of the mogul program since 1994 and has coached every ability from beginning to National Champions and Olympians.

Austin has worked with our YSL athletes since 2013. Austin is from Boise, Idaho, and has worked with Bogus Basin. Austin spends his summer times as a youth counselor at summer camps.

Jay is a former Freestyle competitor. Jay grew up in Missoula, Montana and currently resides in Bozeman Mt. Jay is an instructor at Aerie backcountry medicine. Jay is married and currently in college at MSU. When he is not coaching skiing he is working at the Ridge Athletic Club. Jay is a Level 1 mogul coach and is currently working on his Level 2.

Kale Krieger has grown up skiing at Bridger Bowl, Big Sky, and Moonlight ski areas. Kale's passion for skiing started with Mogul Mice, BSF Youth Ski League, and Team Extreme classes at Bridger Bowl. He can be found skiing the entire mountain or in the terrain park when the snow is not good. Coaching and teaching have become a life-long pursuit. Kale is completing a Secondary Education Teaching degree, at Montana State University, and during the summer he guides teens on adventure trips throughout the world. Coaching skiing brings together his two main passions of skiing and working with kids.

Orion grew up in Telluride Colorado and has been a part of freestyle for several decades. Orion skied on the national team and skied in several World Cup mogul events. Orion has been with BSF Freestyle since 2014. Orion has a lot of knowledge about skiing and will get our development athletes shredding the mountain!

Patrick was born in Massachusetts, where he learned to ski on the ice. He trained at Mount Sunapee, NH, where he competed in moguls, slopestyle, halfpipe and big air. Once it came time for college, Patrick decided softer snow was in order and has been skiing at Bridger Bowl since 2010. Attending MSU, he graduated with a film degree while growing the freeride program at Bridger Bowl. The first freeride team only consisted of 5 kids, but has since grown to a program with numbers pushing 30 athletes some seasons. Many of the athletes are experiencing competition for the first time but some have excelled in a contest setting. The program has had a few Junior National champions in the last years, both in age group and overall categories, as well as athletes qualifying for the revolution tour, a semi professional event. Patrick is currently working on his Level 2 Aerial Certification and plans on improving on his certification for seasons to come.

Tony is one of the founding fathers of freestyle for the state of Montana. Tony has several years on the United States Freestyle Ski Team and has been a part of our program from day one. Tony is a father of 2 and an inspiration to many. Tony acts as chief of course for moguls and designs venues such as the World Championships course on the world cup tour. Tony is a Level 3 aerial coach and a Level 2 Mogul Coach.

Like head freeskiing coach Patrick Gillis, Wesley grew up on the slopes of Mt. Sunapee, New Hampshire. After graduating from St. Lawrence University, he spent two years coaching a development program in Lake Tahoe, California, then moved to Montana to pursue a secondary teaching license in social studies. He started as a coach with the Youth Ski League, specializing in all-mountain and terrain park skiing with a USSA certification in freestyle education. Wesley's skill with young people and his technique and style as a terrain park skier had him quickly called upon to help support BSF's expanding freeskiing program alongside his long lost friend Patrick. Also an employee of the Bridger Bowl terrain park crew, Wesley is a steadfast voice advocating for the continued development of freeskiing terrain within the Bridger Bowl community.

Dragan has been coaching with BSF since 1996, building BSF Nordic into a nationally recognized program. Dragan was born in Krusevo, Macedonia, and skied for the Yugoslavia National Team in both cross country and biathlon at the World Cup level. He graduated from Cyril and Methodius University in Sport and Physical education with a thesis on “Improving physical ability, technique and tactic in Cross Country skiing among junior skiers." He received a coaching degree from University of Belgrade and a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology from Montana State University with a thesis on improving aerobic and anaerobic capacity among Cross country skiers. He coached in Yugoslavia in both Nordic and biathlon, including Olympian Aleksandar Milenkovic in 1992. He also worked as a conditioning coach in soccer and volleyball. In addition, he taught physical education and worked almost ten years at a preschool education project, including publishing a book for preschool teachers, “Step by Step, Education for Preschool Kids.” His family moved to Bozeman in 1996, when he started coaching BSF. Since then, Dragan has coached over 1000 skiers, who have won over 40 national championship titles. More than 30 BSF skiers have skied at NCAA championships. Leif Zimmerman, Kristina Trygstad, Shayla Swanson, Karin Camenisch, Torin Koos and Jennie Bender have all skied in World Cups. Leif was an Olympian in 2006 and Torin in 2014. And we're looking forward to much more!

Douglas has served as co-director of the Nordic Youth Ski League program since 2014 and was a Nordic YSL coach for four years before that. Fischer came to the sport as an adult, buying his first pair of wooden touring skis and flimsy boots at a ski swap within a month of moving to Fairbanks, Alaska, as a 25-year-old. He knew he wanted to be involved with a youth program from the moment he showed up at Fairbanks' Birch Hill ski center and saw a passel of kids on skis playing soccer under the lights. Fischer works as a journalist in Bozeman, running an online newsroom that covers environmental health, climate change and energy policy. He is married to Stephanie Ewing, a professor at Montana State University, and has two children in the Nordic development and competitive programs. He is also an elected member of the Bozeman School District Board of Trustees.

Heidi grew up skiing in the Buffalo/Rochester area of New York state where she helped start her high school nordic team. She skied and ran for Saint Lawrence University, and then taught health science and coached XC and track at the highschool level for 5 years. She moved to Montana in 2008 and has enjoyed putting her ski knowledge and masters in Education to use coaching a variety of age groups for BSF. Her passion is for helping others enjoy the sport, make progress, and build community! She is currently level 200 certified with the USSA.

Rebekah has lived in Bozeman since 2002. Upon settling here, she and her husband started the Bikram Yoga studio, which they co-owned and operated for 10 successful years. Rebekah and her husband recently sold their yoga studio and are now co-operating their non-profit organization, Beyond Boundaries Institute, through which they offer classical Hatha Yoga. She also teaches general music education to the Bozeman Summit School and the Yellowstone Montessori Elementary School. Rebekah received a BA in Biology from the University of Colorado where she also raced for the CU Nordic Ski Team. Her coaching experience includes helping coach the U16 nordic athletes for BSF for two years and the U10 athletes for two years. She traveled with the US Para-Nordic Ski Team as an assistant coach for four years, including the Paralympics in Torino, Italy in 2006. Other coaching experiences include being the assistant coach for her high school Nordic ski team, including coaching at Junior Nationals in McCall, Idaho. She is a current BSF Board member and is the co-director of the Nordic Youth Ski League.

Anya hails from the University of New Hampshire where she skied to All-American status. Through coaching, she hopes to instill her love for skiing, adventuring, and being outside with the kiddies of BSF.

Austin coaches the Nordic PG/Elite Team at BSF. He hails from Putney, VT and attended Stratton Mountain School and Dartmouth College. Austin enjoys long walks, photography, and was the 2015 Bogburn Champion.

Minnesota born and raised, Jessie grew up striding and gliding in the north woods of Wisconsin on the famous Birkie trails. After racing through high school and a brief stint with the Montana State ski team, Jessie put her race skis to rest and pursued coaching with multiple Minnesota high schools, Loppet Nordic Racing, and joined the BSF coaching team in 2013. She's passionate about instilling confidence, creativity and a love for adventure in her young skiers, and is known to go hunt for power runs, session jumps, and work on tele-turns during practice. Jessie graduated from Montana State with an Environmental Studies degree and works sustainability outreach on MSU campus. When she's not skiing, you can find Jessie coaching mountain bikers with Bozeman Youth Cycling, geeking out over snow crystals and stratigraphy, or climbing the occasional pitch of ice.

Kate is a native of Bozeman and is excited to be back in town working with BSF. Growing up, Kate was a member of BSF and skied for them for 10 years. She competed both nationally and internationally while she was in high school, attending both the Junior Olympics and Scandinavian Cup races. She then attended and skied for The University of Denver. While in college, she qualified for 4 NCAA championships and was part of two NCAA D1 National Championship Teams. After she graduated college she got her Doctorate in Physical Therapy and is back in Bozeman practicing full time at Great Northern PT. She has been coaching with BSF since 2015.

Lina Hultin grew up in Sweden, where she started Nordic skiing at the age of two. She raced for her local club and later moved to join a High School Nordic team. After High School Lina moved to Meråker in Norway to train and work toward her Undergraduate Degree in Physical Education. She then joined the Norwegian team Henning Skilag. Lina then moved to Bozeman, MT where she skied for the Montana State University Ski Team and recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Exercise and Nutrition Sciences. Lina has coached Norway’s biggest summer ski school in Meråker, Norway for four years. Lina is L100 and L200 USSA Certified.

Kyle grew up skiing in the woods of central Maine and graduated from St. Lawrence University. He started coaching and grooming in Driggs, Idaho, in 2012, and in 2014 he moved to Bozeman, where he's been coaching and grooming with BSF ever since. In 2016, Kyle took over as the Trails Manager for BSF. In the summers, he does forest inventory for the Rocky Mountain Research Station of the Forest Service.