First Chair Podcast with Eliza and Ed: PSIA-AASI Board of Directors Incoming and Outgoing Chair

First Chair Podcast catches up with Ed Younglove and Eliza Kuntz, who discuss their role as the outgoing and incoming chair of PSIA-AASI’s Board of Directors.

Hear Ed and Eliza’s stories about their journey and adventures with PSIA-AASI,  and how their love of teaching other people to ski and snowboard — and the education they’ve received from PSIA-AASI — has helped them both on and off the hill.

The Succession Strategy

Eliza: Ed has done a really thorough job in his time as the chair. He pulled me aside a year-and-half ago to put the bug in my ear about taking the role. Since then, he and the staff introduced me to what it takes to be chair, and encouraged me to ask questions. There are 30,000-plus people looking to us and the decisions we make as a board. What makes it all work are all the people willing to step up and do their jobs so well.

Ed: Six years as chair has been a long time, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to even more for the organization. It’s been a pleasure to meet so many good people across the country. Eliza has such great qualities in terms of what the board and the association and the community need to keep building relationships and trust in the future.

Being a Part of PSIA-AASI

Ed: The people I worked for at my ski school made me want to get engaged with PSIA-AASI. I’ve always loved learning about skiing and technical information and the teaching aspect of it. In my travels, I loved how all the divisions foster a sense of community amongst the members, and how you feel you belong to something bigger than yourself.

Eliza: I’ve also always enjoyed the education aspect. That rings really true to my story. I taught skiing in high school then went to college in Upstate New York studying education. When I looked for a place to teach I ended up working for Terry Barbour. He helped introduce me to the idea of being a professional ski instructor.

The Future for PSIA-AASI

Ed: Despite the pandemic, I think the future is really bright. Everyone is laser focused on the end goals and educational purposes of the organization, and focusing on connecting to this community of professionals. Personally, I want to thank all the members for this opportunity.

Eliza: It’s great to see how we rolled with closures and travel bans and connected online socially and with educational videos. We see what’s available to us to and keep things moving. For members going forward, this is a really good time for them to write their own story with us. We are here for members and anything they are looking for.