Our Mission

The Northstar Team Foundation is proud to support the Ski & Snowboard Program.

We provide dedicated hill space for athletes, financial support for Northstar coaches to pursue development opportunities, and scholarships for athletes on the Northstar Competitive Teams.

Meet Our Board of Directors

Board Chair

Thomas Powell

Thomas J. Powell is a leading financier with extensive experience in investment banking and private equity. His career began in 1988 in Silicon Valley at Wells Fargo Bank, and was named as the youngest Vice President in the Company’s then 140-year history.

Most recently, he founded and successfully grew a diversified private investment company, Resolute Capital Partners. RCP is an alternative asset investment firm specializing in deploying and managing capital across various spectrums from commercial real estate, to energy, to venture start-ups. With his combined education and experience, Tom has been able to lead several companies through cyclical market growths and contractions for maximum profitability.

Tom is passionate about free enterprise and international trade, and has served as an international guest lecturer and an instructor at Harvard University in the Office of Executive Education. He has been active with Boys and Girls Clubs of America for over 40 years, first as a youth, then as a local board member, a National Trustee, and an Executive Committee leader.

Tom works as a professional ski instructor for Vail Resorts, and is an outdoor enthusiast and avid cyclist.

Vice Chair

Dr. John Oram

Dr. Oram holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in environmental chemistry and engineering from the University of California Los Angeles and bachelor’s degrees in analytical chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Dr. Oram spent his research years studying the complex physical and chemical processes governing the fate of contaminants in the coastal environment. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and technical reports, has given presentations before local and international audiences, and is an invited member of several technical review and scientific steering committees.

Dr. Oram’s research was instrumental in forming government regulations regarding water quality and assessing human health impacts of agricultural pesticides.

In 2009, Dr. Oram co-founded CW Analytical Laboratories to establish standardized testing and certification protocols to ensure the safety and quality of medical Cannabis. CW Analytical Laboratories is now recognized as the most trusted analytical laboratory in California. Dr. Oram founded and operates multiple successful businesses that employs 24 full-time employees combined.

Secretary

Simon Haskell

A visionary leader with 20+ years of experience dedicated to growing and enhancing brands through deep consumer understanding and passion for product. A track record of driving strong financial results and brand equity.

A previous member of the Nike DTC Global leadership and Levis DTC Global leadership. Known as a driver of transformational change.

Extensive experience in the action sports market, product merchandising, marketing and design. Presently consulting to a select group of innovative brands and individuals (KNDCTR LLC)

Currently living in Truckee with his wife, Krista, and two kids, Mason, 14, and Amelie, 11, both snowboarders on Northstar teams. Simon is a passionate snowboarder, surfer and mountain biker.

Treasurer

Veronica Socolean

Veronica Socolean is the Founder and CFO for Rinnovo Group, Inc. Rinnovo Group is NWBOC woman certified, construction management company specializing in commercial medical construction, high-end residential custom homes, and construction litigation consulting. Veronica Socolean is responsible for managing more than $25 million in assets/projects throughout Northern California.

Before joining the Northstar Teams Foundation, Veronica worked with Pilgrim Society NW, a non-profit organization that establishes and grows schools for children throughout Namibia, Africa. Part of her responsibilities were to provide financial and logistic support to the volunteers in Kalubi Village, Namibia, who selflessly donate their time to provide opportunities to the local children.

The school grew to provide education, room, and board for 85 children around Kalubi Village.

Veronica and her family love the outdoors and believe in balancing a successful career with a healthy lifestyle based on a clean diet, rest, regular family time, and traveling. One of her greatest outdoor achievements was the climbing of Mount Kilimanjaro, Ukuru Peak, Tanzania. She is also a mom to a nine-year-old alpine skier/competitive swimmer, who loves to spend his free time on the slopes, or in the swimming pool.

Board Members

Coming Soon!

Lynnea Anderson

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Aaron is a native to North Lake Tahoe who has over 20 years of experience as a Competitive Ski Coach, Teacher, and Manager. A University of Utah alum, Aaron's career has ranged from working at their Winter Sports School, as well as the Park City Ski Team, before taking the Director of Northstar Ski and Snowboard Team role. Aaron's main objective as the Director of the teams program is to create a path for both coach and athlete growth and support the Truckee-Tahoe community creating the team's mission of: "Gold Medal Athletes in Life and Sport".

Aaron Atkins

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Andy Buckley was raised in Northern England and attended the University of Bradford, W. Yorkshire where he studied Applied Physics. Andy was a ski guide in the French Alps from 1984 to 1987, working in Flaine, Valmorel, and Courcheval.

After moving to the states, he taught, coached, and was a supervisory pro with the Vail Ski & Snowboard School for seven years. He also managed Vail Mountain’s recreation activities at Piney River Ranch and Adventure Ridge. In 2002, Andy moved to Lake Tahoe to help develop Northstar into a world-class mountain resort. He has led the expansion and evolution of the Northstar Ski & Snowboard School, Race team as well as ticket, pass, and product design and development. Andy leads Northstar California Resort’s summer programs.

Andy has competed in mountain bike racing at the NORBA level and long-distance mountain bike races, such as the Leadville Trail 100 and the 9-day stage race in South Africa, JoBerg2C.

He is also President of the Truckee Trails Foundation, which is developing an integrated bike and hike trail network in the North Lake Tahoe area. Andy lives with his partner in Truckee.

Andy Buckley

Tarah is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Let Them Play Foundation, a 501c3 committed to inspiring and empowering physical education and activity for all children. She also serves as a Trustee for the Sea Crest School Board, with a focus on educational landscapes and physical education. She and her husband, Eric, run their company Hustle Media which manages Eric’s analyst, author and speaking professions.

Tarah and her family live in Truckee and Half Moon Bay, California. She and Eric have three children aged 10, 9 and 8 that participate in the Alpine Race program and Snowboard Programs. They are avid enthusiasts of outdoor play including Triathlon, Ski, Snowboard, Hiking, Running, and more

Tarah Peters Byrnes

Kelly Coffey is the General Manager for the Children’s Ski and Snowboard School at Northstar. He is also an examiner and National Team alumni for the Professional Ski Instructors of America. Kelly has worked for Vail Resorts since 2000, having worked at Vail and Breckenridge before moving to Northstar.

Kelly has an MBA from Colorado State University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Virginia.

Kelly is a lifelong skier and also enjoys mountain biking, paddle boarding, running, climbing, and coaching his kids’ soccer teams. He and his wife, Genevieve, have two children, Anna and Oliver, who compete for the Northstar Teams.

Kelly Coffey

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Christopher P. Ryman has been President, Chief Operating Officer and Assistant Secretary of Booth Creek Ski Holdings, Inc. from May of 1998 to October of 2010 and served as President and Assistant Secretary of Booth Creek Ski Group, Inc., Holding Company of Booth Creek Ski Holdings, Inc.

Chris served as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Vail Associates, Inc. from 1995 to May 1998. From 1992 to 1995, he was Senior Vice President of Mountain Operations at Vail Associates, Inc., and former Director of the Vail and Beaver Creek Ski and Snowboard Schools.

Chris a two-time member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America National Demonstration Team and helped develop and present the American Teaching Method at Inter-ski in Czechoslovakia. He was a former Pro Racer on the World Pro Skiing (WPS) created by Bob Beattie, former US Ski Team Head Coach.

Chris was contemporary withy Jean-Claude Killy, Spider Sabich, Billy Kidd, Hank Kashiwa, Ken Corrock, the Palmer and Thompson Bros.

Chris Ryman

Dr. Cheryl Knight’s love for the snow began when she learned to snowboard on the hills of Michigan in 1992. She then moved to the peaks of Tennessee, North Carolina, and West Virginia while she completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She studied in France for a year before attending medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee.

Cheryl lives in Houston, Texas, in the off-season, where she home schools her children, practices telemedicine, and teaches yoga. She spends the winters as a full-time resident of Northstar and this season will be the family’s seventh season with Teams.

Her 13-year-old is on his seventh year of full-time Comp Snowboard. Cheryl’s 11-year-old will be in his fifth season competing and his second year on the full-time Alpine U12 Team. Her 9-year-old will be on her fourth year full-time with the Alpine U10 Team. Cheryl’s 7-year-old will be starting his third year on the Snowboard All Mountain Team, and her youngest child will start her second year with the All Mountain Ski Team.

Cheryl’s goal as a member of the Northstar Team Foundation is to help connect families who have made a commitment to Northstar as their home mountain. Cheryl loves the support and fellowship of the Northstar community. The friends, coaches, and athletes create an amazing experience for everyone involved.

Dr. Cheryl Knight

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Steve is the owner of the Law Office of Steven Schultz. He has been practicing law in the area of civil litigation as a trial lawyer for 25 years. He specializes in Medical Malpractice and Products Liability, as well as general civil litigation matters. He has owned and operated his own legal practice since 2007, and was previously associated with two other mid-sized Sacramento area law firms. He has worked as an advocate for both the plaintiff and defense. He is a member of the California Association of Trial Lawyers, the American Association of Justice and the Capital City Trial Lawyers Association. He has been admitted to handle litigation cases in several other states including Hawaii, Illinois and New York.

Steve obtained his Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from The University of Southern California in 1989. He obtained his law degree from University of the Pacific in 1992. He passed the California State Bar exam in 1992.

Steve has been snowboarding since 2004. He and his family have been coming to Northstar since 2008. He is also an avid scuba diver and underwater photographer. He also enjoys golf in the summer. He is married to Sonia and they have 5 children. His son Jayden has been part of the Northstar snowboard team for 5 years, and this will be his 4th season competing.

Steve Shultz

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Nancy is a Vice President, Business Development in Healthcare Services covering the West Coast. She began her career as a registered nurse and has spent 20 years in healthcare sales. She has received numerous awards including market leadership award and multiple top performer awards. She has led regional training programs with groups as large as 100 and led strategic growth and development groups. She is an active member of American College Healthcare Executives.

Nancy joined the Masters Ski Team 2016 and looks forward to racing in upcoming years. Her family enjoys their time on the mountain. Her husband is joining her on Masters Ski Team for 2017. Her two children started on All Mountain Team and joined the Alpine Race team in 2016. They have loved the Tahoe experience and Northstar Community.

Nancy Jones

Susan Safipour was one of the founding board members of the Northstar Team Foundation. Her son, John, started racing on the Northstar Ski Team as a youngster in 2005. He raced Far West throughout high school and continued his love of racing at UC Santa Barbara, where he now studies chemical engineering.

Susan is passionate about the Northstar Ski Team because of the excellent life skills John learned about hard work, dedication, and resilience from the outstanding coaches he trained with. Plus, he's a super skier!

Susan is a real estate advisor with Engel & Völkers and works out of its office in the restored Flying A gas station in downtown Truckee. Formerly an East Bay resident, she was an award-winning journalist in the Bay Area. After a decade in newspapers, she became the longtime editor-in-chief of Diablo, and Napa Sonoma magazines. Her family moved up to their Northstar ski cabin full time in 2017.

In addition to skiing, her family plays numerous sports, including tennis, golf, bocce, and pickleball. In September, Susan and her husband, Fred, launched Truckee’s first-ever regional pickleball tournament at Northstar. More than 300 players from 11 states participated. Susan and Fred are now leading the effort to raise money to build a pickleball complex in Truckee.

Susan is the Foundation’s auction co-chair, along with Lynnea Anderson.

Susan Safipour

Amy draws from a lifelong passion of being outdoors and adventure and brings these experiences to everything she does. Growing up on the East Coast, Amy was a competitive snowboarder before moving to California with her family to spend more time in the mountains that she loves.

Amy first degree was a BA in Education and since then she has gone on to attain a Masters in Outdoor Education, a Masters in Elementary Education, owned and operated a pre-school and worked as the director of a non for-profit whitewater organization serving at-risk youth. She currently sits on the Far West Freestyle Board as the head of development and her active role is the Development Teams Manager for the Northstar Ski and Snowboard Team.

Her personal adventuring continues to take her to far flung places and she especially enjoys the wilderness and remote areas of the Sierra Nevada and California Coast. When not working you will find Amy on her skis, white water boating or mountain bike in Truckee!

Amy Warren

Jasmine has more than a decade of marketing and sales experience in the luxury resort and private club industry. Living and working in Sonoma County allowed her to engage with numerous companies including, Mayacama Golf & Residence Club, The B-hive, and Timbers Resorts, and sparked a great love for food and wine.

As a Truckee native Jasmine has strong community ties and was thrilled at the chance to return to the mountains. She found her home at Tahoe Mountain Realty as the marketing director and uses her diverse skills to provide high-level support to the brokerage and community.