Meet Our Board of Directors
Board Chair
Jeff Rhodes
Jeff Rhodes is a Partner of TPG in the San Francisco office, where he co-leads the healthcare group and the firm's investment activities in the healthcare services, pharmaceutical, and medical device sectors. Jeff also serves on the Leadership Council for The Nature Conservancy California and the Governing Council of the Wilderness Society.
Jeff grew up cross-country skiing, and competed in the sport at Williams College. His family appreciates the Northstar team community, and his three children enjoy participating in Northstar’s Alpine Race team.
Vice Chair
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
Brain Helm
Brian Helm is the owner of Paradigm8 a Truckee based real estate development, construction, and asset management firm. P|8 has active residential and commercial developments in the Old Greenwood, Northstar, Gray’s Crossing, and North Lake Tahoe communities. P|8 is also the owner and operator of the Tahoe Mountain Club, a mindfully curated collection of properties throughout the Truckee-Tahoe region that offers discerning members access to four-season amenities including a private ski valet in the Village at Northstar, two private on-mountain restaurants, 36-holes of championship golf (Old Greenwood GC and Gray’s Crossing GC) and an expansive swim and fitness facility with three swimming pools, fitness center, tennis, and dining.
Brian lives with his wife Amanda and three children Sydney, Taylor and Owen in Truckee.
Board Members
Tom Powell
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
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.
Aaron Atkins
IAaron 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"
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Thane Gilmore
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Yvo Smitt
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Yvo Smit, was born in The Netherlands, however has been living in the US for over 25 years now. He has been bringing his daughters to Northstar to ski since they were 3 and they have been on teams since they were eligible. First on All Mountain and for the last couple of years on the Freestyle team. He lives in San Francisco, and after a career in the corporate world is now part of his wife Missy Wyant Smit’s 8 person real estate team. Given the impact that Northstar Teams has had on the development (Not only skiing, but independence, work ethic etc.) of his daughters he is excited to help out in anyway he can.
Kelly Coffey
Kelly Coffey is the general manager for Northstar's Children's Ski and Snowboard School, where his goal is to turn every child into a lifelong snowsports enthusiast. He has worked for Vail Resorts for 20 years, including stints at Breckenridge and Vail Mountain. He is an examiner and National Team alumni for the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA).
Kelly grew up in Vienna, Virginia, a Washington DC suburb. He went to the University of Virginia as an undergraduate and then Colorado State University where he earned his MBA.
Along with volunteering on the board of the NTF, Kelly works on various committees for PSIA and coaches youth soccer in Truckee. His wife Genny is a high school English teacher and an avid telemark skier. His two children are on the Northstar Freestyle Team: Anna competes in moguls and Oliver competes in park and pipe.
Alex Gallard
Bio TBD
Brain White
Bio To be added soon
Dr. Cheryl Knight
Dr. 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.
John Jennings
John is the Director of Skier Services at Northstar California Resort and sits on the Northstar Senior Leadership Team. He has been with Vail Resorts for over a decade and brings an incredible amount of experience, knowledge, and passion to his career. A proven strong leader, John has played an integral role in the success of many projects across the business, including serving as the Vail Resorts integration lead for acquisitions of Peak Resorts, Stevens Pass, and Wilmot Mountain. He has also served as the Business Change Champion for Northstar, and was the Project Lead and Brand Developer for Northstar’s Platinum Product Series. He has been involved in many community efforts in the Truckee and Lake Tahoe Region through the Epic Promise Foundation and now is on the board of directors.
Originally from Austin, Texas, John moved to Lake Tahoe in 2010 searching for big mountain skiing, powder days, and the mountain community. John has a genuine love for the outdoors and spends his free time with his wife and kids exploring the west coast and the Sierra Nevada’s. John is also a heavily involved in land ranch management at his family property in West Texas. The “JJ Ranch” is a contributor and partner to one of the largest wind farms in the country supplying sustainable energy to Austin and San Antonio.
Melissa Jarvis
Melissa Jarvis is a seasoned software industry expert with more than 20 years in the business. She has extensive experience leading sales engineering teams at Oracle and NetSuite. As VP, WW Sales Engineering at NetSuite, she grew a small team into a global organization and helped the company to achieve a successful IPO. Prior to her experience in software, Melissa spent several years working in investment management at Franklin Templeton and Morgan Stanley. She holds a B.S. degree in Economics from Santa Clara University.
Melissa has three daughters and is passionate about their education. She served as a director of the board for Cabrillo Education Foundation, a non profit organization created to enrich educational excellence for public school students in Half Moon Bay, CA. During her tenure, she served on the finance and audit committee and also implemented NetSuite for donor management, outreach and donation tracking.
After spending two winters in Lake Tahoe, Melissa and her family decided to become full time residents. She lives in Northstar with her husband, Mark and her daughters. Her oldest is a senior at Chapman University, studying International Business and Data Science. Her two younger daughters attend Tahoe Expedition Academy and ski for the Northstar Alpine Race Team. They spend their summers in Bass Lake. When she’s not on the sidelines cheering for her girls at ski races, she enjoys traveling, reading and the outdoors!
Amy Warren
Executive Director
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 degree 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.
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!
Jasmine Watts
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.