Pete Bansen
Fire Chief, Squaw Valley

Pete Bansen grew up in Philadelphia and moved to Squaw Valley a few days after graduating from Colorado College.  After many years in the ski industry, Pete became Squaw Valley's Fire Chief; a post which he has held since 1993.  Pete has been the Institute's Secretary-Treasurer since the very beginning and a Director for nearly as long.  Pete lives in Truckee with his wife, Cindy and his children Paul and Helen. 

Deb Darby – Dudley
Partner, HD96 Publishing

Deb Darby–Dudley is a partner in HD96 Publishing, a tourism marketing and custom publishing firm in Incline Village, NV. Deb is a long time resident of Lake Tahoe and has worked in the Ski industry as well as for various tourism organizations at the lake. Deb is a former president of the Tahoe Tallac Association and the Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board and is currently a  member of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association Board of Directors. Deb organized the SVI “KT Awards” for two years and continues to volunteer on the development committee of the SVI Board.

Kent Hoopingarner
General Manager, Homewood Mountain Resort

Kent "Hoop" Hoopingarner joined JMA Ventures LLC in December 2006, as General Manager of Homewood Mountain Resort in California. He brings a long history of expertise in resort management and development to the company. Prior to his current position Hoop oversaw operations at Alpine Meadows Resort, California, Purgatory Ski Resort, Colorado and Snowbird, Utah. At Snowbird he experienced the ground up development and construction of the resort as well as having executive oversight of all operations.

Past professional affiliations include serving on the Board of Directors for the California Ski Industry and the National Ski Area Association Avalanche Committee as well as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Salt Lake County Service Area #3.

Nicola Kerslake
Nicola was one of the founding members of Squaw Valley Institute. After graduating from Oxford University, she lived in London, Singapore, Taipei and Philadelphia before settling full time in Squaw Valley. Her career in finance has allowed her to travel extensively through some of the most remote parts of Asia and Eastern Europe, though she is more familiar with their factories and oil fields than with their tourist attractions. Her research on Energy has been published in two books and in several journals, and she has spoken at numerous industry and academic conferences. Nowadays, she focuses on Alternate Energy and plans to travel less and ski more.

Rick Lamb
Incline Village

Rick is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and received his BA and MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.  As an international banker and corporate financial executive, he has lived in New York, London, Singapore, Prague, Irvine and Tampa as well as San Francisco, but Tahoe has been his favorite place since childhood. Rick is a Founding Member of the Institute and has worked with many other non-profits, both in Tahoe and elsewhere.

Rick now lives in Incline Village and indulges his passions for tennis, skiing and mountain biking.  His daughter Katie and her family live in Truckee.

Julie Maurer
Vice President Sales and Marketing, Booth Creek Resorts

Julie Maurer has been involved in mountain resort marketing since she joined Northstar-at-Tahoe’s marketing team in 1982 as the public relations assistant.  She quickly moved up the ladder and served as marketing director for five years.  She was later promoted to corporate marketing director for Fibreboard Resort Group when the company purchased sister resorts Sierra-at-Tahoe and Big Bear Mountain.     

In 1996, Booth Creek Resorts acquired the resorts from Fibreboard Corporation, and Julie was named vice president of sales and marketing for Booth Creek.  Today, she oversees all sales and marketing efforts for Booth Creek’s six resorts -- Northstar-at-Tahoe and Sierra-at-Tahoe in California, Waterville Valley and Cranmore Mountain Resort in New Hampshire.  Booth Creek Resorts is the fourth largest ski operator in the U.S.

Julie oversees resort/hospitality marketing, and that includes developing and executing strategic marketing plans for product development, advertising, sales, public relations, direct marketing, events, internet marketing, strategic alliances and promotions.  Under Julie’s leadership, her staff and resorts have received the North American Snowsports Journalists Association’s Excellence in Media award, Far West Ski Association’s Ski Resort of the Year award, and recognition in national publications for Family Resort of the Year, Top 50 Ski Resorts, Top Golf Resorts, and Top Tennis Resorts.  She is also a recent recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship award given by Rotary International.

Julie attended California State University, San Diego where she earned her B.A. in journalism, with a minor in business administration.  She serves on the marketing committee for the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association and is a member of the National Ski Areas Association marketing council.  She is a member and past president of Ski Lake Tahoe, a cooperative marketing organization promoting Lake Tahoe’s seven largest resorts .

Richard McLennan
General Manager, Resort at Squaw Creek

Richard McLennan serves as General Manager for Resort at Squaw Creek.  He has come to North Lake Tahoe with an abundant passion for the mountains and winter sports, rising from his first job as a lift operator to his days on the British Ski Team, and continuing to this day with his enthusiasm for skiing.  Over the years, Mr. McLennan has served in a number of hospitality management roles at top resorts around the country.  Resorts at which he has held management positions include St. Regis Aspen, The Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California, Daufuskie Island Club & Resort on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, and Pinehurst Resort & Country Club.   His prior board member experience includes the Aspen Art Museum, Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association, Lake County Economic Development Center, North Carolina Restaurant Association, Historic Hotels of America, and Moore County Chamber of Commerce (North Carolina). 

Marc Sapoznik
Marketing & PR Manager, Resort at Squaw Creek

In his free time he can be found snowshoeing, mountain biking, hiking or kayaking in and around Lake Tahoe.  He is also a published writer of fiction.

John Wilcox
Board President

John led the initial founding group for Squaw Valley Institute and has served as its Board President since 2002.  He is a retired business executive from the San Francisco Bay Area and was a founder and CEO of a successful business.  He and his wife, Barbara, retired and became full-time residents of Squaw Valley in 1993, and have since engaged in a variety of part-time and volunteer work in community organizations.  In his spare time, John pursues his his passions for skiing, hiking and tennis.