Chief Executive Officer

+ Angie Weikert

    Angie has dedicated her career to education and fostering a connection to the natural world. Born and raised in Michigan, she began her professional journey earning a B.S. in Secondary Education with a minor in Outdoor Recreation Management from Northern Michigan University, laying the foundation for her career bridging outdoor recreation and place-based education.
    Since making Bozeman her home in 2005, Angie has blended her passions through teaching roles with the Montana Outdoor Science School and Bohart Ranch Cross Country Ski Area. She joined the Crosscut team in 2021 as Managing Director of Lightning Creek and has since taken on expanding leadership responsibilities, including roles as COO and President, before becoming Crosscut’s CEO in December 2024.
    Angie’s career also includes more than a decade of leadership at the Museum of the Rockies, where she developed innovative educational programs that more than doubled participation and enhanced organizational efficiency by streamlining systems and fostering team collaboration. She holds both an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Education from Montana State University, with research focused on building community partnerships to support place-based education.
    A committed community leader, Angie has served on several nonprofit boards and is currently the Board Chair of the Friends of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. She brings vision, a collaborative leadership style, and a strong background in data-driven solutions to her role at Crosscut, advancing its vision to connect people and nature.

angie@crosscutmt.org

Director of Strategic Projects

+ Jen Beaston

    Jen was born in Pennsylvania, but spent her childhood moving around the United States and most of her adulthood moving around the world. She majored in Finance and International Business earning her B.S. at the University of Colorado, but more importantly learned to love the outdoors, backpacking and skiing at every opportunity. Jen completed her MBA at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, studying both at the Phoenix campus and taking advantage of the campus outside of Geneva so she could live in Chamonix to ski, hike and mountain bike while commuting down the mountain for classes.
    Jen brings deep experience in both business and development work, primarily in Africa, but also in Asia and Europe, to her leadership role with Crosscut. Prior to joining the Crosscut team, she was the Executive Director of Eagle Mount. Before moving to Bozeman, Jen was the Country Director for Peace Corps Rwanda and Chief Operating Officer for Tostan, a human rights organization working in communities across Africa. Earlier in her career, she worked in investment banking, international banking, and information technology. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Senegal focused on small enterprise development.
    Jen moved to Montana in 2016, because she found it to truly be the “Last Best Place.” Bozeman is a wonderful community to raise her four very active boys and the place, after searching the world, she finally calls home.

jen@crosscutmt.org

Outdoor Education Director

+ Chandler Bowen

    As a steward, naturalist, and educator, Chandler shares her lifelong love for the outdoors with participants in Crosscut’s Nature Camps and Ski Education Program. She leads Crosscut’s team of instructors, and plans, develops, and manages outdoor education programs.
    An early love for the Yellowstone area drew Chandler to earn her Bachelor’s in Environmental Biology from Pacific University. She is pursuing a Master’s degree in Science Education from Montana State University and believes that engaging people of any age in hands-on, immersive, educational experiences is a powerful tool in the pursuit of protecting and appreciating our wild spaces. She has been a professional naturalist and outdoor educator in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem since 2015. Chandler loves sharing thought-provoking curriculum and having conversations that advance conservation awareness and promote environmental stewardship for future generations. She is passionate about delivering programs that are accessible and approachable to people of all backgrounds, and helping students feel comfortable outdoors regardless of their physical abilities or the season.

chandler@crosscutmt.org

Chief Operating Officer

+ Josh Fairchilds

    Josh hails from the Mojave desert region, and despite that he has been a life-long alpine skier. After moving to Montana nearly 20 years ago, he has become an avid Nordic skier. An avid, and sometimes obsessive, skier and mountain biker Josh spends as much time as possible outside exploring.
     Josh has spent 30+ years in the outdoor industry, working for several iconic brands. As a co-founder of Oboz Footwear he created a highly successful product line, set up the global manufacturing infrastructure, and was a member of the executive management team. At Simms Fishing he was the director of global sourcing overseeing a diverse supply chain across many countries and multiple continents. He has served on the board of several non-profits and currently is the President of the board for Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association.
     After spending winter 2023-24 in the Nordic Center, Josh has had first hand knowledge of the passionate community of winter recreationalists that call Crosscut home.

josh@crosscutmt.org

Trails & Grooming Senior Manager

+ Mitch Harris

    With a lifelong love for outdoor recreation, a practiced attention to detail, and the creative aptitude to keep things running safely and efficiently in all conditions, Mitch Harris ensures Crosscut’s trails are the perfect playground, training ground, and outdoor sanctuary for the whole community, year-round.
     Mitch coordinates the trail work and grooming teams, leads trail maintenance, and keeps the machines functioning in all weather conditions — maintaining and operating machinery to complete off-season trail projects during the summer months, and grooming ski trails and managing the rest of the trails crew during the winter. He collaboratively plans trail improvement projects in alignment with Crosscut’s vision. An economist by training, Mitch applies his analytic nature and knack for precise, detail-oriented work to his leadership role with Crosscut. Growing up on a dairy farm, working with heavy machinery and tackling challenges on the fly was part of his everyday world. An avid Nordic skier and mountain biker, Mitch draws from an experiential perspective of what goes into creating high-quality trails and maintaining exceptional trail conditions, sharing his passion for the outdoors with all those who visit Crosscut.

mitch@crosscutmt.org

Director of Biathlon

+ Seth Hubbard

    Seth directs Crosscut Mountain Sports Center's Biathlon Program which includes our Elite Team, Youth Program, and Masters Program. Prior to joining Crosscut, Seth spent 9 years coaching biathlon in Fort Kent, Maine for the Outdoor Sports Institute. Seth was both a high school and college Nordic racer. Upon graduating from Bates College, he went on to join the US Biathlon Development team before joining Maine Winter Sports/Outdoor Sports Institute. Seth was named Coach of Year by the U.S. Biathlon Association in 2021.

seth@crosscutmt.org

Marketing & Philanthropy Manager

+ Kelley Jazdzewski

    Kelley grew up in Illinois, but the moment she laid her eyes on the Rocky Mountains in middle school, she made a plan to move West. Kelley attended Illinois State University, where she discovered the desire to connect people with natural experiences. She moved to Colorado to work with the High Plains Environmental Center, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to land stewardship and education.
    After sinking roots in Montana in 2018, she fell in love with the opportunities to explore the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Her passion for wild and open spaces deepens every season as she backpacks, trail runs, and skis with her partner and their two dogs. Kelley loves being part of Crosscut because the organization cares for its community and the land by facilitating access to and connection with nature.

kelley@crosscutmt.org

Masters Biathlon Team Coach

+ Dave Jessen

    Dave Jessen coaches Crosscut's Adult Biathlon Team (Masters Team). He comes from a running and competitive shooting background, and enjoys competing at the Masters level in biathlon. Dave and his wife Holly moved to the Bozeman area in 2014, and along with their lab Bella, are actively trying to experience the many wonderful things Montana has to offer.

dave@crosscutmt.org

Administrative Assistant & Outdoor Education Instructor

+ Anna Johnston

    Anna grew up bouncing around the Wasatch Front in Ogden, UT. From the moment she opened her eyes, she has been awestruck by the world. Anna feels most content when she is among mountainous landscapes, doing a little dance. She attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA for her undergraduate degree in English before promptly moving to Jackson, Wyoming to teach outdoor education at Teton Science Schools.
    Anna found Crosscut Mountain Sports Center’s outdoor education program in 2022 and has been here ever since. She adores Crosscut’s place based education model, seeing kids and adults leave programs more connected with the world and with themselves. Her love for the property and the people here drew her into working as Administrative Assistant. You can now find her teaching for ski education and nature camps, behind a computer learning how to do something new, or frolicking around the Bridger Mountains.

anna@crosscutmt.org

Reservation Systems Specialist

+ Jenny Johnston

    Jenny worked in Crosscut’s Nordic Center seasonally for three winters before joining the team year-round in 2022 to manage Crosscut’s reservation software system, Flybook. With exceptional attention to detail and a knack for creative problem solving, she deftly manages the reservation system — earning her the nickname of “Flybook Goddess,” although she thinks of herself as the “Flybook Fairy,” magically fixing things from behind the scenes. Jenny loves working with the great team of Program Managers to create online listings for their camps, clinics, and lessons.
    Jenny first became involved with Crosscut through her kids, who are in the Biathlon Program. Originally from Texas, she learned to ski as an adult and credits her firsthand experience with the challenges and rewards of learning skiing later in life with helping her relate to beginners of all ages. Her education in Environmental Resources led her through a variety of work, from watershed restoration projects to teaching kids about water quality. She served as an AmeriCorps VISTA for Habitat for Humanity. Patient, calm, and supportive, Jenny loves helping to create a non-intimidating environment for people to learn new outdoor activities.

jenny@crosscutmt.org

Director of Outreach

+ Ryan Krueger

    An avid skier and biker, Ryan Krueger understands why snow and dirt tug at the human imagination, and how shared outdoor experiences bring us closer. With a wealth of firsthand experience in blazing trails in both business development and the outdoors, he lends a richly collaborative, creative, and tuned-in perspective to Crosscut’s marketing and events.
     After studying photography and writing at Montana State in Bozeman, Ryan began his career as a photo editor with a magazine before becoming a freelance photographer and writer in the outdoor industry. He spent the better part of a decade in the bike industry, co-founding a company and guiding brand creation and expression as marketing director. Today, Ryan draws from those experiences to shape his approach to highlighting and celebrating Crosscut’s work and initiatives and bringing events to life.

ryan@crosscutmt.org

Director of Mountain Services

+ Heidi Makoutz

    Heidi was raised on her parents’ hobby farm in Western New York, where she found an early connection with the outdoors. She has always been a bit of an instigator (in all the best ways) and a lifelong learner. Attending St. Lawrence University, she ran on the cross country and track teams and skied on the EISA circuit, all while maintaining a rigorous course load and graduating as valedictorian of her class. Volunteering at the local high school sparked her career in teaching and coaching. She went on to earn her Master’s in education. An award-winning educator, Heidi taught general science, computer science, health and human development, and chemistry to 7-12th graders with an emphasis on neuroscience, mindfulness, and adolescent brain development. She coached cross-country and track and field at the high school level.
    While starting her family, she began shifting her passion for authentic growth through sport from hobby status to her profession. Heidi finds joy and purpose in instructing Nordic skiers and mountain bikers of all ages. Contributing to the community while raising three adventurous girls has enhanced her belief that working hard IS having fun — on wheels, on skis, and in life. A natural leader and teambuilder, she balances an analytical mindset with practical vision to make learning new things approachable and rewarding for her athletes and colleagues. Heidi is a certified PSIA Level 1 instructor, PMBIA Level 1 instructor, NICA Level 3 mountain bike coach, and a USSA Level 200 Nordic ski coach and race official. Before joining the Crosscut team, she received Coach of the Year and Coach of the Month awards from BSF. Inspired by Crosscut’s vision, Heidi looks forward to sharing her enthusiasm with you!

heidi@crosscutmt.org

Assistant Biathlon Coach, Elite Team

+ Sydney Michalak

    Sydney is proud to support the individual athletes while building community. From the form and focus of in-person training sessions to the big-picture strategy of annual training plans, Sydney’s irresistible energy and careful attentiveness infuse her work with both purpose and fun.
    Sydney earned a Master's degree in Mechanical Aerospace Engineering before pursuing her dream of being a professional rower. She was part of team USA W2x at the U23 World Championships in 2018. Competing as a professional athlete on international stages gifted her invaluable experience and knowledge to help athletes realize their own big goals. She shares her passions with enthusiasm as she works to create positive changes and nurture growth in the Crosscut Elite Team. Her love for adventure led her to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Sydney is proud to be part of the incredibly strong and talented group of female employees at Crosscut.

sydney@crosscutmt.org

U.S. Paralympics Nordic Team Coach

+ Nick Michaud

    Nick Michaud joined United States Paralympic Nordic (USPN) as Development Team Coach in 2019. In partnership with the Crosscut Mountain Sports Center, he works with USPN and Crosscut athletes around the globe and at home in Bozeman.
    Growing up playing ball sports in rural Fort Kent, a gritty community on the northern border of Maine, Nick fell in love with skiing after some crust cruising adventures through potato fields. He competed worldwide in both Biathlon and Nordic skiing for Maine Winter Sports Center, Bend Endurance Academy, and Bridger Ski Foundation, and studied community-based sociology at Bates College. He brings that depth and diversity of experience to his role as a coach, where he finds creative ways to support and unlock his athletes’ full potential in both high-performance athletics and life. In 2019, he co-created the Crosscut Elite Team, the first adaptive and non-adaptive world-class Nordic team in the country, with Seth Hubbard. Nick has coached several athletes to their first Paralympic Games and their first medals in the Tokyo and Beijing Paralympic Games in 2022. He prioritizes multisport movement, training design, education, and sharing laughs on mountain adventures.

nick@crosscutmt.org

Trails & Grooming Foreman

+ Paul Puettman

    Paul works with the Grooming, Trails & Facilities team to help manage Crosscut’s summer trails and support grooming operations during the winter season. His thoroughness, mind for logistics, and trail expertise make Paul a true asset in maintaining and improving the beloved Crosscut Mountain Sports Center trails. A former Wildland Firefighter, Forest Protection Officer, and Forest Service trail crew lead, Paul draws from years of experience in successfully planning and executing effective forest management and trail work plans in both wilderness and non-wilderness areas. He is known and appreciated for prioritizing a supportive, inclusive, and safe working environment for his team, and carefully overseeing the usage, maintenance, and repair of fleets of trail equipment vehicles.
    Recognized in his former role as Nordic Center Employee of the Season, Paul brings a humble attitude and quick sense of humor to the Crosscut team. He graduated with honors from MSU Bozeman in 2016, earning a Bachelor of Science in Cell Biology and Neuroscience and a minor in Biochemistry. Dedicated to giving back to the community he loves, Paul volunteers with the Eagle Mount Adaptive Ski Program, Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation, and Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association. He is most proud of skiing Logger’s Loop without stopping.

paul@crosscutmt.org

Nordic & Trial Center Manager

+ Reid Short

    Reid Short has spent most of his life helping empower people with tools and opportunities to enjoy the outdoors with confidence. As Crosscut’s Nordic Center Manager and Mountain Bike Program Coordinator, he fosters a warm, welcoming learning environment for recreators and athletes of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.
     Originally from Virginia, Reid is a lifelong outdoor enthusiast with a love for exploring the backcountry by foot, wheels, skis, and rafts. He learned to downhill ski when he moved to Montana to study Mechanical Engineering at MSU, quickly picking up the sport and becoming an instructor at Big Sky Resort. He joined Crosscut in 2020 and led the way in refining our mountain bike camp and clinic curriculums, making all learners feel at ease with their skill development. As of 2022, he stepped into the leadership role for the Nordic Center, lending his encouraging energy and practical mindset to guide and support the facilities, programs, and team. Reid loves to keep things simple, effective, and fun.

reid@crosscutmt.org

Biathlon Coach, Youth Program

+ Ann Sorenson

    Ann Sorenson began her athletic career in middle school, as a runner and competed through high school and as a Division I cross country runner at the University of Dayton, Ohio, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Health. After her college running career, Ann competed as an athlete in Summer Biathlon. She made the US National Team in 1993 and competed with the team for 10 years, until 2003.
    During her time as a Biathlete, Ann traveled throughout the U.S. competing and promoting Biathlon, winning several US Championships and competed in 8 World Championships, taking her to places all over Europe, including, Austria, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Siberia, Russia. Ann achieved a top 10 place while competing in the World Championships in Russia, in 2000.

ann@crosscutmt.org

Chief Marketing Officer

+ Laurie Stahle

    Laurie grew up romping around the hollows, creeks, and caves of the Ozark Mountains in northern Arkansas. After graduating from the University of Central Arkansas, she spent four years living and working in Beijing, China bisected by a couple year stint in Southern California completing a Master’s degree in East Asian Studies. When the big city life began to wear thin, she looked to make a new home in the Intermountain West. After moving to Bozeman over a decade ago, Laurie completed a PhD in Earth Sciences and then worked locally in strategic communications, operations, project management, and graphic design. Throughout her diverse career, the common threads of human and physical geography have guided Laurie’s trajectory.
    A fortuitous meeting with Lowell Bailey in 2018 introduced Laurie to the mission and vision of Crosscut. She’s been an avid champion of the cause ever since. After years of working with Crosscut as a consultant, Laurie joined as CMO in 2021, heading up communications, marketing, information technology, and people support. Passionate about both data and human stories, Laurie leans into hard work with a mindset of inclusivity, collaboration, and fun. Look for her trying to catch her breath on the Crosscut trails as she tries to improve her skate ski technique and fitness.

laurie@crosscutmt.org

+ Blue Coat Ambassadors

Not Pictured: David Baumbauer, Mark Burr, Kristine McVey, Jo Newhall, Melinda Thompson, Barbara Turner-Lantz, Peggy Woods

+ Nordic Center Team

+ Ski & Biathlon Lessons Team

Not Pictured: Jack Christianson, Cody Johnson, Max Marwin, Sydney Michalak, Ari Woods

+ Ski Education Team

Not Pictured: Neva Bentley, Kodee Cloninger, Morgan Durbin, Max Marwin, Heather Myers, James Pritchard

+ Trails and Grooming Team

+ Crosscut Staff

This is a lot of us, but not everyone — we have 51 winter staff members, 38 are pictured here!

Board Member

+ Dani Aravich

    Dani Aravich grew up in Boise, Idaho and was encouraged by her parents to get involved in sports. From soccer to basketball, softball and ice skating, Dani tried it all and she excelled, while playing against non-disabled peers. In high school, she narrowed her focus to track & field and caught the attention of several collegiate programs, eventually deciding on Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana where she competed in indoor and outdoor track & field until injuries gave her the impetus to pause her athletic career and focus on her scholastic one. After college Dani joined the Utah Jazz organization as an account executive.
     Dani was born without her left hand and forearm. Given her talent and love for sport, a family friend suggested she consider training to compete in the Paralympics. The idea intrigued her, she began training and soon saw encouraging results. In 2019, Dani made the decision to leave her corporate position to pursue a career as a professional athlete. The decision was richly rewarded when Dani made her Paralympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games in track and field, representing the U.S. in the 400m T47. In 2021, she made the leap to winter sports and joined the Crosscut Elite Team. In short time, Dani earned a spot on the national team and represented Team USA at the Beijing Winter Paralympics competing in Nordic skiing and biathlon. She earned her first World Cup medal at the 2023 FIS World Championships in Ostersund, Sweden — gold in the combined relay.
    Dani is a passionate advocate for inclusion of people with disabilities in the outdoors. She has made numerous appearances to speak about disability inclusion and has a wealth of experiences across sports marketing, sponsorship, and social media marketing through various roles in the NBA, NFL, and casting agencies.

Board Member

+ Cammy Houser

Treasurer, Board Member

+ Eric Lammers

Board Member

+ Jacquie Love

Board Member

+ Chris Plaut

Board Member

+ Will Price

    Will Price is the Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Next Frontier Capital, a Rocky-mountain focused venture capital fund with offices in Bozeman, Boulder, Salt Lake, and Missoula. Will co-founded Next Frontier Capital to partner with mission-driven, talented entrepreneurs to build Rocky Mountain technology companies of impact, utility, value. Will’s career spans venture capital investing as well as operational, transactional, and advisory roles at both public and private companies. With a Montana family history dating to the 1850s, Will is passionate about investing in the state’s promising future. Will received an MBA from Northwestern University and an BA from Harvard University. Based in Bozeman, Will and his wife, Caroline, have two college-aged sons, Jack (MSU) and Luke (MSU). Will's prior non-profit Montana boards include GVLT, GYC, and APR.