Awards - Advocacy - Publications - Education

Awards and Advocacy

My work and publications focus on helping business, communities, land managers, agencies, and governments find ways to protect mountains of the world with mountain stakeholders, not from them.

My work to help mountain stakeholders become effective mountain stewards has been recognized by a number of groups, including The National Parks Conservation Association, which honored me in 2003 as one of five “Americans Making a Difference for Parks".

I also provide publicity, communications, and webmastering for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Mountains Biome Theme. I have been an avid climber and mountaineer for over 20 years, and I currently serve as President of the Mountain Protection  Commission of the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation. I have also served as Vice President of The American Alpine Club.

I also advocate for the promotion of mountain sports for improving the physical and mental health of disabled people. As part of the Friendship Beyond Borders group, I am helping world-famous mountaineer and climber Nawang Sherpa (left), the first person in the world to climb Mount Everest using a prosthetic leg, to help amputees and others struggling to overcome physical injuries and mental trauma.

Publications

I have co-edited and contributed to a number of publications including:

•     Guidelines for Planning and Managing Mountain Protected Areas (2004)
•     Managing Mountain Protected Areas: Challenges and Responses for the 21st Century (2004)
•     The Amenity Migrants: Seeking and Sustaining Mountains and Their Cultures (2006)

Education

B.A. Latin American Studies, University of California, Berkeley

M.B.A. International Business and Finance, San Francisco State University