Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition Announces Award Winners for Outdoor and Snowsports Industries
OutdoorHub 01.18.12
The Pioneering Woman Award, created in 2002 and celebrating its 10th anniversary today, recognizes a “maven of mentoring.” Recipients of this award are women who have furthered the vision of OIWC by demonstrating an outstanding commitment to mentoring female colleagues.
In 2005, OIWC created the First Ascent Award, which recognizes a woman new to the industry who demonstrates strong potential for leadership. It furthers the vision of OIWC by increasing the visibility of talented young women at lower levels in an organization, facilitating their development on their journey to future leadership roles.
Outdoor Industry
The recipient of the Pioneering Woman Award for the outdoor industry is Karen T’Kint, Key Account Sales Manager at PrAna. Karen started in the outdoor industry 25 years ago as an Assistant Retail Store Manager for The North Face. She moved up through various positions, landing as the VP of Sales for Five Ten, and eight years ago began her current role at PrAna.
Her nomination reflected the epitome of a pioneering woman: Karen is also the first one to give credit, compliments and an opportunity for young women in the industry. She can see potential and is the first person to call attention to it and hand someone the reigns. Karen makes an impact wherever she works.
Karen is also an avid climber, a beginning road biker, and a mother of two teenagers
The recipient of the First Ascent Award is Liz Stahura, Senior Research Analyst & Account Executive at Leisure Trends Group. As one of the company’s lead analysts, Liz is responsible for identifying, writing, and presenting actionable insights from the company’s retail sales tracking data and consumer research across multiple industries. In her nomination, Liz was praised for being an inspiration on a daily basis: She has strong leadership skills and works hard to keep developing them. She has an impact on Leisure Trends and on the industry as a whole.
Liz started her career at Leisure Trends after graduating with honors from the University of Colorado in Boulder. At Leisure Trends, she combines her unique analytical abilities with her love for the outdoors. In her spare time, Liz enjoys climbing, running, yoga, hiking, snowboarding and an admitted addiction to shoes and fashion.
Karen and Liz will be recognized for their accomplishments and receive their awards during the OIWC Keynote Breakfast on January 21st, from 7 am – 9 am, at the Marriott in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. The event will include a keynote presentation by Donna Carpenter, president and co-owner of Burton Snowboards. Donna will share some of her thoughts and theories around diversity in the workplace while presenting on the topic, ‘Where are all the women? Why diversity is good for business.’ To RSVP or submit questions, please contact Amy Luther (aluther@oiwc.org).
Snowsports Industry
The recipient of the Pioneering Woman Award for the snowsport industry is Amy Purdy, Co-Founder of Adaptive Action Sports. At 19 years old, Amy had a life-altering experience when she was diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis and both of her legs were amputated below the knee. Two years later, Amy entered the USASA national snowboarding competition where she won medals in three events. In February of 2011 she became the world’s top-ranked adaptive female snowboarder, winning two back-to-back world cup snowboard competitions.
In 2005 Amy co-founded Adaptive Action Sports (AAS), designed to help youth, young adults and wounded vets with permanent disabilities get involved with action sports including snowboarding, skateboarding, moto x and all action sports. Her passion for mentoring is evident in her nomination: Amy teaches, mentors, guides and champions female adaptive athletes who are taking their first steps in their journey. Her hands-on approach, working side-by-side female athletes, is truly inspiring.
The recipient of the First Ascent Award for the snowsports industry is Clarissa Finks, Product Manager – Boots, Burton. Clarissa is the hub of the fast-moving Boot Product Management wheel at Burton. Having the opportunity to work with riders of all levels – ranging from the Pro Team to in-house employees to shop employees to product testers all over the world — is one of the most rewarding parts of her job. She considers herself fortunate to be able to work with an amazing team that makes snowboarding better — one boot innovation at a time.
Through her involvement in the Burton Mentoring Program and the Women’s Professional Association, Clarissa also appreciates the chance she has been given to help strengthen the culture at Burton. Her leadership was summarized nicely in her nomination: Complimenting Clarissa’s vision for women’s product innovation is her passion for making Burton a better place to work.
Amy and Clarissa will be recognized for their accomplishemnts and receive their awards at the OIWC keynote breakfast on January 28th at the Denver Convention Center. The event will take place from 7 am – 9am in the convention center’s Mile High Ballroom #4. Gwen Manto, Sporting Goods Veteran, will present as keynote speaker at the event, sharing her thoughts on this year’s OIWC Professional Development topic: “Choosing Your Success: Why Gender Doesn’t matter.” To RSVP or submit question, please contact Amy Luther (aluther@oiwc.org).
