“In celebration of International Women’s Day, CEO Rob Katz announced POWDER, a new program at our Company which aims to foster an inclusive culture that attracts and retains a broad range of exceptional talent and promotes diverse leadership growth opportunities.”

Missed the ball when this was initially announced on International Women’s Day back in March but better late than never. On March 8th Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz announced a plan for a company wide committee to advocate a culture of inclusion, developing and supporting strong, bold and diverse leaders throughout, and recruiting and hiring leaders who embrace diversity. The initiative goes by POWDER which is short for Providing Opportunity for Women through Diversity, Equality and Respect:

“The inspiration for this initiative is the Women of Whistler Blackcomb (WOWB) program. In 2015, women leaders from every division across Whistler Blackcomb came together to ask, “How do we do better?” Driven by their passion to find an answer, they led a culture shift within the resort, impacting hiring practices, scheduling, development, advocacy, education and recognition.”

POWDER Pillars

  1. Awareness & Mindset – Culture of Inclusion
    Foster a culture of inclusion through the continued evaluation of our current atmosphere, the development of personal awareness and the celebration of diversity.
  2. Development/Growth/Support
    Develop and support strong, bold and diverse leaders throughout Vail Resorts by providing mentorship programs, educational, development and growth opportunities, and inclusive learning regions.
  3. Talent & Hiring
    Vail Resorts recruits and hires leaders who embrace diversity, grow talent and thrive in a culture of inclusion.

Next Steps
The Steering Committee members, listed below, are reaching out to your region’s leadership to discuss the approach and activation for your region and resort. Keep your eyes open for a kickoff event near you and join in!

  • Executive Committee Sponsors: Pat Campbell & Lynanne Kunkel
  • Initiative Leaders/Whistler Blackcomb/Stevens Pass: Kate Roddick, Manager Internal Communications & Projects & Miriam MacDonald, Senior Manager Product Sales & Services
  • Enterprise Senior Leaders: Tara Schoedinger, Chief of Staff, Mountain Division; Lance Thompson, VP, Hospitality; Greg Willis, Senior Director, Skier Services, Beaver Creek
  • Broomfield: Julie Krogh, Legal Counsel & Melissa Allen, Director IT VRR
  • Summit County: Shannon Buhler Senior Manager Product Sales/Scan & Ticket POS, Keystone
  • Eagle County: Jennifer Rizza, Senior Manager F&B, Vail
  • Tahoe: Anjie Goulding, Senior Manager Product Sales/Scan & SS Product Sales, Kirkwood
  • Park City & Urban Resorts: Dora Akers, Group Manager, HR, Park City
  • Northeast: Karen Wagner, Senior Manager, Patrol, Stowe

HERE’S THE PRESS RELEASE:

March 8, 2019
Today, people across the world are coming together in different ways to acknowledge and celebrate International Women’s Day. Observed across the globe since the early 1900s, International Women’s Day recognizes the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

I couldn’t think of a better way to recognize the contributions and achievements of women in our Company than sharing the personal stories of our pioneering women leaders. On this International Women’s Day, I am excited to share this month’s episode of Epic By Nature: Trailblazers where we explore the unique journeys of some of our female leaders in Operations. Having successfully navigated their way to the top of traditionally male dominated areas of our business, these women have changed the face of an industry and paved the way for those coming behind them.

Launching POWDER – Providing Opportunity for Women through Diversity, Equality and Respect

Coming on the heels of an unprecedented global movement for women’s rights, equality, safety and justice, International Women’s Day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. At Vail Resorts, I am very proud of the investment we have made in our women leaders, and our progress to date, but we know that more needs to be done to fully realize the power of a diverse organization.

In 2015, women leaders from every division across Whistler Blackcomb came together to ask this very question, “How do we do better?” Driven by their passion to find an answer, the Women of Whistler Blackcomb (WOWB) led a cultural shift within the resort, impacting hiring practices, scheduling, development, advocacy, education and recognition.

Now, under the sponsorship of Lynanne Kunkel and Pat Campbell, we are taking steps to replicate the success of WOWB across the enterprise, to bring men and women together in every region to learn, discuss, and solve issues and opportunities related to gender diversity. Therefore, I am thrilled to be launching POWDER – Providing Opportunity for Women through Diversity, Equality and Respect, a new program which aims to foster an inclusive culture that attracts and retains a broad range of exceptional talent and promotes diverse leadership growth opportunities.

This spring, POWDER Steering Committee members, made up of men and women across all of our North American regions, will engage champions at each resort to lead and mobilize local POWDER teams. Regional introductory kickoff events will be held in the coming weeks so you can learn more.

We will keep you posted on progress as we build out the program for a full launch this summer. I’m personally committed to gender equality and the open dialogue about our progress, the challenges and the small steps we can all take every day, to keep driving change.

Happy International Women’s Day!

CEO Rob Katz went super in depth about the initiative on this 30 minute podcast:

info from insideepic.com

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