After a challenging past couple of years, the National Ski Patrol continues to be in turmoil. Ski Area Management reports that the CEO of the National Ski Patrol, Chris Castilian(pictured above), announced his resignation after only thirteen months on the job. He has tried to enact change on a variety of issues but has been met with fierce resistance from the NSP’s Board of Directors. The resignation letter from Chris Castilian is below.
Some of the major challenges the National Ski Patrol has faced include addressing diversity and inclusion in its community. As early as 2014, Ski Area Management pointed out that the National Ski Patrol was stuck in the past. In 2020, Executive Director Meegan Moszynski was forced to leave after criticizing then-board chairman Brian Rull for his racist comments about Asians in the National Ski Patrol magazine. According to the Colorado Sun, Meegan has filed a discrimination complaint against the National Ski Patrol with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Grows for change in their diversity resulted in multiple social media posts this year, but the comment sections proved very contentious, as the National Ski Patrol turned off the comments. Many commented that National Ski Patrol hadn’t done enough to address their concerns, and hadn’t removed members who have created a toxic environment.
The National Ski Patrol released the following response about Chris Castilian’s resignation:
“Despite National Ski Patrol’s leadership changes in recent years, the mission and goals of the organization remain the same: to provide the best training, education, and first-response medical care for the outdoor recreation community.
NSP’s national board of directors is steadfastly committed to supporting the talented and creative national office team and is actively working with them to develop a plan to identify, hire and support a new leader within the national office to continue to provide meaningful value to NSP’s members and to all of our vital partners.”
Image Credits: National Ski Patrol
