I’m leaving my dream job as the Director of Membership & Communications at The Mountaineers. My last day is June 6, 2024, my 11 year anniversary. A perfect storm of factors – including the unexpected passing of my longtime colleague and friend Jeff Bowman, which further accelerated our need for an organizational restructure – gave me the opportunity to leave with intention and a long lead time. I’m so grateful for all that The Mountaineers has given me, including the chance to usher in a new set of change makers.

To celebrate the time that I spent at The Ms – the entirety of my 30s – I’ve compiled a list of eleven of my favorite learning opportunities from the last eleven years. This is a longer read than most of my blogs, so I’ve bolded the lessons if skimming is your jam today. Skip ahead to the What’s Next section if you just want to get on with it already. 

11 Lessons for Eleven Years at my Dream Job

#11: Do it scared

Everyone feels imposter syndrome. I certainly feel it all the time. Take writing this blog for example. Do I feel like I have enough wisdom to impart knowledge to others? Do I think people will read this and think I’m a delusional, self-aggrandizing a-hole? I wonder about both of those things, but here we are; I’m doing it anyway. When I was asked to Chair the Board for SheJumps, and again when I launched our SheJumps Governance Committee, I was also scared. Same when I was tasked with serving as the staff lead on our Vision 2022 Strategic Plan development for The Mountaineers. I did it anyway, and I learned a ton. Being courageous is different than being fearless. The saying “fake it till you make it” is popular for a reason. Don’t let fear hold you back from great opportunities – just do it scared.

#10: Believe in yourself

Shortly after starting at The Mountaineers, I had the opportunity to write my first magazine article. Naturally, it was about Turns All Year. Seeing my byline for the first time was life-affirming. Finally, this thing that I love to do is good enough that someone printed it. Throughout the years I’ve had the chance to write (and ghostwrite) hundreds of articles and blogs for The Mountaineers, while also learning from other authors as their editor. While I still get excited to see my name in print, nothing tastes as sweet as that first publication, which I hope to frame someday. Landing an article in Adventure Journal certainly comes in close second. Seeing others believe in me taught me to believe in myself. 

#9: Know when to fight

I was the first person with marketing experience to be hired at The Mountaineers. Having the opportunity to build a brand voice, look, colors, and collaborate on a logo refresh was such an exciting endeavor. A final step to the brand refresh was to create an evergreen branding video. I dove headfirst into our history, pulling out the best sound bites then writing a script. I recruited a team of volunteers for voiceovers (including the icon Jim Whittaker) and coordinated hundreds of photo and video submissions. Together with our incredible videographer Mike Short, we released the We Are Mountaineers video. I loved the entire process of managing that project, and used that experience to inform my process-based approach to serving as Editor in Chief for our quarterly Mountaineer magazine. I also wrote and produced – and did the voiceover for – our Adventure with Purpose video in 2022. Managing projects taught me to trust my gut when it came to knowing when to dig in and when to let go. 

#8: Value (and nurture) relationships

Before arriving on The M’s team, I worked for Allrecipes.com, the number one recipe website in the US at the time. I was on the team responsible for launching the international sites, and in doing so, I learned about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as well as enough other things to be dangerous with websites. Therefore, pairing me with the technology manager for mountaineers.org 2.0 made sense. Together, Jeff and I built a relationship of mutual trust and launched the website on-time and on-budget. Was it perfect? Definitely not. But we continued to work on it for the last decade, making improvements based on thousands of pieces of community feedback. When Jeff passed away unexpectedly at the beginning of December 2023, I was devastated (I still am). Picking up where he left off has been challenging, but I was able to launch Upgrade 4.5 a few months later in Jeff’s honor. Today, I know more about canonical tags and UX design and Plone website integration than I ever expected. My life is richer for the experience, especially for spending so much time with Jeff. Developing a deep partnership showed me the power of valuing relationships over linear progress.

#7: Put processes to work for you

I love a well-designed process, a theme you’ll probably see throughout this post. Whether it’s organizing my to-do list, soliciting articles for our magazine, or creating a production plan to get a new video out on time, I like to put my processes to work for me. My mind has always worked this way. So when I joined staff with the charge to grow membership from 10,000 to 12,000 (no small feat given that we’d experienced a decade of decline), I put my processes to work. I launched social media, established regular monthly emails, built a welcome email series for newcomers, and began working on our first blogs. Today, we have a robust communications calendar of 8+ monthly emails, 2-4 blogs a week, and daily social media posts managed by a team of three. Thanks to these regular communications and annual membership campaigns, we’ve reached 16,500 members with a retention rate of 78%. This growth is due to the great website design (SEO friendly) and our ability to consistently build brand awareness through proven processes. By creating repeatable systems and processes – working smarter, not harder – we were able to achieve much more than planned.

#6: Strive for progress over perfection

Fairness and equity have always been important values in my personal life (just ask my sisters). When I got the opportunity to be involved in our organizational equity and belonging work in 2017, I jumped. Holy cow did I have a lot to learn. I still do. For the first few years, I said a lot of wrong things and experienced my fair share of cringe-worthy moments. And still, together with a committee, we did a lot of great work. We leaned heavily into representational justice in our magazine (my favorite article), amplifying stories from folks who have been historically excluded from the outdoors. We sharped our internal lens too, standardizing processes, increasing transparency, investing in educational resources (like the Emotional Safety in the Outdoors eLearning course), growing our scholarships program, and building new, more equitable systems. There’s still so much more to do. Our progress wasn’t perfect and certainly wasn’t linear, but I’m proud to have played a small part in making the outdoors a place where more people can feel belonging. 

#5: Plans can only take you so far

Like the rest of the world in February 2020, The Mountaineers were business as usual. Then the world shut down. Not only did we all become expert epidemiologists overnight, but I had to learn the ins-and-outs of crisis communications. Our leadership team banded together and created systems which continue to serve us today, including a regular cadence of CEO Updates. The road was rough, and included severe austerity measures including layoffs and pay cuts. We stayed nimble and responsive, doing things like building a Virtual Education Center to help foster connections during a lonely, isolating time and offering a fun ‘Stayed Home’ badge for our community. Our teamwork made us stronger and we survived the pandemic – an unprecedented event we could have never planned for. Keeping a business running during COVID taught me to be more comfortable living in the unknown.

#4: Embrace vulnerability

For many years, I thought that showing emotion was a sign of weakness. Thanks to a number of mentors, I learned a lot about emotional intelligence and empathy in the last decade. This helped me immensely in my professional life (see #2: value relationships) and has paid dividends in my personal life. When I suffered my first miscarriage in 2019, I processed the loss as I process most things: through writing. The support I received from that blog was overwhelming, and by sharing my own vulnerability, I’ve had the gift of helping others through similar challenges. I carried this lesson into my job, striving to build deeper connections with my colleagues. These connections have enriched my life in countless ways, and without being vulnerable first, they might have never happened.

#3: Structure will set you free

I love to do puzzles and paint by numbers. They allow you to be creative and solve problems within a “box”, so to speak. I believe having this type of ‘frame’ leads to more creativity. That’s why writing prompts can be so valuable. At The Mountaineers, I first applied this frame by building our brand guidelines and voice. I saw folks use the tool to be effective and I was emboldened to tackle our hiring process. Each hiring manager did it differently and a candidate’s experience was wildly different from job to job. As a stickler for fairness, this stuck in my craw. I systematized my hiring process (with support from our Equity & Inclusion Committee) to create templates for standard communications, an evaluation matrix, an objective evaluation rubric, and interview questions. We started sharing salary ranges before it was required and still share interview questions in advance for equity. We built a compensation philosophy and salary range table, informed by greater nonprofit market trends. This structure has led to more objectivity in hiring. Today our staff also has a broader diversity of lived and professional experience. When you manage expectations, create transparent communications, and set foundational structures, people and organizations thrive.

#2: Find your people and be their biggest cheerleader

One of the legacies I’m most proud of is the longevity of my team. The Mountaineers was the first place I’d managed people. Over time my team grew, and at its peak I had five direct reports and a team of nine. With no formal training, I reflected on the great and not-great bosses I’d had. I wanted to be the type of boss who would never ask people to do something I wouldn’t do. I wanted to give people the knowledge to understand what success looked like and the tools to achieve it. And, I wanted to create an environment where folks could come to me with anything. Since I’ve told you about the many times I failed at work, I think it’s okay to say that I am good at leading people, or at least my staff tells me I am. I strive to set clear goals, provide a balance of freedom and support, and hold space for others to contribute and lead. I push my direct reports to expand their expertise by creating opportunities within their interest areas. The best bosses create opportunities, empower innovation, and step aside to watch the magic happen. 

#1: Dreams do come true

When my boss said, “I want The Mountaineers to do a beer. Would you like to be involved in the project?”, the only possible answer to the question was ‘Yes’. Fast-forward a year and the ‘romance copy’ I wrote was being printed on the side of a beer can I helped to design on a new IPA recipe that I helped to name. It’s STILL being printed today! I previously shared an inside look at the process, and I encourage you to read that. The takeaway? Sometimes unexpected opportunities fulfill dreams you didn’t even know you had. 

What’s next? 

“So what are you doing instead of your dream job, Kristina?” you may be asking yourself. The answer is: I don’t know yet. As I said at the top, my feelings are conflicted. Ultimately I know that all good things must come to an end, and that’s the case with my time at The Mountaineers. I have no doubt they’ll benefit from a new perspective, and I know I am better for the time I’ve spent there. I’m proud to close out my tenure having accomplished everything I set out to do (and more). 

Now, if it’s okay, I’d like to humble myself again to ask for your help finding my next professional home. I probably will not find my next job through an online application portal. Most likely, someone will know someone, we’ll chat, and things will progress from there. Maybe you’re that someone?

What I’m looking for

My biggest passion is communications. I believe transparency fosters unique trust and collaboration, and I strive for that in everything I do, whether it’s creating a communications vision, writing social media copy, or leading a team of people. I have a skillset to do any number of other things: communications, executive leadership, strategic planning, project management, video production, HR, PR, and probably more (my LinkedIn). 

• I love writing and editing. Fast copy writing is one of my two useful superpowers. (See also creating engaging PowerPoint decks (I can also fall asleep anywhere, which is useful to me, but not to anyone else.) 
• I enjoy strategy design and implementation, whether it’s about communications or strategic planning or governance. 
• You won’t find a more enthusiastic brand ambassador than me, and I fervently support the Oxford Comma (I will fight you). 
• Creating a vision and executing it through to the end (then analyzing its effectiveness) is where I’m at my best.

I’m interested in a wide array of opportunities, though I’m most compelled by a smaller team where I can experience the impact of my work. I’m not specifically looking to stay in the outdoor industry, and I’d like to try my hand back in the corporate world. I’d be happy to pick up freelance/consulting opportunities or find a new permanent home/dream job where I can dive in and get my hands dirty. We need to stay in the greater Seattle area (husband is a firefighter, so can’t relocate), and I am open to remote, hybrid, or in-person gigs, ideally starting sometime after September.

Let’s get together! 

I’d love to make a date with you this summer. Coffee or happy hour, Greenlake walks, and anything that involves spending time in the mountains or outside would be ideal. Let’s run, walk, bike, hike, paddle, lounge, and chat (Zoom is okay too). While it’s no secret that I’m looking for my next dream job. I’m also looking for connections regardless of the reason. Email me!

I also want to thank YOU for all of your love and support over the years. This little blog of mine was the deciding factor in me getting the job at The Mountaineers. Sharing this journey with you has been an honor and a privilege. I look forward to continuing the conversation. 

And lastly, on a personal note, I met my husband through The Ms. Today we’re raising two rambunctious boys together. To say I owe my life to The Mountaineers would not be an exaggeration. Generations of folks have met their spouses and partners in The Mountaineers. I am honored to carry on the tradition. I promise, I will remain a Mountaineer for life.