You know them: the employees who go above and beyond, who work diligently to make themselves and everyone around them better, the ones who make your guests want to return again and again. They’re your Double Diamond-level people, and this year, we’re delighted to congratulate the following Double Diamond Award winners…
Lisa Brazil
Food & Beverage Manager
Granby Ranch
Some of the best moments on the mountain happen around a table, over a meal, or during a quick stop to warm up and reconnect before heading back out. At Granby Ranch, Food and Beverage Manager Lisa Brazil brings the resort’s warm, welcoming culture into every part of the dining experience. A 30-year member of the Grand County community, Lisa has a deep understanding of the guests, employees, and local character that make Granby Ranch special. She builds menus and cocktails around Colorado ingredients, develops a wine program that highlights local flavor and discovery, and leads a team that feels supported in creating memorable guest moments. From a quick warm-up stop to a shared meal around the table, Lisa makes food and beverage feel personal, familiar, and connected to the mountain experience guests return for season after season.
Steve Willson
Slope Maintenance Foreperson
Loveland Ski Area
Steve has built a career around mastering the art of a well-prepared slope. With experience across the ski industry in Australia, New Zealand, and throughout Colorado, he’s worked in roles ranging from lodge management to terrain park building and snowmaking, giving him a broad understanding of mountain operations. At Loveland, he leads grooming and trail-building work for the race program, coordinating closely with the Race Club, lift operations, patrol, and snowmaking to build and maintain a venue that supports training from fall through spring. His work also shapes the experience for guests across the mountain, from athletes training on race lanes to beginners finding their footing and skiers and riders looking for a smooth, confidence-building run. Steve approaches each pass with precision, patience, and a clear understanding that the right surface can make all the difference.
Claire Thilenius
Guest Services Supervisor
Eldora Mountain Resort
Claire has quickly become a steady and trusted presence at Eldora. After arriving only a few seasons ago while still new to skiing, Claire found a community that felt like home and has since made a lasting impact on the guest experience. She brings patience, composure, and technical skill to the front line, whether she is helping resolve a challenging guest situation, clarifying a process, or supporting a coworker who is learning the ropes. Claire developed RTP training for guest services, ski and ride school, and rentals, improved consistency across departments, and created tools to help identify fraudulent ticket sales before they became larger issues. Her work reflects a clear understanding that strong guest service starts with employees who feel prepared, supported, and confident.
Javier Pineda
Snowboard Instructor; Belonging Committee Member
Arapahoe Basin
Javier brings patience, humor, and a beginner’s mindset to his work on the mountain. He didn’t grow up skiing or snowboarding; he started snowboarding as a teen and learned to ski as an adult, giving him a deep understanding of what it feels like to try something new and intimidating. That perspective shapes the way he teaches, especially when helping students learn in the language that feels most comfortable to them. Javier’s commitment to access and belonging also extends beyond his lessons through OSO Outdoors, the program he founded to help immigrant and BIPOC adults experience skiing and snowboarding in a welcoming, community-centered environment. Through OSO, bilingual instruction, and his leadership at A-Basin, Javier is helping more people see the mountains as a place where they belong.
Aaron Peyrouse
Patroller
Monarch Mountain
Aaron, a longtime member of the Monarch Mountain patrol team, brings experience, compassion, and steady leadership to some of the most important moments on the mountain. He’s built a career in patrol and EMS, including 15 years at Monarch, where he has mentored a new generation of patrollers with high standards and deep respect for the people doing the work. After an injury shifted him from patrolling to dispatch and clinic leadership this season, Aaron continued finding ways to strengthen the team by updating protocols, improving clinic flow, and supporting care across the mountain. Level-headed, thoughtful, and trusted by his peers, Aaron is the person others want beside them when the call comes in.
Christopher Gabrielsen
Snowmaking Lead
Winter Park
Christopher has made a strong impact in just a few seasons through his curiosity, commitment, and deepening knowledge of the mountain. Snowmaking sets the tone for the season, often overnight and in challenging conditions, and he has embraced the patience and technical understanding the work requires. Christopher spent time grooming to better learn Winter Park’s terrain, night operations, and mountain movement, an effort that helped him earn a year-round snowmaking role and step into a night shift crew lead position. When goals are difficult and conditions are demanding, he has become someone his team can count on to stay focused, adaptable, and steady.
Zach Schell
Terrain Park Groomer / Heavy Equipment Operator
Steamboat Ski Resort
Zach Schell is known for elevating both the work in front of him and the people around him. This season, he was a driving force behind major construction projects, including the Visa Big Air World Cup jump, a challenging build made even more difficult by record-low snowpack. Zache has also helped shape high-profile features for events including The North Face Mountain Mix Rail Jam and USASA Slopestyle, bringing the creativity, precision, and care needed to build terrain that looks clean and rides well. His impact continues beyond the winter season through his work on summer snowmaking infrastructure, including the installation of more than five miles of snowmaking pipe and nearly 100 SMI tower fan guns. Riders see his work in terrain they want to lap again and again, while his team knows Zach as someone who takes on difficult projects with skill, positivity, and his signature response: “Sounds good. That’s awesome.”
The Colorado Ski Country USA President’s Award is given each year to someone who has made an important and lasting contribution to our association and to Colorado’s ski industry.
Scott Pressly
Director of Mountain Operations
Monarch Mountain
Over nearly three decades, Scott’s impact at Monarch could be found across nearly every part of the mountain, though he has always been more likely to credit the team than himself. He began as a ski patroller and snowcat skiing guide, moved into patrol leadership, and eventually led mountain operations through major projects including the opening of Mirkwood Basin, lift projects, the tubing hill, vegetation management, parking expansion, RFID gates, and the No Name Basin expansion. Scott also showed up for the less visible work that keeps a mountain running, from shoveling with the crew and directing traffic to setting snow fence and fixing whatever needed attention on the mountain. A storyteller and keeper of Monarch’s history, Scott shared more than 1,100 posts through Scott’s Blog, helping people understand the projects, weather, challenges, decisions, and people that shape the mountain. His leadership strengthened Monarch, supported Colorado’s ski industry through his involvement in CSCUSA’s operations committee, and set an example for generations of ski area professionals.
The Colorado Ski Country USA Chair’s Award honors an individual whose leadership and dedication have shaped Colorado’s ski industry.
Shoshana Lew
Executive Director
Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)
Under Shoshana’s leadership, CDOT has advanced major transportation priorities including the ten-year state plan, rural road safety improvements, key highway projects, public transit, mountain bus service, and rail planning. Shoshana has been a thoughtful, serious, and accessible partner to Colorado’s ski industry, bringing a clear understanding of the complexity of mountain transportation, from winter weather and weekend traffic to rural roads, construction, safety, funding, and changing public expectations. Her policy knowledge, project management experience, and willingness to work through difficult issues have made her an invaluable partner on transportation priorities that matter deeply to Colorado’s ski areas and the communities they support.
