Board of Directors
Maria Stuber
President
Maria Stuber founded the Women Ski Coaches Association (WSCA) in 2019. She has been coaching for 13 years and is now the Head Men’s and Women’s Ski Coach at The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN. She leads the largest ski team of any division in the NCAA and has served as president and vice president of the Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) conference. Stuber started her ski coaching career in Aspen, Colorado where she was the Nordic Program Director for the Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club from 2013-16 where she was lucky enough to coach USST athlete and WSCA board member, Hailey Swirbul.
Maria has a Bachelor's Degree in Biology/Physiology and a Master's in Exercise Science from Northern Michigan University where she is a 2019 Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee. She was a ski team captain and ran cross-country from 2002-08. Post collegiately she skied for the CXC Elite Team and the Craftsbury Green Racing Project.
Maria credits the NCAA Women’s Coaches academy for fueling her passion for this topic and thanks organizations like WeCoach and the Tucker Center for their support of women coaches and projects like this. Her favorite thing about coaching is the profound relationships she has with student-athletes during such a fun and transitional time in their lives. She is most proud of her ability to send young people (men and women) into the post-college world having had a collaborative, professional relationship with a woman in something traditionally male dominated that they care deeply about. She is certain that her student-athletes will be able to replicate this experience, contribute to diverse groups of people, and change the world.
Eileen Carey
Eileen Carey has been coaching and leading ski programs for 17 years. She is currently the Director of the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Program (USPN) and was the head coach that led the program to 16 medals at the 2018 Paralympic Games in Pyeong Chang. Eileen has been the Team USA Paralympic Coach of the Year, she is a FIS TD, a World Para Nordic Skiing TD, and co-chair of the World Para Nordic Skiing Coaches Committee. She is most proud of USPN’s athlete-centric program and hiring great people that can execute this approach and help athletes achieve their goals. Eileen started her coaching career with the Colorado Rocky Mountain School and Maine Winter Sports Center. She is a graduate of Dartmouth college where she earned a bachelor’s degree in geography and served as a ski team captain.
Judy Geer
Judy Geer has been a fierce competitor and advocate for sustainability and gender equity. Judy is a co-owner of Concept2, a Vermont company that makes composite oars and the RowErg, SkiErg and Bikerg She is the Director of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, a non-profit organization focused on sport, sustainability, and stewardship. The Craftsbury Outdoor Center is home to the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, professional biathlon, cross-country ski, sculling, and running teams that compete at the highest international levels while stewarding the non-profit's mission. The addition of Snowmaking in 2008 has made the Craftsbury Outdoor Center a premiere domestic cross-country and biathlon race venue. At Craftsbury the skiing Program Director and Head Junior Coaches are both women leading a highly successful, gender balanced staff.
Judy earned an bachelor’s degree in Ecology and a Master’s degree in Engineering from Dartmouth College. She competed on three US Olympic Rowing Teams in ’76, ’80, and ’84. She has served on the board of directors for the New England Nordic Ski Association, Vermont Natural Resources Council, VT Nature Conservancy, Sterling College, and currently the VT Council on Rural Development.
Kim Bourne
Kim comes to WSCA with a strong background in social justice issues. She is currently a PhD student in Social Psychology at the University of Washington. Her research is broadly focused on “the social, behavioral and health implications of diversity and inequality on advantaged and disadvantaged groups”. She is interested in how we can create cultures that value diversity, equity, and inclusion. Kim serves on the Executive Board of the UW Diversity Steering Committee, which oversees initiatives that encourage and foster the growth and maintenance of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive psychology community. The committee’s recent projects include: the creation of a recruitment event to encourage underrepresented racial minorities to apply to our psychology program, a survey that investigates the climate of the department for students, staff, and faculty, and the audit of syllabi with the goal of improving classroom environments and holding faculty accountable for creating equitable and inclusive classroom practices.
Kim graduated in 2016 from Colby College where she was captain of the Nordic ski team and Director of Colby Triathlon. Speaking of her ski coach Tracy Cote, Kim says that “Tracey cared not only about the success of our team, but the culture that we created as a team. She knew and understood that the culture that we created also tied directly to our success as athletes. She was able to relate and see me holistically in a way that encouraged my growth as a skier, and as a person outside of the ski community.”
As a member of the Board, Kim says she is most excited about “collaborating with women coaches to create a ski culture in which women are advancing and thriving as professional ski coaches, and in which young girls see ski coaching as an exciting and possible career path.”
Hailey Swirbul
Hailey Swirbul is a Colorado native that currently lives in Anchorage, Alaska, where she competes on the Alaska Pacific University Ski Team and is a member of the US Ski Team. Hailey is a decorated skier who reached her first World Cup Podium in December 2020 in Davos, Switzerland and was also a member of the 2017 Junior World Championship bronze-medal relay team. In Anchorage Hailey is in her last semester of classes at University of Alaska Anchorage and interns at a local civil and structural engineering firm. She loves working on civil engineering projects that help people get outdoors.
Hailey brings a variety of experience to her role as athlete rep on the WSCA Board. She is passionate about “the idea of developing exemplary women ski coaches who command respect given their knowledge, expertise, and competency and creating a collaborative network to encourage retention of those top notch women coaches.” As an athlete that has benefited first hand from having a powerful women coach, she wants to make sure that other athletes get to have that experience, too. Of women coaches, Hailey says that “my favorite thing about working with a woman coach is the way I have connected to them and felt prioritized as a human being before an athlete. Of course, not only women coaches are capable of making me feel secure in this way, but all of the strong women coaches I have worked with have done an excellent job at guiding me through both skiing and life outside of it.” At UAA Hailey was able to take a class in non-profits that will be easily applied to her work with WSCA.
Kait Miller
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Kait grew up in Northern Vermont and has spent most of their life involved with skiing in New England, doing everything from Bill Koch League (BKL) to racing on the Eastern Cup circuit. Kait attended Bowdoin College, where they skied all 4 years before joining the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (GRP). From there they competed on the US Ski and Snowboard SuperTour, FIS World Cup, and as a member of the US Ski and Snowboard Olympic Team at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games.
For the last three-years Kait was the New England Ski Association (NENSA) Youth and Introductory Program Director. There they did everything from managing communication strategies to writing grants applications and assisting with fundraising efforts. Their responsibilities included coordinating programming ranging from BKL & Nordic Rocks to running events such as the BKL Festival, and both the Eastern U16 and High School Championships.
Kait was heavily involved with creating coaching education and an extensive resource library for NENSA. They also served as the Chair of the NENSA Transgender and Nonbinary Athlete Committee. Kait’s work with NENSA has had a huge impact on the ski community both in the Northeast and across the US.
Katie McMahon
Katie is our Canadian representative on the Board and plans to help us coordinate with efforts happening in Canada. She is currently the Head Coach of the Foothills Nordic Ski Club in Calgary Alberta, but brings a great wealth of other experiences to the Board. She serves on Nordiq Canada’s Women’s Committee and is also a Mental Performance Consultant with the Canadian Sport Psychology Association. She has coached at the Youth Olympic Games for both cross country and biathlon, served as the Lead Women’s Team coach at World Junior/U23 Championships in 2019/2020 and held an assortment of coaching positions since 2008 with Nordiq Canada, Canmore Nordic, and the Chelsea Nordiq Ski Club. Katie has also worked with Fast and Female, a very successful non-profit aimed at connecting elite female athletes with aspiring young girls to inspire them to continue in sport. Katie has a Masters in Human Kinetics with a Concentration in Interventions and Consultation from the University of Ottawa.
Katie says her favorite thing about coaching is “helping my athletes challenge themselves as they strive towards their own personal excellence. Witnessing youth give their absolute best efforts in pursuit of something they have worked so hard for, is when I am the proudest and most grateful for this coach life.” As a member of the Board Katie says she is most excited about “advancing women coaches through creating these amazing networks. Whether they are formal mentorships or informal communities, creating space for women coaches to feel emboldened to chase after their goals with like minded individuals by their side.”er it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
