Breakout Sessions
For the first time ever, we are excited to offer two in-person days of professional development - one in Seattle and one in Tacoma - dedicated to thanking, inspiring, and empowering The Mountaineers current and aspiring volunteer leaders. Both conferences will offer equivalent content, with a similar line-up of presenters, expanding our reach and giving volunteers the flexibility to select the program that is most convenient for them.
Join us at one of our Leadership Conferences!
Presenters
- Click here to view a list of the Seattle Leadership Conference presenters
- Click here to view a list of the Tacoma Leadership Conference presenters
Session tracks
A series of interactive sessions will explore the many facets of leadership through our three session tracks:
- Experiential Leadership: Elevate your leadership skills through exploration of real-world scenarios and understand how practical experiences shape effective leadership strategies and skills.
- Equity & Inclusion: Dedicated to fostering dialogue and inspiring concrete steps towards building diverse, inclusive, and equitable spaces.
Presentations
9:30-10:45AM
Going from an Outdoor Enthusiast to an Outdoor Advocate
Betsy Robblee and Conor Marshall | The Great Hall - Downstairs
Experiential Leadership Track
Mountaineers’ love of place and testimony to the transformative power of the outdoors translate to compelling advocacy. The Mountaineers conservation staff will share top tips and best practices for advocating for public lands and the outdoor experience, and offer leaders a sneak preview of the new Mountaineers Advocacy 101 e-learning course. Join this session to get the tools that can help you go from an outdoor enthusiast to an outdoor advocate.
Inclusive Language in the Outdoors
Bam Mendiola | Classroom - Upstairs
Equity & Inclusion Track
Language is one of the primary ways in which we relate, connect, and engage with each other. In the context of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), language can also either be a weapon or a shield.
This workshop is for anyone who wants to learn new words, tools, and approaches that are rooted in inclusivity and anti-racism. It is also a space to un-learn common phrases, terms, and figures of speech that are unintentionally (but effectively) hurtful. This space was organized for people who are curious about how targeted communities experience language as they move through institutions like the Mountaineers. The lived experience of womxn, people of color, and members of the LGBTQIA2+ community will be centered by the facilitation of this course.
11:00AM-12:15PM
Building teams
tom unger | THE GREAT HALL - DOWNSTAIRS
Experiential Leadership Track
One happy outcome of a trip, particularly a long one, is the feeling that participants formed a team and worked well together. By contrast, most of us know disappointment when there is conflict instead. Let's learn what we can do as leaders to foster team development and build successful teams.
How Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Principles Can Improve Risk Management Systems
Moleek Busby | Classroom - Upstairs
Equity & Inclusion Track
This workshop will gather wisdom from industry leaders who have intentionally leveraged diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) work to improve various risk management systems within their organizations.
12:20-1:10PM - Lunch [Optional]
Creating Mindful Outdoor Experiences
LIZ MCNETT CROWL AND LORI HEATH |Classroom - Upstairs
Special drop-in presentation. Please feel free to bring your lunch to eat during the presentation.
Mindfulness is about being present in the moment and bringing awareness to any given activity. Rather than focusing on how many miles you have to go or a pace you need to hit, a mindful outdoor activity is about paying attention to your body and being more aware of nature and your surrounding environment. Focusing on your breath, how your body feels and moves, the cool breeze or warm sun against your face, and the way your arms and legs work together to balance your movement are all aspects of mindfulness. Shifting your focus from achievement to experience or from doing to simply being can aid your performance and improve your health. In this session, Liz McNett Crowl and Lori Heath will discuss the benefits of mindfulness in the outdoors, present a few ways that leaders may incorporate and practice mindfulness during outdoor activities, and guide you through some simple mindfulness exercises to help you develop more mindfulness during your outdoor adventures and in your daily life.
1:15-2:30PM
The Big 3: Planning For, Implementing, and Assessing Instruction
Ben Brown | THE GREAT HALL - DOWNSTAIRS
Experiential Leadership Track
Join us for an engaging workshop designed to enhance your instructional skills! This interactive session welcomes all Mountaineers who are eager to improve their teaching abilities. By participating, you'll gain valuable resources, innovative ideas, and practical plans that can be immediately implemented in your lectures, presentations, courses, classes, and field trips. Please bring a piece of curriculum that you have taught or will teach. If you don't have something to bring, Mountaineers-specific examples will be provided for all content areas
Training for Mountaineering: A Personalized Approach
Lyra Pierotti |Classroom - Upstairs
Equity & Inclusion Track
Navigate through mountains of generic information and gender-biased research to create--and continually adapt--a training plan just for you.
Join Lyra Pierotti, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and AMGA Rock & Alpine Guide, for a discussion about training for mountaineering, focusing in particular on athletes who menstruate. As a young mountain guide, Lyra noticed how differently her male counterparts could train--and knew she needed to do things differently, but had no resources or examples. When she developed a mysterious and career-threatening overuse injury at age 30, she dove into her own movement and fitness education to find a new way of doing the things she loved.
In 2016 she started coaching climbers through her company MOVEmentum Training (www.movementumtraining.com), while pursuing further coaching and guiding certifications. Watching countless athletes in the mountains fueled her curiosity around performance and longevity, and posed endless questions around the ways people trained, and what worked and didn't. As she worked to heal and optimize her own body, she would bring those lessons to her clients. First was the work to establish an unshakeable base fitness. Next was connecting the strength of the breathing muscle (diaphragm) to the core musculature, and using this to improve movement economy and overall efficiency. And most recently, Lyra has been following the surge in research into female physiology and performance, watching her clients thrive as they adapt their training plans to their cycling hormone levels--not to mention achieving some of her own elusive performance goals.
The optimal training plan will be different for every athlete. The key is in your powers of observation and adaptation--and the tools you use to get in touch with your body. In skill-based sports like climbing, skiing, and mountaineering, it's all about showing up, time after time, to build your skill. Ensure your training plan keeps you healthy and psyched, and you'll find yourself on track to your fitness goals.