Jenny Fellows
Job: NASTC Director
Co-founder of NASTC in 1994 with Chris; ex-collegiate ski racer; has skied and climbed all over the world; level II ski instructor; started teaching skiing at Squaw Valley in 1990; coached and taught at Squaw Valley Academy 1990-1996. Mother of three.

Robin Barnes
Job: NASTC Trainer
Experience: Robin has been teaching skiing since 1988. Her recent claim to fame is "rediscovering summer" after having enjoyed 31 consecutive winters! Her fifteen years of year-round teaching and skiing were divided between Heavenly Ski Resort and Portillo, Chile. She is an instructor and trainer at Heavenly and is a member of the PSIA-W Tech Team. Robin is also a ski tester for SKI magazine. She is the owner of Tahoe Outdoor Fitness where she does outdoor athletic training and personal training.
Additional Info: Robin spends heaps of time on her bikes, speaks Spanish and Portuguese, and can typically be found skiing with a grin wrapped around her face!

Elianne Furtney
After growing up chasing my brother around ski areas in Vermont, I followed him to UC Berkeley and the ski team there. Although I majored in Social Sciences, I seem to have minored in skiing. When I graduated in Dec. of '89, I had no clue what to do with myself and so decided to spend a winter teaching skiing at Alpine Meadows before getting on with the rest of my life. One winter somehow rolled into another, until I finally gave up and succumbed to my addiction to ski instruction and life in the mountains. After 18 seasons, I still can't think of anything I'd rather do, and have expanded my involvement with PSIA-W to include clinicing and examining other
instructors, so that I can share with others the fulfillment teaching skiing has brought to me.

Heidi Ettlinger

Heidi started skiing down the Green Mountains of Vermont not long after she started to walk, and is now recognized as one of the Top 100 Ski Instructors in the U.S. by Ski Magazine. Her professional ski instruction career has been ever expanding over the past 12 years; she is a member of the PSIA Western Demonstration & Technical Teams, on the Board of Directors, and holds Avalanche I and Wilderness EMT credentials. Heidi pursues ski instruction year round dividing her time between Heavenly in Lake Tahoe and Perisher Blue in Australia. Her passion for snow sports led to the development of DVD’s and educational materials for the skiing trade. Over the past few years she has developed, coordinated, and evaluated women’s adventure programs for skiers. Alongside ski instruction Heidi has devoted time to build the Lake Tahoe Women’s Ice Hockey Association.

Kimberly Mann

Kimberly is a level III instructor from Alpine Meadows and has managed their training program and women’s clinics. Kimberly grew up skiing in the Alps and has skied almost all over the world. She has recently returned to the Tahoe area after a two-year stint at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. Kimberly’s passion for skiing and teaching brought her to NASTC’s doorstep.
Additional Info: Kimberly has an MA in International Relations and speaks five languages fluently. She has lived all over the world and, naturally, loves to travel. When she’s not on her skis, you can find Kimberly duking it out with sharks and the ocean while surfing or daydreaming about her next travel adventure.

Leigh Pierini
Job: NASTC Trainer
Experience: Leigh grew up in Simsbury, CT and has been a ski teacher and PSIA member since 1989. She has been a trainer/instructor around the country, most recently Jackson Hole. She has run the Women's Camps at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for 7 years. Leigh is a PSIA-I regional Alpine Demo Team member and has been an examiner for the past 10 years. Currently she is the Director of Children's Snowsports at Sierra-at-Tahoe.

Deanna Neu

She was born and raised in California. She was supposed to be here for a one year break out of college and to get skiing out of my blood, seventeen years later…still skiing and not going anywhere but downhill! She is a PSIA level III certified instructor. She has worked at Alpine Meadows since 1990. At Alpine Meadows she has worked as a full time instructor, a supervisor, trainer, and specialize in children, women’s programs, and having fun. She has enjoyed teaching with NASTC for the last couple of years and look forward to many more years of fun. She has a wonderful family with two beautiful little skiing girls. Her and her husband have a landscape company during the summer months and live to ski in the winter. She is an enthusiast of skiing, exercise, and smiles! She can’t wait to ski ya out there! My ski tip: ski fast and take chances.

Kara Palamaras

She hails from the east. She started her ski career at a small ski resort in south central Pennsylvania know as Whitetail Mountain. After teaching four years there she moved north to the Catskills of New York where she taught for 3 years at Windham Mountain as a race coach. Her passion for skiing has taken her to several places throughout North and South America and Europe. And, this passion - also shared by her husband - led them to pack up the family truck in the fall of 2006 and head west for Truckee, CA. She is currently on staff a Sugarbowl Ski Resort.

Debs Herne

I’m Debs, which is short for Debra in case you were wondering. I’m from New Zealand and have lived in the Tahoe area for about 15 years. I love NZ and I love this place too. I’ve been teaching skiing for almost 20 years. I currently work at Kirkwood Mt Resort. I teach adults and kids and I’m in charge of the ski training program for all instructors at Kirkwood. I’m also a member of the PSIA-W Tech Team. Other fun stuff I Iike; mt. biking, swimming, the journey up just as much as the view at the top, the results of gardening and the taste of good dark chocolate, but not the results of eating too much of it! I guess that means another journey up and another great view.

Julie Matises