The Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI) has officially welcomed Maggie Loring to its esteemed National Board of Directors, where she will serve as the representative for the vital Intermountain Region. This appointment marks a significant enhancement to the board’s collective expertise, as Loring brings with her an unparalleled career spanning decades across various facets of the snowsports industry, encompassing instruction, education, examination, and high-level leadership within prominent ski schools and national committees. Her addition is anticipated to reinforce PSIA-AASI’s commitment to advancing professional standards, fostering educational excellence, and promoting a more inclusive future for snowsports instructors nationwide.
The Role of PSIA-AASI and its National Board
PSIA-AASI stands as the world’s largest snowsports instruction organization, representing over 32,000 professional ski and snowboard instructors across the United States. Its core mission revolves around establishing and maintaining professional standards for instruction, developing comprehensive educational resources, and certifying instructors in skiing, snowboarding, telemark, and adaptive snowsports. The organization plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety, enjoyment, and continued growth of snowsports by empowering instructors with the knowledge and skills to deliver exceptional experiences to millions of guests each year.
The National Board of Directors serves as the strategic governing body for PSIA-AASI. Comprising experienced leaders from various regions and specialties within the snowsports community, the board is responsible for setting the organization’s strategic direction, overseeing its financial health, approving educational standards and curricula, and ensuring the continued relevance and impact of PSIA-AASI programs. Regional representation on the board, such as Loring’s role for the Intermountain Region, is crucial for ensuring that diverse perspectives and localized needs from across the country are integrated into national policies and initiatives. This structure allows the national body to remain responsive to the unique challenges and opportunities present in different snow climates, resort environments, and instructional cultures. The Intermountain Region, known for its vast and diverse ski areas in states like Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, represents a significant portion of the snowsports market and instructor base, making its representation on the national board particularly impactful.
A Career Defined by Dedication and Innovation: A Chronology of Maggie Loring’s Impact
Maggie Loring’s journey in snowsports instruction began at an remarkably young age, demonstrating a passion that would define her professional life. She commenced teaching skiing at just 14 years old, laying the groundwork for what would become an illustrious career dedicated to the sport. Her commitment to excellence was formally recognized in 1996 when she achieved the coveted status of an examiner, a role that entails evaluating and certifying new instructors, thereby directly influencing the quality and standards of snowsports education. This early and sustained engagement in the field is a testament to her deep-rooted understanding of instructor development and educational methodologies. Remarkably, Loring has only missed one season of teaching throughout her career—in 1978, a year marked by exceptionally low snowfall and the demands of her college education—underscoring her unwavering dedication.
Her career trajectory illustrates a consistent ascent through various leadership and educational roles. Early in her professional life, Loring contributed significantly to the Eastern Region education staff of PSIA-AASI, a role that involved shaping instructional programs and supporting professional development for instructors across a geographically diverse region. Following this, she assumed the critical position of training director for the American Skiing Company’s extensive network of ski and ride schools. This role placed her at the forefront of developing comprehensive training programs for a large cadre of instructors across multiple resorts, ensuring consistency in teaching quality and guest experience across a major corporate entity. During this period, she also played a key role in leading SKI Magazine’s SKIwee children’s program, a nationally recognized initiative focused on introducing young learners to skiing in a fun and effective manner, highlighting her early commitment to youth development in snowsports.
Loring’s influence truly solidified during her more than 22-year tenure as the director of Snowbird Mountain School in Utah. As director, she was responsible for the holistic operation and strategic direction of a major resort’s ski and snowboard school. This included curriculum development, managing a large team of instructors, overseeing safety protocols, ensuring guest satisfaction, and contributing to the resort’s overall brand image. Her long-term leadership at Snowbird is indicative of her ability to foster a culture of excellence and adapt to evolving industry trends while maintaining high standards of instruction.
Following her impactful period at Snowbird, Loring transitioned to Solitude Mountain Resort, where she served as training manager. In this capacity, she focused specifically on the continuous professional development of instructors, refining training programs, and implementing innovative teaching techniques. Her current role as training manager at Deer Valley Ski School further underscores her commitment to high-quality instruction. Deer Valley is renowned globally for its exceptional guest service and meticulously groomed slopes, making Loring’s role in maintaining and elevating the instructional standards there particularly crucial. In these roles, she has consistently demonstrated an ability to connect educational strategies with operational excellence, ensuring that instructors are not only highly skilled but also effectively contribute to the resort’s business objectives and guest experience.
Beyond her resort-based leadership, Loring has maintained a deep engagement with PSIA-AASI at the regional level. She currently serves as both an examiner and a regional board member for PSIA-AASI Intermountain. Her role as an examiner keeps her directly involved in upholding the organization’s certification standards, while her regional board membership ensures that the specific needs and perspectives of Intermountain instructors are articulated and addressed within the broader organizational framework.
Shaping the Future of Snowsports Education: Beyond the Slopes
Maggie Loring’s contributions extend significantly beyond her direct leadership roles in ski schools. Her impact on snowsports education at a national level is profound and long-standing. As a key member of the former National Children’s Committee, she played an instrumental role in advancing children’s education within PSIA-AASI. This committee was vital in developing specialized methodologies and resources tailored for teaching young learners, recognizing that children have unique developmental needs and learning styles. Her work included organizing and leading national symposiums, which served as crucial forums for sharing best practices, conducting research, and collaborating on innovative approaches to children’s instruction. These efforts directly led to the creation of invaluable instructor resources that have shaped how thousands of children are introduced to snowsports.
Her pedagogical influence is also evident in her authorship and development work on key instructional manuals. Loring wrote several children’s instruction manuals, providing foundational texts for instructors specializing in youth programs. Furthermore, she played a significant role in the development of PSIA’s Core Concepts Manual, a seminal publication that laid the theoretical groundwork for snowsports instruction. This manual served as a critical predecessor to today’s Teaching Snowsports Manual, which remains the authoritative text for PSIA-AASI certified instructors. Her involvement in these publications demonstrates a deep understanding of educational theory and its practical application in the context of snowsports. Complementing her hands-on experience and manual development, Loring holds a degree in child development, providing a strong academic foundation for her work with young learners, and an MBA in leadership development, equipping her with advanced strategic and managerial capabilities essential for her various leadership roles.
A Vision for Strengthened Governance and Inclusive Growth
In accepting her position on the National Board, Maggie Loring articulated a clear vision and motivation. She sought the National Board position to contribute a distinct perspective, one meticulously shaped by decades of immersive experience in snowsports education and leadership. Her primary excitement centers on helping to strengthen the governance of PSIA-AASI, particularly in areas that ensure relevant, high-quality, and consistent education across all regions and disciplines. This focus is particularly pertinent as PSIA-AASI continues its crucial work on standards and alignment. This ongoing initiative aims to standardize instructional methodologies, update certification requirements to reflect modern techniques and equipment, and ensure that educational pathways are clear and consistent for all members, regardless of their location or specialty. Loring’s expertise in developing instructors, leading complex snowsports schools, and critically, in connecting educational outcomes directly to the needs of both employees and guests, will provide an invaluable perspective in these strategic discussions. Her insight into the practical realities of ski school operations and instructor development will be instrumental in translating national policies into effective, implementable programs that benefit the entire PSIA-AASI membership and the broader snowsports community.
Leading the Charge for Equity and Inclusion
A particularly significant aspect of Loring’s current leadership portfolio is her role as the chair of PSIA-AASI’s Women’s Council for Equity and Inclusion. This council represents a proactive and vital initiative within the organization, addressing the critical need for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the snowsports industry. The broader snowsports world, historically, has faced challenges in fully representing and empowering women and other underrepresented groups in leadership, instructional roles, and even as participants.
Under Loring’s guidance, the Women’s Council is working to identify barriers, advocate for equitable opportunities, and foster a more inclusive environment for all. This includes initiatives focused on leadership development for women, mentorship programs, and promoting diverse representation in instructional and examination roles. Her leadership in this area highlights a progressive outlook and a commitment not only to educational excellence but also to social responsibility within the sport. The council’s efforts are part of a wider industry trend recognizing that a diverse workforce and participant base are essential for the long-term health and growth of snowsports. By championing DEI, Loring and the council are helping PSIA-AASI to model best practices and ensure that the future of snowsports instruction is welcoming and accessible to everyone.
Broader Impact and Implications
Maggie Loring’s appointment to the PSIA-AASI National Board of Directors carries significant implications for the organization and the wider snowsports industry. For PSIA-AASI, it signals a reinforcement of leadership with deep operational experience, ensuring that board decisions are grounded in the practical realities of instructor development and resort operations. Her focus on strengthening governance and educational consistency will be critical as the organization navigates an evolving landscape of teaching methodologies, technological advancements in equipment, and changing guest expectations.
For the Intermountain Region, Loring’s presence on the national board ensures that the unique perspectives and needs of one of the most vibrant and influential snowsports regions in the country are directly represented at the highest level. This regional voice is essential for developing national programs that are truly adaptable and effective across diverse operating environments.
More broadly, Loring’s proven track record in developing instructors, leading major snowsports schools, and her active role in the Women’s Council for Equity and Inclusion will contribute to a more forward-thinking and inclusive direction for snowsports instruction. Her leadership could inspire a new generation of instructors, particularly women, to pursue leadership roles and contribute to the evolution of the sport. Her emphasis on connecting education to the needs of employees and guests also underscores the increasingly professionalized nature of snowsports instruction, recognizing its vital role in the economic success of resorts and the overall growth of the industry. The professionalism of PSIA-AASI certified instructors directly contributes to guest safety, enjoyment, and retention, which in turn fuels the economic engine of ski resorts, an industry with an annual economic impact measured in billions of dollars in the U.S. alone. Loring’s expertise will help ensure that PSIA-AASI continues to produce highly skilled, adaptable, and professional instructors who are ready to meet these evolving demands.
Maggie Loring replaces Rich McLaughlin of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyoming, who reached his term limit on the board. PSIA-AASI extends its profound gratitude to Rich McLaughlin for his many years of dedicated service and invaluable contributions to the organization and the snowsports community. As Loring steps into this pivotal role, her extensive background and forward-looking vision position her to make a lasting and transformative impact on PSIA-AASI and the future of snowsports instruction.
