Caroline Miller, the new executive director of the nonprofit Utah Avalanche Center, originally began working in adaptive recreation around age 19 because she wanted to give back.
“I felt selfish for growing up skiing,” she said, talking about how she grew up in Estes Park, Colorado, through high school and felt so fortunate to play in the mountains and ultimately carve out a career within High Country recreation.
She received her bachelor’s degree in community health from Montana State and then moved to Utah to earn her master’s of science in public health and environmental etymology. Throughout her education, she continued to work at ski areas, while she recreationally explored the backcountry year-round.
“Community and public health don’t seem like they’re related to the ski industry, but really, it’s all under people’s behavior and why they act the way they do and cultivate habits — and (asking), are there opportunities to insert any change?” she said. “My career is about solving problems. The common thread is helping create risk management best programs.”
And that’s what UAC revolves around: Educating the public about avalanche dangers and preventative measures so they can enjoy Utah’s snow-filled mountains safely.
A partnership
While Miller is the new executive director of the nonprofit side of the Utah Avalanche Center, Paige Pagnucco is the new director of the Forest Service UAC. So what’s the difference? Here’s a little history of how it all developed.
In the mid-1970s, avalanche information was recorded on a phone line in the Salt Lake District Office of the Wasatch National Forest.
The UAC officially started in 1980 when the Forest Service and the National Weather Service signed an agreement to formally establish the Utah Avalanche Forecast Center at the Weather Service office in Salt Lake City. Its three basic charters: issue avalanche forecasts, provide avalanche education and issue mountain weather forecasts.
In 1990, the nonprofit Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center formed to bridge the gap between available funding and the actual expenses of running the avalanche center, in order to assure long-term sustainability. The collaborative partnership between the Forest Service and the nonprofit, collectively known as the UAC, has grown to a staff of 19 people working across Utah delivering avalanche forecasts, awareness and education.
The UAC’s forecasting covers eight geographic regions: Logan, Ogden, Salt Lake, the Uintas, Provo, Skyline, Moab and the Abajos with an aim to make avalanche awareness accessible to all user groups.
Miller and Pagnucco work together to accomplish the goals of the collective UAC.
Well suited to role
Miller joined the UAC as executive director in June. She loves empowering complex teams to solve dynamic problems with her experience in nonprofits, business development, operations, finance, project management and strategic management.
“Caroline brings a background in both corporate and nonprofit operations, as well as a passion for avalanche awareness and education,” said Chad Brackelsberg, UAC’s former executive director, who is moving on after seven years in the role to lead special projects and teach avalanche classes.
Miller’s work in adaptive recreation while she attended college in Bozeman, Montana, was risk-management heavy. During graduate school, she helped create operational systems at Powderbird.
In 2019, she began working at Kirkwood Mountain Resort in northern California, where she focused on employee health and safety. She also worked closely with the Forest Service regarding avalanche mitigation. Most recently, she was the director of mountain operations there — a resort where more than 90% of the steep, complex terrain is exposed to avalanche danger.
“Kirkwood had big mountains, great people and the opportunity to explore new snowpack. It allowed me to marry all of my skill sets as a risk manager, program manager and in ski area logistics,” she said. “It’s known for producing great leaders.”
She also helped lobby for remote avalanche-control systems in California, which the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health doesn’t currently allow, but she said is close to adopting.
She left Kirkwood last summer to travel with her partner predominately to Alaska, British Columbia and Montana, while also working at ski areas and doing nonprofit consulting. During that time, she collaborated with Sierra Avalanche Center to develop a backcountry hut system in the Sierra Nevada. When she returned, she intended to work at a nonprofit.
“I love the ski industry very much. However, I wanted to use these specific skills to help nonprofits thrive. There’s a need for financial and project management,” she said. “The UAC is such an incredible organization, and Chad has brought the organization so far, so I hope to continue (his) efforts.”
She also intends to deepen relationships statewide, in order to serve the entire state, pointing out: “It’s not the Wasatch Avalanche Center. It’s the Utah Avalanche Center.”
“(I want to be) in service of the backcountry community and in service of partners to create information and forecasts to keep them safe,” she said.
She looks forward to working with Pagnucco to provide the forecast team tools they need to do their job.
“My goal in this role is to really absorb and learn: What does the community need and what does the forecast team need,” she said. “It’s about all of us collectively working (to educate people and ask): Do you know how to make really great decisions once you get to the trailhead?”
She’s grateful for UAC’s donors, sponsors, businesses and board members that help make the program possible.
“It is really the team that makes this all possible,” she said, “and I feel so privileged to be coming into such an experienced, well-educated and passionate team.”
