MBSEF’s Board of Directors

The work of Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation is guided by a group of dedicated individuals who serve on our Board of Directors. The Executive Board meets monthly with our Executive Director. The entire board meets every-other month. The staff and coaches of MBSEF are ever grateful for the thoughtful and experienced support of our board

Howard Friedman – President –  A retired commercial realtor and professional chef, Howard and his wife, Nancy, have lived in Bend since 1981, and raised 3 children here and on the slopes of Mt. Bachelor. Howard started the snowboard freeride program in 1998 as one of 2 volunteer coaches and with only 4 kids in the first session. He coached for a number of years “until the 10-year-olds got better than me.” In the early 2000s, Howard joined the MBSEF Board of Directors. Being passionate about all outdoor sports, and especially winter sports, it is an honor for Howard to serve on a Board whose foundation’s mission is to support young athletes in their individual athletic, academic, and personal goals.

Heidi Huggin – Vice President – Heidi brings to the MBSEF board experience as a nutritionist, property manager and parent of a highly-competitive MBSEF Freeride Snowboarder. Before joining the MBSEF board in 2021, Heidi volunteered for 4 years with Central Oregon’s local USASA chapter. She has a passion for hiking, Alpine and Nordic skiing and believes that anytime in the mountains is time well spent. She loves being able to support local athletes by serving on the MBSEF board.

John Duffie – Treasurer – John, with a professional background in sales and manufacturing, has a long history with MBSEF that all started with his own children’s involvement in MBSEF’s Alpine programs. He volunteered at MBSEF Alpine events for many years, started serving on the Board of Directors in 2015, and also currently participates in MBSEF’s Alpine Masters program.

Kyle Wuepper – Secretary – Kyle’s experience with MBSEF started in 1989 when he began participating in MBSEF’s Alpine program as a full-time winter athlete. He started on the MBSEF board in 2010, with the desire to give back to an organization that gave him so much as a young athlete. Kyle and his wife Sarah raised two children in Bend, one of which is a current MBSEF Nordic skier. Kyle is an avid skier, runner, cyclist and also a Partner at Brix Law LLP.

Ryan Gage – Mt. Bachelor Representative – Gage has been a part of the ski industry since he started skiing at age 2. His ski industry work experience started in 1987 and has included a wide range of roles, including serving as an Alpine coach for MBSEF for many years. He is currently the Director of Base Operations at Mt. Bachelor and comes to MBSEF’s board with the ideal experience for fostering the great relationship between MBSEF and Mt. Bachelor.

Scott Agnew – Scott, an avid skier since the age of three with brief stints in Alpine competition, continues to be passionate about the sport over 50 years later. Mount Bachelor has been his home mountain for over 30 years, and he has served on MBSEF’s board since 2010. As a parent of five athletes in MBSEF’s Freeride and Alpine programs, Scott knows firsthand how MBSEF can create a passion for lifelong sport. Scott is also a Managing Member and Founder of Ascent Capital, a Bend based investment advisory firm. 

Andrew Boone – Growing up in Bend, Andrew spent many years Alpine racing with MBSEF in the 1990’s. Upon returning in 2007, Andrew found a love of Nordic skiing and soon thereafter won MBSEF’s Pole Pedal Paddle multiple times (2011, 2015, 2019). Andrew joined the MBSEF board in 2015 and has also served as a volunteer coach, alongside his wife Megan, for MBSEF’s Stevenson Youth Program. He and Megan have two children currently enrolled in multiple MBSEF programs. Andrew understands how important participation in snow sports can be for both athletic and social development. He serves on MBSEF’s board to ensure that local youth have a safe way to challenge themselves while taking advantage of all that Central Oregon has to offer.

Brett Gingold – Brett has a long history of winter sport participation that started with following his mom around as she completed her ski patrol duties as a kid, which eventually led to an NCAA Division I Alpine skiing career. Brett is a parent of two MBSEF alumni athletes, and is also involved with Oregon Adaptive Sports. He has consulted as an orthopedic surgeon for the US Ski Team since 2004 and has served on the MBSEF Board since 2018.

Laurenne Ross – Laurenne brings to the board long-time experience with both MBSEF and as an Alpine racer. Not only is she an alumni of MBSEF Alpine programs, Laurenne has more than 15 years of experience on the US Ski Team, is a 2 time Olympian and a World Cup podium winner. In addition to her work on the MBSEF board, which began in 2022, she serves as an athlete representative on the Alpine Sports Committee and the Development and Education Subcommittee for US Ski and Snowboard and PNW’s Alpine Competition Committee. Laurenne believes MBSEF provided her with the support she needed to reach the highest levels of ski racing and she wants to give back to future athletes. She is especially interested in making snow sports more accessible, equitable and enjoyable for our youth. Laurenne considers herself primarily an advocate for youth athletes, and aims to ensure they have what they need to reach their potential and find joy. She currently lives in Berkeley, CA, where she is working towards a Masters of Architecture.

Ryan Scott – Ryan, who is a trained psychologist and owner of a mental health practice, has lived in Oregon with his wife Darcy since 2001. While raising their children, Ryan and Darcy discovered how ski racing is a vehicle to help their kids make connections to their peers while being outdoors as a family. For Ryan, serving on MBSEF’s Board of Directors is not so much about making future Olympians as it is about making solid human beings and good citizens in their community who understand the value of hard work. 

James Southam – James has been involved in skiing in many capacities over the years and believes it is critical to have former competitors stay engaged in building and growing snow sports. As a Nordic skier, James represented the United States in 2 Olympics and 3 World Championships. Since retiring from competition, he has stayed involved in skiing as an Athlete Representative with US Ski and Snowboard and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. He also served as the Executive Director of the National Nordic Foundation. James joined the MBSEF board in 2019 and his two children are currently enrolled in three different MBSEF programs.

Ray Tien – Currently a member of The Center’s neurosurgical team, Ray brings a deep knowledge of injury and brain trauma to the board, and is always willing to support our coaches and athletes when it comes to assessing head injuries. Additionally, Ray is a parent of athletes currently enrolled in MBSEF’s Alpine and Freeride programs. He and his wife, Caroline, have lived in Bend since 2004.

Kyle Wieche – Kyle grew up Alpine Ski Racing in Vermont, where he also attended Killington Mountain School. He was a US Ski Team athlete from 1985-1992, competing on the World Championships Teams in 1991 and 1992, and the US Olympics Team in 1992. From 1997-1999, Kyle coached for the Park City Ski Team. In 2014 Kyle joined the MBSEF Board, eager to give back to the sport he loves, and to share his knowledge and experience to help MBSEF thrive and continue to serve the competitive snow sport athletes of Central Oregon.

If you are interested in serving on our board, please contact our Executive Director, Amy Tarnow: amy@mbsef.org.