Brian’s 17-year old niece, Hannah, was recently here visiting us in Colorado. I can’t do a ton of activity on my ankle yet, but we took her stand-up paddleboarding and whitewater rafting. It was important to me to get her out to experience some new things she might not have the chance to do at home. I want her to love the mountains just as much as I do. I believe role models can be a powerful force in the life of young woman and I want to be a good one!

I think back to some of the role models I have had, that inspired me to go bigger and try new things. Meryl was one of my crew leaders on my first high school trail crew and she was a bad-ass. She was a firefighter in her day-job and worked a chainsaw like a boss. Guess who I wanted to be like on that crew?? There was my collegiate rowing coach, Lisa Glenn. That woman was a total hard-ass, but I still have so much respect and love for her to this day. She brought our rag-tag team together, taught us self-discipline and pushed us all to become stronger and faster athletes. It wasn’t always pretty, but I worked my ass off for four years for her. I learned so much about pushing my own limits in the process.

During my time at Title Nine, I was surrounded by women I totally idolized. If it was someone who managed to get a workout in during every single lunch break, someone who just had a knack for building amazing teams, someone who was amazing at merchandizing, someone who ran marathons or the amazing founder of our company talking about what sports meant to her… I pretty much was inspired every single day at work! I’ve been absolutely blessed to be surrounded by so many strong women and role models.

Paying it forward has become of utmost importance to me, like those gals who have encouraged me to get out there and be fit, challenge myself and try something new.

I want the younger gals I know to grow up without limits. I want them to grow up and be connected to the amazing world we live in. I want them to not fear a challenge. I want them to not fear failure. If we don’t fail, we don’t grow.

This desire to pay it forward is part of why I started an outdoors community outreach program at Title Nine Portland. There is nothing better than seeing women supporting and teaching each other. I had a gal who had never even hiked before join my program and, despite some fears and obstacles, managed to complete the Summit Sisters program and summit Mt St Helens with the team. She has become a bona-fide athlete now and runs and backpacks on her own. What an amazing transformation.

I went to the Portland Women’s Fire Camp to speak about the Title IX legislation that required equal funding for women’s athletics in schools. The camp was for teenage girls and was run by the female Portland firefighters. Those gals had amazing role models to teach them both firefighting skills and life skills and they just had the biggest grins the whole time.

On a high-school trail crew I lead in Glacier National Park, I had a young gal named Nancy from the inner-city who had never been camping before. Suffice to say that 6 weeks later, after blisters, tears and generally hating working in the dirt, she found her trail legs and fell in love with the mountains. She really transformed and found her self-confidence, with a little nudging from her role models. Role models can change an outlook and a life.

I’m motivated by those who put themselves out there as role models. Look at Lindsey Dyer’s all-female ski film, “Pretty Faces.” She made that movie because skiing is really a boys-club. You very rarely see female pro-skiers in the myriad of ski films that come out every winter. She wanted girls to know that they didn’t have to be a boy to rip and not to fear going big!! I’m also lucky to occasionally volunteer with a women’s non-profit run by Claire Smallwood, called SheJumps. It’s all about getting women and girls outside and helping them grow outdoor skills or try a new sport. It’s amazing to hear about the success of their surf camps or inner-city youth skiing programs. The women of SheJumps are inspiring a whole new generation of girls to get outside and play.

There are many great programs like SheJumps out there, but not nearly enough to touch all the young women of the world. Think of what the world would be like if every young girl had a kick-ass role model. We could change the world. Why not step up and be a role model yourself? Maybe it’s encouraging your kids to run or jogging with a girlfriend. Maybe it’s taking your neighbor’s daughter backpacking for the first time. Maybe it’s modeling great eating for your sister. Maybe it’s fostering a love of the outdoors in other women. For me, it’s something as simple as training for a race with friends or teaching my niece a new sport. So what if you aren’t the best at a sport, or the fastest or the strongest?  Don’t fear not being good enough. The important thing is that you get out there and be inspired by others. You will be inspiring to other women, just by doing what you love.

Who is a role model who has impacted your life? Who is someone you want to be a good role model for?