Greetings from the White House — Letter from OIA Executive Director Lise Aangeenbrug

Outdoor Industry Association Executive Director Lise Aangeenbrug and Outdoor Recreation Roundtable Executive Director Jessica Turner

On Monday, I joined President Joe Biden and a group of bipartisan lawmakers and business leaders at the signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. I’m proud to say that OIA has been a key player every step along the way, ensuring that meaningful climate provisions and other projects important to our industry were included in this new law. We should be encouraged by its many provisions to mitigate the impacts of climate change, including wildfires, droughts and floods; to expand access to and improve our nation’s parks and trails; and to enhance our nature-based infrastructure.

Just as importantly, this bill will provide long overdue improvements to America’s core infrastructure – roads, bridges, ports and airports – which will help our $689 billion industry and 4.3 million employees deliver our products to consumers and connect people with parks and green spaces.

But our work is not done yet. As Congress continues to work on budget reconciliation, OIA is committed to working with lawmakers and the Biden administration to ensure that additional climate priorities – like funding for the Civilian Climate Corps, climate resiliency projects, outdoor restoration projects and the Department of Interior – are properly supported in the Build Back Better Act.

OIA’s advocacy and policy work would not be possible without the support of our members. Thank you for your continued engagement, and please do not hesitate to reach out about our policy priorities

Together We Are a Force,

Lise Aangeenbrug
OIA Executive Director

Audio Outdoorist: 2021 International Shipping Crisis

This is the second in our series about international trade and trade policy. In this episode, our director of government affairs Rich Harper and three members of our Trade Advisory Council, discuss the recent precipitous rise in shipping costs, which, on top of punitive tariffs, trade wars and the global pandemic, have made it difficult for our member companies to remain nimble and competitive. Recently, OIA sent a letter to the White House, calling on this administration to invite all stakeholders to the table to identify immediate solutions to the crisis and to enforce all existing regulations. In addition, we’re calling for support on legislation recently introduced in Congress to help alleviate the issues. To learn more about OIA’s advocacy work, to sign up for our trade alerts and to get involved in legislation to help outdoor companies address this crisis, reach out to Rich Harper, OIA Government Affairs Director.

National Thrive Outside Day is October 9

We all deserve to thrive outside. But research shows that serious equity barriers such as safety, walkability, transportation, cost and cultural inclusion, along with a rise in screen and indoor time, are leading us to become the world’s first indoor species, with devastating consequences for youth and their families.

To reverse the declining trend of outdoor engagement, we launched the Thrive Outside Initiative in 2019, which works at the grassroots level to empower communities to make outdoor recreation an accessible lifestyle for all. The Initiative awards multi-year, capacity-building grants to diverse communities to build and strengthen networks focused on providing children and families with repeat and reinforcing experiences in the outdoors. This national network is empowering communities to thrive outside in Atlanta, Grand Rapids, Maine, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, San Diego, St. Louis, and the Twin Cities region. And over the coming years, we plan to grow the number of regions we’re investing in to 16.

The outdoors have been proven to provide myriad benefits to individuals and communities, including mental and physical health, youth development, environmental stewardship, community development and social justice. And now more than ever, access to the outdoors is critical. Our world is witnessing incredible upheaval, and Americans across the country are taking to the outdoors in search of respite from COVID-19. The Outdoor Foundation 2021 Participation Trends Report recorded that 7.1 million more Americans participated in outdoor recreation in 2020 than in the year prior, the highest participation rate ever recorded.

National Thrive Outside Day is about celebrating the transformative benefits of the outdoors, and ensuring that everyone has equitable access to outdoor spaces and experiences. Because we all thrive outside. Check out the Thrive Outside Day events happening in our eight Thrive Outside Communities below:

ATLANTA: November 13th
Hosted in partnership with the city of Atlanta, and located at Cliff Park, Thrive Outside Day in Atlanta will be coinciding with the local Outdoor Rec Festival. Learn more about Thrive Outside Atlanta

GRAND RAPIDS: October 11 and 16th
Grand Rapids with be celebrating its new Gear Share Library with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 11th. On Oct. 16th, the community will gather together for a day of outdoor activities and outdoor skill development using gear-share equipment from the library. Learn more about Thrive Outside Grand Rapids

MAINE: October 9th
Tune into the Nature Based Education Consortium’s social media channels to see all the varied ways people are experiencing the outdoors in Maine. Together, we can shift the narrative. Learn more about Thrive Outside Maine

OKLAHOMA CITY: October 2nd
Coinciding with Oklahoma Regatta Festival, Oklahoma City will be celebrating its Thrive Outside Day with kayaking and a Thrive Outside Kayak League race, along with nature-based activities and skill-development sessions. Learn more about Thrive Outside Oklahoma City

PHILADELPHIA: October 16th
Hosted in Tacony Park in partnership with REI and other local partners, the Philly community with gather for tree planting and clean water education-based activities to celebrate Thrive Outside Day. Learn more about Thrive Outside Philadelphia

SAN DIEGO: October 9-10th
Hosted at Imperial Beach in partnership with US Fish and Wildlife, Thrive Outside Day in San Diego coincides with Walk for the Wild. Local youth will have the opportunity to participate in paddleboarding and leadership development events. Learn more about Thrive Outside San Diego

ST. LOUIS: October 2nd
Hosted in partnership with Jack and Jill of America, the St. Louis Thrive Outside community will embark on a half-day canoe trip, culminating at the St. Louis riverfront in front of Gateway Arch National Park, where participants will be greeted by local elected leaders. Learn more about Thrive Outside St. Louis

TWIN CITIES: October 9th
Hosted in partnership with The Loppet Foundation and REI at Theodore Wirth Park – The Trailhead, Thrive Outside Day in the Twin Cities region will connect with park goers about the Thrive Outside Initiative’s mission and work. The first 50 people to visit the Thrive Outside tent will receive an REI Nalgene® bottle. Learn more about Thrive Outside Twin Cities

White Paper: Outdoor Sports Insurance Highlights the Necessity of Network Security

For years, Network Security Insurance (commonly referred to as Cyber Liability Coverage) was widely regarded as a boutique coverage needed only by large corporations who store and process large volumes of consumer credit card information. In the later part of the last decade, however, this perception proved inaccurate when cyber-attacks on small to midsize businesses and retailers increased nearly 600%. Cyber extortion targeting small businesses now reigns supreme.

The good news is, Outdoor Sports Insurance has access to a wide array of insurance markets that write cyber policies specifically for the small business owner. These policies are both comprehensive in protection and breach response services, and affordable in premium.

Wrapped together with policies that cover the risks associated with hiking, camping, paddling or any outdoor activity, Outdoor Sports Insurance knows the market and has the products to fit any OIA member.

By definition, a “cyber attack”, or “security breach”, refers to unauthorized access to the IT infrastructure of a company by a third party (hacker) with the intent to corrupt, steal, or destroy data. The types of attacks hackers employ to achieve these ends runs a wide spectrum; Denial of Service (DoS), Phishing attacks, Password attacks and cross-site scripting attacks are just a few of the more common means by which hackers wreak havoc on a company’s network (and subsequently the daily operation of the business itself).

The most common attack, and by far the most damaging in terms of financial impact to victims, is the ransomware attack, commonly referred to as, “cyber extortion.” When a company has been hit with a ransomware attack, malicious software infiltrates a portion, or all, of the company’s IT mainframe. As malware increases in sophistication and complexity, so, too, do the extortion demands made upon the targeted companies. Between 2019 and 2020 alone, the number of companies that reported paying a ransomware extortion demand increased more than 300%.

According to a NetDiligence 2020 Cyber Claims study, the total cost of a network breach ranges anywhere from $1,000, to more than $120 million. The average cost to businesses with less than 200 employees is estimated to be $200K – $750K. Between 2018 and 2020, it is estimated that 45% of cyber-attacks targeted businesses with less than 200 employees. Less than 25% of those businesses carried the proper network security coverage, and even fewer had a formal incident response plan in place. Of the businesses impacted that did not carry the proper protection, more than 60% were out of business within 6 months.

Outdoor Sports Insurance works across multiple carriers to make sure all OIA businesses can find the right policy with the appropriate coverage at an affordable premium. In addition to the coverage itself, Outdoor Sports Insurance supplements the policies with risk management services and third party resources curated to ensure policy holders are equipped with the tools to mitigate the threat of an attack, and expedite the response time should an attack occur.

Included in the coverage portfolio, policy holders have access to a 24/7 cyber response hotline, educational tools to help network users identify threats and phishing campaigns, recommendations for protective software implementations, and best practices for user protocol of a business’s IT property and systems.

OIA has assembled best-in-class services provider partners to offer OIA special preferred pricing on goods and services in marketing, sales, sustainability, supply chain, finance, operations, research, rep associations, and trade shows. Outdoor Sports Insurance is one of those provider partners. Learn more about the OSI partner benefit for OIA members here. In order to receive the discounted pricing offered, you must mention and confirm your OIA membership to the service provider.

Rob Martin and Tori Hoeschler from Outdoor Sports Insurance recently sat down with Rick Saez from The Outdoor Biz Podcast to chat skiing, outdoor adventure, and risk management. Learn about how Outdoor Sports Insurance, protects businesses from inherent risks to areas of exposure that are less obvious, including how small and mid-sized businesses are increasingly becoming targets of cyberattacks. Also hear about how proper waivers and training can save a shop, and how Outdoor Sports Insurance can help you with all of it.

To learn more about cybersecurity offerings from Outdoor Sports Insurance, please contact the team at outdoorsportsins.com, or email OSI@horizonagency.com. And check out this Outdoor Biz podcast featuring Rob Martin and Tori Hoeschler from OSI

 

 

Remembering Patricia Rojas-Ungar

OIA was shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden passing of our former Vice President of Government Affairs, Patricia Rojas-Ungar. She was a passionate and inspiring advocate for the outdoors and our members and she will be sorely missed.

A long-time government affairs executive and devoted wife and mother, Patricia passed away in Washington, DC, on August 26, 2021. She was 47 years old.

Alma Patricia Rojas-Ungar was born December 2, 1973, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to Elvira Guerra and Jaime Rojas. Patricia earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996 and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Houston in 2001.

Early in her career, Patricia worked helping children in Brazil, then continued on in Houston working with inner-city youth at I Have a Dream-Houston as a project coordinator. Her interest and passion for the public sector led her to work in both the United States Congress and Senate, followed by a successful career spanning 20 years in lobbying and government affairs where she advocated on behalf of issues close to her heart. She held senior roles in The U.S. Travel Association and the Outdoor Industry Association and most recently was a vice president at Strategic Marketing Innovations, Inc.

Patricia’s efforts earned her recognition as a top lobbyist from The Hill, Washingtonian Magazine, CEO Update and Association Trends. In 2011, she was named by the Washingtonian as one of DC’s Top 40 Under 40.

“During her time at OIA, Patricia brought a clear passion for advocacy to work every day, and it’s no wonder she was recognized by her colleagues in D.C. as a top lobbyist,” said OIA Director of Government Affairs Rich Harper.

We grieve with family, friends and colleagues and send our condolences to her husband and children.

Donations in Patricia’s memory can be made to a GoFundMe to support her children and to the UN Refugee Agency.

You can read her full obituary here.

Webinar: How to Mitigate Financial Risk in the Outdoor Industry Post-COVID

The last year and a half has afforded us an opportunity to deeply reflect upon credit extension policies and best practices for collecting amidst a global crisis. Join North America’s largest B2B receivables management firm in a discussion on forecasting AR portfolio risk and approaching past-due customers with empathy while managing exposure during these uncertain times. Don’t become your debtors’ interest-free bank – let us help you take a proactive approach to recovery efforts.

Audio Outdoorist: A Conversation with the Trade Advisory Council

Hear from OIA’s Director of Policy, Rich Harper, and members of the OIA Trade Advisory Council (OIATAC) as they discuss the council’s important policy role. In this conversation, Rich is joined by:

  • Sara Bowersox, Sr. Manager, Global Trade Compliance, KEEN Footwear
  • Ben Christensen, Vice President, Operations, Simms Fishing Products
  • Jeff Tooze, Vice President, Global Customs & Trade, Columbia Sportswear

OIATAC reviews U.S. trade policy, relevant federal legislation and international trade negotiations, develops federal trade policy that may affect OIA membership and recommends policy positions to OIA government affairs staff and OIA leadership. It is made up of OIA members engaged in the business of manufacturing, marketing, and/or distributing outdoor recreation products. It includes representatives from small, medium and large entities representing all segments of the industry, including manufacturing, importers and retailers. OIATAC is administered and supported by OIA government affairs staff. Learn more about OIATAC here.

Subscribe to OIA’s Audio Outdoorist and listen to the full episode and other episodes anytime, anywhere. You can find the podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud

Winners Announced: 2021 Path to Positive (P2P) Climate Leadership Awards

We’re thrilled to announce the winners of the 2021 Path to Positive (P2P) Climate Leadership Awards, which recognize Climate Action Corps members who stand out in the categories of transparency, partnership, community and impact. These companies demonstrated unique and influential climate leadership that ultimately increased our collective impact in 2020, and we applaud their standout commitment to the Corps and leadership within our industry.

TRANSPARENCY AWARD: KLEAN KANTEEN

The Transparency Award recognizes the member organization that has creatively and authentically pushed the boundaries of honest storytelling about their climate journey to inspire action by consumers, employees, peers or/and other key stakeholders.

As a family-and employee-owned company, Klean Kanteen has long prioritized environmental stewardship and robust sustainability assessments–in particular, through rigorous third-party standards and organizations like Climate Neutral, B-Corporation, and 1% For the Planet to ensure credibility to the market and confidence to its customers. Yet beyond looking to labels and certifications, Klean Kanteen leans in further to better understand its impact and opportunities by measuring impact across its entire business, manufacturing processes and product, most notably by using lifecycle Assessment (LCA) tools and its own primary data from facilities for detailed greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) measurement–a challenging effort that’s further rewarded by their ability to leverage this insight to make informed decisions that mitigate impact.

 

“We are honored and humbled to be the recipient of this year’s P2P Climate Leadership Award in the category of Transparency. We are grateful for the work of the OIA Climate Action Corps and the resources it provides for companies to take bold, meaningful action. We know avoiding the worst impacts of climate change will require companies big and small to be all in, and hope by sharing our own experiences, other brands will be encouraged to take risks, accelerate their own climate journeys, and engage in authentic and honest storytelling.” – Danielle Cresswell, Senior Sustainability Manager, Klean Kanteen

By relying on credible standards and the best available data in its storytelling efforts, while building an accessible narrative that addresses their findings, learnings and opportunities to improve (see for yourself on their website and Annual Brand Impact Report), Klean Kanteen paves the way in honest storytelling. Further, they consistently inspire their fellow Climate Action Corps member companies by sharing this insight honestly and openly through the Corps’ online community platform, virtual trainings and written case studies. It’s this combination of contributions that truly push the bounds of the type of transparency that’s critical to drive real, measurable climate action the world needs, and we applaud Klean Kanteen for their leadership.

PARTNERSHIP AWARD: NEMO EQUIPMENT & DAC

The Partnership Award recognizes the member organization with a shining example of enduring value chain partnership, particularly supplier-brand, that is innovative and replicable.

Collaborative efforts across the supply chain that can both reduce emissions and be scaled effectively are paramount for meeting our ambitious and collective climate goals. It’s here where a unique, decade-long partnership sits amongst brand NEMO Equipment and supplier partner DAC, who together have steadily built an authentic relationship in their years of innovating on tent pole construction.

Leveraging this foundation, NEMO discovered an opportunity to further innovate in its shipping and packaging systems by working together to eliminate the polybag for their tent pole sets, which had been historically used alongside a conventional polyester fabric bag. In no time, the two designed and sourced a single fabric bag solution made of Repreve® recycled, undyed and uncoated fabric and recycled thread, using less energy and water to produce. Additionally, no webbing, cord, or plastic hardware was used in the design, minimizing material impacts and creating a straightforward solution.

 

“NEMO is honored to accept this Climate Leadership Award alongside DAC. We believe that collaboration accelerates progress, and we look forward to doing more work with the Climate Action Corps.” – Theresa Conn, Global Distribution & Sustainability Manager, NEMO Equipment

While this project will save 100,000 polybags within the first two years for NEMO, it’s the potential ripple effect amongst DAC’s other brand partners that holds promise for an even greater impact to come. We congratulate NEMO and DAC on their ability to leverage their long-term partnership not only for their own gain but, more importantly, unlock solutions for the industry at large. For more information, see the Plastic Impact Alliance’s member spotlight on NEMO’s program.

COMMUNITY AWARD: TROY JONES, SPECIALIZED

The Community Award recognizes the individual person that has frequently engaged and contributed to the Climate Action Corps community to bolster collective knowledge to its fullest potential.

Leaders, companies, and industries all go further when they work together – and nevertheless, are often driven by individuals working within who wield their influence and truly bring others along. As a co-chair for the PeopleForBikes (PFB) Sustainability Working Group and co-lead for their Social Environmental Supply Chain Track, Troy Jones exemplifies an individual walking the walk on community building and recognizes relationships as a critical lever for change.

With a vast knowledge base and experience of issues in the bike supply chain, Troy is continually willing and humble to help in service of the big vision of the bike industry moving forward and together on climate action. Whether it’s through time spent on bi-monthly working group calls and climate presentations, or informal one-on-one calls and messages to connect personally, it’s his inclusive and light-hearted approach in helping his peers, and even competitors, that collectively helps demystify climate action and inspires others to join in.

In an industry ripe with competition, Troy’s commitment to personally model pre-competitive collaboration is exceptional and shows the courage needed by all leaders looking to accelerate climate action within their own industry and beyond.

 

“The bicycle has the power to positively impact the health of people and the planet. At Specialized, we’ve learned that creating connections across our industry will not only help encourage more trips on two wheels, but promote greater responsibility in the lifecycle of products we all bring to riders. It’s been an honor to help lead the initiatives that enable the cycling community to make progress on these critical issues.” – Troy Jones, Social and Environmental Responsibility Manager, Specialized

 

IMPACT AWARD: BURTON

 

The Impact Award recognizes the member organization that has taken notable actions to drive big impact, particularly GHG emissions reduction, in line with the Climate Action Corps Guiding Principles of Make Better, Transport Smarter, Run Cleaner and Grow Creatively.

The systemic transformation that’s required to meet the global targets outlined by the scientific community necessitates companies taking a broad look at their footprint – taking responsibility for impacts beyond their own business and factories to reach their global supply chain, customers and legislators. With a strong footing in reductions and advocacy, Burton stands out as a front-runner in playing a positive role to driving broader impact.

Early on, Burton focused in on its carbon footprint and set goals for its scope 1 and 2 emissions that encompassed Burton’s three largest office facilities globally: Burlington, Vermont, United States; Innsbruck, Austria; Tokyo, Japan. While they reportedly missed this goal by eight percentage points, they still reported a strong reduction of 12% on these emissions in 2020 compared with a 2012 baseline.

As for scope 3, they set their sights on an average per unit carbon reduction target of 20% in the Winter 2022 product season as compared with Winter 2017, for all hardgood product categories and remarkably, met (and exceeded) their ambitious goal in one product category: snowboards. By making key changes like switching to a bio-based resin, eliminating the lacquer on the board, and installing solar on factory rooftops overseas (an onerous challenge), they achieved the 21% reported reduction per unit of snowboards in the Winter 2022 product season compared with a Winter 2017 baseline.

While they didn’t meet all of their reduction goals and even increased in some product categories due to design changes needed for increased functionality, their successful example illustrates the important work to Make Better and Run Cleaner to reduce the largest and toughest source of emissions in the supply chain. We congratulate Burton on this incredible achievement and their ambition to continually improve, season after season.

MEET OUR JUDGES:
Path to Positive (P2P) Climate Leadership Awards Judges
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Bee Hui Yeh​

Founder & Principal, The Power of We

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Erin Callahan​

Director of Corporate Engagement, RMI

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Eliot Metzger​

Director of Sustainable Business & Innovation, WRI

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Andrew Winston

Sustainability Expert and Author

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Need more info? Download the Climate Action Corps Field Guide.

Ready to hit the trail towards climate positive?Join us today.

Webinar: BEHIND THE NUMBERS: WHAT 2020’S RECORD OUTDOOR PARTICIPATION MEANS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE OUTDOORS

When: Tuesday, June 22

Speakers:
Stephanie Maez, Outdoor Foundation
Melanie Borger, RIVERSPORT OKC and Thrive Outside Oklahoma City

In 2020 the world witnessed incredible upheaval, and Americans across the country took to the outdoors in search of respite from COVID-19. Our 2021 Participation Report reveals that 7.1 million more Americans participated in outdoor recreation in 2020 than in the year prior, the highest participation rate ever recorded. These one-year gains, however, did not fundamentally alter the long-term challenges faced by the outdoor industry. Nearly half of the U.S. population did not share in the proven, positive health outcomes of the outdoors, and lack of diversity, declining intensity, fewer outings, and stagnant female participation continue to hinder outdoor participation growth.

However, there exists incredible opportunity. The outdoor industry and its partners are positioned to champion new ways to engage outdoor participants and invest in making the outdoors accessible and welcoming to all Americans. Collective action through philanthropy, programming, marketing and policy can move the needle. Together, we can help bring individuals and entire communities outside, and inspire them to build life-long relationships with the outdoors.

Join managing director of the Outdoor Foundation Stephanie Maez and Melanie Borger of the Thrive Outside OKC Community to learn how this report and outdoor participation research can be used to influence programming and policy to grow and retain new outdoor participants. Get a deep dive into key findings from the 2021 report, discover new opportunities for growth, and learn more about our shared vision for the future of the outdoors.

OIA Elects Three Returning and Two First-Term Board Members

We would like to thank all the member companies who participated in the 2021 election. We are happy to announce and introduce the three returning directors as well as the two new incoming directors, who will officially begin their three-year terms at the upcoming board meeting in July:

  • JONATHAN CEDAR, BioLite CEO and Co-Founder
  • PHYLLIS GROVE, Hydro Flask VP Marketing & eCommerce
  • SARAH MATT, Toad&Co VP Brand, Marketing & Sales
  • BRUCE OLD, Patagonia VP of Global Wholesale
  • JANICE TENNANT, Merrell Chief Marketing Officer

FULL BIOS BELOW

We appreciate the continued service of the existing directors and look forward to bringing on two new directors representing the outdoor industry. It’s more important than ever that OIA represent the breadth of brands, retailers and consumers who love the outdoors.

The OIA board of directors provides guidance for the organization’s overall strategic direction, establishes policies and positions, monitors the association’s financial health, programs and overall performance and prepares the industry and association for the future, ensuring OIA’s success as an organization and for its members. The five directors in the class of 2021 bring the experience, perspectives and skill to help guide our industry out of the pandemic and into a future with thriving outdoor businesses, thriving outdoor communities and a thriving planet.

 

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Jonathan Cedar
BioLite CEO and Co-Founder

What relevant business or industry experience would you bring to the OIA Board to help achieve and promote OIA’s work?
Over my first term as an OIA Board Director, I have focused my efforts on strengthening our sustainability pillar and reinforcing financial resilience in the face of COVID and a changing marketplace. If elected to a second term, I would continue to support OIA’s focus on climate action as well as advocate for evolving our service offerings to maximize member value.

The outdoor industry has a proud history of leading with our values and being rewarded by our customers for doing so. As a board member, I would leverage my experience founding two mission-driven organizations, BioLite and Climate Neutral, to coach the continued development and refinement of our Climate Action Corps with a focus on enabling our member companies to achieve quantifiable carbon reductions that are both believable and motivating for our collective consumers.

The pandemic has accelerated changes in how consumers interact with brands and retailers, and OIA needs to evolve our service offerings in ways that support the new landscapes our members are navigating. Some areas I believe OIA can help member brands navigate include evolving strategies for go-to-market, collecting market intelligence, developing and retaining talent and building a more inclusive industry for both our teams and customers.

Background:

Jonathan Cedar is CEO and co-founder of BioLite, a social enterprise on a mission to empower people and protect the planet through access to renewable energy. To date, BioLite has reached over 2 million people living in energy poverty with our clean cooking, charging and lighting products. Our unique business model, called Parallel Innovation, invests deeply in renewable energy technologies and then commercializes those products in both outdoor recreation and emerging markets. The income from our recreation market sales generates the investment capital needed to reach scale in our emerging markets, putting the company on a path to lift 20 million people out of energy poverty by 2025.

Jonathan is also the co-founder and a board director at Climate Neutral Certified, a nonprofit that seeks to accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy by enabling consumers to make climate-responsible purchasing decisions. To date, Climate Neutral had certified over 300 brands, representing over $4 billion in annual consumer spending and avoiding more than 1M tCO2e in 2020.

Before starting BioLite, Jonathan was a senior design engineer at Smart Design, a New York-based product development consultancy, where he led teams that created consumer durable products ranging from housewares to biomedical devices. Before working as a product designer and entrepreneur, Jonathan began his career in the outdoor industry-leading youth backpacking expeditions, working as a ski patroller, ski instructor and environmental educator on an ocean-going research school ship. Jonathan holds a BA in engineering and environmental science from Dartmouth College.

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Phyllis Grove

Hydro Flask VP Marketing & eCommerce

What relevant business or industry experience would you bring to the OIA Board to help achieve and promote OIA’s work?
Over my first term as an OIA Board director, I have enjoyed working with the OIA staff and board to deepen and expand engagement with our members and support our work to progress Thriving Business, Thriving People and a Thriving Planet. My 20+ years in marketing leadership positions, including leadership roles at outdoor brands Hydro Flask, KEEN and Mountain Hardwear, have helped inform my contributions to OIA’s strategic plan evolution and the organization’s strengthened focus on our members. I believe my customer orientation combined with my marketing and strategic leadership experience will be an important match for the OIA Board as we continue to focus on adding member value and finalizing the strategic plan for our next five years and beyond.

For the last two years, I have chaired the OIA Board’s Nominating & Governance Committee. My experience leading and developing teams has helped the committee work to continually improve the board’s capabilities and diversify its composition. As a lifelong hiker, I find inspiration and rejuvenation in the outdoors and am passionate about making a national impact: encouraging more people to recreate outside, protecting the outdoors and supporting the outdoor industry.

Background:
Phyllis Grove is a seasoned executive with marketing, e-commerce and general management experience and has been the VP of Marketing & eCommerce at Hydro Flask for the last five years. She decided to align her work with her love for the outdoors during the second phase of her career. She first joined Mountain Hardwear as the global head of marketing and later was the VP of Marketing for KEEN. She loves working in an industry and for brands committed to helping people lead happier, healthier lives by spending time outdoors.

Phyllis has demonstrated success understanding the customer, building brands, growing businesses and developing high-performing teams. Prior to joining the outdoor industry, Phyllis worked in a variety of industries, including consumer packaged goods, food, consumer electronics and natural products. Phyllis built her strategic marketing foundation at Procter & Gamble and Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream. Her other functional roles include leading product management and heading a business team at Kensington Technology Group. She received a Bachelor of Science in business administration, with a concentration in marketing and international management, and a minor in French from Georgetown University.

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Sarah Matt
Toad&Co VP Brand, Marketing & Sales

What relevant business or industry experience would you bring to the OIA Board to help achieve and promote OIA’s work?
After 15 years at leading New York City B2B and B2C marketing agencies, in 2013 Sarah turned to independent consulting and relocated to Santa Barbara, California. Sarah wanted to apply her experience in positioning and marketing Fortune 500 companies to ones similar to the company she had grown up in–an entrepreneurial, fourth-generation family beer business. While enjoying a diverse and engaging client roster, Sarah was hired by Horny Toad to rebrand and subsequently relaunch the company as Toad&Co. Sarah officially joined the Toad&Co team in 2015 to lead the marketing momentum behind its re-launch. Since joining, Sarah has overseen e-commerce and wholesale sales and today sits on the executive leadership team as VP of brand, marketing and sales. Sarah’s passion is people–from consumer understanding and brand connection, to volunteering with the community foodbank and Women’s Economic Ventures Group, to her strong commitment to friendships and family. Sarah’s strong belief that our outlook drives our outcome, combined with a solution-oriented, hard-working disposition and personable approach is what she attributes her success to.

Background:
I believe Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) has an opportunity to drive greater awareness of its principal beliefs and purpose among its members, as well as a broader consumer audience. The result of such efforts would be (i) a deeper engagement in existing member organizations, (ii) expanded membership within and outside the industry and (iii) potential restructured revenue opportunities. I would leverage my career in consumer insight, brand positioning and marketing to understand key connection points to help shape the OIA message and communications strategy. As an industry, we have benefited from the global COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to everyone being outside. Now is the time to intersect and build on that momentum to drive inclusivity, accessibility and our next generation of ambassadors to continue to scale environmental awareness and a sustainable lifestyle. OIA has a tremendous opportunity to be at the forefront of this movement, and I welcome the opportunity to contribute to it.

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Bruce Old
Patagonia VP of Global Wholesale

What relevant business or industry experience would you bring to the OIA Board to help achieve and promote OIA’s work?

I have just completed my first term as an OIA Board member, where I continue to serve on the Sustainable Business Innovation (SBI) Committee. Within my first term and alongside other committee members and OIA staff, I participated in the development and go-forward plan for our industry’s position on climate via the Climate Action Corps. This key initiative for OIA, with over 100 member companies participating, puts our industry and members in a leadership position relative to measuring, planning and reducing our emissions. I also led and participated in task forces focused on the following areas: programs to grow member value, funding for deeper or additional programming from OIA and oversight on the health of the Association in and out of this pandemic time.

My recent work at Patagonia has encompassed areas like the establishment of our Justice and Antiracism Strategy, navigating pandemic impacts and developing the next generation of industry leaders. If elected to a second term, I will use my experience and expertise to help with the following key areas for our members:

Participation – We need to expand our outdoor experiences for everyone. Inclusivity and encouraging the enjoyment of the outdoors or outdoor sports at all levels will have a positive effect on all our businesses.

Diversity and Inclusion – Many of us are learning the upsides that come with creating outcomes based on belonging and equity. This work and our industry embracing these changes will be imperative for our customers, businesses and members.

Climate and Wilderness protection – With more participants enjoying the outdoors, we get more help and support protecting it. It’s also critical for the industry to have a point of view here, which we are doing at OIA through the Climate Action Corps.

The Pandemic – While some retailers and brands in our industry have weathered the pandemic well financially, there are many challenges ahead as we confront the next chapters. OIA needs to play a large part in helping our members navigate what’s next.

Background:
Bruce Old works at Patagonia where he oversees the Wholesale Sales, Operations, and Service teams. His first job at Patagonia was in the Retail stores where he started as a shipping coordinator, and he has held about 15 or so different roles across the organization since those early days. Bruce’s roles have always been focused on the customer experience – spanning our Patagonia dealers, our retail stores and our digital channels. He and his family live, work and enjoy our public lands while based in Reno, Nevada.

Founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973, Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company based in Ventura, California. A certified B Corporation, Patagonia’s mission is to save our home planet. The company is recognized internationally for its commitment to authentic product quality and environmental activism, donating 1% of sales annually, contributing over $100 million in grants and in-kind donations since 1985.

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Janice Tennant
Merrell Chief Marketing Officer

What relevant business or industry experience would you bring to the OIA Board to help achieve and promote OIA’s work?

I am honored to have the opportunity to be considered for this OIA Board position. It has been a lifelong passion of mine to increase participation of diverse populations in the outdoors by combining my degree in physical and health education from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, with my over 15 years of brand marketing experience across such well-recognized brands as Tropicana, Quaker Oats, Huggies and Merrell.

If elected as a new OIA Board member, I would bring to the board a consumer-driven strategic marketing perspective to help the organization assess and research the changing landscape, identify key strategic pillars of growth and develop action plans to help drive both growth and greater awareness of OIA. With a proven track record of doing this successfully for consumer brands and nonprofit organizations, I know I can help OIA navigate today’s complex issues of diversity, equity and inclusion; climate change; and funding alternatives. However, since many of you are not familiar with me, I leave you with these words:

“Working with Janice, the team feels inspired to push ourselves to the limit of creativity and solutions that solve true business issues.”  — Shelbie Stewart, former SVP, Executive Group Director, Geometry Global

Background:
Janice Tennant is chief marketing officer at Merrell who believes that everyone should have the right to experience the joys of the outdoors. For over 15 years, she has tapped her passion for consumers to grow globally recognized brands at PepsiCo, Kimberly-Clark and Wolverine Worldwide. With a commitment to building a marketing culture of curiosity and innovation, she continues to find new ways to empower the next generation of marketers through the labyrinth of the digital world by creating brands with purpose that drive more meaningful consumer connections.

Janice holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel-Hill, and a B.A. and B.P.H.E. from Queen’s University in Canada. On weekends, you will find her hiking across Michigan with her two boys with the goal of passing on the joy of the outdoors.

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