Board of Directors

Jason Harby

President

Jason is a Missoula native with a strong passion for the outdoors. Growing up in Missoula he started skiing at a young age and quickly realized you don’t always need a chairlift to get in some good turns. According to Jason, he stuck around Missoula for College and Law School as it was too hard to leave the mountains. To this day he still hasn’t been able to get himself to leave western Montana. Jason joined the Board because he sees the increasing importance of both, avalanche forecasting and education as the number of backcountry enthusiasts continues to grow. When he isn’t enjoying the region's mountains and rivers Jason represents a number of for-profit and nonprofit developers in affordable housing projects throughout Montana, as well other nonprofit and business-related manners.

Deana DeWire

Vice President

Deana is a lover of all things snow, from slogging up mountains on her skis to studying snow dynamism and hydrology to sitting next to a warm fire with hands wrapped around a steaming ceramic mug of hot drink and gazing through a frosty window at falling flakes- she loves it all! She took a circuitous route to find her forever home in Western Montana after leaving her home state of PA, with stops in Virginia, Colorado, and Oregon. She came to Missoula for graduate school, where she majored in Geography and studied the climatic drivers of the snow hydrology of Western Montana. After grad school, she worked at the Flathead Lake Biological Station before returning to Missoula, where she now works as a Hydrologic Technician for the Lolo National Forest. She has a deep passion for the intersection of snow science and community safety, and she's very excited to help the WCMAF deliver these to our growing user groups! Watch for her chasing her young son and husband around the mountains, either on skis or bikes.

Kara Daume

Treasurer

Kara has been a lover of winter all her life. Born and raised in the cold winters of the Chicagoland area, she found her true home when she moved to the Rocky Mountains to attend college at the University of Montana. It didn't take long to fall in love with skiing and Kara became especially fond of winter backcountry adventures. These days Kara still spends as much of her time as possible exploring in the mountains, preferably when they are covered in snow. Kara and her husband Selden have two winter loving kids who are part of The Missoula Freestyle Team, so inspiring the next generation to educate themselves and travel safely in the backcountry is close to her heart. Kara is the accounting manager and green bean buyer for Black Coffee Roasting Co. She is excited to serve on the board and looks forward to linking her passions for working collaboratively in teams, communications, and organizational systems, with her dedication to continuing to grow and support this region's avalanche forecasting and educational programs.

Doug Hutcheon

Secretary

Doug moved out to Missoula in 1994 after a childhood of ski club trips to the Poconos to ski in the rain, at night. He was inspired to find somewhere it snowed from the sky instead of a water hose to go to college. Soon after, Doug discovered telemark skiing and backcountry access. Safe backcountry practices were not instilled during those formative years skiing in the rain, but love for being outside in the winter was. In the years since Doug has continued learning how to safely recreate in the backcountry and works at helping others get outside with new gear as the gear buyer for the Trail Head. Missoula Avalanche’s mission to support avalanche forecasting and education programs for all backcountry user groups is what motivated Doug to join the board with the goal of ensuring others new to Missoula or the backcountry to have the resources and knowledge to safely get outside and back home.

Chandra Brown

Chandra is an Alaska-born writer, Grand Canyon river guide, and educator. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Art Education and Spanish Education from Montana State University, and a Master’s of Science in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana. As an educator, Chandra has spent many years working in the public school system, teaching Spanish across the Northwest and designing effective curriculum. She founded the Freeflow Institute in 2017 and is dedicated to the fusion of creative and natural narrative in the name of thoughtful preservation of wild spaces. She serves on the WCMAF board with hopes of helping improve communication among wintertime user groups around mountain stewardship, safety, and community. Chandra lives in Missoula with her sweetheart Nate and their two canine roommates, all of whom love to get snow on their faces at every opportunity.

Betsy DeFries-Craske

After spending every winter since she could walk on skis in northern Michigan, Betsy found her way west for college at the University of Montana, and recently graduated from Montana State University with a Master's of Science in Science Education. Currently a middle school science teacher at Sussex School, Betsy has largely spent her time outside as much as possible, as an educator in Glacier National Park, a winter naturalist in Colorado, and working on trail crews throughout Alaska, Washington, and Canada. These experiences and more have instilled a love for the mountains and rivers of the west as well as a deep passion for winter sports within Betsy. An avid skier of all types, she looks forward to utilizing her outdoor and educational experiences to serve on the WCMAF board. She is excited to further the mission of the WCMAF and help expand outreach and education programs so that anyone who enjoys being outside in winter can recreate safely and responsibly. Betsy lives in Missoula with her husband John and their snow-loving black lab, Teddy.