Stephen's FAQs
Who goes from working on a trail to punishing a keyboard and cold calling?
I thoroughly enjoyed working outside for a decade but needed to step away for a better personal balance with my profession. I enjoy volunteering to do trail maintenance on my local trails and do not plan on returning as I need the trail to be where I teach my daughter and not where my work stress lives.
Why did you get your MBA?It’s not the 90s anymore.
I went to the best forestry school in all the land and spent years creating content to convince people to adventure responsibly, but that didn’t prepare me for the career I wanted for the rest of my life. Western Carolina’s MBA program was a stellar multi-tool with working professionals and problems to solve. I thrived in the night school-style program, with the peak being getting the highest grade on my Marketing project of the year.
Why Marketing now?
I stepped off trail in 2022 into an outbound sales role, ultimately looking to move into a full-time marketing role. While working in sales, I’ve constantly worked on projects to learn and improve editing, social media management, and demand generation skills. My work is all over trailheads on the Appalachian Trail and Federal Wilderness Areas and mitigated the impact of the thousands I enjoyed chatting with.
Why should we pick you over someone with more experience on paper?
I have been working towards this point for years. The next opportunity I get in a full-time marketing role will be the most important job of my life. I need my work to exceed expectations and push me to be a real marketer. Give me a task with as much information as you can, and I will get it done.
What’s working with sled dogs like?
Spectacular. There are more ears to scratch than minutes in the day. You do have to scoop literal tons of poop, though. It’s not as complicated as you think to learn 40 names at a time. It’s more challenging to tell their butts apart when flying on a sled and getting pulled by an 18-dog team.
I was happy to work with 4 kennels and set up the social media to two. Guiding agencies are filled with amazing people but they are not always keen to jump into social media management, even if you had dozens of husky puppy photos.
Did you really walk from Georgia to Maine?
You bet, buddy! I was one of 10,000 hikers to start hiking in 2014 and 1000 to finish 2189 miles later. I would later join the Appalachian Trail Next Generation Advisory Council and work for the ATC for years.
The most I ever hiked was 44 miles in a day and that was to complete the “4-state challenge.” The challenge starts in Virginia, goes through Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and closes out with 30+ miles of Maryland. I cannot tell you how happy I was to see the Mason Dixon Line sign.
