Robert Whitney
Rob learned to ski at Hilltop and the surrounding trails. Conveniently, he grew up directly across the street. Having recreated his whole life on the hillside within Bicentennial Park and being involved with endless volunteer projects to make recreational opportunities more enjoyable, it was an easy decision to get involved with Hilltop Ski Area as a board member. If you see Rob or his wife Holly and their twins, RubyJoy and Brooks, on the slopes or trails, please say Hi. Ya can’t miss him: he’s a big tall fella with kids that refuse to sit still.
Brad Davis
Brad is a lifelong Alaskan. He grew up skiing at Hilltop and around the US. Although he does not get to ski as much anymore, he enjoys working with Hilltop to help provide for the future skiers and boarders. Brad spends as much of his time as possible on the waters of south-central Alaska these days.
Kelly Michael Layman
Kelly currently manages a book of business and specializes in Alaska Native Corporations, and construction firms. Clients also include engineering firms, oil & gas contractors, government service contractors, utilities and many other types of businesses. Kelly is a licensed property, casualty, life and health producer.
Kelly holds a B.S. in Accounting from Oregon State University, and has earned his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Fidelity and Surety Bonding (AFSB), and (ARM) Associate in Risk Management designations. He is an active life board member at AGC of Alaska, and a board member at Youth Exploring Adventure, Inc. (Hilltop Ski Area).
Thomas Kretzschmar
A Baltimore native, Tom came to Alaska permanently in 2010 with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He learned to ski in Pennsylvania and Vermont where he trained with the 172d Infantry Regiment in mountain and winter operations. Tom and his wife Mary Claire have two teenage children who learned to ski at Hilltop. He has served as a Boy Scouts’ adult leader, UAA real estate program advisor, and ukulele banjo player. He joined the Hilltop board of directors in 2010.
Dan Goodstein
I am currently professionally retired but I do still involve with the community. I currently am the Board Chairman (elect) for AK Child and Family as well as the Board Treasurer for Hilltop Ski Area. As for my professional career, I spent 10 years working for the United States Congress (GAO) in Washington D.C. in charge of evaluating national Federal programs. I worked for the FAA Alaska Regional Officer as an Accounting Manager and Budget Analyst. I also spent some time working for U.S. Homeland Security in the Financial area. One of my collateral duties both for FAA and Homeland security was to serve as the Financial Officer on their Emergency Disaster Response team and was involved in several events. I enjoy skiing, fishing, camping, ATVing and travel. My favorite beach is called Belize.
Inge Lentfer
Inge Lentfer has been a devoted Board Members for more than 20 years. She started as a volunteer in its infancy – working the old rope tow before the lift was installed – and has been a faithful and enthusiastic supporter ever since. She sees a bright future for our ski area and loves what Hilltop contributes to our community.
Fred Valdez
My ski life began in Western Colorado at the age of 8. My local ski area was Powderhorn on Grand Mesa a 45 minute drive from town. We had a student Ski Club that chartered buses to many ski areas, Vail, Keystone, Aspen, Snowmass and others. In high school, it helped that my older sister lived just 40 miles from Aspen. I could ski the Aspen ski areas or Sunlight and crash at my sister’s after a soak in the Glenwood Springs hot springs. During my first two years of college I arranged my class schedule so that I was done with classes by 9:00 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and of course the weekends. It was fantastic! During my last two years of college at CU Boulder I was skiing every weekend once the snow was on the slopes. I have been skiing for many years now and I have a passion for skiing. When I heard about the Special Olympics Alpine ski program in 2001 I began volunteering. First as a ski buddy, and eventually Head Coach. Now as a board member at Hilltop I have a passion for providing the opportunity for others to learn to ski. I ask everyone who reads this to consider supporting Hilltop Ski Area in any way they can. If you have questions about how you can support Hilltop give me a call at 907 274-5000.
Randy Sulte
Randy moved to Alaska in 2004 working primarily in the oil and gas industry for Nalco, BP and is now the COO for Kakivik Asset Management and CCI Industrial Services. He has a BSc in from the Colorado School of Mines and a MBA from Seattle University Albers School of Business. He has been on the Hilltop board since 2006 and is serving as the current Secretary. He is married to Heather, a local Endodontist, and has four children who grew up on the slopes of Hilltop. Randy and Heather are both private pilots and enjoy the great outdoors and all that Alaska has to offer. He looks forward to continuing to work with Hilltop and is excited to help usher in a future that offers a full slate of summer and winter recreation activities for all Alaskans to enjoy.
Owen L. Ala, MD
Owen was born and raised on the Kenai Peninsula. His grandparents homesteaded in Soldotna in 1948, and he was raised on that same homestead. Owen worked the farm and commercial fished with his grandfather while a youth in Alaska. Owen has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and is a graduate of Cornell Medical School and did a residency in orthopedic surgery and a fellowship in hand/upper extremity surgery. He currently works at Orthopedic Physicians Alaska (OPA). Owen skis as much as possible in the winter to try and keep up with his three sons. He is an advocate for the local ski teams and wants to see winter sports in Alaska continue to progress. Owen is also an avid mountain biker and is working to develop the summer mountain biking operations at Hilltop and he sees the vision of world class mountain biking park at Hilltop.
John Stoehner
John Stoehner, is a life long Alaskan and has lived here for over 30yrs. He worked in the Ski industry for over 13yrs, and during that time he was the Snowsports School Director here at Hilltop Ski Area. John is a Level 2 PSIA certified Ski Instructor and a Level 1 Snowboard Instructor. He is an avid outdoorsman who loves to be in the backcountry camping and hiking. When he is not working he can be found either on the shotgun range coaching or working with todays youth teaching them about the outdoors.
Joseph Helzer
Joseph was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska and like many folks growing up in Anchorage learned to both ski and snowboard at Hilltop Ski Area. After college and law school, he returned to Anchorage with his family and jumped at the opportunity to volunteer at Hilltop where he has served on the board for over ten years. Joseph is married to Anne, a local attorney and they have five children who have been blessed with the opportunity to learn to first ski and then snowboard at Hilltop. Joseph and his family are also mountain bike enthusiasts who enjoy riding the single track trails as much as they enjoy hitting the slopes. Like his fellow board members, Joseph is committed to developing Hilltop’s future summer mountain bike operations to compliment Hilltop’s class leading winter operations.
Pam Birch
Pam has lived down the road from Hilltop for nearly 30 years. She and her two grown children and their families are downhill and Nordic skiers and frequent hikers, runners and bikers on the trails surrounding Hilltop. Her career highlights are work for IT consulting businesses, owning a specialized technical communication business, plus volunteering with multiple nonprofits statewide and downhill ski instructor at Alyeska. Pam is excited to join the Hilltop Board of Directors to help grow and expand outdoor activities for Alaskan youth. She believes outdoor recreation is vital for keeping all members of a community healthy.