Jen Gurecki

CEO @ Coalition Snow

About

I build businesses that challenge people to live boldly and question the way we've been told to show up in this world. CEO and founder of Coalition Snow—the world's first women-owned and operated ski and snowboard company. We build performance gear that challenges how an entire industry thinks about women. Our skis and snowboards have been featured at the Olympics and earned four Blister Review awards this season, but the most important thing we've done is elevate voices that were deemed not important enough, not cool, and not core enough. I also founded Zawadisha, a 15-year-old microfinance social enterprise in Kenya serving thousands of rural women through transparent, pro-poor, pro-woman, pro-environment lending. I lead cycling and cultural expeditions through Kenya, connecting adventurers with the women whose lives have been transformed through our work. Things to know about me: I build brands that challenge the status quo and actually mean it I excel at bottom-up social change that reaches the people who need it most I mentor small businesses on how to grow without compromising their values I create email marketing and content people actually want to read I've spent 15+ years building businesses in both the US and Kenya I'm a mentor and advisor for small businesses—I've worked with Title Nine and REI—helping up-and-coming outdoor leaders and entrepreneurs. Recognition: Entrepreneur Magazine's 50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs (2018), a SheEO Top 25 Venture (2017), and featured everywhere from Outside Magazine to Huck Magazine. I also won a Nevada "Shark Tank" style pitch competition, turned down an offer from Bode Miller on CNBC's Adventure Capitalists, was named Innovator of the Year at the 2024 NCET Dragonfly Energy Tech Awards, earned recognition as a Twenty Under 40 leader, and won the Small But Mighty Award from EDAWN. Consulting and Speaking Topics: Bottom-up approaches to social change, branding that doesn't pander, women's outdoor industry strategy, social enterprise development, community-driven business models, doing business with values intact, email marketing/Substacks that people actually read.

Country

United States

City

Reno

Industry

Sporting Goods

Skill

Writing, Coaching & Mentoring, Business Development, Public Speaking, Fundraising, Community Outreach, Branding, Event Planning, Start-ups, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Media, Microfinance, Strategic Planning, Program Management, Grant Writing, Program Development, Workshop Facilitation, Team Building, Nonprofits, Research

Experience

CEO

Coalition Snow

2014-5 - Present · 12 yrs 5 mos

Reno, Nevada Area

Coalition Snow is the future of adventure and lifestyle as the first ski and snowboard company created by women, for women. Our passion for playing in the mountains runs as deep as our desire to deconstruct the status quo. #shredthepatriarchy >> CEO & Co-founder >> Startups >> Marketing >> Social Media >> Branding

Co-Creator and Co-Host of Juicy Bits Podcast

Coalition Snow

2017-9 - 2024-5 · 6 yrs 9 mos

The Reno Collective

Juicy Bits takes the conversations that women start on the chair lifts and trails and delivers them to you every two weeks in short, funny, juicy bits. We talk candidly about everything from dude soup, to waxing, to #MeToo, to diversity and inclusion in the outdoors. >> Find us on iTunes and Patreon Created by Jen Gurecki and Jillian Raymond of Coalition Snow, Juicy Bits is a window into what a lot of women are thinking and feeling, but haven’t had the platform, time, or space to explore at a deeper level. We occasionally drop f* bombs and say things aren’t always talked about openly, so get ready to laugh, cry, and maybe pee your pants a little bit. #juicethepatriarchy

Founder & Board President

Zawadisha

2013-1 - Present · 13 yrs 9 mos

Kenya

Zawadisha is a Kenyan-based social enterprise whose mission is to provide small loans to rural Kenyan women to help finance their livelihoods. #investinwomen >> Board President and Founder >> Startups >> Microfinance >> International Development

Public Speaker

Self Employed Public Speaker

2013-1 - Present · 13 yrs 9 mos

Women, Business, + More

March 2026: FBA Capital | Hello From the Other Side September 2024: Reno Startup Week | Outdoor Recreation Panel April 2022: Sea Otter Summit | Fireside chat with Raquel Vélez of Alpine Parrot January 2019: When Women Lead Part 5 | Panel discussion and 5 Minutes: One Bold Idea at Outdoor Retailer November 2018: When Women Lead Part 4 | Panel discussion and 5 Minutes: One Bold Idea at Outdoor Retailer October 2018: Geocash HQ Keynote in Seattle, SheVentures Summit in Portland September 2018: Movers and Makers event at Title Nine, Women As Change Makers August 2018: Ignite Reno July 2018: When Women Lead Part 3 | Panel discussion at Outdoor Retailer January 2018: Generation Everyone; Our Home: A New Vision for the Future of the Outdoors; and When Women Lead Part 2 | Panel discussions at Outdoor Retailer August - October 2017: She Ventures San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver July 2017: The Road Less Traveled | Bold Betties February 2017: Women Sports Film Festival | Panel Discussion January 2017: "Setting The Course" Panel | Telluride Mountain Ventures Summit January 2017: "The Modern Outdoors Woman" Panel | Outdoor Retailer Winter Market November 2016: "More Than A Hashtag" | Go Pro Women's Summit June-October 2016: "More Than A Hashtag" | She Ventures in San Francisco, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, New York City, and Boulder April 2016: "Engaging Men as Allies" | BLM Nevada Wildland Fire Preseason Meeting April 2016: Start-Up Weekend Reno January 2016: "Rethinking the Paradigm of Poverty" | TEDx University of Nevada January 2016: "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back" | Stanford University Western Regional Outdoor Leadership Conference

Editor In Chief

Sisu Magazine

2018-3 - 2022-5 · 4 yrs 3 mos

Chief Marketing Officer

Karukinka Outdoors

2019-10 - 2020-12 · 1 yr 3 mos

Santiago Metropolitan, Chile

Helping to build the awareness and growth of the first vertically integrated outdoor apparel brand in the US market. Learn more at https://karukinka.com/.

Marketing Consultant + Guide

Savage Wilderness

2017-1 - 2019-8 · 2 yrs 8 mos

Nairobi, Kenya

Africa is the last place people picture lycra-clad cyclists dashing down dirt roads or climbing striking switchbacks. And that’s exactly why we created African Spokes, a 68-day cycling tour from Nairobi to Cape Town. >> Website Development >> Social Media Strategy >> PR >> Sponsorships >> Co-Guide

Co-Instructor, Making Social Entrepreneurship Happen

New York University

2015-9 - 2015-9 · 1 mo

NYC

Making Social Entrepreneurship Happen is a two-week intensive course at NYU School of Professional Studies. Students will walk away understanding the process of social entrepreneurial problem-solving, armed with practical skills required for a social entrepreneurship career and empowered to make a difference creating the world they want to live in starting now. This course was led by Jonathan Lewis, an accomplished social entrepreneur and a compelling public speaker on economic development issues and social change.

Executive Director, Adventure Risk Challenge

University of California, Berkeley

2006-5 - 2013-8 · 7 yrs 4 mos

Tahoe/Truckee/Yosemite

ARC is a transformational literacy and leadership program for high school youth, linking wilderness to academics, adventure to leadership, environmental science to literacy and confidence to activism. Our transformative year-round program improves academic skills, exposes youth to a range of natural environments and wilderness experiences, and inspires the confidence they need to envision and accomplish goals, succeed in high school, attend college, and become engaged, empowered citizens.

Owner/Operator

IRIE Rafting Company

2010 - 2012 · 2 yrs

Truckee, CA

IRIE Rafting is a Truckee-based whitewater rafting outfitter that specializes in multi-day wilderness expeditions that foster environmental sustainability and river conservation ethics.