STOKE
Co-Founder | CEO
(September 2013 - Present)
Adventure Forever
STOKE® (Sustainable Tourism & Outdoors Kit for Evaluation) is the first sustainability certification built for surf and mountain destinations and events.
Our vision is the pursuit of adventure will protect and preserve the communities, cultures, and climate that comprise recreational experiences, without compromising them for future generations.
Co-created the first sustainability certification body with standards for surf and ski tourism operators, destinations, and events. Grew the company to six figures in revenue with over 50 members in 14 countries (North America, Central America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia).
Managed the design and implementation of the UI/UX, data architecture, verification process, QA, knowledge base, and feature deployment for the STOKE SaaS platform to streamline the certification process and bolster sustainability resources for clients. Resulted in a 76% increase in gross margin.
Built an affiliate impact program where environmentally and socially responsible goods and service providers offered exclusive incentives to our clients worth more than $12K in savings per average client. Coordinated marketing campaigns with brands’ athletes and STOKE Certified resorts.
Conducted stakeholder engagement and training workshops followed by sustainability roadmap reports for clients such as USAID El Salvador, Municipality of Peniche, Tavarua Island Resort, Turtle Bay Resort, Mt. Ashland Ski Area, Diamond Peak Ski Resort, Global Wave Conference, and the World Surf League.
Submitted renewable energy RFPs, created feasibility studies, negotiated Power Purchase Agreements, and co-authored grant applications that secured $167K in funding for our clients.
Authored 6 standards across STOKE Surf, STOKE Snow, and STOKE Events that integrated compliance indicators from Global Sustainable Tourism Council, ISO, GHG Protocol, SBTi, and ISEAL standards.
Trained and managed 13 auditors in 6 countries. Mentored 16 interns.
Engineered a weighted scoring methodology that prioritizes sustainability initiatives based on impacts to U.N. SDGs, Project Drawdown solutions, and the business’ time and cost to implement.
2021 UNWTO Rural Tourism Startup Competition Finalist | 2020 Booking.com Booster Finalist | 2015 Alpine Initiatives - Grassroots Grantee | 2015 SHIFT Festival - Business Leadership Award
Featured In
“Unlike virtually all third-party certification systems, STOKE recognizes that operational greening is not enough and that a green business is one that uses power and voice to drive large-scale change, in addition to cleaning up its own house. That’s why I think it has more power to drive change than anything I’ve seen on the market.”
— Auden Schendler | SVP, Sustainability - Aspen Skiing Co