At 26 years old, HMI now boasts hundreds of former faculty, staff, and apprentices who have gone on to pursue diverse careers in education, the outdoors, and more. We recently checked in with five former faculty members (whose combined tenures span 3/4 of the school’s history!) about what they’re up to post-HMI.
Nancy Hiemstra & Sean Bowditch
Nancy and Sean and their two kids live in Long Island, NY. Nancy is an Associate Professor at Stony Brook University in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and researches immigration policy. Sean is the Director of Audio Strategy for WNYC, the New York City affiliate of National Public Radio. Their son is 16, plays volleyball and spends a lot of time at the local climbing gym. Their daughter is 11, and divides her time between soccer, lacrosse, and basketball. They go for lots of beach walks on Long Island’s north coast and spend time every summer playing at the family cabin in Maine.
Carrie Marshall Mallozzi & Cooper Mallozzi
After 12 years at HMI, Carrie transitioned to a new career as a wedding planner. In the spirit of HMI’s moto “simple in means, rich in ends,” her business Stellar and Sage helps couples plan spectacular yet simple weddings in Leadville. She attributes skills taught at HMI such as communication and expedition behavior to her success in the wedding industry. She misses her days spent with students in the canyons and quigloos but finds ways to incorporate those experiences into her life by building snow shelters in the yard for Hattie (age 12) and Hobbes (age 10) and spending as much time in the desert as possible. Cooper is in year fifteen as faculty for the Outdoor Recreation Leadership program at Colorado Mountain College, teaching a similar curriculum he taught at HMI (except math) while helping students find their niche as professionals in the outdoor industry. He brings students to visit HMI every year, has had a handful of alums on various college courses, and will even graduate one this May from the program. Still doing education with an attitude where every day feels like an extension of his five years where nature and minds meet, although he gave up porta-parties and FOD’ing long ago.
Ben Edmunds
After leaving Leadville for the Pacific Northwest in the spring of 2008, Ben settled in Portland with the goal of turning his homebrewing hobby into a career in professional brewing. Fast forward two years or so, and Ben found himself with a diploma in Brewing and Fermentation Science and a job at a small upstart brewery called Breakside. He’s been there ever since as the company has grown from a basement brewpub to being one of the 100 largest craft breweries in the country, selling beer in ten states, and gaining renown for the quality of its beers. Ben feels fortunate in his post-HMI career to have opportunities to travel for work to Australia, Chile, Iceland, continental Europe, and throughout the US. While his work travel these days takes him to fewer “wild” places than HMI did, he carries many of the lessons that he gleaned during his tenure with him in how he approaches brewing and business.
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2024 HMI Newsletter.