Executive Director: Heidi Lange
[email protected] | 603-286-0278 (m)
Heidi is as passionate about cross country skiing as she is about the culture and lifestyle of the sport and the people involved, and she is committed to advancing the sport, sharing it with others, and fostering a vibrant and engaged New England ski community.
Heidi grew up and attended school in Massachusetts, but spent nearly every weekend skiing and adventuring in the White Mountains. She was an avid downhill skier and racer and she found joy in coaching and mentoring younger children while in high school. As a young adult, she discovered the agility and thrill of gliding fast on cross country skis. She towed her children and taught them to ski, and eventually they all found a home in the Bill Koch League and with the NENSA community..
Heidi began coaching with Ford Sayre Ski Club when her children enrolled. Over the years, she worked with all children in the program, kindergarten through 8th grade, and with the entire coaching staff as co-Head Coach of the BKL program and a Nordic Committee member. Heidi was also a collegiate rower and has coached Hanover High School crew since 2010. She finds no greater joy than in working with young people, helping them to discover their strengths, develop life skills, build confidence, and find joy.
In addition to her work with youth, Heidi brings experience with a variety of nonprofit organizations and boards, including many years of service on the local school board. She lives in Lyme, NH with her family. When she is not skiing, she enjoys spending time traveling, trail running, rowing, and gardening.
Youth & Introductory Program Director: Kait Miller (she/her)
[email protected] | 802-249-6334 (m)
Kait grew up in Elmore, Vermont adventuring on skis with her friends and family. She participated in the Stowe BKL program before joining the Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club as a junior and later competing for Bowdoin College on the EISA circuit. Prior to joining NENSA, Kait skied professionally with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (GRP) for 6 years during which time she earned a national title, competed in 33 World Cups, and qualified for the 2018 Olympic Team. In addition to competing for the GRP, Kait also worked with young people at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center coaching youth ski and bike groups and organized a summer citizens trail race series. Throughout Kait’s ski career she participated in many NENSA events and is thrilled to now be working for NENSA. She enjoys creating and supporting welcoming and inclusive opportunities for people to learn, grow, and develop through cross country skiing and time outdoors.
Competitive Program Director: Justin Beckwith
[email protected] | 802-345-6720 (m)
Justin grew up on skis in his backyard and down the road at Indian Hill, where he chased his older brothers and sisters, in Barneveld, New York. He started racing in the BKL as a lollypopper and quickly fell in love with gliding fast on skis. He raced for the Holland Patent High School before spending his senior year at the Stratton Mountain School. During these years he raced for both Mid-Atlantic and New England at Junior Nationals where he had numerous All-American Results.
Justin went on to attend Middlebury College, where he raced at two NCAA Championships, Junior Worlds and a World Cup. After college Justin ventured West to explore the mountains with both cross-country and telemark skis. After a winter of skiing and grooming and skiing trails in Whitefish, Montana he returned East to take a job coaching at the Green Mountain Valley School in Waitsfield, Vermont. He remained there for eight years and was a part of many Junior National and World Junior coaching and waxing staffs. After GMVS he pursued his passion for mentoring and waxing skis for the best juniors in the US, traveling to cool places like Kazakhstan, Romania and Central Europe.
Justin looks forward to working with the New England Nordic Ski Association and sharing his passion for skiing and adventure.
Operations Manager: Preston Noon Prior to NENSA, Preston was based in New York City and worked in Advertising Operations at Newsweek, Nature Publishing Group, and the New York Times. Preston is the Operations Manager for both NENSA, and the USBA.
Preston graduated from the University of Maine with a BA in English and minored in Art History. He received his masters degree in Interactive Telecommunications from NYU. He then went on to teach Digital Arts at Bennington College post grad and is currently an Adjunct professor at the University of Southern Maine. Preston lives in Freeport, with his wife and two children, where he volunteers on the Zoning Board of Appeals and is an active member in his community.
Eastern TD Coordinator and Event Support:Fred Bailey
[email protected] | 207-418-0840 (m)
Fred grew up in Andover, Maine, where he learned to ski in the back field of the family farm, the local snowmobile trails, and Akers Family Trails. He really caught the skiing bug when he raced in a NENSA U16 Championships in Rangeley, Maine. Following high school racing, he skied for Colby, including a trip to NCAAs, and later spent 6 years racing for Maine Winter Sport Center.
In the years since retiring from ski racing, Fred has worked as part of the team that created the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum, where he eventually became the director of collections and facilities. Additionally, he worked as a junior ski coach for several programs in western Maine and runs a trail design business.
In 2009, Fred began his career as a technical delegate under the mentorship of Jim Rodrigues and Bill Henchey and many others. He took over the role of Eastern TD Coordinator in 2019, from Jim. Also in 2019, he began working as a FIS homologation inspector. Fred is thrilled to join the NENSA staff and help support our regional events!