Backland is a luxury eco resort that gives guests an immersive and transformative experience in nature while striving to significantly improve wildlife habitats and the ecology of the land. ​We believe that sharing meaningful experiences in nature invigorates the soul, brings us closer to the people we care about and fosters greater environmental consciousness.​We believe we can improve the environment through what we do. Rather than merely focusing on 'low impact', we strive to have real positive impact. We believe that every person matters. Everyone deserves respect, caring and love.​Our hope is to create outdoor lodging experiences where people and nature benefit from each other. Ecologist Douglas Tallamy, author of Nature's Best Hope, says that knowledge generates interest, interest generates compassion and compassion generates action. We believe that giving people the opportunity to immerse in the natural world in comfortable ways provides an excellent first step along this pathway to action. We also believe that giving people the chance to unplug and spend meaningful time outside with the people they care about is incredibly beneficial to the soul. So come to Backland and breathe the fresh air, gaze at an unspoiled night sky, and watch a child's eyes light up as they roast their marshmallow by the fire.

Built and led a team of employees and consultants to complete the acquisition, entitlement, design, and construction of five new Under Canvas Camps (Zion, Grand Canyon, Rushmore, Smoky Mountains, Tucson), resulting in a 6X increase in company valuation and XX* M. in PE investment from Spanos Barber Jesse & Co. and KSL Capital. *terms not publicly disclosedImplemented a system to track NPS scores and collect guest feedback. Utilized resulting quantitative data and qualitative methods to prioritize, develop, test and implement improvements. Within one year of tracking NPS and implementing improvements NPS scores increased from a healthy 57 to an unprecedented 85.Prepared and submitted a winning proposal in response to a competitive RFP for a secluded beach front property on Catalina Island and also secured sites near Yosemite, Joshua Tree, and Santa Margarita.Personally designed, prototyped, tested and launched the “Stargazer” tent which integrates a star viewing window over the bed, allowing guests to sleep under the stars.Played a key role in raising capital for Under Canvas including writing investor memos, presenting to potential investors and creating proforma company financial modelsNegotiated various land purchases, land leases, professional services and construction contracts in collaboration with our legal teamCoordinated the business model planning, design and construction of the first Under Canvas on-site restaurant facilities utilizing an innovative fast casual, food truck style mobile kitchen. The lean operations model and efficient design resulted in better than industry profitability and high guest satisfactionTo see a video featuring the product of my work at Under Canvas Zion visit https://youtu.be/Y-dDD8YHqrY

President - ACE Outdoor ClubVice President - Johnson Christian FellowshipTanenbaum Scholarship Recipient, awarded based on leadership and academic performanceMarketing Association

Utilized consumer insights to redesign the Ram 1500 international strategy, leading to projected savings of $400MDeveloped an innovative research strategy drawing on international experience and methods pioneered at Cornell to determine the best messaging to drive acceptance of new powertrains for Jeep Wrangler in ChinaLed a team to develop strategic recommendations for the Jeep brand in light of industry disruptions. Presented findings to a panel of vice presidents and received highest intern rating ever given in the division

Led an innovative fundraising campaign involving social media, direct mail, a partnership with local boy scouts and other grass roots initiatives to collect more than $90,000 over the course of 3 months for phase 1 of the Heartwood Homestead orphanage/school campus.Recruited a team of four volunteer architects and led design process integrating local building expertise with principles of passive design, permaculture, and renewable energy to create an off-grid, sustainable orphanageTraveled to Liberia and spent four months in country performing on site project management to complete two 1300SF buildings that provide a home and classrooms for 24 children and staff.

Negotiated savings of over $1000 per home, managed $34M budget and consistently came in under budgetConceived and created an automated commodity pricing update system to provide better pricing information faster, improving processes and providing additional negotiating leverageTook initiative outside my defined role to research, design, propose and implement an electronic signature system across all 10 divisions of the company to save $120,000 per year printing cost and $240,000 in labor costs Led successful project to upgrade all homes to Energy Star 3.0 standards by managing a cross-functional team from finance, operations, marketing, sales, merchandising and suppliers under time and budget constraints

Created a business plan, conducted market research, and developed prototypes for a local startup enabling them to obtain a SBA loan and grow sales by 50%

Selected from 130 graduate and undergraduate applicants to participate in a three month internshipPrepared real estate feasibility studies for selected markets and performed due diligence on potential multi-family acquisitionsDelivered formal presentations to managing partners to report research findings and make purchase recommendations

Developed a web based volunteer management system from scratch, organized several fund raising events and coordinated over 3000 man-hours to build two homes for needy families

Prepared financial models, forecasts and reports primarily using Microsoft ExcelDeveloped a system to quickly compare target properties across a variety of metrics against past transactions to aid in buy/sell recommendations

Managed construction of a new housing development, held subcontractors to highest quality standards, maintained construction schedule and averted the explosion of half of a city block