Nate grew up in a rural part of Southern California where had the benefit of relatively easy access to both the beach and the mountains. At a young age, he developed an appreciation for outdoor recreation through climbing, skiing, mountain biking, and backpacking. With two adventurous parents, Nate explored most of California and the Western United States, as well as travelling the world to both developing and developed countries abroad.
Through a very outdoor oriented troop in the Boy Scouts, Nate was exposed to the importance of core values, firsthand knowledge, and the key tenants of leadership. As the youngest Eagle Scout in the region at the time, Nate also developed and recognized at a young age the importance of giving back to the community that supported him, while also committing to big efforts and challenging ventures.
Nate attended UC Davis, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in an interdisciplinary program – Nature and Culture. With the support of renown scientists and esteemed creatives, such as beat poet Gary Snyder, the program taught students how to rich the gap between complex scientific concepts and everyday life, such that or people could connect with the information and understanding. As a part of this program, made focused on environmental policy and management, While receiving a minor in geographic information systems (GIS).
Before completing college, Nate and a colleague established a consulting firm (Talon Associates, LLC) which specialized in the application of GIS for environmental policy and management decision making. The company took on a number of projects for government agencies and non-government organizations focusing on conserving critical habitat for keystone species throughout the US, as well as providing technical support and assistance to a number of other entities in the early 2000s.
After graduating from UC Davis, Nate moved to Mammoth Lakes, California with the primary objective of working in a place he loved, and having ready access to the mountains which offered endless recreation opportunity. Nate quickly fell in love with the small mountain community in the Eastern Sierra, and decided to put down roots for the long term in the region. Over the following years, Nate split his time between working as a white collared professional with Talon Associates, while also exploring various opportunities in the outdoor industry. This included becoming an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), which he taught for several years and further exposed him to the importance of education and leadership development for outdoor enthusiasts. During his tenure at NOLS, Nate also had the opportunity to take several avalanche education courses with industry icons including Ian McCamman, Don Sharaf, and Tim Villanueva. These learning endeavors were seminal, and not only furthered his personal growth for backcountry skiing pursuits, but also opened his eyes to how critical this awareness is for all those engaging in these activities.
In 2001, Talon Associates was retained By Mono County to develop their GIS system and program. After several years of work building this enterprise system, Nate closed the business and stepped into a full-time role as GIS Manager for Mono County and the Town of Mammoth Lakes. Nate ran this program for 10 years before being selected by the Mono County Board of Supervisors to manage a multi year, large-scale, open access broadband installation project known as Digital 395 – and then served on the Board of Directors for that 501(c)12 organization for nearly 10 years.
With a proven track record and many successful collaborative efforts attributed to his name, Nate was selected as the Director of Information Technology for Mono County and Mammoth Lakes in 2012 and served in this capacity for the next 10 years. During this time, Nate served the County Administrative Officer and Board of Supervisors for Mono County, as well as the Town Manager and Town Council for the Town of Mammoth Lakes as the first “shared department” between the two organizations – developing and fostering a relationship which continues today. He and his small team won a number of national awards, and were looked to as leaders in the local government space by many.
In 2022, Nate when he was recruited by Inyo County to serve as their Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) who oversaw and led the 500 person organization. Responsible for everything from daily administration, budget development, elected leadership support, and community engagement, Nate fostered new relationships and helped usher in culture change to the organization during his tenure there. In 2025, Nate left Inyo County to explore other opportunities outside of the local government space, where he is focused and working today.
During this time, Nate also was heavily involved in the outdoor industry – particularly in the backcountry ski community. As an avid backcountry skier who had by then traveled through much of the mountain west, Nate had the opportunity to serve as an athlete, competitor, and brand ambassador within the telemark ski community. After several years of competing, Nate turned his attention to helping run competitions and served as the head judge of the telemark freeski series for almost 10 years.
His passion was always aimed at the backcountry, however, and through his travels recognized that the Eastern Sierra was lacking authoritative information to support decision making and management of avalanche terrain. Together with a small group of passionate individuals, Nate helped form the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center in 2006, and has served as the organization’s President since that time. This 501(c)3 exists to provide backcountry users with data, observations, and daily avalanche advisories so they can make informed decisions while skiing in the back of country. Today, ESAC is recognized as one of the preeminent avalanche centers in the US and employees five individuals throughout the season.
Further of leveraging his passion for sharing information and growing community, Nate co-authored Backcountry Skiing California’s Eastern Sierra in 2008, which was the first full-color, comprehensive guidebook for backcountry skiing in the region. Two additions have been published subsequently with more than 15,000 copies sold to date worldwide.
Today, Nate wears a variety of hats, including representing Arc’Teryx as a Community Ambassador in the Eastern Sierra -a role that is aimed at supporting the Eastern Sierra mountain community in a variety of ways. Perhaps most importantly, Nate is a husband and proud father of two amazing kids.