JACKSON HOLE, WYO – The Silicon Couloir board of directors announced today that Jennifer Ford is their pick to replace outgoing executive director Scott Fitzgerald.
Ford is a well-known Teton community leader and business owner who first came to the area in the summer of 2000. She served as an outdoor guide and educator for CityKids Wilderness Project, and later other outdoor organizations including the National Outdoor Leadership School.
Ford has an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from the University of Colorado Boulder. She also foundeda small business consulting company called Frederick Mountain Group in 2011. Her passion for the greater Teton region brought her back to the valley in 2013.
“I am honored and excited to step into this leadership role with Silicon Couloir. A longtime fan and volunteer of SC, I look forward to working with the board, trustees, volunteers, and the community at large to continue our work to foster entrepreneurship in the Tetons.”
Current executive director of Silicon Couloir Scott Fitzgerald announced earlier this fall he would be moving on to pursue his startup children’s media company, Buddy Pegs, full time. His departure triggered an extensive recruitment process, which ultimately led to the selection of Ford.
Bill Watkins, chair of the Silicon Couloir board, feels the exhaustive recruitment process not only assured that the organization found the right ED, but also served as a recruitment model for the local entrepreneurial community.
“We were fortunate to have a deep bench of candidates from both Teton County, Wyoming and Teton County, Idaho to interview for the position, and took that as a good indication of the impact Silicon Couloir is having across our entire community. Through our process, Jenn rose to the top,” Watkins said. “Recruitment is one of the most daunting aspects of running a successful business. Many companies and nonprofits fail because of poor team building. If you can’t develop a team of A players then you’ll always be a B level company.”
Under Ford’s leadership, Silicon Couloir is looking to strengthen existing programs such as Chance Meetings and Pitch Day, as well as launch their new Teton Entrepreneurs And Mentors Service. SC will also continue to work closely with Central Wyoming College on the Startup Intensive and Leadership Intensive.
Silicon Couloir will unveil its new ED at the next Chance Meetings on December 4 from 5-7pm at JH Still Works production facility south of Jackson.
