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The son of a blue-collar worker from Worcester, Mass., White started his career in the ski industry in at Hunter Mountain in 1976 after graduating from Colgate University in upstate New York. White worked his way up to become the head of mountain operations at the East Coast resort. "There was a tremendous amount of energy and fun ... and a lot of hard work, too," White said. "It got into my blood." White eventually moved on to a job as an adjuster with a snowsports industry insurance company and moved his wife and two children to the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah in the 1980s, the home of the Alta and Snowbird ski resorts.

White eventually moved on to become the education director for the National Ski Areas Association trade group for in Lakewood 14 years. In April 2007 he took the job as the head of the National Ski Patrol's national headquarters. The National Ski Patrol, according to White, has a "great tradition and heritage." Started in Stowe, Vt., in 1938, the patrol was established with the motto of "service and safety." Currently the group boasts more than 27,000 members. The nonprofit supports itself with membership dues, donations, catalog sales and corporate sponsorships. The official mission of the group is to support "its members through credentialed education and training in leadership, outdoor emergency care, safety and transportation services which enable it's members to serve the community in the safe enjoyment of outdoor recreation." Programs include Outdoor Emergency Care, toboggan handling and avalanche safety.

The National Ski Patrol office has gone through a rebuilding since White assumed the helm. Almost the entire Lakewood office staff has been turned over in the past 18 months, and White admits "the brand is a bit tarnished." "We had some troubled waters, letting our previous director go ... there has been some challenge to our credibility," White said. White is seeking to place the patrol on a firm financial footing and hopes to recruit new members to the fold. He also has started to address the office's aging infrastructure and to improve the organizations Web site. "We see a need to reinvent ourselves." White said. "We need to reach out to youth, women and other groups we have not reached out to in the past."

In the past year, a number of new programs have been instituted or resurrected by White. These include the NSP Safety Team, a national Young Adult Program, the NSP Mountain Host Program, a variety of safety education initiatives, several fundraising efforts and a Patroller Education Conference.

White said the patrol considers itself a "benevolent organization" that seeks out partnerships with other liked-mined companies such as Subaru and Patagonia. "We're in the relationship management business," White said. Most significantly, White, who has never been a patroler, is impressed by the commitment of the members in his organization. "They have a love for skiing, enjoy helping people and like the camaraderie of the patrol," he said. "We seek to provide value for our members."