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CLAIRE SMALLWOOD makes a mean green chile enchilada, speaks four languages, skis like a dude, and started a 501c3 nonprofit (without attorney help) at age 22. There’s something new that friends discover every day—like she plays a number of stringed instruments. Who is this girl? At the mature age of 24, she’s the executive director at SheJumps and will take over Utah and possibly the world with her enthusiasm and good will.
Without Claire, SheJumps would still be a pipedream. Thankfully, Claire got involved because she saw what happens in life when you just take a leap of faith.
“The first time I ever dropped a cliff on skis (at least a sizable one) I did a gnarly face plant and knocked the wind out of myself,” she says. “It was right in front of all these guys who had hit the cliff and stomped it clean. They were laughing so hard at me they could barely breathe! It’s still on video and I watch it to keep me in good form. I would like to think that the cliff is now stomped. It’s one of those weird things that can haunt you for a long time. Jumping and not landing is way better than not jumping at all.”
So Claire took a jump that day, and took one with SheJumps. She deals with accounting, day-to-day operation, and event programming at SheJumps. In between menial tasks of the business and taking powder runs, she will act like the mother of the house cooking amazing New Mexico fare for her roommates, occasionally performing a “Claire Concert” with her violin, mandolin, or guitar, or just speaking a little French, Spanish, or Wolof to mix it up. And it’s always a big, colorful party when Claire is in the mix—she has one of those jolly laughs that are so contagious.
Claire’s jumps are many, and she’s had plenty of challenges: dealing with her parent’s divorce, taking a non-traditional career path after college (skier/nonprofit founder); and hoping she could make a few more bucks a month. But she’s not giving up. She is a true jumper: She walks the walk. We know we can count on her, and we trust her because she answers to the Internal Revenue Service at just 22 year old—and that scary for anyone regardless of age.
At SheJumps, we commend Claire for her work ethic, her vision, and her example to others. She truly is a dear person with an old, wise soul and we couldn’t ask for a better person to run the organization. —Vanessa Pierce
Crystal Mountain, WA photo by Brian Stevenson