Farmington Faculty


Leigh Breidenbach , M.Ed.

Director - Ski Industries Program

M.Ed., University of Maine
B.S., University of Maine at Farmington


In the Classroom: Engaging Students — Setting High Academic Expectations
Leigh Breidenbach's extensive contacts in the ski industry (she worked full-time in the snow sports industry for nearly 25 years before coming to teach at Farmington) brings to campus some of the leaders in the field in North America.

Each semester, Leigh typically invites about 10 guest speakers — professionals from all areas of the ski industry — to come to campus and talk with her students in the classroom.


Bringing to Campus Business Leaders in the Ski World
Past in-class speakers read like a Who's Who in the Ski Industry: Representatives from ski resorts throughout North America (Maine's Sugarloaf/USA, Sunday River, Saddleback Mountain; Colorado's Vail, Aspen, and Copper Mountains; Vermont's Killington Mountain and Okemo Mountain, New Hampshire's Mt. Sunapee, to name just a few).

Other speakers have included sales and marketing professionals from a variety of snow sport product manufacturers (Völkl Skis, Burton Snowboards, Tecnica Boots, Marker Bindings, Boeri helmets, Salomon North America, Leedom Helmets, K2 Skis, Elan Skis); representatives from Maine Handicapped Skiing; ski retailers and buyers.

Guest speakers have also included ski coaches who have worked on the World Cup and various ski schools and ski academies; civil engineers and environmental planners who work with developers of ski resorts; leading snow sport writers and photographers, and more.

This unparalleled exposure to industry leaders gives UMF Ski Industry students a unique insider's perspective as well as valuable industry contacts. It also introduces students to the wide range of opportunities within the Ski Industry, in a variety of academic disciplines: Business Economics, Community Health Education, Environmental Science, English, Creative Writing, Psychology, Secondary Education, Special Education, Rehabilitation Services, Environmental Planning and Policy, Geology, you name it.


Our Students Aren't the Only Ones Who Are Impressed
The industry leaders who participate in Leigh's guest speaker program also get the opportunity to meet and interact with Leigh's bright and enthusiastic Ski Industries students — the very people who represent the future of their industry. Those in the industry respect the UMF Ski Industries program as an academically rigorous program and know that their future employees (those very students listening to their guest lecture) are very well prepared upon graduation, regardless of their chosen major.

In fact, many guest speakers comment on the fact that Farmington students are required to do in-depth research in preparation for the speakers' arrival and are extremely well-prepared before they arrive to lecture. Leigh assigns her Ski Industries students to do extensive background research on the company, organization, the product, etc., in order to help students to ask very knowledgeable questions during the guest lecture's Q&A session.

Leigh has found this type of professional preparation also helps the guest speaker ratchet-up his or her talk, rather than give a "beginner-level" lecture — a level of preparation the guest speakers routinely marvel at. These industry leaders are most impressed with the quality of Leigh's students.


Farmington's Perfect Location for Innovation and Excitement
UMF Ski Industries students get a tremendous amount of hands-on work opportunities. During much of the spring semester Ski industries classes take place outside the classroom: from working on-hill with children at the Alpine Snow Kids program held at Farmington's Titcomb Mountain Ski Area, to learning adaptive coaching / skiing at nearby Sugarloaf/USA and Sunday River, to interning with nearby ski companies and ski retailers and more.

One of the most public teaching / coaching opportunities is the UMF Ski Industries'-run Alpine Snow Kids program. This program allows UMF students, from First-Year students to seniors, to work with area children to teach them beginning skiing to advanced ski racing at a community ski area located just minutes from the UMF campus. Students supervise and run the local program, including peer evaluations, scheduling, equipment rental, parent-liaison, write the instructional manual. Students involved in the Alpine Snow Kids program learn all aspects of running a small ski area, top to bottom.

At Sugarloaf/USA and Sunday River, each a little more than a half-hour's drive from campus, Leigh's Ski Industries students take methodology classes where they learn, hands-on, how to coach advanced skiing and snowboarding. They also learn how to earn a living doing this kind of work.

Every winter, UMF Ski Industries practicum students work for a wide range of snow sport retailers: from Gravity Jones in Vail, Colorado (an exclusive ski shop owned by UMF alumni Adam Greenier and Eric Hartman) to the smaller Northern Lights Ski and Sports Shop minutes from campus in Farmington.

Leigh's Ski Industries s students have also worked for: The Sugarloaf Ski Shop, Kingfield, Maine; Sunday River Sports, Sunday River, Maine; The Sugarloaf Board Room, at Sugarloaf/USA; Happy Tunes at Carrabassett Valley, Maine; product testing for Howe Enterprises, to name just a few.

Leigh has also ensured her students have served as assistant product reps for the following companies: Head Skis, Dynastar Skis, Burton Snowboards, Völkl Skis, Tecnica Boots, Marker Bindings, K2 Skis, Elan Skis, Rollerblade, Boeri Helmets, Leedom Helmets, MADD Snowboards, Blizzard, Hart, Salomon, and more. Leigh says these companies are looking for eager, talented workers as opposed to free help — and they have come to rely on the UMF Ski Industries Program for providing the best and brightest talent entering the growing snow sports industry.


A True Academic — Areas of Special Interest
As a Level III certified ski teacher with the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) and a certified coach with the United States Ski Association (USSA), Leigh Breidenbach says that one of her biggest interests is in examining how people develop sports skills — and she applies that same style of learning into academics.

Leigh is a firm believer in the philosophy that "coaching is teaching and teaching is coaching" and she is very interested in exploring how people can apply coaching skills and techniques to teaching situations.

Leigh is currently working with fellow Ski Industries faculty member (and fellow UMF alumni) Ron Bonnevie to develop innovative ways of incorporating digital technology into the Ski Industries classroom — using digital cameras and computers to break down movement analysis and to investigate new ways of helping students create digital work as it relates to the snow sports.


Respected in the Field — Noteworthy Accomplishments
Leigh Breidenbach is a Level III certified ski teacher with the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA), a certified coach with the United States Ski Association (USSA), and a member of the Eastern Ski Writers Association.

She is a graduate of UMF and has been on staff with the Ski Industries Program since 1990. An active ski teacher for more than 30 years, Leigh is a volunteer trainer with Maine Handicapped Skiing at Sunday River, as well as founder of "A Woman's Turn" ski clinics in 1986.

Off-hill, Leigh has worked as an assistant soft goods rep in New England for a number of companies and has worked as a contributing writer to several snow sports publications.


Outside of Academia — Personal Interests and Activities
Leigh's snow sports brain is never really turned off. In addition to skiing all over North America, she recently earned her certification to teach telemark skiing.

She is also an avid kayaker, windsurfer, hiker and a self-described "hardcore gardner/landscaper."

She resides in Farmington minutes from campus.


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