The KORE Team
We’re the core of KORE.
We’re the core of KORE.
Powder Matt Mosteller, started out super fat (those skis did not exist then), until one day a ski instructor gave him a chance to feel something he had not before. The ankle biter had found his freedom and joy. Now he is on a mission to share the positive energy of the mountains and his crazy love for flakes. He lives along the storied Powder Highway of British Columbia and he co-founded the non-profit KORE Outdoors, which supports entrepreneurs of all ages in making craft outdoor gear, providing local jobs. He looks out his window onto the home range of the Ktunaxa People, where residents ski, climb, mountain bike, hike, and paddle, and everyday he and his partner are grateful and fortunate to call this place home. He is amazed and inspired by the talented and passionate people coming to the mountains today and has hope that with some extra work we can find a new model for the mountain town that is positive for the people and full of care and support for the environment. Everyday is a gift.
With 20+ years committed to start-ups, I have the requisite scars to underscore the experience. Good fortune has smiled often, including a very successful exit. My work with start-ups and early stage companies follows experience in larger corporate environments (Xerox, Oracle), driving sales and building markets. As an associate for a boutique venture capital firm, I evaluated the sales and marketing plans of early stage software companies in search of seed money. Goals and results are the focus of my leadership style. I moved to Kimberley, British Columbia in 2003. It is literally a slice of paradise in south eastern BC that allows a lifestyle most dream about. With an airport and fiber connectivity I am as accessible and mobile as anyone located in the metro areas. I am serving my second term as City of Kimberley Mayor.
Robyn Peel is a New Zealander who was a big city dweller in the UK but now calls the beautiful rural town of Fernie, BC home. During the day she’s the Community Economic Development Manager for Community Futures East Kootenay and on weekends and evenings does a number of volunteer roles, works in her garden, swims in lakes, climbs mountains, cycles gravel roads, cross-country skis, trail runs and makes the most of the Kootenay mountain lifestyle. She is passionate about ensuring rural communities are vibrant and thriving places to live and work, is driven by collaboration and connection, supports and loves social enterprises, and is always looking for ways to “do things better.” Being part of the KORE board is a way to bring her many strengths, passions and talents to support an emerging and important economic sector, and allows her to work with so many other passionate and talented people.
Francis is a brand builder and accomplished marketing professional with over 20 years of experience at driving significant consumer awareness, conversion and revenue growth. He discovered early on that he wanted to align his passions in life with his professional career. Since then he has been involved with many companies and brands that make the outdoors more accessible. He’s excited to help deliver on the KORE mission.
Pat Bates was born and raised in Kimberley, BC and has been happily recreating in the Kootenay wilderness for over half a century. Pat enjoyed a successful career as a landscape photographer, and spent many years hangliding and racing bicycles. These days, his life is calmer, while no less adventurous: he spends a generous amount of his time ski touring, climbing and hiking throughout the Purcells and Rockies with his friends and his border collie. When he’s not wandering in the mountains, Pat can be found enjoying good coffee and good beer at his home in Kimberley, where he lives with his wife Jocelyn.
Ashley is a wildland firefighter and entrepreneur who was born and raised in Akisqnuk (Windermere) and is Ktunaxa Nation. In 2020 she founded Ashfirewear, an eco-friendly line of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) clothing made of cotton with a non-toxic, biodegradable FR treatment. It’s suitable for people of all shapes and sizes who work in firefighting, mining, oil and gas, mechanical trades, hydro and construction.
Shawn grew up in Nelson, spent some time away, and then happily moved back to raise his family in the Kootenay city. He has a production and manufacturing background and now works at Selkirk College teaching Digital Fabrication and Design. He wrote and taught courses at the MIDAS Lab and was part of the successful transition from the MIDAS Lab to the Selkirk Technology Access Centre (STAC). Outside of work, Shawn is into outdoor activities and adventures in all seasons, as well as volunteering at his children’s school and being a part of his community in general.
Kevin along with Matt Mosteller, co-founded KORE back in 2017 with the concept of creating an industry cluster of outdoor gear makers and product designers in the Kootenays and became Executive Director in April 2020. Over the past three years, Kevin has taken KORE from a start-up non-profit to a the leading outdoor rec-tech network in Canada and has introduced initiatives such as the KORE Summit, the Kootenay Approved campaign and currently developing the KORE RE:hub, the Kootenay Hub for Outdoor Gear Circularity.
Kevin’s has been immersed in outdoor adventure and the outdoor industry, both as a filmmaker and as a project manager; including creating the Ride Guide TV series and Nordic Sport Manager for the Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games.
Riley Wilcox joins the KORE team as Resource Coordinator. She brings 20 years of non-profit management experience to round out the KORE operations crew. Working collaboratively with the organization’s Business Advisor and Events Coordinator, Riley will be connecting the KORE membership to business resources, workshops, webinars, funding opportunities and more. When not working, Riley is a patrol lead and instructor with Canadian Ski Patrol. She is also an advocate for children needing specialized medical treatments outside their Kootenay communities and she has a deep passion for launching and growing grassroots organizations.
Members of KORE now have access to regular business advising. Christian Rawles has 20 years of experience in the outdoor industry, including 15 years as the owner of Ambler Mountain Works, and as the organization’s new Business Advisor, he brings a wealth of knowledge in entrepreneurship, small business growth, and strategic decision-making. He will work directly with KORE members, offering guidance on scaling their businesses, solving challenges, and identifying growth opportunities.
Jayme Moye, the host of the KORE Outdoors Speaker Series, is joining the organization in an expanded role in 2025 as Events Coordinator for the West Kootenay. Along with producing the Speaker Series, she’ll also head up KORE’s presence at local events, such as Whitewater Ski Resort’s Kootenay Coldsmoke Powderfest, as well as organize various roundtables and in-person Speaker Series presentations across the region. Jayme has 15 years of experience in the outdoors industry as an adventure journalist, writing for top-tier publications including Outside, National Geographic, and Canadian Geographic. She is the founder of the Nelson Adventure Speaker Series, a non-profit that brings world-class mountain sports and culture storytellers to the West Kootenay city.
As the editor of Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine for years, Vince Hempsall became intimately aware of the special nuances of this geographic and cultural region in British Columbia. He’s now applying that knowledge, and his journalistic specialties, to KORE as the director of communications, a role that includes nurturing a local community of outdoor rec-tech professionals and informing the world about how damn good they are.