WELCOME, ALL ADVENTURERS!

Katie Cosmas is a mom, businesswoman, and philanthropist.  She recognizes her greatest accomplishment as her three children, Cade 10, Addison 6, and her angel baby Taylor who would be 13.  Katie’s major philanthropy work began in 2010, after the sudden loss of her daughter, Taylor Paige Cosmas to SIDS.  Katie and her husband, Mark started the Three Butterflies SIDS Foundation, the umbrella non-profit to their event, Team Taylor which has raised over $1.4M for safe sleep education and SIDS research.  Katie also tells her heartbreaking story and the importance of safe sleep to reduce the risk of SIDS at various Moms groups and as continued education for Childcare providers in the Valley.  In addition to this passion project, she advocates regularly in the inclusion space on behalf of her daughter Addison who has Costello Syndrome, a rare disorder that results in both physical and mental delays.  In her day job, Katie leads business development for the Southwest at iHeartMedia.  She’s spent her entire career in Broadcast media in Phoenix helping businesses grow and strategize their next marketing move. Katie also volunteers at her children’s school and is a member of PANDA (People Acting Now, Discovering Answers) a women’s non-profit dedicated to raising money for various pediatric research projects at Steele Children’s Foundation.

Prior to joining OVAS, Alexander Davenport was the Founder and Executive Director of High Country Adaptive Sports. His enthusiasm for outdoor recreation is matched only by his passion for making it accessible to all people. At his core he is an educator who loves making connections with people and sharing the exhilaration of sliding on snow. He is a graduate of Northern Arizona University with a degree in Disability Studies and along with his Level 3 Adaptive, Level 2 Alpine, CS2, and AASI Level 1 he holds a Rocky Mountain Trainer Accreditation from Professional Ski Instructors of America.

Alex has played an integral role in creating accessible, therapeutic adaptive and inclusive experiences in northern Arizona and continues to dedicate himself to inclusive recreation expansion across the country. Before discovering his enthusiasm for adaptive recreation, Mr. Davenport was honorably discharged as an E-5 from the United States Marine Corps.

Nathan is a finance leader at Zappos. He holds degrees at Arizona State University where he received a Bachelors in Biology, and University of Nevada where he received his MBA. Nathan is an outdoor enthusiast who loves rock climbing, skiing, biking, and hiking, and is passionate about creating access to the great outdoor sports for everyone. Mr. Davenport is a former Marine “Sempre Fi” doing tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and has personally seen the impacts life altering disabilities can have, and the power of outdoor activities and sports has.

Jenifer is the President and Principal of Davis Enterprises, a third generation, family owned commercial real estate investment and development business founded in Phoenix in 1948.  For the past 15 years, Jenifer has guided Davis with a portfolio that represents some of the best retail, office, industrial and multi-family properties in the Valley.  Jenifer began her career in Commercial Real Estate in 1997 at CBRE, where she worked for 10 years as an investment broker, earning the title of First Vice President of Investment Brokerage in the Private Capital Group.  A native of Arizona, Jenifer attended St. Thomas the Apostle, Xavier College Preparatory and graduated with a BS from The University of Arizona.  She serves on the Foundation Board at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, the Xavier Board of Trustees and the Arizona Women’s Board.  Jenifer currently resides in Phoenix with her husband, Dan, and their three children.

Isaac is a partner at the international law firm of Dorsey & Whitney LLP, and practices in the areas of commercial bankruptcy, creditor’s rights/distressed assets, and commercial litigation.  Isaac has successfully represented and assisted with the reorganization of multiple companies through Chapter 11 and has obtained numerous favorable trial verdicts in state and federal court.  Isaac also provides pro bono legal work for the Arizona Justice Project, a non-profit innocence project that reviews and assists cases of the wrongfully convicted where actual innocence is alleged.  Isaac graduated from the Sandra Day O’Connor Law School (ASU) in 2002, and from the University of Arizona in 1998 with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Spanish.  Isaac currently resides in Phoenix with his wife Alli, and their two young girls, Adelaide, and Raya.

Kuzi is Chief Experience Officer and a Partner at Texas Capital Partners and Mountain Capital Partners. Kuzi has over 20 years of experience in Real Estate Investment, Multi-Family Housing Management, and Hospitality operations. Kuzi is based out of Phoenix where he currently oversees various operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, and New Mexico. In addition, Kuzi has a passion for developing, managing, and overseeing a portfolio of initiatives to enhance customer experience at all of Mountain Capital Partners resorts. He has a BA from the University of Arizona, in Business and Communications. In his spare time, Kuzi loves to snowboard, golf, mountain bike, wakeboard, and really any form of high-intensity athletic pursuit that allows for a strong feeling of presence. Kuzi also currently sits on the board of Calidan Missions where he serves as Director of Philanthropy.

Shauna has served as the Secretary of the Board since the non-profit was formed. She has lived in Flagstaff since 2015 with her husband Ron and son Erik, who has Down syndrome. Their daughter Anne lives in Brooklyn, NY. Shauna was born and raised as an Army Brat, which meant she moved around the country and the world with her family. She graduated from Utah State University with degrees in Business Administration and Spanish. Through the years, she has worked in administrative and customer-related fields. She has served on school committees and various special needs groups.

She is currently the head of the Flagstaff Mountaineers, which is the Special Olympics group Erik is a member of. Shauna and Ron have been very involved with the adaptive sports community because of Erik’s participation and have seen the benefits first-hand.

Blaine is the COO and Vice President of Arciterra Companies, LLC and Arciterra Strategic Retail Advisor. He is responsible for the operation and oversight of more than 80 retail commercial properties in 26 states, with offices in Arizona, Indiana, Florida and Hawaii.  He is responsible for the overall management and direction of the company’s operations, financing, acquisitions and dispositions.  Formerly a practitioner of real estate law, Blaine worked at two national law firms in Scottsdale and Los Angeles, practicing transactional law with a focus in real estate finance.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arizona, a Master of Business Administration from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona and a Juris Doctorate from the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona.

Dr. Rice is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Arizona.  She holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, a doctoral degree in Medicine from the University of Arizona, and a master’s degree in health evaluation sciences from the University of Virginia. She completed a Developmental-Behavioral Fellowship at the University of Virginia. She is an active clinician caring for children with disabilities, including seeing children with autism, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, brain injury, preterm birth, and early drug exposure. She participates in multiple research teams investigating each of these conditions.

As Chief Operating Officer of Guided Therapy Systems (GTS) and Ardent Sound, Steve Zastrow was responsible for the global commercialization of GTS’s Intense Therapeutic Ultrasound technologies. During this time, Steve also served as President of Actisound Limited, GTS’s commercial business unit in the United Kingdom, and was charged with managing GTS’s marketing and sales teams in Europe, Asia, and South America. Steve was also the lead executive responsible for the negotiation of joint ventures and corporate partnerships, financial management, and day-to-day business operations.

With more than 25 years of executive and consulting experience, Steve has advised many prominent organizations throughout the United States plan and execute transformational, strategic initiatives. Prior to his work in the private sector, Steve served as the Mayor’s Chief of Staff for the City of Tempe, Arizona, where he helped establish the Rio Salado Foundation. He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arizona and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. Today Steve is involved as an Angel investor in a number of startup and early stage companies and is focused on spending as much time as he can with his wife and three children.

Jarrett Ransom joined us in December 2022 as the Interim Executive Director for HCAS. She brings a vast knowledge of the industry to our team. 

Jarrett has experience working in the trenches of the nonprofit community for nearly 20 years. From start-ups to multi-million-dollar charitable organizations, she wears many hats and under her leadership and guidance, her teams across the nation have raised millions of dollars every year to support and sustain their missions.  

She and her family love to adventure and explore the great outdoors – camping, hiking, mountain biking, and more! Together, they have currently visited 14 National Parks so far and plan on seeing all US National Parks together. 

Truman was born and raised right here in Flagstaff, AZ. After graduating High school, Truman joined the Navy, where he served five years on an Aircraft Carrier as a Weapons Elevator Mechanic. After his Honorable Discharge in 2016, Truman jumped into school at NAU, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Parks & Recreation Management with an emphasis in Community & Commercial Recreation and Tourism. In college, Truman was first introduced to the world of Adaptive Sports while volunteering for NAASA’s ski program (Now HCAS). After his second year of volunteering, Truman interned at the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC) in Breckenridge, CO, where he was further exposed to adaptive outdoor recreation, where his passion was ignited. After two summers with the BOEC and finishing his Degree, Truman took a paid position with NAASA as the Lead Adaptive Instructor and became the Program Coordinator shortly after.

Truman started and currently runs all summer programming. He holds his Level II in adaptive ski instructing, a level 1 mountain bike instructor certification, is a trained Tetra ski instructor, and sits on the NAU Parks & Recreation Advisory Board. In his free time, Truman enjoys going on walks with his girlfriend and dog, mountain biking, backpacking, watching tv, and reading.

Carley is an outdoor professional who creates and fosters relationships with people of all abilities. She specializes in teaching adaptive skiing and rock climbing to students with physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities. She holds a degree in Parks & Recreation Management – Outdoor Education & Leadership from Northern Arizona University, as well as a level 2 certification in both Alpine and Adaptive Ski instruction from Professional Ski Instructors of America. She believes in the power of adaptive outdoor recreation and is dedicated to sharing its benefits with her community. Outside of skiing and climbing, she enjoys backpacking, making music or art, and spending time with her dog, Nellie.