Eleven Staff - Colorado

Rob joined the team in November of 2021. With a passion for outdoor adventure and a career in luxury travel, Eleven was a perfect match. After graduating from Texas A&M University with a degree in Recreation and Tourism, Rob moved to Vail in 2003 and gained invaluable luxury travel experience with the Ritz Carlton and Exclusive Resorts for nearly 20 years. He also spent time in Haines Alaska chasing his love of mountaineering and powder skiing until taking a job running the recreation center in Steamboat Springs, CO. Rob’s travels have taken him to some of the most beautiful places in the world, but he feels incredibly fortunate to call Crested Butte home. Outside of work Rob spends as much time outdoors as possible with his wife Molly, 3 wild kids and their yellow lab enjoying all that Colorado has to offer.

Brittany started skiing when she was 2 years old and has always loved eating good food. She moved to Crested Butte in 2004 from the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota to lead a free-spirited, ski bum life. She quickly fell in love with everything about Crested Butte’s quirky charms, beautiful scenery, and outdoor adventures. After countless trial and errors in baking, she went to culinary school in Washington to expand her food knowledge and shred Pacific Northwest pow. After four years there, she and her husband decided to return to the Butte and she started working for Eleven creating breakfasts, savory snacks, aprés, and specialty treats. Brittany enjoys Eleven’s team, which is never short on taste testers.

Marleny Franco Rivera was born in El Salvador and moved to the United States in 1988. In 1991, she got married to her husband, and in 1995, she moved to Crested Butte, Colorado with no idea of what was soon to come. She has two kids, both boys, who are her everything, and she loves them with all her soul. Before coming to Eleven, Marleny worked for 20 years at a hotel in Mt. Crested Butte. She first worked as a housekeeper and later received the title of Housekeeping Manager. In 2014, she was employed by Eleven Experience as the Housekeeping Manager and she has been incredibly happy and blessed to be here.

Zoë was born and raised in London, England and moved across the pond in 2013 to attend NYU. She lived in New York for eight years, until she left for a week-long ski vacation in March 2020, which has yet to come to an end. She began her career at Eleven as lodge staff at Scarp Ridge Lodge, before moving onto Shift Manager and later, Experience Manager. Having packed up her NYC apartment and making the permanent move to Crested Butte, she can’t imagine returning to life in a big city. When Zoë is not working, you can find her skiing in the winter and trail running in the summer with her dog, Brooks.

Madison grew up in Frederick, Colorado and moved to the Gunnison Valley in 2012 as a Western student. Graduating with a Bachelors in Sports Science she began to fall in love with all the outdoor activities Crested Butte has to offer. As an ex cheerleader and dancer she quickly fell in love with climbing, rafting, and skiing and explored all over our valley. She then began raft guiding in Almont, Colorado and enjoyed that before transitioning into her admin position years later. She loves to spend her free time adventuring with her border collie and hubby! You can also catch her hula hooping at the park on a nice summer day or with her alpine hoop on the skin track in the winter time!

Derek grew up in Westcliffe, CO, where he spent most of his time playing competitive soccer, snowboarding, and mountain biking. He studied business at Colorado Mesa University and the University of Bern in Switzerland. While traveling Europe he discovered his passion for adventure travel. He explored much of Europe and continued his wanderlust days after college by traveling through South East Asia and New Zealand. He worked various positions in the adventure travel industry throughout the world and was instantly hooked. After returning home to Colorado he found The Eleven Experience and made a quick decision to move to Crested Butte. Derek enjoys mountain biking all around Colorado, camping with friends and family, fishing local rivers, and trying any new adventure that comes his way.

Jay Whitacre grew up exploring the woods and hills of southern Indiana and moved to Crested Butte for college at Western in the summer of 1998. After graduating with a degree in Outdoor Recreation he continued to foster his love for the outdoors by guiding seasonally in California, Colorado and Utah all while coming back to CB to ski the winters. After doing this rotation for a few years, he was asked to move to Northwest Montana where he created, from scratch, an adventure program for an all-girls therapeutic boarding school. He guided extensively with schools in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. After systematically going through every adventure sport and activity, he decided to pursue higher education at Indiana University. After many years of education and teaching, he ended up with his PhD focused in decision-making and risk management in adventure activities. This brought him back to Crested Butte where he taught at Western Colorado University for seven years in both the recreation and outdoor education program, as well as the business school, where he helped to create and taught in the country’s first MBA program focused on the Outdoor Industry. In the spring of 2019, he decided to move away from academia and join Irwin Guides and Eleven. He still gets out on as many adventures as possible, but not nearly enough. Jay and his wife have two boys that keep them busy and continue to call Crested Butte home.

Elliot first experienced Crested Butte’s glory in 2011 when he realized that it is not only a place he wanted to live, but also a great place to start a career. His childhood in Florida is what originally introduced him to fishing, but Colorado is where he first picked up a fly rod…and never looked back. Determined to sink his feet in, Elliot found that fishing was a passion that he strived to focus on in his day to day life, whether it be a profession or a hobby. As one thing leads to the other, fly fishing consumed his time as he soon began guiding clients and managing the fishing operation. It’s not always about fishing when there are numerous other activities to engage in, but the peace of mind that fishing brings is how he relaxes both mentally and physically. The pure joy of teaching others how to improve their game on the water is what drives him. Fly fishing is not a simple task and can be unpredictable, but when done properly there is no greater satisfaction for Elliot than releasing a fish back where it came from.

Amanda grew up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin right on Lake Superior. She is a Pisces through and through and is most comfortable on or near water in any shape or form. Amanda became a sea kayak guide on  Lake Superior where she led extended trips in the Apostle Islands for 8 years. After graduating College with a degree in Outdoor Education in 2010 with a short pitstop in Portland Oregon Amanda found her way to Crested Butte where she had visited several times during her College years and knew just how special a place it is. She couldn’t imagine putting down roots anywhere else. Amanda taught skiing for Crested Butte Mountain Resort for several years, taught and helped run a Preschool in Crested Butte South and was the Skier Services and Ski and Ride School Administrator Coordinator for CBMR before joining the Eleven Team as an Experience Manager in Spring of 2022.  When Amanda is not working you will find her skiing on the slopes in the winter, on or near a river during the summer, off the grid camping or out hiking with her Rescue Dog, Clutch.

Liam Black grew up in Asheville, North Carolina where he gained a passion for the outdoors at an early age. Being raised in the mountains of Western North Carolina he appreciated the unique sense of place that nature and community provided. Liam now has found that beautiful sense of place in Crested Butte Colorado. Liam joined Eleven in 2020 and has enjoyed every minute of his Eleven Experience. When he is not providing incredible experiences to guests you can find him Skiing in the winter and enjoying the wildflowers while camping in the summer.

Nolan was born and raised in New Braunfels Texas. He attended UC Berkeley on an athletic scholarship to play football. After college he moved around with his wife, Katherine, to Oregon, Colorado, Idaho and China. Prior to working at Eleven, he guided fly fishing trips for 10 years on the Snake, Henry’s Fork, Teton, and South Fork of the Snake Rivers in Idaho and Wyoming. In addition, he managed his family’s wedding and event venue business. When he is not fishing or hunting, he spends time with his wife Katherine and kids: Nora Jane (10), Nelson (7) and Meg (3). He has a 14 year Labrador named Stella that he also considers a child.