Gina Basiliere was born and raised in northern Vermont. Her home mountain is Jay Peak. She was cross-country skiing by the age of three and alpine by four or five. When she was thirteen, she switched to snowboarding and that has become the sport that she holds closest to her heart. Gina was a competitor and captain of her high school snowboard team and has been an instructor for three years. Last year she received her AASI (American Association of Snowboard Instructors)  Level 2 certification. Currently, she is a student at the University of Vermont and she plans to take the next year off to attend Yestermorrow Design/Build School to learn about sustainable building.

Gina is looking to design and build things that work together with the landscape to create harmony and sustainability in the landscape she loves and admires.

“I believe that if development must happen, then it should happen “smartly.” I wish to implement this through green and sustainable building and landscape design.  Places such as ski resorts have the incredible potential to make a lot of people happy, but also the potential to further increase our carbon footprint. I have a vision, a vision to do just the opposite with these developments. I wish to partake in the process of reducing the said footprint. This is possible with the correct education. Green designs using passive solar techniques, alternative heating, and specially selected materials are just a very few things that could go into the thought and design of places like ski resorts. This is what I want, and what I see; a new type of blueprints- greenprints. I believe that my dreams can only be reached through higher education. I have so much more to learn and many places yet to go.”

Gina will be following her passion by experiencing sustainable programs, working as full time as an instructor, pursuing the final string of AASI certification, and getting back into competing!