Burton is proud to announce its continuing support of Kimmy Fasani as a key member of the Burton Global Team with a renewed contract. Burton is additionally thrilled to support Kimmy in an exciting new chapter of her life as she becomes a new mom and continues to pursue her professional snowboarding career.
“Kimmy is one of the most inspiring riders I’ve ever had the privilege to work with,” said Donna Carpenter, CEO of Burton Snowboards. “She’s broken countless boundaries in snowboarding both on and off the hill, earning the only female segment in Absinthe Films recent movie TurboDojo and numerous industry awards for her groundbreaking riding. Now, she’s breaking yet another major boundary in the sport – remaining a professional snowboarder through motherhood. We’re beyond proud to back Kimmy during her next biggest adventure – becoming a mom – and we can’t wait to see what stereotypes and boundaries she breaks next.”
Based in Mammoth Lakes, California, Kimmy has established herself in the top echelon of global female riders tackling backcountry lines in annual video parts with Absinthe Films and Transworld Snowboarding, while earning industry accolades and acting as a mentor to the next generation of riders. Kimmy’s prolific snowboard career is rich with accomplishments, and her aggressive style of backcountry freestyle snowboarding speaks for itself. Her continued contribution to the sport of snowboarding is recognized both by fellow riders and the industry, earning her Rider of The Year and Video Part of The Year nominations and wins over the past two seasons. Kimmy has further established herself as a mentor and leader through her Amusement MTN backcountry safety event for aspiring female riders.
Burton’s continuing support of Kimmy aligns with the core principles of the company’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI), an internal effort led by Burton CEO Donna Carpenter to elevate women into leadership positions. Founded in 2003, the WLI established progressive maternity and paternity policies for Burton employees so they could grow their families while also growing their careers. In addition, the WLI created a formal mentoring program that set the stage for a mentoring culture across the company. Thanks to these and other efforts spearheaded by the WLI, women now make up over 40% of Burton’s leadership positions. Through Burton’s continued support of Kimmy, the company is sending a clear message that its female athletes can also grow their careers while growing their families.
Kimmy says “I believe that this is the first time in snowboarding a brand and rider have chosen to continue the relationship as the rider transitions to a rider and mom.” She adds, “I had already decided that just because I was pregnant I didn’t need to retire… and having Donna agree is so encouraging! I quickly realized that I was going to be able to continue being myself, sharing my journey, adventures, and lifestyle, without feeling limited.”
With a due date of March 10, 2018, Kimmy has predictably remained active through her pregnancy. She’s riding at a level that she finds comfortable, while also sharing avalanche awareness and rescue information through a series of clinics.
Congratulations to Kimmy on her upcoming new arrival, and the entire Burton family looks forward to supporting her in this exciting new chapter.
To learn more about the Burton Women’s Leadership Initiative and Kimmy’s story, check out the Burton Blog.
About Burton
In 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter founded Burton Snowboards out of his Vermont barn and has dedicated his life to snowboarding ever since. Burton has played a pivotal role in growing snowboarding from a backyard hobby to a world-class sport by creating groundbreaking products, supporting a team of top snowboarders and pushing resorts to allow snowboarding. Today, Burton designs and manufactures industry-leading products for snowboarding and the snowboard lifestyle, including snowboards, boots, bindings, outerwear and layering as well as year-round apparel, packs/bags and accessories. Privately held and owned by Jake and his wife, Burton CEO Donna Carpenter, Burton’s headquarters are in Burlington, Vermont with offices in Austria, Japan, Australia, Canada and China. For more information on Burton, head to www.burton.com and follow our line at facebook.com/burtonsnowboards, twitter.com/burtonsnowboardand @burtonsnowboards on Instagram.
