Leadership Foundations
The unlikely throughline of leadership, teamwork, and trusting your instincts—built through scouting, sports, and outdoor adventure long before I ever touched a search console.
Eagle Scout — I earned my Eagle Scout rank through years in the Boy Scouts, starting from Cub Scouts. What most people don't realize is that leadership isn't just encouraged at the higher ranks—it's a requirement. Planning expeditions, managing groups, taking responsibility for others' safety, environmental stewardship. These aren't badges you earn by showing up. They're earned by stepping up.
Backpacking — A lifelong pursuit. When you're miles from anywhere, you learn to trust your decisions—and to adapt when they're wrong. There's no undo button on the trail. You pick a line, commit, and adjust as you go.
Snowboarding — Reading terrain, committing to a line, problem-solving in real-time. The mountain doesn't care about your plan. Confidence comes from experience, not from certainty.
You can't control the weather, but you can prepare for it.
Leave it better than you found it. That applies to clients too.
Sometimes the best decision is the one you commit to fully.
Trust your judgment. You've put in the work to earn it.
Just as I dig deep into the earth, I dig deep into the data—uncovering what's beneath the surface.
Permaculture isn't about quick fixes—it's about building systems that thrive long-term. Same with SEO.
Growth takes time. You can't rush a seedling—but you can watch closely and adjust conditions.
Permaculture works with natural systems. Good SEO works with search algorithms, not against them.
Permaculture & Gardening — Beyond the trails and peaks, I've developed a deep passion for growing things. Permaculture farming, vegetable gardens, flowers—the act of cultivating life from soil. It's not about quick harvests. It's about building systems that sustain themselves season after season.
Gardening requires the same qualities that make good strategy: planning, attention to detail, close monitoring, and genuine care. You can't fake your way to a healthy garden. You have to understand the ecosystem you're working with.
Just as I nurture plants from seed to bloom, I help grow brands from the ground up. Deep roots lead to strong growth—whether that's in a raised bed or in search rankings.
"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now."
— Chinese Proverb
I've been playing hockey since fourth grade. That's commitment.
Hockey happens fast. You learn to read, react, and adapt in real time.
Sometimes the assist matters more than the goal.
15,000 people at Folsom Field. Nationals in Florida. You learn to show up.
Hockey — I've played since fourth grade. Still play today on a team. Hockey is fast—it requires split-second decisions and constant adaptation. But more than that, hockey taught me that team success matters more than individual stats. If I take the puck myself every time, I'll be less effective than if I set up my teammate for the score.
"Sometimes you do the hard work and set the table and somebody else eats the meal."
— Brian Burke
CU Cheerleading — Four years on the University of Colorado cheerleading team. Performing in front of 15,000+ people at Folsom Field, competing at nationals in Florida. You learn to show up even when you're exhausted, to trust your teammates completely, and to perform when it counts. That confidence—performing in front of large groups—carried directly into presenting to boards and speaking at conferences.
After years as a performer and competitor, I transitioned to coaching—and discovered that teaching is its own skill entirely.
I coached competitive cheerleading teams to state and regional competitions. The real skill isn't doing the back tuck—it's explaining it to someone who's never tried. Breaking down complex skills into learnable steps, motivating diverse teams toward shared goals, building confidence in athletes who don't believe in themselves yet.
Sound familiar? It's the same skill I use today when presenting SEO strategy to a board of directors or training a client team on search fundamentals.
Whether you're teaching an athlete to trust their body on a tumbling pass or helping a destination marketer understand why their organic traffic dropped, the core skill is the same:
All roads led here—but "here" started at the bottom rung.
Started in SEM at Benjamin Media Group
Launched consulting practice
Joined Miles as SEO Strategist
Director of Strategy & Insights, SEO
I started at the bottom of the ladder. Applied the same principles from scouting and sports: show up, do the work, support the team, earn trust over time. The throughline? Leadership isn't a title—it's a pattern of behavior that starts long before anyone gives you authority.
You might wonder what Eagle Scout badges and hockey games have to do with SEO strategy. Everything, it turns out.
The confidence to present to a room of skeptical stakeholders? Built by performing at Folsom Field. The discipline to show up consistently and do the work even when it's not glamorous? Hockey practice, three times a week, for twenty years. The ability to plan complex projects and adapt when things go wrong? Backpacking trips and scouting expeditions.
The "soft skills" aren't soft. They're the foundation everything else is built on.
When I develop SEO strategy for a destination, I'm drawing on the same instincts I developed reading terrain on a snowboard. When I coach a client through a difficult algorithm update, I'm using the same patience I learned teaching nervous athletes their first back tuck. When I sacrifice my own spotlight to make a teammate look good, I'm playing hockey.
The path wasn't linear. It was better than linear—it was formative.
Explore my professional experience, check out my philosophy on the industry, or get in touch directly.