ABOUT US

Rebecca Rusch, world-class explorer, professional athlete, acclaimed speaker and author, has spent decades pushing the limits of high-stakes athletic endurance. Her explorations, driven by risk, passion, and altruism, serve as a template connecting individuals to themselves, each other, and the natural world. As a multi-decade, multi-sport seven-time World Champion, 50 Most Influential People in Cycling, Mountain Bike and Gravel Hall of Fame inductee, Rebecca's relentless pursuit of excellence has earned her acclaim as a true trailblazer in the sports world.

An Emmy Award winner for her film, "Blood Road," and a best-selling author of "Rusch to Glory," Rebecca's achievements extend beyond the realm of sports. As an advocate, CEO of Rusch Ventures, founder of the iconic bike event, Rebecca’s Private Idaho, and creator of the Be Good™ Foundation, she leverages her platform to inspire others to reach new heights in their personal and athletic endeavors. 

With her life grounded in continual personal growth through the pursuit of new challenges, Rebecca has made it her mission to help others to do the same. She created the Be Good™ Foundation, which uses the bike to build community and create connections creating local, national, and global impact. Her relentless commitment to pushing boundaries, both in competition and philanthropy, continues to inspire athletes and individuals worldwide to strive for greatness.

 Click here to learn more about Rebecca.

John is an entrepreneur and investor in the entertainment, real estate, and cycling industries. He is an attorney and has served on the boards of public companies (Univision Communications and Deckers Brands) and non-profits. John is an outdoors enthusiast who enjoys cycling, backcountry skiing, surfing, open water swimming, and wing foiling. He is an alumni of MTB LAO 1 and resides with his wife Stephanie in Ketchum, Idaho.

Taneika is a healthcare administrator focused on health informatics solutions with the Defense Health Agency. She started her career on the open seas before shirting to healthcare delivery to have a greater impact on sailors and Marines. She soon developed a keen interest in health policy and older adults. She has served as a Columbia University Health and Aging Policy Fellow and an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, and she was recently selected as a George Washington University Health Policy and Media Fellow. In addition to policy, Taneika has a passion for writing. Covering health, politics, and daily news, her bylines have been published in Bicycling Magazine, Adventure Cycling, Sports Illustrated, and Crain’s New York Business. To strike a balance, she went from spin class to road cycling and then to gravel cycling. Her motivating mantra is her passion, courage, and tenacity to help others, especially women of color, be the change they want to see despite life's challenges. Surviving and thriving in spite of a myasthenia gravis diagnosis, she is a para-cycling gravel racer for Velocio // Exploro.

John recently concluded his career as an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine. He trained in Philadelphia at Jefferson Medical College (now the Sidney Kimmel Medical College), Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and Temple University. With a primary focus in sports medicine he spent 39 seasons as team physician in professional sports. Currently he spends the warmer months farming oysters on the Jersey Cape, supplying local restaurants and fish markets. When winter weather arrives, he can be found on the slopes at Beaver Creek as ski instructor. A survivor of MTBLAO 4 and RPI, he enjoys being in the saddle as much as being on the water or the mountain. Along with his wife and Portie, their time is split between the Jersey shore and Edwards, Colorado.

Thom is retired from Great Northern Corporation, where he held several positions. He has been active in clean drinking water projects in Guatemala through Rotary International, is a Paul Harris Fellow, and has been a team member on educational and health mission trips to the Meru region of Kenya. Thom has a BS from the University of Maine, a MBA from Marquette University, and a certification in Sales Management from The University of Wisconsin’s Fluno Center for Executive Education. He is currently a board member with Kids Play International based in Park City, Utah, and has been a member of the Camp Kesem University of Wisconsin Board of Advisors, where he helped with business outreach and advisory board member recruitment.  Thom works part-time as an adaptive ski instructor and bicycle coach with The National Ability Center. Thom and his wife, Jane, reside in Park City, Utah, and have two adult daughters.

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Austin believes immensely in the power of cycling to transform the lives of individuals and the culture of entire communities. Along with his wife, Austin coached a high school mountain bike club for many years and, as a result, put a career in environmental mediation on hold to serve as the president of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) for nearly eight years, until mid 2019. During his efforts at NICA, he partnered with Rebecca Rusch to expand youth cycling opportunities and became a supporter of her efforts. As such, he is honored to help grow and strengthen the Be Good Foundation. Austin resides in Berkeley, California, and enjoys gardening, cooking, and riding his bike with his wife both from his home and abroad. 

A lifelong cyclist and endurance athlete, Craig's path always leads back to bicycles. After getting a taste of adventure racing in the 1996 Hi-Tec Adventure Race, he competed in a variety of endurance events, from 24-hour solo mountain bike races to ultramarathons.  He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 2001 and spent 22 years in the Army as a Special Forces Officer, deploying throughout the world. On his travels, he saw firsthand how bicycles enrich people's lives and expand their boundaries. Craig is currently transitioning into his next adventure and can be found at trailheads and river put-ins in his adventure van. He met his wife, Meghan, on a bike in college, and they now have two boys and a Brittany named Endo.

Dr. Sharon Bannister is a former U.S. Air Force Major General with 15+ years of C-level experience leading complex healthcare teams.  She retired as the Director of Medical Operations for the Department of the Air Force.

Throughout her 31-year career, she served in multiple roles including patient care, post-doctoral educator, military command positions both stateside and deployed, and C-level executive leadership positions both within the Department of the Air Force and the Defense Health Agency.  

Dr. Bannister received her Doctor of Dental Surgery from Case Western Reserve School of Dentistry as well as Master of Science degrees in Periodontics from the University of Texas Health Science Center and National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University Industrial College of the Armed Forces.  Her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry was received from Miami University where she was recently awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.  

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Susannah has spent her life steering brand development and design for nascent industries and companies. She began her career guiding the Internet design philosophy for companies like Landmark Communications and AltaVista. She soon jumped into the wild, weird world of collectible card games, where she worked with brands like Star Wars, Star Trek, Nintendo, and Hasbro. Next, she powered up the brand and design of a tiny but innovative fitness company called CrossFit and helped develop one of the world’s most exciting and prestigious live competitions, the CrossFit Games. Her current focus is bringing health, fitness, and biking to people who need them by concentrating on the people who have the least access.

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Through Stockbauer & Associates LLC, Todd provides fractional CFO, COO, strategic, and advisory guidance to various Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands. His expertise spans various industries, including apparel and hard goods such as outdoor, winter and active lifestyles, retail, alcohol beverages, and food. Prior to his firm's launch, he served as a financial or operational executive with Airwalk, Spyder Active Sports, brandbase Holdings, and PL360 Beverage Partners, among others. Todd is not a typical financial professional; his expertise allows him to understand the idiosyncratic personalities of both startups and multinational operations. He understands how the operations affect the financial situation of building a brand and how the financial situation of a brand affects its operations. He is passionate about mentoring and providing entrepreneurial education, and he does so through board of advisor and board of director positions to numerous for-profit brands and non-profit organizations. Based out of Golden, Colorado, he intentionally flies under the radar. When off the books, you will likely find him on the road or trail cycling, skiing, or hiking or on a plane en route to a favorite destination. He holds a BA in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and was awarded a California Certified Public Accountant's Certificate.