Meet Jessica Mullins | Avout Racing Executive Director and Team Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Mullins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Doing good things with good people. Our organization’s mission boils down to having fun riding and racing bikes and getting more kids on bikes. This important mission has gotten a lot of great people on board which has allowed us to be very successful. While COVID was challenging in many ways, it also caused an explosion of growth as so many parents were looking for opportunities to get their kids outside and getting exercise.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve always been a bit of a wanderer. After completing an undergrad degree in structural engineering at Cornell University, I set off for Guinea, West Africa, with the Peace Corps for two year to teach middle school math. After returning in 2001, I figured I should do the engineering thing and moved to Colorado to work for an engineering firm. After less than a year, I decided I wanted to be a high school math teacher — I missed the feeling of impact that I had while in the Peace Corps. But after several years, that itch to do something different crept in. I really had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up (I was about 28 at the time) and looked for all sorts of career options. I stumbled into a market research analyst job, which turned out to be a really good choice. About a year into this job, I had my daughter and my employer created a sales analyst role for me that I could do part time from home. It allowed me to pursue my dream of staying home with my daughter while continuing to work part time. I had this job for about 10 years before getting laid off which was when the owner of my cycling team asked if I was looking to do more within the Avout Racing organization. I’m now over 2 years into my role as Executive Director and Team Manager of Avout Racing. I’ve learned from all of this that the path is often not linear. While some people (like my husband) will have one career (and maybe even one employer!) their whole lives, I thrive off change. I’m excited to be back in a position that is positively impacting kids and I firmly believe in what we are doing. I love riding my bike and sharing that passion with others!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m all about adventure, so I would share with them some of my favorite places and activities. I’d start in Denver with one of those online scavenger hunts to get to know the city a bit and acclimate to the higher elevations. But, I’m not a city girl, so I’d be anxious to get out and head into nature. We would drive to Breckenridge for a beautiful alpine mountain bike ride. The mountain biking in Breckenridge is unique because of the old mining roads and artifacts with a backdrop of gorgeous views. We would hike to the top of Chief Mountain in Evergreen — a short hike with a big reward. We would paddle board at Chatfield State Park amongst the pelicans and cormorants, bringing my dog along because he loves water! Another mountain bike ride would be in order — perhaps at Staunton State Park or in my own neighborhood of Ken-Caryl which has miles of private trails. We wouldn’t sit still much, except maybe in the evenings with a fire pit on my back patio. I would cook lots of delicious food, and we’d have to sample some local craft brews. It would be an unforgettable adventure!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A shoutout to Barry Wiebe who started the Avout Racing organization in 2013. With his can-do attitude and desire to always be growing and pushing boundaries, we have been able to get to where we are today.

Website: http://avoutracing.org/

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