About the Author

Backcountry funsies 2

In the Alaskan backcountry

Dorothy Olmstead—The Basics:

  • Degree: B.F.A. Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College
  • Minor: Marketing Communications: Advertising and Public Relations
  • Study Abroad: The Netherlands and everywhere my Eurail pass would take me
  • Hometown: Suburb of Chicago
  • Current Towns: Denali National Park & Girdwood, Alaska
  • First Nomadic Job: Rental shop at Sugar Bowl near Lake Tahoe
  • Favorite Nomadic Job: Snowboard instructor
  • Contact: ProfessionalNomads@gmail.com

How I got here:

College degree proudly in hand, it occurred to me that I didn’t know jack shit about the world. Something authentic beckoned me that wasn’t offered in a classroom or hiding in an office. Some might say that intangible something was “irresponsibility,” but thankfully, no one in my family ever did. Instead they supported me for carving out my own life, one adventure at a time, as I collected fodder to write about. Professional Nomads is the culmination of that searching.

Biking in Denali National Park

Biking in Denali National Park

The winter after graduation, I earned minimum wage in a ski rental shop at Sugar Bowl Resort near Lake Tahoe. Snow storms bitch-slapped my mountain community relentlessly.  I became addicted to a legal white powder (better than I could say for some of my office-destined peers) as well as the cyclical lifestyle. Winter finally held purpose for this Midwestern flatlander. Somewhere in that scene, I knew, lay my people and my future.

Seven seasons teaching snowboarding at four different ski resorts, eight seasons dispatching in Alaska, and one pilot’s license later, I can’t shirk this lifestyle. This cadence isn’t for everyone, but the truth is that many people don’t even know there’s something available besides the corporate office.

Professional Nomads informs career seekers and entertains armchair travelers by funneling nomadic stories into one accessible location. You, too, can show the world what the individual can achieve by following their dreams.

Where will your passion lead you?

Career Seeker                        Armchair Traveler

After her first solo flight

After the first solo flight

Contact: ProfessionalNomads@gmail.com

4 thoughts on “About the Author

  1. Your 4 corners car; hidden here in the almost wilds of Colorado. still runs just fine. Read your blog again, looking for next post.

  2. Hi Dorothy, your Dad suggests we’ll be having a beer at Zulu in Montrose one of these days. . . I look forward. I believe he’s told you some of my story; I have lived by the words of Burton Holmes ” To Travel is to possess the World” and by Poe’s poem “Eldorado” ; in the end . . . “Where can it be this land of Eldorado?”
    “Over the Mountains of the Moon, down the valley of the Shadow, Ride bolding ride, The shade replied ,- “If you seek for Eldorado!”

    I find I still seek.

Leave a Reply to Michael Lawton Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *