Snow Angels in Ecuador

10/19/2025

Congratulations Joel Munn, recipient of the 2017 Golden Ski award. We wouldn’t be where we are now if it wasn’t for his selfless contributions.

05/27/2025

Joel Munn Founder- Executive Director
Born: January 13, 1949, Saranac Lake, New York

Joel has spent nearly sixty years working in the ski industry, quietly shaping the profession of snow sports instruction in his roles as teacher, mentor, and leader.
Raised in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, where his father ran a small ski hill, Mt. Pisgah, Joel was practically "born on skis". He inherited his Dad's passion for the sport, and has shared that energy across the globe—from his roots in the Eastern U.S., to the American West, a stint in Europe, and on to Australia and New Zealand.
Over the years, Joel held leadership positions at several world famous ski resorts. He was often hired to evolve cultures, rebuild, or re-focus ski school programs, and enhance inter-departmental collaboration. He valued teamwork, clear communication, and high-quality instruction, and he created and shaped environments where instructors could take pride in their work and grow professionally.
In the early 2000s, Joel became involved in Powder 8 and Synchronized Skiing, at Nationl and World Championship competitions. He was also known as the Lead U.S. Judge, as was Founder and manager of the Powder 8 America Tour. His role was less about personal recognition, and more about providing opportunities for dedicated young skiers to express their love of the sport, hopefully helping them find the same success he has enjoyed.
From 2007 tO 2016, Joel served as President and Board Chair of PSIA-Rocky Mountain-AASI and held a seat on the National Board of Trustees of the PSIA-AASI. During that time, he worked alongside others to help strengthen instructor standards and support the broader snow sports education community. Now 76, Joel still teaches part-time at the Vail Ski and Snowboard School.
More recently, Joel has shifted the majority of his energy and focus to humanitarian work in Cuenca, Ecuador.
As Founder-Executive Director of Snow Angels in Ecuador, a small nonprofit, he helps with the support of elderly and disabled individuals, as well as impoverished children living on the streets (Los Ninos de Calles). The mission is simple, personal, and direct, personalljy helping find small medical needs, dental care, clothing, food, and perhaps most important, having caring conversations with those who need it most...the people Joel calls his "Angels".
Throughout his life, Joel has tried to contribute where he could—on the mountain and now in the streets of Cuenca. His path has been shaped by a gentle heart, a love for skiing, a belief in service, and a desire to make good things a little better.
He truly is, our Snow Angel in Ecuador!

05/26/2025

We will be marking our anniversary soon...standby.

11/02/2023

https://mailchi.mp/snowangelsinecuador.org/snow-angels-in-ecuador-fallwinter-newsletter

A "Heart to Heart" About Snow Angels in Ecuador This is one of my more difficult Newsletters to write. I hope you can find time to read it as you look at photos of some of the people who's lives we touch, and of course the beautiful sites of Ecuador. As I've spent this past season here, I've been r...

06/26/2023

Snow Angels 2023 Summer Newsletter - https://mailchi.mp/snowangelsinecuador.org/snow-angels-2023-summer-newsletter

06/21/2023

https://mailchi.mp/snowangelsinecuador.org/test

Thanks to your ongoing support, and in particular to a generous grant from Patsy Rowe, We have reached a couple of significant milestones this year.

10/25/2022

https://mailchi.mp/snowangelsinecuador.org/snow-angels-in-ecuador-fall-newsletter-2022

06/21/2022

https://mailchi.mp/snowangelsinecuador.org/snow-angels-in-ecuador-newsletter-summer-2022 Snow Angels in Ecuador - Newsletter - Summer 2022

02/23/2022

Spring Newsletter 2022 - https://mailchi.mp/6760efec7335/spring-newsletter-2022

06/10/2021

Snow Angels in Ecuador - Update for 06-10-22 - https://mailchi.mp/24e3ef241e9a/snow-angels-in-ecuador-update-for-06-10-22

11/18/2020

Snow Angels in Ecuador Newsletter: Fall, 2020 -

Snow Angels in Ecuador Snow Angels in Ecuador invites you to join us agents of change. Improve the lives of women, children, physically challenged, along with the other disenfranchised and impoverished people living in Cuenca and the greater Azuay community in Ecuador, South America.

11/04/2020

https://cuencahighlife.com/expat-snow-angel-establishes-organization-to-assist-local-charities-provide-food-medical-care-to-the-poor/

By Karla Sánchez Arismendi For the past two years, Joel Munn, a retired ski instructor from Breckenridge, Colorado, has been working non-stop to make a difference in the lives of the poor people on the streets of Cuenca and surrounding communities. He is the founder of Snow Angels in Ecuador. “Ev...