She grew up in the Catskills, and after skiing for fun for years, her first non-babysitting job when she was young was at the nursery at Belleayre Mountain, one of the ski centers ORDA manages.

Munro taught children how to ski at Belleayre, including her own kids, who started hitting the slopes at a young age. Soon, her grandson will be starting his skiing lessons.

“He’s only two and a half, so we thought we’d give him a break,” Munro said. “(Belleayre) is home. It’s home for me and my husband.”

Munro spent 40 years in education. Her last job was superintendent of the Florida Union Free School District in Florida, New York. She retired four years ago and moved back home to Orange County.

Now, Munro describes herself as a “professional volunteer.”

“After I retired, I was looking for ways to get involved. I wanted to be able to use some of the skills I’d developed over the years to benefit the community,” she said.

That’s when she joined a local grassroots organization, the Coalition for Belleayre Mountain, to advocate for funding and improvements at Belleayre Mountain. That brought her to ORDA Board of Directors meetings long before she was a member.

Munro considers ORDA’s venues, whether in Lake Placid, North Creek or Highmount, as economic engines for rural economies that rely heavily on tourism. She sees a lot of potential for growth.

“I’m very excited about the mindset of using those beautiful facilities year-round,” she said. Munro said she likes to hike Belleayre in the summertime, and with a new hiking map available for the mountain, “other people can recognize the opportunity as well.”

As a member of the board of directors, Munro is looking forward to weighing in on how ORDA invests in its venues.

“I think it’s our responsibility to advocate for high-quality investment into the venues,” Munro said. “I think it’s our responsibility to ask questions about how those investments will result in the positive impacts we’re looking for in the regions as a whole.”

Maximizing the state’s investments into ORDA venues will require establishing strong partnerships with local governments, attracting private investment into the areas where the venues reside, and using the venues to their full potential to minimize the amount of state funding needed in the future, Munro said.

“I think that ORDA is doing what it needs to do. I think it has been improving. Do I have some ideas? Yes. Am I prepared to say, this is what ORDA needs to do? No. I’m going to learn first,” she said. “The governor has filled several seats (on the ORDA board) with new faces. For me, that means we, collectively, will establish a new direction. I think we’re all very enthusiastic about the future.

“I think we need to keep an eye on the future. When it comes to skiing, I know there’s one challenge, and that’s that the skiing industry is changing very, very rapidly. We need to maximize the position of our venues to work in that changing landscape. I feel ORDA is charged to do important work. I think we have a good team, and I’m excited to learn, and increase my contribution as I learn.”

The ORDA Board of Directors now includes Munro, Chairperson Kelly Cummings, state Sen. Betty Little, Elinor Tatum, Thomas Keegan, Bill Beaney, Cliff Donaldson, Andy Lack, Art Lussi, Eric Gertler, Erik Kulleseid and Basil Seggos.