We were lucky to catch up with Dylan Stein recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dylan, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

Assumptions are your worst enemy. That is probably the most valuable lesson I’ve learned (the hard way in many cases) throughout my career. Whether it be launching a marketing campaign or planning an event, nothing throws a logistical wrench in y0ur plans quite like a misunderstanding that manifested due to assumptions being made along the way. I countered this by using the word “assumption” as a red flag. Any time I said that word during a project, verbally or internally, I paused and took the necessary steps to confirm. Although some may be annoyed by my constant follow up emails and “just confirming” Slack messages, it has saved me on more than one occasion.

Dylan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I grew up in Seattle, WA and went to the University of Oregon where I studied advertising. After three years working on a brand team in Portland, OR, I decided to quit my job and travel around the western US for three months. During that time, I lived out of my truck and volunteered to do odd jobs in exchange for food and lodging. It was an incredible adventure, and I highly recommend all young people take some time to step back and find themselves.

After traveling, I moved to Summit County, CO, where I chased my dream of living in a mountain town and living the ski bum lifestyle. When I moved there, I took an entry level retail position at Patagonia to get my feet on the ground. After I was promoted to Assistant Manager, I took on planning community events at the store. Through this, I developed a mentorship with a women who leads the industry in Event Planning and Coordination in Summit County. When she told me about Building Hope (over one of our many coffee meetings) I was obsessed. I applied to their Events Coordinator position, and have been living the dream ever since. Start talking to people….you never know where it will lead you.

Building Hope Summit County is a mental health non-profit that seeks to make mental healthcare more accessible to Summit County residents, destigmatize mental health, and foster connection in our community. My position is very community facing, and it allows me to connect deeper with Summit County and meet some incredible people. I am very passionate about the work I do and often find myself much more motivated by my passion than paychecks.

One of my goals when I started with Building Hope was to get more men involved in the mental health conversation. Men are at the highest risk of suicide. While there are many factors that contribute to this, the lack of support systems and the excess of societal pressures for men to hide their emotions are largely to blame. Through Building Hope I have been able to coordinate a men’s peer support group that meets bi-weekly. This is, hands down, the most fulfilling thing I have ever accomplished not just in my career, but my life. I encourage everyone to find a support system – you do not have to struggle alone.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

One thing that I love about my job is that it requires me to get out and engage with the community. In a small town like Breckenridge, it’s all about who you know. Being able to meet folks in-person, rather than confining our relationships to emails or zoom, has helped me tremendously in building my reputation not only within my industry, but within my community as well. Even in a digital age, face-to-face is king.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

My advice would be to not dwell in the past and trust the process. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason, and all the decisions you make, both in your career and personally, led you to where you are now.

Contact Info:

• Website: buildinghopesummit.org
• Instagram: buildinghopesummit
• Facebook: Building Hope Summit County
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylangstein/