Doug Brown
CEO & Co-Founder
Douglas Brown, attended St. Lawrence University, competing on the varsity ski team and majoring in Chemistry. After teaching and coaching at the Berkshire School post-grad, in 2010 Doug moved back to Vermont to start Slopeside Syrup with his brother, Roger and their two cousins. UnTapped’s formation followed in 2014.
Doug is involved at some level with every aspect of the business, even product development, using his chemistry degree to fine-tune all UnTapped recipes. He is our business’ architect, organizing most operations and keeping the company strategically aligned. Outside of work Doug can be found spending time with his partner and their dog Sadie on their homestead in Waterbury, VT. The Cochran family is known for their skiing, but Doug’s greatest accolades are as a sugarmaker, business leader, and friend.
Roger Brown
Co-Founder
Roger Brown, a co-founder of UnTapped, attended Dartmouth College where he was NCAA slalom champion in 2002 and a three-time All-American. After graduating in 2004 with a degree in Engineering, Brown became a member of the U.S. Ski Team from 2005-2007. In the following year, Brown joined the Barack Obama campaign and then worked as a Research Assistant for Senator Patrick Leahy, until the end of 2010 where he joined his brother and cousins in starting a maple syrup farm. In 2014 He was named Maple Person of the Year by the Vermont Sugar Makers Association. Most recently Roger entered his first gravel race, Unbound in Kansas where he took on the 200-mile distance, because “Why not?”
Roger lives in Richmond with his wife, and their four children and remains very involved in athletics by coaching the next generation in skiing, soccer, and baseball.
Ted King
Co-Founder
Ted King needs little introduction. Raised in New Hampshire, Ted grew up playing hockey and skiing before finding cycling as a student at Middlebury College in 2002. His progression through the national racing calendar and into the Pro Tour ranks was aided by his New England work ethic and a consistent stream of maple syrup from erstwhile supporters back home. Following 10 years as a pro cyclist including stints in the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, Ted settled into his current life as a pioneering privateer in the gravel racing field, the face of a new movement of cyclists and a thoughtful voice for cycling’s progression. When he’s not riding or acting as UnTapped’s Chief Maple Prolesthetizer, he can be found close to the original sugaring operation in Richmond, Vermont where he lives with his wife Laura and their two children Hazel and Hayden.
Andrew Gardner
Co-Founder
Born in maple-producing Upper Michigan, Andrew Gardner is the former Nordic Ski racer of the group. After graduating from Bates College in 1999, Andrew turned from racing to coaching, taking over the reins at Middlebury in 2006 and settling in the Addison County area with his wife Carolyn. After seven years of coaching, with several top ten NCAA results under his belt, AG (as he is known), turned to communications, founding the public relations firm Press Forward in downtown Middlebury in 2012.
Not only did AG make the connection between biker Ted and skiers Roger and Doug but he was there at the very beginning of the company – “Lets call it Un-Tapped” – and managed the crowdfunding launch campaign.
In seven years as a media guru, AG has been a founding partner not only in UnTapped but also in clothing company Velocio. He lives in Middlebury with his wife and their son, Sam, a budding biker and skier in his own right.
Marilyn
Fulfillment
The most accomplished athlete under the UnTapped roof, Marilyn Cochran is the first American to win a season-long World Cup discipline title when she won the giant slalom ski title at 19. The three-time national champion is the eldest of the “Skiing Cochrans”, four siblings who are all in the US Ski Hall of Fame. From UnTapped’s infancy, Marilyn has managed the company’s shipping department and will often hand-deliver local packages with a smile and story.
Tim Putnam
Sales Director
A collegiate cyclist, Tim Putnam grew up sugaring on his family farm in Alstead, NH. His passions aligned perfectly to join the UnTapped team in 2018 and was the company’s first full-time employee. Tim works closely with the owners to support business development, design, and operations efforts. He wears many hats, and some type of UnTapped merchandise, at all times.
Tim is an avid cyclist and spends his free time tinkering in the garage and on long mountain, gravel, and road rides. When he’s not in the saddle or at the office, he’s at home in Richmond, VT with his dog, Cal, and partner, Kate.
Aliza Lapierre
Events Director
A Vermont native, Aliza grew up playing hockey in Burlington and adventuring everywhere. She went on to play NCAA Division 1 Hockey for St Lawrence University before finding her true passion, ultrarunning. Aliza’s wins are too numerous to list entirely but include the Vermont 50, The Mt Mitchell Challenge, and The Georgia Death Race. Aliza is also a UTMB finisher and has podiumed at the Western States Endurance Run, and was ranked as the second-best female ultra-runner in the world. The most amazing part of all of these accolades is that while being a fierce competitor, Aliza will still stop to help friends and strangers to the finish. Before coming to work at UnTapped, Aliza was one of the first UnTapped athletes and ran RunVT’s kids programs. At UnTapped Aliza is the events and sponsorships director, coordinating all things related to UnTapped’s event presence and being the liaison with all of the UnTapped ambassador team.
Emma Rothe
Director of Food Safety, Quality, and Innovation
Raised an avid runner and skier, Emma grew up in New Hampshire with an outdoorsy and active family. With her dad as her high school coach for cross country, Nordic skiing, and track, she quickly developed a love for endurance sports and interest in athletic nutrition.
Emma graduated from St. Lawrence University in the spring of 2024, where she majored in chemistry and ran DIII cross country and track & field. Following graduation, she moved to Vermont and joined UnTapped as Director of Food Safety, Quality, and Innovation.
In her free time, Emma enjoys weekend trail runs, sunny ski days, mid-ride cafe stops, and unwinding with a good tv show. She is always excited to explore new outdoorsy experiences and is looking forward to having fun with some competitive racing opportunities post-college!
Christine Diem
Marketing Manager
Originally hailing from New York, Christine moved to Vermont in 2006 with her family and has been happy to call it home for almost twenty years.
With a solid background in digital marketing and communications, Christine finds and connects athletes with UnTapped to help them discover all of the benefits of being #maplepowered.
Outside of work, Christine enjoys spending time with her family, hiking and skiing Vermont’s trails and mountains. In the winter, you can find her on the slopes of Bolton Valley, slalom racing every Thursday with her team, “Save Me A Seat At The Bar.”
Will Warren
Production Manager
Will is originally from Massachusetts but fell in love with the state of Vermont as a young kid. He spent a lot of time on Burke Mountain as a kid bombing down overgrown ski trails in the summertime on a BMX bike long before the Kingdom Trials existed. In 2019 Will finally moved his family to Vermont for good.
Will spent 17 years as a master certified automotive technician before he transitioned to a production machinery technician. He joined the UnTapped team in 2023 as our production manager.
Motorcycles are Will’s true passion and he has ridden about every inch of the US and Canada on one. He also enjoys mountain biking, skiing, and trail running with his family.
Linnae O’Neil
Community Manager
A born and raised Vermonter, Linnae grew up in a large family who was constantly outdoors and participating in various sporting events. After graduating from The University of Vermont in 2016 she moved to Waterbury, VT where she enjoys running, biking, and generally being outside with her dog Tucker.
Linnae enjoys making friends wherever she goes, and can often be found at UnTapped events in front of the creemee window chatting with anyone and everyone. She was carefully given the role of Community Manager to help handle anything from events, to social media and PR, athlete communication, and everything in between.
In addition to UnTapped, Linnae co-founded Chug Water with her brother to offer the first canned Vermont spring water. If she’s not handing out cans of water at local running events, or training for a marathon herself, you can count on finding Linnae at Pro Pig on Tuesday nights as she tackles her lofty goal of consuming 76 hotdogs in 2024 with her gal pal Devon.
.