OIA chief leaving for The North Face

BOULDER — Amy Roberts, executive director of the Boulder-based Outdoor Industry Association, is leaving her position at the end of September for a position with The North Face and VF Corp.

VF Corp. — the parent company behind popular apparel brands such as JanSport, The North Face and Vans — is relocating its headquarters to Denver from North Carolina.

Roberts, who has led OIA since 2015, will be The North Face’s senior director of communications of corporate social responsibility, according to an association news release.

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“I am grateful for the opportunity that I have had to serve the outdoor industry and to be a part of the wins that the OIA team has achieved, including securing more funding for parks and trails, establishing state offices of outdoor recreation, building tools to help our members drive sustainability in their own businesses and launching our revised Thrive Outside participation strategy,” Roberts said in a prepared statement. “More than anything, I am thankful for the hardworking OIA staff and the support and engagement of our membership. I look forward to helping the board and staff welcome new leadership for an organization I have had the pleasure to serve.”

The association will hire an executive search firm to begin the process of hiring Roberts’ successor immediately.

Roberts is not the first prominent member of Colorado’s outdoor industry to make the move to VF Corp. Luis Benitez, former director of the Outdoor Recreation Office at the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International trade, left his position in March to join the company as vice president of government relations and global impact.