Joel Zarrow, President & CEO of the Park City Community Foundation, joins us for one of our favorite conversations yet.We talk about growing up in California before it became “Calabasas,” turning down a job on Seinfeld, traveling through Thailand, education policy, nonprofit leadership, cult-like consulting firms, community building, and the strange emotional tension of living in a place like Park City.This episode digs into something bigger than real estate: What actually makes a town feel like a community?We talk about wealth, belonging, philanthropy, traffic, identity, affordable housing, relationships, and the reality that people are just people — whether they live in a studio apartment or a house in The Colony.Joel brings honesty, perspective, and humility to a conversation that feels incredibly relevant right now.This one’s about place. And the people trying to hold onto what makes it special.

Park City

What actually makes a mountain town work?

In Episode 24 of Ski In Sell Out, we sit down with Joel Zarrow, President & CEO of the Park City Community Foundation, to talk about the balancing act facing Park City today.

Joel shares stories from:

Growing up in pre-Kardashian Calabasas
Turning down a job on Seinfeld
Living in Thailand
Education policy and nonprofit leadership
The “cult-like” consulting world
Why Park City still works — and where it struggles

We also get into:

Wealth and philanthropy
Affordable housing and childcare
The emotional complexity of mountain towns
Relationship-driven work
Why community matters more than ever

This episode is thoughtful, funny, honest, and deeply human.

Ski in-Sell Out!

24 - Oops I Worked For A CULT - Joel Zarrow