Taylor Gasser
Taylor grew up in a small midwest town in Ohio. Youngstown. Southeast of Cleveland, northwest of Pittsburgh. She then got her bachelors degree in Speech Pathology & Audiology from Miami University and her masters in Special Education with an endorsement in Autism Spectrum Disorder from the University of Cincinnati. She lived and worked in Seattle, Washington for 3 years before moving to Colorado in 2018. You can now find Taylor living in Lafayette, CO & working in Superior, CO as a Special Education teacher for the Elementary Autism program in the Boulder Valley School District.
Other than moto, Taylor is big into snowboarding, and always has been. She also just started to get into splitboarding in the backcountry last season. Ultra trail running is her main summer-time hobby but that is now competing with moto! Taylor loves traveling inside and outside the country. “In order to feed my inner child, I still sing really loud, dance super hard & create beautiful art.” Taylor was a gymnast her entire childhood (from 2-13 years old) and still likes to test that muscle memory from time to time :) She is always looking for things to burn up the abundance of energy!
Back in 2015, before moving to Washington, Taylor applied to BVSD but wasn't hired due to lack of experience & a masters degree. She was already set on moving away from Ohio and had family ties in Seattle. So she took a job with Highline Public School District as an elementary Special Education teacher, opening a first-year program. That program represented a variety of student cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds & significant needs including deaf-blind, comorbid Autism and Down Syndrome and congenital blindness. In that time, she finished her masters degree, opened an intensive needs program, and gained 3 years of teaching experience.
Although Taylor loved so many things about that job, her connections and where she was living, she was in desperate need of a life change. So she applied to BVSD, again. Strategically landed the job she wanted, packed up a Uhaul & drove to Lafayette! “A few reasons why I decided to try Colorado: less rain, more sun & better snow ;-)” These first two years were all about "shredding the gnar" from Jacksonhole to Taos. And it has been GNARLY!!! But what she found in her off time was, she didn't have a summer hobby she loved as much as snowboarding. She tried rock climbing, some kayaking, traveled a bunch & ran some ultra races but nothing that ignited her soul... Then she bought her bike.
Growing up, Taylor was (and still is) a people pleaser. She never pursued her interest in moto because she didn't have time between other sports or think her parents would support it. “And to be completely honest, I was intimidated by it!” Now that her brain is fully developed and she is dedicated to her own happiness, Taylor is living out another childhood dream through moto! “Being a new rider in a male-dominated sport, I am INCREDIBLY thankful for the opportunities with GRT! There's just something about the vailient, feminine energy on Toosday's that keeps me coming back. Moto has given me another outlet. Moto has let me be vulnerable. Moto has rekindled that spirited child & provides a space to stay humble.”