Speaker Biographies for 2016 Statewide Trails Conference KEYNOTES

Transcription

1 Speaker Biographies for 2016 Statewide Trails Conference KEYNOTES Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins Born and raised in Sitka, Alaska, Jonathan Kreiss Tomkins represents Sitka, Petersburg, and 20 other rural Southeast Alaska communities in the Alaska House of Representatives. Jonathan dropped out of Yale to run for the legislature against a fourterm incumbent. Now serving his second term and 26 years old, Jonathan is the Alaska Legislature's youngest member. Jonathan cares deeply for rural Alaska. His 2014 legislation enshrining Alaska's 20 Native languages as official languages of the State of Alaska attracted national attention. Jonathan was recognized by The Washington Post in 2014 as one of its top 40 under 40 in American politics. In addition to his work, he enjoys endurance running and outdoor adventure, and has won or placed in various trail races and ultramarathons across Alaska and Lower 48. Jonathan also plays cello and double bass, and has twice toured through rural Alaska with a piano trio sponsored by a performing arts grant from the Rasmuson Foundation. Ned Rozell Ned Rozell has written newspaper columns about science topics for the past 21 years. In the third year of that job, he hiked from Valdez to Prudhoe Bay along the gravel road that runs beside the trans-alaska pipeline. He wrote the book Walking my Dog Jane about that experience. He is the author of four other books, including Alaska Tracks and Natural Alaska. He lives in Fairbanks with his wife and daughter and a feisty puppy.

2 BREAKOUT SESSION PRESENTERS Jean Ayers Starting at the top of the world in Barrow, Jean Ayers has lived and traveled throughout Alaska since On the North Slope, she managed basic water and sewer infrastructure grants; in Nome, grants for education and the women s shelter; and in Anchorage, an array of grants for social services, historic properties, and Alaska State Parks. Mike Brook Mike Brook is a software developer and outdoor enthusiast. He believes in using technology to help people live healthier, happier lives. Some of his recent projects have helped a group of chronically ill patients get diagnosed faster, helped Native Alaskans observe and report the effects of climate change, and helped the perpetually lost find their cars after a romp in Kincaid Park. You can learn more about him and his work at akappworks.com. Christine Byl Christine Byl co-owns Interior Trails, a full-service trail contractor, and is a writer and a trail builder of 17 years. Since 1996 she has built trails in Glacier National Park, Chugach National Forest, and Denali National Park. In 2008 she and her husband Gabe Travis founded Interior Trails, specializing in sustainable trail design, layout, construction, consulting and training for clients across Alaska, including Muni of Anchorage, State of Alaska's DNR, Alaska State Parks, Student Conservation Assoc., Alaska Trails, National Park Service, and many others. For further information about Interior Trails, visit Christine's first book, Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods, is about trail crews, tools, wilderness, and labor and was recently selected by Backpacker Magazine as one of the 20 Great Books for the Trail. She lives on a few acres of tundra off Stampede Road north of Healy, Alaska, and spends as much time as possible in wild places by foot, bike, ski, boat and dog.

3 Paul Clark Paul is the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program Leader for the Alaska Region, where he supports community-led outdoor recreation and natural resource conservation projects. From , he served as an outdoor recreation planner and trails program manager for the Chugach National Forest. Paul loves to get out on urban and backcountry trails to run, hike, ski and explore nature with his wife and two sons. He is professionally and personally motivated by getting people of all ages and abilities to stay healthy through outdoor recreation and citizen stewardship of public lands. Amalie Couvillion Amalie Couvillion is co-owner of CoastView LLC, a company devoted to helping people appreciate the natural world. Amalie has been involved in the conservation of natural areas for over twenty years, as a scientist and fundraiser for The Nature Conservancy, field researcher in the Croatan National Forest, and wilderness ranger in Yosemite National Park. A native of Fairbanks, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in geography from UCLA and a Master of Arts in environmental management from Duke University. Amalie is grateful for trails that allow her and her family to access special outdoor places. Lars Flora Lars Flora was born in Portland, Oregon and now resides in Anchorage. He is a two time Olympian in Nordic Skiing and a six time National Champion. He is a three time World Championship Team Member. He graduated from Alaska Pacific University. When not cross country skiing, he enjoys fishing, hunting, mountain biking, and backcountry skiing. He is the director of Nana Nordic and Skiku.

4 Mark Gronewald got his start in the trail world as a trail crew member in Along the way he spent 20 years as a wildland fire fighter in the summers and a back country ski guide in the winters. He was an early pioneer and manufacturer of fat-tired snow bikes. He founded Valley Mountain Bike Alliance (now Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers) in 1999 where he worked on numerous volunteer trail projects. Since 2005, Mark has served as a trails designer and crew leader for Alaska State Parks and the Mat-Su Borough. He is currently the owner of Trailwerx, a private trails consulting and contracting firm. Lee Hart Lee Hart is the Executive Director of Levitation 49, a non-profit sports commission in Valdez dedicated to economic diversification through outdoor adventure. Lee brings more than a decade of experience and connections from the outdoor, snow sports, bike and adventure travel industries to her work with L49. She is particularly fond of singletrack trails for mountain biking and is the founder of the Chugach Fat Bike Bash. Dot Helm Dot Helm worked as a vegetation ecologist for 25 yrs at University of Alaska Fairbanks in Palmer after completing her graduate degrees in Range Science (Quantitative Ecology) at Colorado State University. Study areas ranged from Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park to Nolan in Brooks Range mostly looking at vegetation succession after both natural and human-caused disturbances. Most work was off trails. She retired 10 yr ago and has since been active in trail running and volunteer work with a number of volunteer organizations. She s enjoying not having to measure anything as she wanders through the woods on assorted types of trails. Jennifer Howell Jennifer came to Anchorage in 8 th grade as an Army Brat and has made it her home ever since. When not adventuring with her wife, her son, and Kenai the Wonder Pup, you can find her working as the Get Outdoors Anchorage Community Coordinator helping to get more youth outdoors and loving our public lands, trails, and waters. She has a background in environmental studies and urban sociology. Her favorite project during her time as an undergrad at UAA was leading an Earth Day event using Chester Creek trail as an outdoor classroom. A graduate of Leadership Anchorage, she believes that for Anchorage to be an even better city where our kids will want to raise their kids, we all have to support the things we are passionate about.

5 Patrick Kell Patrick Kell, IMBAs Regional Director for the Southwest and Alaska grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and started riding there in He studied Geography at John Moores University in Liverpool, England and also spend 9 months working on community service and wildlife management projects in Zimbabwe and Namibia. During summer 1999 Patrick worked for the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps/Vermont State Parks and stayed with the youth corps until Patrick was also involved in several local mountain bike clubs in Vermont, along with the state-wide organization, the Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA). In late 2006 he began working for VMBA as the first Executive Director, focused on legalizing trails on state land; developing new access in the Green Mountain National Forest; and hosting a mountain bike development conference for ski resorts from throughout the northeast. Patrick stayed with VMBA until fall 2011, and then started with IMBA as Southwest Regional Director in early 2012, Alaska was added to his roster in January Patrick is currently based in Prescott, AZ working on all manner of mountain bike advocacy projects including trails master planning projects in Caliente, NV; Kanab and Cedar City, UT; and Superior, AZ. Erin Kirkland Erin Kirkland is a columnist for the Alaska Dispatch News, author of Alaska on the Go: exploring the 49th state with children, and publisher of AKontheGO.com, Alaska's only family travel website. She grew up in the forests of Washington and Oregon, graduated with a degree in Recreation Management, and promptly went to work making the outdoors a better place to be. She was a founding member of the Washington Trails Association trail maintenance program, acting as crew leader and later, volunteer coordinator, planning day and overnight experiences for children and adults. Erin has lived in Alaska for 10 years, and currently serves on the Advisory Team of Get Outdoors Anchorage, a coalition of agencies, organizations, and individuals dedicated to encouraging children and adults to make the most of Alaska's outside spaces. Her second book, Alaska on the Go: exploring the Marine Highway System with children is due out in 2017." Maeve Nevins Lavtar: As a former competitive "extreme" skier and a graduate of the Colorado State University Landscape Architecture 5-year professional program, Maeve finds Alaska offers the perfect lifestyle balance to pursue her passions for outdoor adventure and landscape architecture. Her current job as a park planner with the Municipality of Anchorage taps her wide range of professional experiences from a "hard-hat" wearing excavation laborer on landscape, utility and road crews during her student years to a designer with an international resort landscape architecture firm. Her experiences as a rangeland technician alongside ecologists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and with a leading trail engineering design firm have all proved

6 invaluable with managing landmark Anchorage trail projects such as the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and the implementation of seven miles of new flow singletrack trails in Kincaid Park. Maeve is also a nationally published writer with topics that vary from edible gardens to interviews with extreme athletes, and still finds time to teach woman s steep and back country ski clinics. Sarah Leonard Sarah Leonard is the President & CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association the state s leading membership trade association for the travel industry in Alaska. Sarah has an extensive educational and professional background in tourism management with a Master s of Science (MS) degree in recreation management and tourism from Arizona State University. She earned her Bachelor of Art s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Journalism with a special emphasis in public relations. Sarah joined ATIA after serving as the Director of Marketing & Fund Development at thread, Alaska s Child Care Resource and Referral Network. Previously, she has served as an Associate Director of Philanthropy for The Nature Conservancy of Alaska, the Statewide Watchable Wildlife Coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the Executive Director of the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association (AWRTA). Ms. Leonard also was one of the founding leaders in Adventure Green Alaska, an Alaska-based nonprofit organization that works to encourage more environmentally friendly tourism practices in response to increased consumer demands. Hugh Leslie Hugh Leslie is Recreation and Library Services Manager for the Matanuska Susitna Borough. Graduating from Lake Superior State University with a degree in Recreation Management, Hugh has worked for over 20 years with various Federal, County, City and Borough Recreation Departments. He calls Palmer, Alaska home where he resides with his wife Traci and children Autumn and Greyson. Rys Miranda Rys Miranda is the chief engineer for Alaska State Parks Design & Construction Section. With about 15 cumulative years of service with Alaska State Parks, he has been involved with designing and constructing numerous recreational facilities across the state including, trails and trailheads, campgrounds, roads, boat launches, boardwalks and elevated walkways, and other various park structures. He has lived in Alaska since 1988 and graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and Master of Science degree in Arctic Engineering. Rys and his wife are raising their three young children to enjoy and have a lasting appreciation for the great outdoors.

7 Marcheta Moulton Marcheta Moulton has been with DOT&PF since 1994 and is the Manager of Small Federal Programs with the Division of Program Development at the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF). As the Manager of Small Federal Programs, she is responsible for facilitating and overseeing grant programs such as Transportation Alternatives, Federal Lands Access and the Bicycle/Pedestrian Program. Growing up in Southeast Alaska, she spends most of her free time outside with her dog Musket. She is most frequently found hiking the extensive network of Juneau trails, on her boat wrestling a fish, paddling thru Alaska s pristine waters or on the front porch of her cabin admiring the wilderness of Southeast Alaska. Steve Neel Steve Neel is a Grants Administrator II with the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. He has worked on the Recreational Trails Program and the Snowmobile Grant Program for eight and a half years. Beth Nordlund Beth is a third generation Alaskan park user. Born in Anchorage, she lost her first tooth at Russian Jack Springs Park. Beth was raised in Juneau and earned a double-major in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Baylor University, and a Master s in Public Administration from The George Washington University. Beth was the first staff hired for the Anchorage Park Foundation in Starting from scratch, she has helped shape the work plan and she enjoys working with volunteers to help them obtain grants, promote projects, build projects, and celebrate community achievements. One of Beth s proudest accomplishments is helping to create and fund the Youth Employment in Parks program, which won the prestigious Partners in Conservation Award from the US Department of the Interior. Her community awards include Anchorage ATHENA Society and Top 40 Under 40. David Northrup Beth lives with her husband Jim and child Ella next to a great sledding hill at Balto Seppala Park. David Northup has worked in construction throughout Alaska for over 15 years, including a substantial amount of remote work. Over an 8 year period, he was hired as an NPS employee and independent contractor for remote coastal building projects in Lake Clark National Park. David has a proven track record of completing complex projects in remote locations throughout Alaska. He is the owner of Techno Metal Post Alaska, a Homerbased helical pier installation business. Helical piers are the next evolutionary step in steel piles, as they are non-susceptible to frost and can be designed and installed to meet precise engineering requirements. TMP AK is Alaska s largest installer of helical piers and we have worked from Southeast Alaska to the Bering Sea installing piers for all types of projects, including trails, in all types of conditions.

8 Kim Ryals Kim Ryals is the Executive Director for the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation. Coming from a career in nonprofit organization development, Kim has nearly 20 years of professional experience and a track record of state and national accomplishments with staying power. Most recently, Kim founded and was principal at Field and Fin, a consulting group specializing in development for nonprofits involved in outdoor pursuits. She holds a Master of Science in Fish Biology from Utah State University and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University. In her free time, Kim enjoys cooking, road trips, and trying to keep up with her two tiny mutts on trails in the Mat-Su Valley. She can be reached at kimryals@matsutrails.org or TRLS. Julie Saupe Julie Saupe has been President & CEO of Visit Anchorage since May Visit Anchorage is responsible for enhancing Anchorage s economy through destination marketing. They work to attract and serve visitors in order to create jobs and economic development and diversity in Anchorage. Before joining the team at Visit Anchorage, Saupe was the executive director of the Mat-Su Convention & Visitors Bureau. Prior to that, she held marketing and membership positions with the Alaska Visitors Association and the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce. She started her career in 1981 at the Fairbanks Convention & Visitors Bureau. Cary Shiflea Cary Shiflea got started with electric bicycles in the fall of 2013 after connecting with the operations team at Evantage/Polaris Electric Bicycles at the annual Interbike trade show. Cary has been a lifelong bicycle rider and has had an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age. With over 7 years experience owning and operating a profitable insulation contracting company, Arctic Energy Savers LLC, Cary is ready to take his customer service skills into the sales and service of electric bicycles. Alaska ebike mission statement is "to provide efficient means of transportation for people looking to drive less and bike more. Our friendly, knowledgeable and professional staff will help inspire and educate customers on the technology available within the electric bicycle market."

9 Mike Shields started working on trails in 1960 at Olympic National Park in the days of axes, misery-whips, and 90-lb loads in a Trapper Nelson pack. In his NPS career he's been a crew leader, ranger, roads foreman, maintenance mechanic, trails foreman, and facility manager, but primarily and always a trailman, and has worked trails in Olympic, Big Bend, Canyonlands, Natural Bridges, North Cascades, Kings Canyon, Rocky Mountain and Denali. Two of those parks (Canyonlands, North Cascades) were brand new and he helped "invent" the trail systems in both. He became adept at timber felling, log and rock construction, mule packing, rigging, using explosives as a precision tool, suspension bridge and tram design, and has been teaching the following since 1972: trail design & layout, trail construction & maintenance, terrain dynamics, blasting safety, technical blasting & rock mechanics, rigging safety, abandoned explosives disposal, bridge design, crew management, and field contract administration. Since his retirement as Denali's chief of maintenance in late 1996 he has been a small contractor providing training, trail layout, and technical consulting services from Alaska to West Texas and California to Colorado. In 2010 he received American Trails' "State Trail Worker Award" (Alaska) for his efforts at training and mentoring younger folks. Kay Shoemaker Howell graduated from Linfield College in Portland, Oregon. Her undergraduate BSN focused on trans-cultural youth health and education practices. For twenty years, she staffed and directed the Northwest Outdoor Science School on the Oregon Coast. During the summers, Kay worked in Southeast Alaska with over a dozen communities offering outdoor and environmental education programs and program training with Girl Scouts of Alaska. She was promoted to Statewide Outdoor and Environmental Educator in 2010, living and working in Alaska communities across the state for two years. In 2012, Kay worked as a Federal Agent with the Department of the Interior, as a Statewide Master Outdoor and Environmental Science Educator, stationed at the BLM Campbell Creek Science Center. Kay completed her graduate work at Alaska Pacific University in 2014, earning a Master of Science in Outdoor and Environmental Education while writing a book, entitled: Exploring Ecology in Alaska: Reflective Storytelling as a Model for Environmental Education.

10 Jason Smart Jayson Smart serves as a Senior Program Officer for the Rasmuson Foundation, a private family foundation based in Anchorage Alaska. Jayson provides oversight of the foundation s portfolio in arts and culture, and also works on special topics in health and education. Jayson brings unique experience from the public and nonprofit sectors to his role advancing partnerships between the foundation and Alaska organizations. He formerly served as deputy director with the Municipality of Anchorage Department of Health and Human Services, and has a background in social service agency management with a focus on disability advocacy and policy. Jayson holds two degrees from the University of Alaska Anchorage: a master's degree in public administration with an emphasis in public management; and a B.A. in psychology. He has spent the last 30 years in Southcentral Alaska. Blaine Smith started doing trail work with Chugach State Park in 1976 as a Boy Scout. Working with the Rangers and several other scouts Blaine opened the Turnagain Arm trail between McHugh Creek and Rainbow Valley just to the southeast of Anchorage. From that point on, Blaine has maintained an active interest in trails, particularly those in Chugach State Park where he has worked for the past eight years as the coordinator for the trails program. James Sowerwine James Sowerwine is a founding member of Chugach Trails Volunteers, a trail group dedicated to maintaining existing access routes within Chugach State Park and other Southcentral area public lands. While originally from Northern California, James currently lives in Anchorage with his wife Jill and two corgis, where he is active in the local running community. When not organizing trail work or otherwise outside, James works as the assistant manager for the DNR DMLW Southcentral Regional Land Office Easement Unit, though his educational background is in botany and rare plant conservation.

11 Matt Steffy Matt Steffy has been involved with Parks and Recreation in Alaska for the past 18 years. His experience covers trail design, installation, and maintenance, user group contracts, wildlands management, campgrounds, day-use areas, and much more. Currently, he works as a Natural Resource Specialist II with Homer Soil & Water Conservation District where he administrates the invasive plant program and coordinates a variety of other trail projects, revegetation, outreach, and school yard habitats. Brendan Stuart Brendan is grateful that as a child, her parents insisted on weekly hikes through the parks surrounding her hometown in the SF Bay Area; especially when it allowed her to skimp on inside chores and play outside instead. She is thrilled to be the Schools on Trails Coordinator at the Anchorage Park Foundation, encouraging connections between the natural spaces inhabiting the city of Anchorage and its smallest, growing residents. Who cares if their bed is made, as long as they find their own sweet, green space to explore and claim as home. Moira Sullivan As Live. Work. Play. Director, Moira spearheads the AEDC initiative to make Anchorage the #1 city in America to Live, Work and Play. Her responsibilities include bringing together partners for the initiative, enhancing community participation and providing sound advocacy to achieve this very important goal for our city, overseeing seven areas of focus, one of which is the citywide Trails Initiative. Before joining AEDC, Moira was with the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington DC, focusing primarily on issues of community development and access to capital for small businesses. Moira is a fifth-generation Alaskan, born in Fairbanks and raised in Anchorage where she graduated from A.J. Dimond High School in She has a BA in History from Dartmouth College and a Masters in Finance degree from Trinity College, Dublin. She has spent most of her life working actively on Anchorage policy issues, starting as a columnist for the Perfect World section of the Anchorage Daily News and later as a member of the United Way Youth Advisory Board and legislative aide in the Alaska State Legislature.

12 Anne Thomas Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Anne completed a BA in Biology in Indiana and then a BSc in Physical Therapy in Aberdeen, Scotland. Since completing her physical therapy degree she has become a board certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, completed an orthopedic residency program through the Ola Grimsby Institute and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists. She is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Certified Pedorthist. When not in the clinic, Anne enjoys outdoors adventures with her husband and two boys, is passionate about an active lifestyle and is learning to play the violin. Anne s mission through her businesses, Body In Balance Physical Therapy, Active Soles Performance Footwear and Active Body Downtown Gym, is to collaborate with individuals in their quest to be the best version of themselves. Gabe Travis co-owns Interior Trails, a full-service trail contractor, and has been a professional trail builder since Over the span of 18 years Gabe has led trail crews in Glacier National Park, Chugach National Forest, and Denali NP. In 2008 Gabe and his wife, Christine Byl, began Interior Trails to address the need for specialized trail expertise in Alaska. In addition to design and layout, assessment and prescription, and hand and mechanized construction for clients statewide, Gabe has taught introductory and technical trails courses for the past 11 years. An avid skier, biker, and runner, Gabe is also a visual artist who brings his eye for design and detail to the trail layout and construction process. He lives in a yurt north of Denali National Park. For more information on Interior Trails, visit Jon Underwood Jon Underwood has had a life-long fascination with trails as a biker, skier, runner, walker, and ATV rider. In 2006 Jon started Happy Trails, Inc. to provide trail design and construction in Alaska. Since then he has designed and built trails all over the state, having so much fun he is astonished when it is sometimes profitable. Jon is Vice President of the Professional Trail Builders Association. Find Happy Trails on Facebook or to see more.