About American Trails

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Biographies of American Trails Board Members

We'd like to introduce the Board of Directors of American Trails and tell you more about these committed trails activists.

Roger Bell, Vice-Chair: On the Board's Executive Committee since 1996, Roger is a former college administrator and faculty member with a PhD in Higher Education from the University of Washington. Expecting to build trails as part of a short hiatus from academe, in the 70's Roger joined his brother for a few summers in the woods and never left, eventually becoming president of a family business they formed together in 1986. He served several terms as President of what is now the Professional Trailbuilders Association, and after his retirement that group in 2009 honored him with an award named for his brother for "outstanding excellence in trails design and construction." Bellfree Contractors, Inc. (now owned by Hans Keifer) designed, built, and consulted about trails, and Roger estimates he helped complete over 400 projects in 14 states. He recently joined the Board of his hometown Redlands Conservancy which provides stewardship of several trails he built. His book, Trail Tales, which chronicles outrageous and hilarious trailbuilding adventures in verse, is available from AT's on-line book store.

Amy Camp is Pittsburgh Senior Program Manager of Strong Women, Strong Girls. SWSG delivers after-school programming to third, fourth and fifth graders in Boston, Pittsburgh and South Florida by utilizing the study of female role models, skill-building activities and relationships with mentors. Prior to joining SWSG, she helped to launch, and later manage, the nationally-recognized Trail Town Program. Amy became involved in trails and tourism after working to market Pittsburgh city neighborhoods through heritage tourism efforts. She served as a marketing and Main Street Manager in Pittsburgh's South Side from 2001-07. Amy earned a Master of Public Administration from University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor's Degree in English from Saint Vincent College. She is a native of western Pennsylvania and enjoys hiking, biking and cross-country skiing around Pittsburgh and throughout the Alleghenies.

Dr. John Collins, Jr., is an Associate Professor at the University of North Texas and Coordinator for the Recreation and Leisure Studies Program, where he teaches and conducts research in the areas of recreation, parks, and leisure services. John currently serves as the chair for the American Trails Public Affairs committee, serves on the board of the Texas Trails Network, and is active with the National Recreation and Park Association and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

Terry Durby writes "I first became involved in American Trails when I volunteered to help with the exhibit hall setup at the National Trails Symposium in the Quad Cities. In the past 10 years I served on the Iowa Motorized Recreational Advisory Committee, as President of the Iowa State Snowmobile Association and the Winnebago County Community Foundation that distributes grants locally. I currently serve ISSA as their trails development chair and working with state trail and program legislation. I am currently Vice President of the American Council of Snowmobile Associations and Secretary/Treasurer of the International Snowmobile Council. I first served on the Lake Mills Recreational Trail Committee for biking and hiking and now volunteer my services to many county conservation rail trail projects. I am currently working with a local ATV club to develop the first multiuse rail with trail in Iowa. In my spare time I also enjoy spending time with family and friends on the local water trails. Through all these experiences I have gained enough respect of the local public to be elected as a Supervisor in Winnebago County."

John Favro was Regional Trails Coordinator for the Northern Region of the U.S. Forest Service for ten years. In that capacity, he was the program manager for 25,000 miles of trails on 13 National Forests and Grasslands in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. John began his Forest Service career 35 years ago as a wage grade one Trail Laborer. In addition to managing Ranger Districts, he has worked in timber, wildlife, fire, and range, and has managed trails programs at numerous locations in California and Alaska prior to moving to Montana. John has B.A. degrees in psychology and philosophy, and has completed all course work for a B.S. in natural resource management. In 2006 he assisted the country of Jordan with trail and outfitter camp management through the International Forestry Program. Since retiring, John is doing trail consulting, and teaching trails courses. John works with his wife Susan managing a horse supply and equipment business for endurance riders, Healthy As a Horse Network. In his spare time, John is an avid trail user and travels the trails around Montana using virtually every mode of transportation including: hiking, horse and mule riding and packing, bicycling, snowmobiling, and driving off-highway vehicles.

Mylon Filkins, DVM, is an equine practitioner, as well as a long-time user of saddle and pack stock on federal lands, wilderness areas, forests, parks and backcountry trail systems. He is also past chair of Backcountry Horsemen of California and Back Country Horsemen of America. Dr. Filkins was named chair of the Recreation Trails Committee of the American Horse Council which advises the Council on federal issues affecting this important and growing segment of the horse industry. He is also Chair of the Backcountry Horsemen of America Education Foundation. Dr. Filkins has long been a supporter of American Trails, serving on the American Trails Advisory Board since 1998.

Marianne Fowler, Senior Vice President of Programs for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, was previously southern regional coordinator and director of governmental affairs for RTC. She is the Vice Chair of the Coalition for Recreational Trails, chairs the Green Ribbon Panel in the Millennium Trails Program, and co-authored Trails and Trailways into the 21st Century.

Pam Gluck is the Executive Director of American Trails. With over seventeen years of trails experience, she has owned a hiking/ cross-country ski guide service; served as Parks and Recreation Director for the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona; and served as the Arizona State Trails Coordinator for five years. Pam's strengths lie in building and nurturing sustainable partnerships. Her primary duties include overall management of American Trails, coordinating the National Trails Symposium, and overseeing projects. Pam's goal is to continue to grow American Trails to meet the needs of the trails community and to serve the general trail user. Her favorite means for mental, spiritual, and physical renewal is daily walks with her husband and her dog.

Terry Hanson is owner of Terry Hanson Consulting, offering over 35 years of practical experience in the planning design and implementation of river parkway projects including trails, open space, boating access, environmental restoration and community parks. Terry was Co-chair of the 2000 National Trails Symposium and currently serves on the American Trails Executive Board as Treasurer. For over 30 years Terry served as a Senior Planner and then Manager of Community Projects for the City of Redding, responsible for the planning, funding and implementation of many high profile community and regional projects.

Hulet Hornbeck, Emeritus Member: Trails have been a consistent thread through Hulet's life. In his teens he hiked Vermont's Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail, and during the 1950s he explored the hills, valleys, and shores of Central California. His life-long interest turned into a career acquiring and funding open space and trails for the East Bay Regional Park District. Hulet is winner of the 2000 National Trails Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Scott Linnenburger: A founder of Kay-Linn Enterprises, Scott provides trail and conservation planning, design, project management, and fundraising services around the world. He has facilitated dozens of collaborative community partnerships around trails and recreation, managed more than 100 trail development projects, and provided sustainable trails education to land managers and local stewards in more than 40 US States. At home in Boulder, CO on vacation in Lake Of The Woods, Ontario, and everywhere in between, Scott enjoys mountain biking, trail running, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, paddling, fishing and turning more people on to the community benefits of trails. In his spare time, you'll find him doing volunteer trail work with the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance and the Wildlands Restoration Volunteers.

Mike Passo, owner of Elakah Expeditions LLC., is a nationally recognized expert in making outdoor recreation accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. Mike is currently the Conference Coordinator for the Professional Trailbuilders Association. Recently, he has conducted an extensive study of outdoor developed areas nationwide to determine the cost implications of construction of trails according to proposed American's with Disabilities Act standards, and a Congressional study on improving access to outdoor recreational activities on federal land. He has a B.S. in Recreation Resource Management from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, including three years coursework in Landscape Architecture and Civil Engineering. He has presented on Universal Design and Programming at several national conferences. His love of the outdoors and his own paraplegia has given him a great interest in the creation of an accessible outdoor environment that does not ruin the characteristics and value of that environment.

Jenny Rigby is the founder of Acorn Naturalists and the Director of Acorn Group. Her projects are nationally recognized, earning awards for Exhibit Design, Print and Media Design, and Interpretive Media Design. Jenny has served as an advisor on several national curriculum projects, directed a curriculum project for California Department of Education and served as project manager of the California Plan for Environmental Education. Her background includes teaching in various institutions, including zoos and aquaria; interpretive writing, exhibit and graphic design; and program evaluation, research and training. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social ecology, master’s degree in education, and two California teaching credentials. She is certified by NAI as a Certified Interpretive Planner. When Jenny isn’t writing about the outdoors, she’s likely hiking in it with her family. Learn more about Jenny Rigby at Acorn Naturalists: www.acornnaturalists.com and the Acorn Group: www.acorngroup.com.

Bob Searns, Chair: The founding owner of Greenway Team, Inc., a planning and development firm based in Denver, that has specialized for three decades in greenways, trails and conservation. He was Project Director of Denver's Platte River Greenway, one of the nation's benchmark urban trail projects, and produced 10,000 Trees, an eight-mile river corridor restoration project involving 3,000 volunteers. He has authored a green ways and trails plan for the 43-square-mile area west of Denver International Airport, as well trail and greenway projects across the nation including Chicago, Dallas, Memphis, Louisville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis and Portland. He was a development consultant for the Grand Canyon Greenway, a precedent-setting 72-mile system of multi-use trails along the canyon rim. Bob has conducted workshops throughout North America, China and Europe. He co-authored Greenways: A Guide to Planning, Design and Development (published in the U.S. and. China), Trails for the 21st Century, and contributed to Greenways, The Beginning of an International Movement.

Joe Taylor has been employed by the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau for 20 years, serving as President and Chief Executive Officer since 1998. Joe is a native of Mercer County and received his Bachelor's degree in History from Illinois State University. He worked as a Newspaper Reporter and Editor for 10 years before accepting his first tourism position at the Galesburg CVB. He later worked at the Clinton CVB in Iowa before joining the Quad Cities CVB staff in 1989. He enjoys books, reading, travel, the quiet and slow pace of hiking, and the noise and frenzy of NASCAR racing.

Karen Umphress has been an enthusiastic advocate of on- and off-highway riding for over a decade in her home state, Minnesota. Karen is employed as a Project Coordinator for the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC). She is currently serving, along with her husband Tom, as a Government Relations officer with the Amateur Riders Motorcycle Association, Minnesota's local district (23) of the American Motorcyclist Association. In addition to OHM riding, Karen also enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, canoeing, and other activities which allow her to be in the great outdoors.

Jim Wood has been on the Executive Board of the American Trails Board of Directors since 2004, after he served as Program Chair for the National Trails Symposium with American Trails in Orlando, FL. Jim has been with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Greenways and Trails since 1999, and became Chief of the program when it recently joined the Florida State Parks division. Specific projects he has been involved in include the creation of the visitor-oriented online FL Greenways and Trails Guide, coordination of two regional developer forums on trails and greenways, the FL Trails Database, the American Trails Developer Award, and the VISIT FLORIDA Trails-Tourism Website. His interests focus on the integration of trails in tourism and private development planning. He holds a BS in Communication from the University of Florida and an MS in Geography from Florida State University.

Biographies of American Trails Advisors

Jan Hancock is an equestrian recreational facilities design consultant and former college instructor in Phoenix, Arizona. She has written three books, the most recent is the "Equestrian Design Guidebook for Trails, Trailheads, and Campgrounds," published in 2008 by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and the USDA Forest Service. Jan is a frequent presenter and trainer at national conferences and workshops on equestrian-related topics. In addition to the American Trails Advisory Committee, Jan serves on the City of Phoenix Parks Board, and the Board of Directors for the Arizona State Horsemen's Association, Arizona Trail Association, Friends of the West Valley Recreation Corridor, and she is the president of the Maricopa Parks + Trails Foundation.

Erik Larsen is Vice President and Managing Director of the Arnold Palmer Companies and is based in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. A practicing landscape architect and golf course architect, he received his degree in Landscape/Horticulture from North Carolina State University. With the exploding interest in trails and open space in urban communities and developing areas, Erik will provide an important liaison with the land development community and the private sector as well as helping American Trails with its array to current trails advocacy activities. As a landscape architect, he also brings outstanding design expertise to American Trails.

Gil Penalosa, multicultural executive and social marketing strategist, earned a Master in Business Administration from UCLA. Following years of private and public sector senior managerial experience, the Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, appointed him Commissioner of Parks, Sport and Recreation for the City. Gil led his team to design and build over 200 parks, of which the best known is the Simón Bolívar (360 hectares). They were also successful in opening 56 miles of car-free city roads on Sundays, the Ciclovia, where over 1.5 m. people come out weekly to walk, run, skate and bike. Gil is Executive Director of the Canada based non-profit Walk & Bike for Life as well as a successful international speaker and consultant. He also works as Senior Consultant for the renowned Danish firm Gehl Architects, and as Senior Associate with NYC's Project for Public Spaces. He serves on the Boards of Directors of American Trails and City Parks Alliance and was the keynote speaker at the Closing Luncheon of the 18th National Trails Symposium. Gil lives in Ontario, Canada and enjoys outdoor activities with his wife and their three children.

Terry Whaley is Executive Director of Ozark Greenways, Inc. in Springfield Missouri. The mission of Ozark Greenways is "Enhancing and Preserving the Ozark Natural Heritage for Public Use and Enjoyment." Terry's duties include promotion and education on linear parks, greenways, and trails. He is responsible for fund raising, acquisition of easements, trail design, trail development, and the management of land trust work to preserving open space and farm land. He helped initiate the Missouri Trail Summit, and volunteers with several other state wide organizations.

Biographies of American Trails Staff

Candace Mitchell has been the Executive Assistant for American Trails since 2006. She performs most of the administrative work within the office, while also using her communication skills to the trails community through phone calls, e-mail, and mail correspondence. Candace works with the designers and editors for the National Trails Symposium publications, the American Trails Magazine, and helps with updates to the American Trails website. She handles all advertising for the company, memberships, assists with the office’s invoicing and billing, transcribes meeting minutes for the monthly American Trails Board meetings, and more. She assists, when necessary, with administrative duties for the National Trails Training Partnership and National Recreation Trails Program. Candace attended Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona where she received her BA in Communication in May of 2005. Candace is also proficient in research and graphic design, as well as many computer applications, including spreadsheets, databases, various office applications, media presentations, and graphic programs. She is an active hiker, backpacker, and ATV rider and loves doing these activities with her boyfriend and two dogs.

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Related pages:

About American Trails

Biographies of American Trails Board Members

Biographies of American Trails Advisors

Biographies of American Trails Staff