Who We Are

Staff

Valerie Rupp (she/her), Executive Director

Valerie is a seasoned nonprofit management professional with extensive experience in partnership, development, communications, planning, both program and project management, and administration. Valerie joined PNTS on August 2020 and established the Partnership’s new offices in Washington, D.C. She was the unanimous choice of a Partnership search committee and the recommendation was approved by the PNTS Board of Directors.

As Executive Director she provides overall leadership for the Partnership. She is responsible for advancing the organization’s strategic goals, and for ensuring the day-to-day operations to support that work effectively and efficiently. She has extensive experience in development, communications, public-private partnership as well as both program and project management.

Previously, she worked for Parks & People Foundation for eight years where she focused on engaging cross-sector partners and communities in the creation, study, activation, and stewardship of urban parks and green spaces, as well as external relations and fundraising. Prior to Parks & People Foundation, she led the fundraising and external relations as Development Director for the Women’s Law Center of Maryland and worked in development, visitor services and education in various positions with the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

Valerie holds a Bachelor’s degree in history and communications from Shippensburg University and a Master’s in public administration from the University of Baltimore, where she was selected the top graduate student for academic achievement and civic leadership. She also earned a Certificate in Volunteer Management while completing a term of service with Volunteer Maryland, an AmeriCorps program.

She lives in Baltimore, MD, a city boasting three National Historic Trails. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Friend’s of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks and a volunteer with the Maryland SPCA where she spends some of her favorite hours helping dogs and cats find homes. In her free time she enjoys outdoor adventures near and far and exploring different art venues and museums.

Contact Valerie at valerie@pnts.org 

Jason Chavez (he/him), Development Director

Jason Chavez manages PNTS fundraising and external relations. His eclectic career provides him with a wide range of experiences in nonprofit development departments. Prior to joining the PNTS team, Jason served as the Development Data and Communications Officer at the Seattle Theatre Group and the Major Gifts Officer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado. His career in nonprofits began as Director of Artist, Venue and Festival Relations for Love Hope Strength where he worked with music industry partners to coordinate bone marrow donor drives for blood disorder patients in need of life-saving transplants.

Jason is a life-long outdoor enthusiast and was drawn to PNTS because of the important role it plays in the education, advocacy and stewardship of our National Scenic and Historic Trails. Jason is enthusiastic about joining PNTS because the position lies at the intersection of his professional experience, personal passions for backpacking, hiking and running, and his desire to help protect the extraordinary landscapes encompassed by the National Trails System.

Contact Jason at jason@pnts.org

Jacqueline Thompson (she/her), Communication & Operations Coordinator

Jacqueline joined PNTS in July 2022. With an undergraduate degree from Northern Arizona University in Environmental Studies and Outdoor Education and Leadership, her interests lie in the intersection between outdoor recreation and environmentalism. Her passion for bringing people into deeper relationship with nature has taken her on a diverse career journey, from guiding people up alpine peaks and rock faces to developing online nature reconnection programs to writing feature-length articles on foraging and outdoor adventure.

Jacqueline resides in northern Arizona, at the base of Dook’o’oosłííd (the San Francisco Peaks), a group of sacred mountains on stolen lands held sacred by the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Havasupai, Hualapai, and Apache tribes. In addition to being a member of the PNTS team, Jacqueline is a professional musician, herbalist, entrepreneur, writer, and lover of wild places.

Contact Jacqueline at admin@pnts.org or communication@pnts.org

Cara Yendrzeski (she/her), Program Coordinator

Cara Yendrzeski joined PNTS as a Program Coordinator in February 2021, where she is excited to coordinate training and educational opportunities for the national trails community.

Cara is a passionate environmental advocate who has worked with Citizens Climate Lobby and Chesapeake Climate Action Network to advance climate policy. For the past year she has volunteered with Capital Nature as a Program Research Volunteer, finding new and exciting nature events to promote in the Washington D.C. metro area and researching health and environmental benefits of urban green spaces.

Cara holds a BS in Environmental Studies from Le Moyne College and a Master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School.

Contact Cara at cara@pnts.org

Contractors

Liz Wessel

Liz Wessel opened Green Concierge Travel in 2006. She has a strong interest in building the market for ecotourism and supplying the needs of ecotravelers, either inbound or outbound, to destinations in North America and beyond. By identifying and enhancing links between ecotourism destinations in North America and green tourism infrastructure such as lodging, transit, restaurants, indigenous sites and local natural areas and trails we can continue to strengthen the ecotourism market in North America.

In her consulting work for Partnership for the National Trails System, she has supported fundraising efforts, coordinated the 2013 Biennial conference in Tucson, and worked on the redesign of the Partnership website. She currently manages special projects.

Board of Directors

RG Absher (he/him/his) – Trail Leaders Council Chair

RG graduated from NC State University in 1978 with a degree in Natural Resource Management. After retiring as a Park Manager in 2010 with the US Army Corps, he continued working in trails as Executive Director of the Yadkin River Greenway and a volunteer with the Overmountain Victory Trail Association.

Oforiwaa Pee Agyei-Boakye (she/her/hers)

Oforiwaa Pee Agyei-Boakyeis a Ph.D. student studying Geography at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She is also a GIS and data analytics consultant at Gonigs Inc. Brought up in Ghana, she developed a deep interest in sustainability, environmental, and conservation issues in her formative years. She was a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) Youth Perspectives on Climate Change Work Group. She has been involved in trail activities through these issues in her academic work, volunteering, and leadership positions in the US and Sub-Saharan Africa. She is a former member of the Appalachian Trails Conservancy NextGen Advisory Council, an American Trails Association Hulet Hornbeck Emerging Trails Leader, and was part of the 2017 World Trails Network Trail Visionaries Expedition Team to Tottori, Japan. She coordinated the 2021 Appalachian Trails Conservancy Emerging Leaders’ Summit equity map sessions.

Heather Crozier (sheher/hers)

Heather Crozier is the Director of Development for the Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife & Environment.   She is responsible for day-to-day operations, alumni and stakeholder relations, and planning, development and execution of the college’s major fundraising initiatives.  She is a member of various volunteer and professional organizations within the natural resources and conservation communities.   A native of Little Texas, Alabama, she graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Public Administration.  Outside of her professional career, she spends the majority of her free time outdoors exploring with her three dogs and husband, John.

Justin Fisch (he/him/his)

Justin is an environmental and energy attorney with Stoel Rives LLP. Prior to joining the firm, Justin served as term professor at the University of Ottawa, teaching introduction to environmental law. Prior to law school, he worked for the National Geographic Society. Justin is a professional guide. Justin’s pro bono interests in law lie in conservation and protected area establishment.

Steve Gonzales (he/him/his)

A native of Texas, Steven Gonzales obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Cultural Geography with a minor in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. His studies focused on Spanish missions and presidios on the Northern Frontier of New Spain. Steven later earned a Master of Applied Geography degree from Texas State University at San Marcos. His research focused on case studies of national scenic and historic trails from across the country and the measures they took to get their trails on the ground. Steve has always felt that people can better appreciate the place they find themselves in by understanding its cultural and natural history. In addition to being executive director of El Camino Real de los Tejas NHT Association, Steve has also served as an advisor for the Texas Historical Commission’s Hispanic Heritage Guide of Texas and also volunteers with Pug Rescue Austin. 

John Hoffnagle (he/him/his)

John is a long-time conservation professional who worked with the Yale School of Forestry, the Oregon Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the Land Trust of Napa County, and the Oregon State Parks Foundation. He served as executive director of The Land Trust from 1988-2012, during which time he facilitated the acquisition of more than 50,000 acres and completed a $27 million capital campaign, Napa Valley Wild, to acquire the 3,000-acre Wildlake Ranch. John is a former board member of the Pacific Crest Trail Association and hiked the PCT from Mexico to Canada between 2015-18.

Andrea Ketchmark (she/her/hers)

Andrea is the Executive Director of the North Country Trail Association. She has a degree in Natural Resources Recreation and Tourism from Colorado State University, where she fell in love with trails and connecting people to outdoor spaces. Prior to joining the NCTA, she managed the Volunteer Vacations program for the American Hiking Society, which allowed her to travel the country to lead volunteer projects across America’s vast network of public lands. Andrea has engaged in building countless partnering relationships at state, national, and local levels, and represents the NCTA in the larger trails and recreation community.

Jamie Loucky (he/him/his)

Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Jaime discovered an early love of the outdoors by hiking in and around the North Cascades. He studied Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and had various careers in international development, management consulting and nonprofit leadership. He is now thrilled to be a part of the Washington Trails Association, the nation’s largest trail-based nonprofit.

Luke Kloberdanz (he/him/his) – Vice President of Governance

After thru-hiking the Ice Age Trail in 2003 and volunteering for more than a decade, Luke decided to put his educational psychology degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to work and join the Ice Age Trail Alliance staff in 2013. Since then he has held several positions ranging from Outreach and Education to resident grill operator to his current role as Director of Philanthropy. He has since been demoted to secondary grill operator.

Barney Mann (he/him/his) —  President

Barney “Scout” Mann is a trail advocate, retired attorney, long-distance hiker, and author. His most recent book, Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail, was a 2020 Banff Book Festival Adventure Travel finalist. Mann had a 25-year career as a real estate and business lawyer. He served on the Board of the Pacific Crest Trail Association from 2008 to 2017 (Board Chair for three years). He serves on the Board of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition and served as its President. Mann thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail with his wife in 2007, thru-hiked the Continental Divide Trail in 2015, thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2017 and the Arizona Trail in 2021. Mann resides with his wife Sandy in San Diego, CA.

Kristin Murphy (she/her/hers)

Kristin Murphy is currently a Senior Consultant for Guidehouse based in Chicago, IL. Before that, she was the Government Affairs Associate for Audubon Great Lakes, a regional office of the National Audubon Society. Murphy has also worked in Washington D.C. as the Campaign Coordinator for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Coalition and was an inaugural member of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Next Generation Advisory Council. She holds a Master of Environmental Management with a focus on Environmental Economics and Policy from Duke University, and a Bachelor of Science in Earth Systems, the Environment, and Society from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Tony Richardson (he/him/his)

Tony is passionate about connecting people to nature. He currently serves as a program director for the National Environmental Educational Foundation (NEEF) in Washington, DC. In this role, he helps manage National Public Lands Day (NPLD), one of the nation’s largest single-day volunteer efforts for America’s public lands.

Liz “Snorkel” Thomas (she/her/hers) — Secretary

Liz Thomas is a professional hiker, speaker, and outdoor writer who held the women’s self-supported speed record on the 2,181-mile long Appalachian Trail. Called a “thru-hiking legend” by Outside Magazine for her innovative urban thru-hikes, Liz has also hiked 20+ long-distance trails, including the Triple Crown of Hiking (AT, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail) and first known traverses of the Wasatch Range and Chinook Trail. Liz is a former staff writer for the New York Times/Wirecutter and current Editor-in-Chief for the outdoor web magazine Treeline Review, as well as contributing editor and columnist of “Ask a Thru-hiker” for Backpacker Magazine. She’s the author of Long Trails: Mastering the Art of the Thru-hike, which received the 2017 National Outdoor Book Award for Best Instructional Book with judges calling it destined to become the “Bible of the Sport.” She holds a Master of Environmental Science from the Yale School of Forestry (now Yale School of the Environment), where she received a Doris Duke Conservation Fellowship for her work on distance trails and trail town communities.

Ron Tipton (he/him/his)

Ron’s public and personal life has centered on visiting and protecting National Parks, Wilderness Areas, and National Trails. The most important event which set his career direction was thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1978.

• Ray (RG) Absher — Overmountain Victory Trail Association  *TLC Chair
• Troy Ainsworth — El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
• Ron Anderson — Morman Pioneer Trail Association
• Judy Bittner — Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance
• Clare Cain — Connecticut Forest & Park Association (NENST)
• Sarah Cawley — Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
• Liam Cregan — Appalachian Mountain Club
• Marcie Davis — E Mau Na Ala Hele (Ala Kahakai)
• Bill Niedringhaus — Potomac Heritage Trail Association
• Steven Gonzales — El Camino Real de los Tejas NHT Association
• Patrick Hearty — National Pony Express Association
• Andrea Ketchmark — North Country Trail Association
• Jeff Kish — Pacific Northwest Trail Association
• Justin Kooyman — Pacific Crest Trail Association
• James L. Mallory — Lewis & Clark Trust, Inc.
• Bill Martin — Oregon-California Trails Association
• Teresa Martinez — Continental Divide Trail Coalition
• Brendan Mysliwiec — Appalachian Trail Conservancy
• Matthew Nelson — Arizona Trail Association
• Matt Nowak — Nez Perce Trail Foundation
• Kaleo Paik — Ala Kahakai Trail Association
• Reed Perry — Chesapeake Conservancy
• Elizabeth Stewart — Anza Trail Foundation
• Tony Turnbow — Natchez Trace Parkway Association
• Royce Gibson — Florida Trail Association
• Ellen von Karajan — Washington Rochambeau NHT Association
• Richard Waller — Old Spanish Trail Association
• Larry Short — Santa Fe Trail Association
• Jim Wolf — Continental Divide Trail Society
• Mike Wollmer — Ice Age Trail Alliance
• Deloris Gray Wood — Trail of Tears Association