Meet WWA's Advisory Council

The Winter Wildlands Alliance Advisory Council is a group of volunteers who provide advice and support to the Board of Directors and staff on the implementation and evaluations of the mission of the organization.

Cathy Baer, Ketchum ID
2007 to present
Cathy, a wildlife interpretive specialist, has conducted programs with the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and the Blaine County Recreation District for over 15 years. She developed the Harriman Trail, a 31 kilometer non-motorized hike and ski trail north of Ketchum where the world famous Boulder Mountain Ski Tour is held every February. A naturalist, Cathy guides snowshoe tours in winter and hiking tours in summer. Cathy served on the WWA board of directors from 2000 to 2006.

Jerry S. Dixon, Homer AK
2004 to present
Jerry is a biologist and Teacher of the Gifted and has taught students from primary through college, including subjects at the university level as wide ranging as skiing, kayaking, vertebrate embryology and Internet applications for educators. Before teaching in public schools he had a 14 year career in resource management as a smokejumper for the USFS, fire management officer for BLM and biologist/fire ecologist for NPS. He is an ultra-marathoner, extreme skier and whitewater boater.

Gail Ferrell, Reno NV
2007 to present
Gail is the founder and President of the Nevada Coalition for Safe and Appropriate Sports (CSAWS), an organization promoting the interests of backcountry ski, snowshoes, snow sledders, and others concerned about winter non-motorized recreation opportunities on public lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin and Sierra Nevada mountains. Gail served on the WWA board of directors from 2000 to 2006.

Tom Murphy, Livingston MT
2004 to present
Tom founded Wilderness Photography Expeditions in 1986 and has built an internationally respected photography seminar series teaching natural history photography primarily in Yellowstone National Park. He has been published in The New York Times Magazine, L.A. Times, Newsweek, Esquire, and Architectural Digest. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Anthropology from Montana State University.

Kathie Rivers, Ketchum, ID
2007 to present
Kathie is the author of two guidebooks, Idaho's Scenic Highways, A Mile-By-Mile Road Guide and Standing Rocks and Sleeping Rainbows, Mile By Mile Through Southeast Utah. An accomplished athlete, Kathie has led continental bicycle trips and placed 4th in the Hawaiian Ironman in 1983. She helped found the Nordic and Backcountry Skier's Alliance in Ketchum and participated in the Wood River Valley Winter Coalition, a skier/snowmobiler group that successfully mediated a winter recreation dispute. Kathie holds a law degree from the University of Oregon and practices law in Ketchum. She served on the WWA board of directors from 2000 to 2003.

Trish Woodruff, Boise ID
2007 to present
Trish served the Routt County, Colorado Search and Rescue and also served as an EMT there. She has extensive experience in human-powered backcountry winter recreation and a great appreciation for quiet wildland adventures. She spent many years as a professional skier helping people on the mountain in Steamboat Springs and leading snowshoe tours. She brings energy and experience to the fundraising and outreach efforts of WWA.