Keynote (Night One)
This Place We Call Home: Charting a Shared Path Forward
MERYL HARRELL
Former Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the United States Department of Agriculture
Meryl Harrell is the lead for Friends of the Forest Service, a new nonpartisan network connecting partners and intergovernmental leaders who value the U.S. Forest Service’s multiple use mission, lands, people and partners, bringing different interests and perspectives together to find common ground and shared solutions. Meryl has worked closely with the Forest Service and its many partners for more than 20 years. Most recently, she served as the Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she led work on issues including wildfire resilience, Tribal co-stewardship, outdoor recreation and workforce development, and created new ways to improve access to Forest Service partnerships, programs and resources. She previously served as Executive Director of the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards, which delivers boots-on-the-ground trail and wilderness stewardship, training and workforce development in partnership with public lands agencies. Meryl has also advised communities, nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies working to conserve America’s public and private working lands. A long-time outdoorswoman, Meryl became passionate about public lands stewardship and community well-being while studying at the Teton Science Schools in Kelly, Wyoming. She studied geosciences and environmental studies at Princeton University and received her J.D. from the Yale Law School. Meryl is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and can often be found out on the trails in our national forests with her husband and two children.
Keynote (Night Two)
Listening to the Land: An Indigenous Approach to Intentional Outdoor Presence
RACHEL HEATON
Muckleshoot Tribe, mother of three, fitness trainer, lover of nature, and activist.
Rachel Heaton, a member of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe with Duwamish and European roots and is a mother of three. Her journey into activism was ignited by the Dakota Access Pipeline, leading her to spearhead Seattle’s divestment from Wells Fargo and co-found the Indigenous-led Mazaska Talks. As a global speaker, Rachel passionately addresses the environmental damage fueled by Wall Street and the fossil fuel industry, alongside the critical issue of Native and Indigenous rights. Her dedication extends to her role as a culture educator for her tribe, where she actively works to preserve and cultivate their cultural heritage. Whether through public speaking, connecting with the land, or engaging in physical fitness, Rachel is committed to educating and raising awareness beyond her community also through her business The Earth Gym.
Panelists
HEIDE ANDERSEN
Heide has built a 30-year career around her passion for understanding and planning ways in which fellow outdoor recreationists can experience our wildlands and trails while minimizing our impacts on the wildlife that inhabit the same spaces. She received her MS at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in Conservation Biology and worked initially researching endangered species and writing recovery plans for state and federally listed species across the west working for the USFWS, USFS and SWCA Environmental Consultants. Heide has also worked in the non-profit sector as the Conservation Director and Public Policy Director for the Colorado Mountain Club and as the Stewardship Director for the Methow Conservancy in Winthrop, WA. She discovered her niche for conservation and recreation planning during her 12 years as the Open Space and Trails Director for the Town of Breckenridge during a time when it still felt like the wild west. She currently works as a Recreation Planner for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife where her most recent focus has been on planning and policy development for road and trail-based recreation on the 1 million acres managed by the agency.
ZACH ANGSTEAD
Zach has worked for Wild Montana since 2020, driven by his passion for wildlands across the state and by the dark and mysterious world of Montana’s caves. As the federal legislative director for Wild Montana, he works with different collaboratives across Montana to design and implement legislative campaigns to protect Montana’s wild places and public lands. Zach enjoys running, skiing, and caving in the mountains and prairies of Montana and across the West.
SARAH BALLEW
Sarah Ballew a Governmental Affairs Program Manager for the Snoqualmie Tribe. She supports communications and external partnerships for the Snoqualmie Tribe Ancestral Lands Movement, which promotes educational information about the Snoqualmie people who have lived in the southern Salish Sea region since time immemorial and share the significance of these lands and provide information on how people can help the Tribe in respecting, restoring, and protecting these lands. Sarah shares information about what respectful recreation looks like and encourages all to be more mindful as they recreate. She is from Michigan and is a tribal member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.
MEGAN BIRZELL
Megan is the Washington State Director for The Wilderness Society. She oversees efforts to conserve national public lands and ensure everyone has equitable access to the outdoors in Washington State. Throughout her career, she has worked at the intersection of public lands, climate change, and communities. With a focus on national forest policy development and advocacy, coupled with long-term local engagement with Tribes and rural communities, Megan has a deep understanding of how national policies impact forest management at the local level. She works to ensure these policies increase the resilience of human and natural systems and are informed by and developed with the communities most impacted by those decisions. Using this approach, she has led highly successful conservation campaigns in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, Utah and at the national level. Megan holds an M.S. in Forestry from Northern Arizona University and a B.S. in Recreation Management from the University of Montana. In her free time, she enjoys skiing with her family in the North Cascades and curling up with a novel on rainy Seattle mornings. She is also the president of the board of directors for Winter Wildlands Alliance.
GARETT BRENNAN
Garett is a strategist, musician and social entrepreneur. In his most recent work, he helped the US Forest Service in Region 5 build new capabilities in understanding recreation visitorship and improving equitable access to California’s 18 National Forests. Over the years, his facilitation and strategy work has helped NASA Earth Sciences develop partnerships with the Gates, Moore and Rockefeller Foundations, helped Oregon State University launch its Center for the Outdoor Recreation Economy and helped coalitions in the Tahoe region envision a new wildfire scenario planning platform that eventually became a company called, Vibrant Planet. Originally from Salt Lake City, Garett now calls Hood River, OR home where he and his wife run a non-profit called Red Barn Community out of the old 1905 barn on their property—an organization dedicated to building community at the intersections of spirituality, the arts, experiential education, and the environment. In 2005, he launched his music career through a partnership with Clif Bar as their first-ever sponsored musician, cutting a record at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon and touring it at farmer’s markets across the country.
NICOLE BROWN
Nicole is the Communications & Marketing Associate at Outdoor Alliance, as well as a member of Winter Wildlands Alliance. Nicole is a backcountry skier, mountain biker, hiker and avid backpacker. Her love for public lands advocacy started in 2017, during the Monument review. She has lobbied in Washington D.C. for public lands protections and consulted on legislation for expanded access to outdoor recreation. She manages Outdoor Alliance’s Advocacy Network, a program designed for outdoor enthusiasts who love the outdoors and are interested in protecting our experiences on them.
SUSAN JANE BROWN
Susan is Principal and Chief Legal Counsel of Silvix Resources, a nonprofit environmental law firm with more than 20 years of experience in federal forest law, policy, and collaboration. They are on a mission to use those tools to advance the conservation, restoration, and stewardship of western public lands. Her primary focus of litigation is federal public lands forest management, but her practice includes cases involving the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, National Forest Management Act, Oregon and California Lands Act, and other land management statutes. She is a former Co-Chair of the National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule, has served on the Federal Advisory Committee for the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, and is currently Co-Chair of the Northwest Forest Plan Area Advisory Committee. She teaches Forest Law & Policy to upper division law students at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon and is heavily engaged in collaborative forest restoration in Oregon’s Upper John Day Basin.
FITZ CAHALL
Fitz is the host of the Dirtbag Diaries podcast, which for nearly two decades has broadcast stories about the transformative power of the outdoors, grassroots adventure and conservation movements. His company Duct Tape Then Beer has helped create campaigns and storytelling initiatives that drive impact for organizations and brands like Patagonia, Sierra Club, Outdoor Alliance and Protect Our Winters.
ANTHONY CUPAIUOLO
Anthony is the Executive Director of the Tahoe Backcountry Alliance and the founder of First Tracks Productions. His leadership at Tahoe Backcountry Alliance is driven by a commitment to preserving and expanding public land access—especially for underserved communities. Tahoe Backcountry Alliance’s recent work includes a partnership with the Washoe Youth Expedition Program, management of a new trailhead for Mt. Tallac, and implementation of a free sno-park pass program through regional libraries. Through his media work, Anthony blends a deep passion for the outdoors with a strong sense of advocacy and stewardship. His photo and video storytelling has supported the missions of organizations like the National Forest Foundation, Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association, and Sugar Pine Foundation. He’s often joined on the trail by his dog, Emmie—who tends to steal the spotlight. Check out some of his favorite photo moments—including plenty of Emmie here.
HILARY EISEN
Hilary is Federal Policy Director at Wild Montana. Based in Bozeman, Montana she leads Wild Montana’s engagement in National Forest management and policy. Prior to joining Wild Montana, Hilary worked for many years as the Policy Director at Winter Wildlands Alliance. Hilary holds a Masters of Science degree in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana and a B.A. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Middlebury College. When she’s not at her desk you can usually find Hilary outdoors, preferably in a snowy place. She enjoys all the kinds of skiing, ice climbing, and many summer activities too.
MEGAN FISKE
Born and raised in the Sierra Nevada, she enjoys splitboarding, climbing, backpacking and wildlife photography. She began her career in conservation at nineteen working as a biological technician for the Forest Service, and later, transitioned to environmental advocacy work. With her B.S. in Wildlife Management and Conservation from Cal Poly Humboldt, she worked as a Wildlife Biologist for the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center. She then worked as a Watershed Advocate for Foothill Conservancy until being promoted to Executive Director. Most recently, she has been teaching in the Forestry and Natural Resources department at Columbia College, working as an advocate for Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch, an Outreach Coordinator for the Community Action Project, and as the California Stewardship Manager at Winter Wildlands Alliance. Her passion for grassroots nonprofits allows her to help protect the environment for everyone to enjoy.
JOHN GARDER
John has been a professional federal lands conservation advocate in Washington DC for 20 years. For the last 15 years, he’s been the Senior Director of Budget and Appropriations at the National Parks Conservation Association, where he advocates for National Park Service funding. Victories in which he’s played a key role include passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, disaster relief funding packages, and increased appropriations. His expertise is in federal lands funding. When he’s not at his desk, which could be anywhere, he’s an avid skier, paddler, mountain biker, hiker, crabber, angler and more. He’s more comfortable sleeping in a tent than a hotel.
DAN GIBBS
As Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Dan Gibbs leads the department’s development and execution of the initiatives for the balanced management of the state’s natural resources. Dan works on an array of issues pertaining to all of Colorado’s natural resources, including water, wildlife, state lands, oil and gas and mining. Prior to joining the Department of Natural Resources, Dan served as a Summit County Commissioner from 2010-2018. Before that, Dan served in the Colorado House of Representatives and in the Colorado State Senate where he served on the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Dan is a graduate of Western State Colorado University and completed the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program. He is also a Marshall Memorial Fellow. Dan and his family reside in Breckenridge, Colorado, where he enjoys all that living in the high country has to offer, including skiing, running, mountain biking, hunting and fishing.
ALICIA HARVIE
Alicia is the Head of Community & Government Affairs at REI Co-op, where she oversees its federal, state and local policy portfolio covering public lands, outdoor recreation, climate, outdoor access and more. She helps drive collaboration on these issues across government, nonprofits and outdoor industry stakeholders. Prior to this role, she helped build the co-op’s Cooperative Action Network, a grassroots advocacy and civic engagement program for its 25 million members and 14,000 employees. Alicia is a board member of The Conservation Alliance, serves on the steering committee for the U.S. Chapter of 1T.org also serves on the business council for Business for America, a nonpartisan nonprofit business organization focused on improving civic health. Formerly at Farm Aid, she worked to advance justice and resiliency in the food system. It was there that she unlocked her passion for bringing diverse stakeholders together around a common cause. Alicia has a M.S. in Agricultural and Environmental Science & Policy from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, and a B.A. in Anthropology and Environmental Studies from Tufts University.
KURT HELLMANN
Kurt is the Wildlife-Recreation Coexistence Manager at Conservation Northwest. He works to improve the relationship between outdoor recreation and wildlife in Washington through education, outreach, science and policy. He works closely with various recreation organizations, state and federal land managers, Tribes, and community organizers to reduce recreation impacts on wildlife while also supporting access to outdoor spaces. In his freetime, you’ll find Kurt backcountry skiing, rock climbing, gravel biking, trail running, or birding.
JASON HUMMEL
Jason is a photographer who has made it his mission to explore and document the glaciers of Washington State throughout the past 25 plus years.
TREVOR KOSTANICH
Trevor prioritizes time on skis in snowy mountains. Careers on Snoqualmie Pass in planning, development, and ski area management (plus serving as a Councilmember for the City of North Bend) has strengthened his experience to foster sustainable mountain communities with extra emphasis on access to outdoor recreation. He loves helping people connect to wild places through his ski guiding business, his co-authored guidebook Washington’s Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes, and sharing success stories and lessons learned through his 34-day high route skiing from Snoqualmie Pass to (almost) the Canadian border.
BRITTANY LEFFEL
Brittany began a career dedicated to building climate resilience and ensuring equitable access to the outdoors as a high school outdoor education leader with the YMCA of the Rockies. She has since worked for conservation organizations like the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, Oregon Natural Desert Association, and Tualatin Riverkeepers; and served as a board member for Friends of Trees. Most recently, she was a legislative assistant for Representative Pam Marsh in the Oregon State Legislature, where she enhanced public engagement and worked on climate resilience, wildfire mitigation, and wildfire recovery. She holds a B.S. in Urban and Public Affairs with a minor in Sustainability from Portland State University. Today Brittany is Winter Wildlands Alliance’s Colorado Policy Manager. When she’s not working on grassroots organizing, winter recreation data collection, and Forest Service engagement, she loves to hike, paddle, and camp.
BRODY LEVEN
Brody has never eaten meat. A professional chairlift-free adventure skier, he advocates for planet and people through his steep skiing and self-supported endurance outings. Brody has run 100 miles without stopping, climbed and skied 70,000 vertical feet without sleep, kayaked the Grand Canyon, explored bikepacking routes, and made notable ski descents on six continents. Since earning Economics and Honors degrees from Westminster College, where he was two-term student body president, he has been featured on covers of major magazines, in award-winning adventure films, and as an Outdoor Industry 30 Under 30. Brody’s longtime volunteer advocacy focuses on climate, public lands, and avalanche safety. He regularly meets to discuss these with officials in Washington DC and those local to his Salt Lake City home, where he shares a small organic farm with his wife Katie and dog Spaghetti. He serves on the Board of Directors of the American Alpine Club, the advisory board of his alma mater’s honors college, and is the Protect Our Winters ski team captain.
CONOR MARSHALL
As The Mountaineers’ Advocacy & Engagement Manager, Conor leads work to deepen The Mountaineers conservation and advocacy impact through education, stewardship, and advocacy. Using conservation communications, he educates and inspires our community on policy issues that threaten our beloved landscapes, driving members towards increased action and engagement to help protect our public lands and the outdoor experiences they provide. Conor created The Mountaineers Advocacy 101 eLearning course to help transition outdoor enthusiasts to outdoor advocates, and also manages the organization’s Washington state legislative work. Conor’s personal and professional pursuits draw on extensive grassroots engagement experience including six years of service at a local county parks and recreation commission that taught him the importance of outdoor equity, access to nature, and the connections between recreation, stewardship, and conservation.
KERRY MCCLAY, PhD
Winter Wildlands Alliance’s National SnowSchool Director, Kerry is a graduate of the University of Montana and Prescott College, and completed a Doctorate of Education at Boise State University. Working collaboratively with scientists and educators, Kerry designed the innovative SnowSchool curriculum that introduces thousands of children to the joy of exploring their local winter wildlands every season across the snowbelt.
CAROLINE MILLER
Caroline is the Executive director of the Utah Avalanche Center. She brings experience with nonprofits, business development, operations, finance, project management, and building a strategy & seeing it through. Before joining the Utah Avalanche Center, she worked at Kirkwood Mountain Resort in the Sierras where she was the Risk Manager and then Director of Mountain Operations. Caroline left Kirkwood to return to the nonprofit space and spend more time in the backcountry. Originally from Estes Park, Colorado, Caroline grew up exploring & skiing in Rocky Mountain National Park. She received her undergrad degree from Montana State in Bozeman and her masters from University of Utah. She’s always been happiest in the high alpine and is an avid mountain biker, runner, and skier.
LIBBY HALPIN NELSON
Libby has been a Senior Environmental Policy Analyst with the Tulalip Tribes since 1990. With over four decades working on environmental and tribal governance issues, she played a key role in the development of Tulalip’s Government-to-Government Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Forest Service and the designation of the swedaxali Co-Management Area in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. She continues to oversee its implementation, working with environmental and cultural teams to sustain resources and places of importance to Tulalip. Libby helped established Tulalip’s outdoor youth cultural and environmental camps, and recently served as a co-author in two publications addressing increased recreation pressures in western Washington and associated environmental and tribal impacts. Previously, she managed the Environmental Division for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana and worked with the World Resources Institute on the international indigenous peoples programs. Libby began her career working with tribes and federal agencies in Alaska, conducting research on the importance of access to traditional foods.
LYNN PADGETT
Lynn brings over 16 years of dedicated public service in county government, where she has served rural communities of fewer than 10,000 residents as both an elected County Commissioner and as Director of Government Affairs and Natural Resources. A self-described interdisciplinary generalist, Lynn blends science, technology, and place-based public policy, using GIS to navigate seamlessly between big-picture strategy and detailed, ground-level analysis. Her work focuses on forging collaborative partnerships to strengthen both quality of life and environmental integrity. Especially passionate about the role of snow in sustaining healthy watersheds and ecosystems, and she champions preserving public access to public lands—whether by trail, road, or over-the-snow routes. Before entering public service, Lynn worked over a decade as a professional geologist and scientist on projects involving geology, hydrology, soils, GPS, GIS, and wetland science. Lynn holds a Master of Public Administration, a Bachelor of Arts in Geology, and an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership. When she’s not working, she enjoys living off-grid, hiking, cross-country skiing, camping, biking, and outdoor photography.
DAVID PAGE
David is Winter Wildlands Alliance’s Executive Director. Based in Mammoth Lakes, CA, he also serves on the Board of Directors of Outdoor Alliance. He has been a national award-winning journalist, a former senior correspondent for Powder magazine, and a finalist for a 2015 National Magazine Award.
DAVID REICHEL
As soon as possible after UC Berkeley, David moved to the mountains. He took his first avalanche course that winter in the Rockies, and he’s been exploring snow covered peaks ever since. Back home in the Sierra he has taught about a bazillion AIARE courses and splitboarded all over Tahoe. David also guides and instructs avalanche courses in Mt. Shasta and Argentina. In 2014, he founded the California Avalanche Workshop. Today he is the Executive Director at Sierra Avalanche Center. When not outside, David’s professional experience includes: starting a charter school for at risk young adults, running a college outdoor program, directing a small nonprofit, and working to get more kids on bikes.
BETSEY ROBBLEE
Betsy is the Conservation & Advocacy Director for The Mountaineers, a nonprofit organization that helps people explore, conserve, learn about, and enjoy the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest. She leads The Mountaineers advocacy to protect public lands and the outdoor experience, and leads the Outdoor Alliance Washington network of human powered outdoor recreation organizations. Earlier in her career, she spent six years in Washington, DC as a legislative aide to Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Rick Larsen. Betsy is an avid outdoor enthusiast who enjoys backcountry skiing, nordic skiing, and downhill skiing (all the skiing), as well as trail running, gravel biking, scrambling, and backpacking.
EZEKIEL ROHLOFF
Ezekiel is the Wildlife Program Manager for the Snoqualmie Tribe. His work focuses on engaging Tribal members with wildlife opportunities, coexisting with carnivores, keeping common species common, threatened and endangered species, and managing forests as habitat. He is particularly interested in amphibians, rodents, and predators of Western Washington. Born and raised in rural Alaska, he is an avid outdoorsman who continues to strive towards responsible recreation.
WILL RUSSACK
Will is a biologist and avid backcountry skier based in North Bend, Washington. As vice president of Cascade Backcountry Alliance, Will collaborates closely with land managers and community partners to advocate for maintaining and improving access for dispersed winter recreationalists in the mountains of Washington. With a focus on coalition-building efforts, Will thinks a lot about creative solutions for addressing the increased demand for winter recreation opportunities, especially in proximity to large population centers. During the winter, Will enjoys hunting for powder stashes and making pancakes in the parking lot.
SCOTT SCHELL
Since 2015, Scott has been the Executive Director for Northwest Avalanche Center, one of the largest avalanche centers in North America that serves more than 750,000 people a year with avalanche forecasts, mountain weather info, and educational tools to help folks make safer decisions in the backcountry. Scott has worked full-time in the outdoor industry since 1993 in roles including gear shop manager, ski mountaineering guide, photographer, and avalanche instructor trainer and curriculum developer, trainer with AIARE, as well as a former AMGA ski discipline instructor. His every step has been rooted in helping people explore the mountains more safely and confidently. He co-authored Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering, first published in 2007 and recently updated in a second edition (2024). Over the years, he’s also written articles and blog posts for brands like MSR and Filson, and has been featured in outlets like Outside Magazine, High Country News, and The New York Times. Scott is an AMGA-certified Ski Mountaineering Guide and has guided extensively across the U.S., Alaska, Canada, and the Alps.
JOEL SISOLAK
Joel leads the Lands Planning and Recreation Section for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and is the lead author of the 10-year Recreation Strategy for WDFW-managed Lands (2022). Prior to his work for Washington State, Sisolak served as Sr. Director of Sustainability and Planning at Capitol Hill Housing, an affordable housing developer in Seattle, and earlier as Advocacy and Outreach Director for the International Living Future Institute. He has a master’s degree of urban planning from the University of Washington and resides just outside of Olympia with his spouse, teenager, 2 poodles and a flock of chickens. His favorite form or outdoor recreation is hiking in Mount Rainier National Park, where he spent a summer as a backcountry ranger back when he was a much younger man.
CAL’ SMITH
Cal’ comes from the Grand Ronde, Lower-Cowlitz, and Yakama Tribal Nations. Much of his time outside has been working as a mountain guide throughout the PNW while dipping into Colorado and Montana as well. Ski-mountaineering is his favorite discipline to guide/ instruct which is the focus of his work as the Director of Winter Programming at Climbers of Color, a Seattle non-profit dedicated to empowering new and current leaders of color. As the mountains have been a vehicle for cultural exploration and identity, he aspires to share what he can, especially with other Native Americans, on the mycorrhiza fungi-like connections the mountains have to offer.
CAL WAICHLER
Cal is project coordinator for the Cascades Wolverine Project. Blending her upbringing in the North Cascades with her experience in conservation education, field biology and art, Cal conducts wolverine research and outreach. She is passionate about engaging all ages in the stewardship of mountain ecosystems by collecting wolverine observations from community scientists and bringing wolverine science and stories to schools. Cal finds joy encountering wild flora, fauna and glaciers on her feet and skis.
11th BIENNIAL SPONSORS
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