2018 Trails Conference KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Steven Moore

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2018 Trails Conference BREAKOUT SESSION PRESENTERS

STAY TUNED – MORE BIOS TO COME

Osama Abaza

Osama Abaza is a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). He is a graduate of Brigham Young University for his doctoral degree and University of Toledo/Ohio for his master’s and undergraduate degrees. He worked in the academic circles and industry for the last 33 years in the field of civil/transportation engineering as it relates to traffic and traffic safety, pavement structures, pavement management, and highway engineering and materials. He published more than 62 refereed publications in civil/transportation engineering. His current research are focused on cold region transportation and traffic safety issues like the use of steel fiber-reinforced rubberized concrete for roadway/intersection rutting mitigation, calibration of National Highway Safety Manual for cold regions applications, frequency and potential severity of red light running, accident reduction factors relating to moose-vehicle collision, etc. He is a member of Institute of Traffic Engineers, ASCE, IEEE, ACI and other national and international professional organization.

Steven Moore Born and raised on Washington's beautiful Olympic

Peninsula, Steven is no stranger to the importance of trails and wild places.

His time spent in nature inspired him to pursue a career of environmental

stewardship and artistic expression in the city of Seattle where he worked

for the renowned Washington Trails Association, while also doing music

part time. Steven worked as WTA's Volunteer Program Manager and

oversaw years of growth in their robust volunteer trail maintenance

program, which reached a milestone of over 5000 volunteers and 160,000

hours of work in 2017. Throughout this time Steven oversaw many

technological and social advancements within the organization that helped

WTA attract and retain new volunteers through their basic principles of

safety, fun and work. With a mind for logistics and developing personal

relationships Steven was a valuable asset to WTA during his employment

there and is ready to continue sharing his passion for trails and art in Alaska

and beyond.

Check out Steven’s music at: www.mossyraven.com

Tom Bickauskas

Erik Boraas

Darcy Bromley Harris

Darcy has managed the Alaska State Trails Program for the past 6 ½ years and, as the Recreational Trails Program and the Snowmobile Trails Program manager, assists the public with grants for trail projects that not only improve quality of life, but mental and physical well-being. A native of Southcentral Alaska, Darcy was inspired by her parents’ love of wild places. After attending college outside, she returned and choose Alaska for herself. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and an M.S. in Project Management. She and her husband Chet embrace the outdoors in Alaska, spending time biking, gardening, hiking, camping, flying, fishing, skiing, and berry picking at their cabin.

Tom Bickauskas works for Bureau of Land Management at the Alaska State Office. He

leads the recreation program, and additionally, the Wild and Scenic Rivers, National

Historic Trails and National Landscape Conservation System programs. Tom’s interest

in trails and recreation began in 2001 as a trail inventory specialist working for

Recreation Solutions Forest Service Enterprise Team. After riding 30,000 miles on a

government motorcycle, he shifted gears to work on travel management and

recreation planning. Tom has worked for the BLM since 2010 in Arizona, Nevada and

Alaska.

Erik is a life long Alaskan, born and raised in Soldotna. He has worked as a wilderness

ranger, fisherman, and archeologist. He has traveled extensively around the world and

adventured all over Alaska. He settled in Juneau and spent a season as the field

coordinator for Trail Mix, Inc., a trail building non-profit. He acceded to executive director

in 2011.

Erik is a board member of Alaska Trails.

Christine Byl

Bruce Dale

Robert DeVassie

Christine Byl, co-owner of Interior Trails, is a writer and a trail builder of 22 years. After 12 seasons working on federal trail crews in Glacier NP, Chugach NF and Denali NP, in 2008 Christine and her husband Gabe Travis founded Interior Trails, specializing in sustainable trail design, layout, construction, consulting and training in Alaska. Christine's first book, Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods is about trail crews, tools, wilderness, and labor, and was selected by Backpacker Magazine as one of 20 Great Books for the Trail. She lives on a few acres of tundra north of Denali National Park and spends as much time as possible in wild places by foot, bike, ski, boat and dog. For more information on Interior Trails, visit www.interior-trails.com.

Robert DeVassie, P.E. STP, is a transportation engineer and sustainable transportation professional with the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities. He graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a civil engineering bachelor’s degree and later received a graduate certificate in design and construction management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Robert has served on the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Alaska Section board and was nominated the 2016 ITE Alaska Engineer of the Year. Robert’s passion has been building active communities while making traveling safer for all users. He is involved with Greenroads and their advisory council, and recently started the ITE Alaska Active Transportation Committee. Robert participates in many non-motorized groups including Anchorage Trails Initiative, Trail Watch, Live. Work. Play., Metropolitan Transportation Plan MTP2040, AMATS Non-motorized Plan, AMATS Complete Streets Policy, AMATS Street Typologies Plan, AMATS Air Quality Advisory Committee, Vision Zero, Action Institute to Increase Walking and Walkability, and the Alaska Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.

Bruce Dale grew up in Northern Indiana, hunting, fishing, and enjoying outdoor

pursuits with his family. He moved to Alaska in 1984, became a pilot, and has been

flying and working with wildlife ever since.

Prior to joining the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in 1995, Bruce worked for

the National Park Service for over a decade. He then joined ADF&G’s Division of

Wildlife Conservation as the Fairbanks Area Management Biologist. Over the years,

Bruce has accepted increasingly complex responsibilities, serving as Research

Biologist, Region IV Supervisor, Deputy Director, and Acting Division Director, and

now as Director. Bruce was appointed Director of the Division of Wildlife

Conservation in July 2015.

He earned a Master of Science degree in wildlife biology from the University of

Alaska Fairbanks and a Bachelor of Art degree in scientific and technical

communication from Michigan Technological University.

Annie DuBois

Kristina Fillman

Randy Goodwin

Randy Goodwin moved to Fairbanks, Alaska in 1982 to attend the University of

Alaska – Fairbanks, and graduated with a degree in Natural Resource

Management in 1985. Randy began working for the Bureau of Land Management

as a Recreation Planner in the White Mountains National Recreation Area, where

he helped to build a 17-mile road, three campgrounds, and a network of 250 miles

of trails connecting a system of public-use cabins. In 2005, he shifted to working

on statewide access issues as the BLM-Alaska travel management and

transportation planning program lead. Prior to working for BLM, Randy worked

for the National Park Service in Yosemite and the US Forest Service in the Inyo and

Chugach National Forests. Randy enjoys riding ATVs and snowmobiles, hiking,

backpacking, and traveling.

Annie DuBois works for the Anchorage Park Foundation as the Youth Employment in Parks Program Coordinator and enjoys sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the natural world with Anchorage teens. When Annie was 14 years old, she decided she wanted to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. Completing this amazing journey and discovering a passion for the outdoors lead her to pursue a career in Environmental Science. She came to Alaska in 2009 for seasonal fieldwork delineating wetlands and fell in love with the 49th state. As an avid hiker, biker, skier, and runner, Annie loves living in a place where her backyard includes over 250 miles of trails and green belts to explore.

Kristina moved to Anchorage in 2017 to pursue a graduate degree from Alaska

Pacific University in Environmental Science. She graduated that same year from

University of Maryland University College with a Bachelor of Science degree in

Business Administration and Environmental Management. She also has a

background in meteorology, IT, and occasionally moonlights as a bartender.

When not in school, Kristina and her husband enjoy hiking with their dogs, traveling

and mountain biking.

Mark Gronewald

Joe Hall

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.

Joe has been working on trails for the better part of the past ten years. After

growing up in the malaise of suburban Detroit and working nothing but dead end

jobs, he energized himself by joining a backcountry crew in Escalante, Utah.

Drawn in by the sense of community and the feeling of actually improving public

lands, he chose to dedicate his time to trails. He spent his formative years leading

trail crews in the conservation corps world. This took him all over the western

states and Alaska and in 2015 took the leap to an agency role. He is now the trails

manager for Chugach State Park. Joe’s main focus is providing sustainable

solutions for trails in Chugach State Park while getting young folks and volunteers

out working on trails.

Mark Gronewald got his start in the trail world as a US Forest Service trail crew

member in 1977, then spent 20 years as a wildland firefighter and backcountry ski

guide. As the owner of Wildfire Designs Bicycles, he was an early pioneer and

manufacturer of fat-tired snow bikes. He is the founder of Valley Mountain Bike

Alliance (now Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers) and has volunteered on numerous

trail projects in the Mat Su Valley. From 2005 to 2013, Mark worked as a trail crew

leader and trails specialist for Alaska State Parks and the Mat-Su Borough. He has

operated Trailwerx, a private trails construction firm since 2013.

Nat Haslett

Eileen Kazura

Karen Kromrey

Eileen Kazura is the Risk Management Coordinator for Alaska Geographic, and manages

youth and young adult teams serving across the state of Alaska. She has been involved

with youth and young adult engagement through conservation work 6 years. She desires

to help young people develop critical thinking skills and strong work ethic through trail

and restoration projects, and enjoys celebrating each person’s unique connection to the

non-human world, with the ultimate goal of youth co-leadership in programmatic

decision making. She lives in Anchorage with her partner.

Nat Haslett collaborates with Nate Sievert on the Trans-Alaska Trail project. Originally

from New England, he first recognized the transformative impact of long trails while

working in backcountry huts along the Appalachian Trail. He loves working to help

Alaska better capture global demand for destination trails.

Karen is the Recreation Program Manager for the Chugach National Forest in the Alaska

Region of the Forest Service where she supports recreation program management across

the 5.4 million acre Chugach National Forest. She has served in multiple positions on the

Chugach National Forest over her 29 years in Alaska, including Timber Sale Administrator,

Outfitter Guide Administrator, and District Staff Officer on Seward Ranger District. Karen

enjoys hiking, biking, and backpacking on trails across a variety of public lands in Alaska

with her husband, two daughters, and yellow lab. Karen is an advocate for access to

recreation activities on public lands and how to best provide sustainable recreation on the

Chugach National Forest into the future.

Brian Looney

Christi Meyn

Tina Miller

Brian Looney is a civil engineer and principal with CRW Engineering Group, a 70-

person multi-discipline professional services firm. He has 35 years of engineering

experience working throughout the state of Alaska and he manages projects that

focus on improving our multi-modal transportation infrastructure. Brian has been

an active supporter of local user groups for skiing, cycling, and running. He has

helped support the local bicycle community with education, maps, and repair

stations (shown above). Brian typically travels more miles per year on his bike than

he does in his car.

Christi Meyn, EIT is a civil engineer at CRW Engineering Group. She graduated from the

University of Alaska Anchorage in 2015, where her senior project was the design of bike

lanes on Raspberry Road. Christi has provided design and data collection on various

AMATS Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Areawide Trails Plan projects, including sign

assessments and pavement crack surveys. Outside of work, Christi is often enjoying

trails by foot, skis, or bike.

Christina (Tina) Miller, P.E., Geographic Information Officer, Geographic Data and

Information Center for the Municipality of Anchorage. As the GIO, Miller guides the

vision and progress of the GIS program within the Municipality. Her passion and

understanding of asset management provide a focused goal for the program of creating

accurate authoritative data to be used by the municipality and the public.

Kristen Morozowski

Maeve Nevins Lavtar

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.

Maeve Nevins Lavtar is the Senior Park Planner for the Municipality of Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department. For the past five years, she has been the project manager on several complex, large-scale trail rehabilitation projects including the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, the Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail, and the replacement of 7 greenbelt trail bridges. Currently, she is managing the first phase of improvements on the Campbell Creek Trail. Her experience also extends to managing the design and development of single-track mountain bike trails, playgrounds and other recreation facilities. With roots in Colorado, Maeve received her B.S. in Landscape Architecture from Colorado State University. She is active in the outdoor community as a volunteer Mighty Bike coach, steep skiing coach and singlespeed mountain bike racer. When the snow flies, you’ll find her heading to the backcountry with her “fur-baby” springer spaniel and husband.

Kristen Mrozowski has worked seasonally in trails and conservation since 2011. She

has led and worked with both volunteer and professional crews across the Lower 48

and Alaska, most recently at Kachemak Bay State Park in Homer. She has

coordinated projects with multiple land management agencies and brings with her a

strong background in sustainable trail building, risk management, and teaching both

youth and adults. Born in the Year of the Cat in Lansing, MI, she enjoys biking,

hiking, games, and moving boulders while listening to heavy metal. When not in the

backcountry, Kristen can be found volunteering as an EMT, laboring, and traveling.

Kristen was hired as the Trails Technician for the Alaska Trail Stewards program and

is excited to help the program grow in the 2018 season.

Brad Muir

Beth Nordlund

Andrew Ooms

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 2004. 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. Beth lives with her husband Jim and

child Ella next to a great sledding hill at Balto Seppala Park.

Brad Muir joined Anchorage Parks and Recreation in October 2015. He is originally

from Washington D.C., but after a ski trip to Utah in high school, he fell in love with

real mountains and the West. Since then, he has lived in Utah, Montana, Arizona,

Washington State, and Ecuador before moving to the great state of Alaska. With

degrees in Environmental Studies and Communications, Brad worked for the Bureau of

Land Management in Anchorage as an Outdoor Recreation Planner and an

Environmental Educator from 2002 to 2015 with a five year break as a Ranger in the

Washington State Parks system. He is excited to be part of an energetic team that is

focused on improving Anchorage Parks and Trails, and Anchorage as a whole.

Andrew Ooms is a Senior Engineer with Kittelson & Associates, Inc. in

Anchorage, where he works on a wide variety of transportation engineering

and planning projects throughout the state. Safety and active transportation

are his primary interests and he is committed to bringing the best national

practices to Alaska to improve safety and efficiency for all road users. He has

extensive non-motorized project experience including implementing bike

lanes in Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks; developing bicycle signal phases in

Portland; and assessing community-wide pedestrian conditions throughout

Alaska. Beyond the day job, Andrew tries to pass on his passion for biking and

the outdoors with his young children.

Pete Panarese

Jeff Samuels

Patrick Shannon

Jeff Samuels’ first trail work experience was in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, serving as a

volunteer crew member under Pat Hart, where he spent the summer logging out and

maintaining most of the trails in Boundary County. Jeff first came to Alaska in the early

90’s to participate in a NOLS course that introduced him to the wild lands of the state.

Since then, Jeff has worked in tourism for many years in Alaska before transitioning to

non-profit work. Jeff currently works as the Partnership Director for the Student

Conservation Association in Alaska. In this role, he works with new and existing

partners to find opportunities for youth and young adults to serve in land stewardship

positions. He also serves on the state “Serve Alaska” AmeriCorps Commission and as a

board member on the Kenai Mountains Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area. He has

a bachelor’s degree in Recreation Management from Western State University in

Gunnison, Colorado. He and his wife live in Girdwood where they volunteer as

groomers for the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club and spend their free time skiing, hiking,

camping and exploring Alaska.

Pete Panarese and his wife Sue arrived in Anchorage in October 1972. After

leaving the Army in 1976, he began work as a park ranger and a 28-year career

with Alaska State Parks. He worked in several different capacities, all in

support of outdoor recreation, public safety, and natural resource

management. After a few years as a park ranger, he worked as Park

Superintendent (CSP) and later as Chief, Field Operations until retiring in 2004.

Since retiring, he has been active with community volunteering and

advocating for the development of sustainable hiking trail in Alaska.

Patrick is the Pacific Northwest Director for the National Forest Foundation. He leads

the NFF’s work with the U.S. Forest Service and community partnerships. Patrick has

20 years of experience working in conservation and natural resource management for

nonprofit organizations across the country. Prior to joining the NFF, Patrick was the

Forest Program Director for Sustainable Northwest where he guided the organization

in creating and developing collaborative forest restoration on national forests in the

Pacific Northwest.

Patrick earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of

Minnesota – Duluth and a Master of Science degree in Forest Resources from the

College of Forestry at Oregon State University.

Cary Shiflea

Andy Schroeder

Mike Shields

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. A graduate

of the University of Idaho, 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, disposing of unstable explosives, suspension bridge and tram

design, and contract administration. Since his retirement as Denali’s Chief of

Andy has dedicated his career to conservation of Alaska's natural resources. Originally

from the Little Miami watershed of Ohio, he earned a bachelor of science from the

U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a 200-ton Captain's license and served two tours in the

Coast Guard. Andy left the service in 2005 to start a small business and make Kodiak

his permanent home. He founded the nonprofit Island Trails Network in 2006 and in

2010 became its full-time executive director. Andy and his wife Betsy have a son

Haakon and a daughter, Dory.

Andy is an Alaska Trails board member.

Cary Shiflea - born and raised in Palmer, now living in Anchorage, Cary Shiflea has been

recreating, building, maintaining the trails of Alaska for nearly 30 years. The founder

of The Alaska eBike Store and a lifelong trails enthusiast, who started his journey into

the electric bike world in 2012. An avid mountain biker working to share that

incredible feeling of flowing along a great trail- whether it's along the coastal trail or

full throttle downhill at Alyeska the bicycle brings people together. A firm believer

that riding bicycles brings people together and helps them achieve fun, fitness,

freedom and friendship. When he isn't working at the store in Anchorage, he is out

enjoying the amazing trails right here in town or on the search for endless powder in

Hatcher Pass with his wife Callie and golden retriever Taku.

Visit www.akebike.com to learn more about The Alaska eBike Store

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 Ohio. In 2010 he received American Trails

“State Trail Worker Award” (Alaska) for his efforts at training and mentoring younger folks, and in 2015 the

Professional Trail Builders Assn “R.H. Bell Lifetime Achievement Award” for excellence in trail design and

construction.

Nate Sievert

Colin Singleton

Colin Singleton is a Professional Civil Engineer with CRW Engineering Group,

working on a variety of projects across the state. A lifelong Alaskan, he grew up

riding, running, and skiing the trails in and around Anchorage, and has spent the

past four years working on the AMATS Anchorage Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Trails

Plan Implementations. As a regular bike commuter and transportation engineer,

Colin has been part of the growing discussion on how to improve active

transportation in Anchorage. He has participated in trainings on the NACTO

Urban Bikeway Design Guide and Global Street Design Guide, and is an active

member of the ITE Active Transportation Committee. Colin also assists the Bike

Anchorage Advocacy Committee, providing information about national best

practices for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure design.

Nate Sievert splits time supporting the Trans-Alaska Trail project and the Alaska

Huts Association. He cares deeply about making public lands accessible to all.

Originally from Seattle, he has worked for several years as a climbing guide on

Mt. Rainier. He is an avid climber and distance runner.

Lia Slemons

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 eight years as the coordinator for the

trails program before retiring in the fall of 2016.

James Sowerwine

James Sowerwine moved to Anchorage in 2007 in order to pursue a graduate degree in

biology. He subsequently left the state to work as a botanist for the Bureau of Land

Management and National Park Service, but returned in 2011 to join the Department of

Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land & Water, Southcentral Regional Land Office.

He currently serves as the Assistant Manager of SCRO’s easement unit. He also

volunteers as a chainsaw operator and crew leader on local trail maintenance projects,

and is a distance runner.

Lia Slemons is the Trails Coordinator for the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm

National Heritage Area, a nonprofit that leverages volunteer contributions with

public funding. The restoration and preservation of historic trails and byways are

a primary goal of KMTA, while telling some of their stories along the way! Lia has

enjoyed learning the history of communities from Bird to Seward while having a

greater reason to run more trails along the Kenai over her 3 years with KMTA.

She and her husband and two daughters also enjoy camping, biking, fishing,

skiing and berry picking throughout Southcentral Alaska. Her youngest turns 1 on

the last day of this year’s trails conference. Lia holds a Ph.D. in oceanography,

coaches Girls on the Run, and bakes sourdough. For more information on KMTA,

visit www.kmtacorridor.org.

Gabe Travis

Paul Twardock

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 www.happytrailsak.com to see more.

Gabe Travis, co-owner of Interior Trails, has been a professional trail builder since 1996.

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 12 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 www.interior-trails.com.

Paul Twardock is the Director of the Institute of Culture and Environment and

Professor of Outdoor Studies at Alaska Pacific University, where he has worked

since 1988. He is the author of Kayaking and Camping in Prince William Sound. At

APU he teaches a variety of graduate and undergraduate classes included

Wildland Ecosystems and Human Impacts. Paul's research includes continuous

monitoring of campsites in Prince William Sound, the Alaska Recreational Use

Database, and the Alaska Recreational Boating Safety Incident Database.

Renee Whitesell

Roy Wahl

Wende Wilber

Wende Wilber, AICP PTP, is Principal Planner with Kittelson & Associates and has been

working on multimodal roadway projects for the Municipality of Anchorage and

DOT&PF for over two decades. She is well-versed in the cultural, land use, engineering,

and financial opportunities and challenges related to transportation safety along our

roadways. Wende is a pedestrian at heart and loves to walk in her neighborhood, on the

trails, or as a means to explore a new city.

Roy Wahl is retired and was in the computer and communications security fields for 30

plus years. He has enjoyed cross country skiing and hiking in the Hatchers Pass area for

the last 35 years. Roy served on the Mat-Su/Copper Valley State Park Citizen Advisory

Board for 7 years, some of which as chair.

He is working on funding for an ADA Trail in the Government Peak Recreation Area in

the Mat-Su Borough.

Renee Whitesell, PTP first visited Alaska in 2014 from her home country, New Zealand,

to run the Lost Lake Run. Within 12 hours of landing in Anchorage, she started exploring

Chugach State Park and fell instantly in love with Alaska’s trails. Fast-forward four years,

and Renee and her husband (who is from Alaska) have now settled in Anchorage with

their children and are embracing everything Alaska offers.

Renee has 18 years’ experience as a Planner, and holds degrees in environmental

planning and strategic management. Since joining DOWL in 2015, Renee has managed

the Alaska Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering team, and has led

transportation planning efforts on a wide range of projects including the Alaska

Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, and the Midtown Congestion Relief

Planning and Environmental Linkages Study. Her enthusiasm for trail running, hiking,

biking and cross-country skiing keeps her evenings and weekends busy, and helps her

understand the needs of bikers and walkers every day as they interact with Alaska’s

transportation system.

Joni Wilm

Kelly Yanoshek

Jared Zimmerman

Jared has worked on the trail crew at Denali National Park since 2005. During that

time he has learned a lot from some amazing crew leaders and challenging working

conditions. Since 2009, he’s planned and designed many of the park’s trail

improvements, both in designated wilderness and in accessible areas around the

frontcountry. When he’s not working on trails, he enjoys hiking, biking, skiing and

mushing on them with his young family.

Joni Wilm is a Senior Transportation Planner – Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator

for the Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions (AMATS).

Joni has 12+ years of experience leading complex projects in the fields of urban

design, landuse planning and transportation planning. Known for her decisive

project management style, team building and diplomacy skills and the ability to

foster key relationships, Joni has successfully led many high profile and contentious

projects to completion. Joni’s current projects include: lead project manager for

AMATS Non-motorized Plan, AMATS Complete Streets Policy, AMATS Street

Typologies Map, Spenard Corridor Plan (Anchorage's first Transit Oriented

Development Plan), AMATS Transportation Alternatives Program, BikeLife

Anchorage Publication, AMATS Public Participation Plan, AMATS Bicycle and

Pedestrian Safety Awareness Campaign and the Bicycle and Pedestrian PSA

program.

Kelly Yanoshek is a civil designer at CRW Engineering Group, LLC and a recent

graduate from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a bachelor’s degree in civil

engineering. She presented her senior design project on a parking lot for the Rabbit

Lake trail head at last year’s Alaska Trails Conference. As an avid cyclist, runner, skier,

and hiker, Kelly takes part in the design of her hometown of Anchorage by joining the

Active Transportation Committee, and is a member of the Institute of Transportation

Engineers (ITE). She recently helped update the current 2018 Anchorage Bike Map

and create the 2017 Mat-Su Bike Map.

STAY TUNED – MORE BIOS TO COME