Board of Directors

From left to right, Rick Paradis, Annie Bellerose, Laura Waterman, Val Stori, Julia Goren, and Mary Margaret Sloan

Laura Waterman was married to Guy for nearly 30 years. They undertook the trail maintenance and stewardship of the Franconia Ridge in New Hampshire's White Mountains in 1980. It was through this work of nearly two decades that they formed a close attachment to the Alpine areas of the Northeast, which became central in their lives and in their writing. The books they wrote together on the mountain history and environmental issues of the Northeast include Backwood Ethics and Wilderness Ethics. Laura now resides in East Corinth, Vermont.

Val Stori, President worked above treeline for many years during and after college. She currently works part-time for the Clean Energy Group. Previously, Val worked for several non-profits and educational institutions including the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Green Mountain Club, and the Wildlands Program. When she's not kicking around on the farm, you can find her wandering through any mountain range that has ravens.

Jeff Lougee, Treasurer is the Mount Washington Valley Program Manager for The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy in 1999, Jeff worked for the Adirondack Mountain Club and the Green Mountain Club as a Summit Steward. He still relishes time above tree line, and can occasionally be found with his field guide and hand lens somewhere on the Presidential Range.

Rick Paradis, Vice-President lives in Middlesex, Vermont in the shadows of Hunger Mountain with his wife Susan and daughter Emma Rose. He works at the University of Vermont where he directs the Natural Areas Center and is a member of the faculty in the Environmental Program. Rick's research focus is on comparative mountain landscapes with recent work comparing the history and conservation of the mountains here in New England with the Highlands of Scotland. His interests include wandering remote mountain landscapes, kayaking, skiing, photography and eating pies.

Charlie Jacobi is a natural resource specialist at Acadia National Park whose focus is visitor use issues. He has worked for the National Park Service since 1982. His responsibilities include identifying and facilitating visitor impact and social science research, monitoring visitor use numbers and behaviors for the park, mitigating visitor impacts to natural and cultural resources, Leave No Trace education, and contributing to a variety of park planning efforts. He has worked on the development of park management plans for Isle au Haut, including its carriage roads, rock climbing cliffs, hiking trails, and commercial services.

Annie Bellerose, formerly a steward on Guy and Laura's homestead Barra, has worked for the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Adirondack Mountain Club, and The Hulbert Outdoor Center.

Julia Goren, Secretary is the Coordinator for the Adirondack High Peaks Summit Steward program. She has worked for the Adirondack Mountain Club since 2004 and feels extremely fortunate to get to spend most of her work and play time above treeline.

Matt Larson has worked for the Green Mountain Club on and off since 2001, first as a summit caretaker on Mount Mansfield and then in other roles including group outreach, development, and communications positions. He lives in Waterbury Center with his wife Ann, son Ben, and daughter Hannah. When time allows, he can be found behind the beam of a headlamp hiking to one of the local summits in hopes of catching sunrise.

A co-founder of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Kent McFarland is a conservation biologist, photographer, writer and naturalist with nearly 20 years of wildlife research experience in the mountains of northeastern North America. His perfect day is one spent following birds and butterflies in the alpine zone.