Our Team - North Country Trail Association

Association Staff

Kate Hagner, Executive Director

Kate is responsible for overall organization management, staffing, strategic direction, and financial accountability. She is also the National Park Service liaison and Board of Directors representative.

Bio

Kate began leading the North Country Trail Association in 2026. Prior, she spent nearly 20 years working with the Student Conservation Association – most recently as the Senior Director for Enterprise Operations, providing organizational leadership and aligning systems, processes, and teams to support strategic growth, program effectiveness, and mission impact. She led in other management and director roles for 12 years prior. Kate holds a B.A. in English from Smith College, and an M.A. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Texas. Kate currently lives in White River Junction, Vermont, where she and her loved ones hike, bike, ski, garden, read, and explore swimming holes.

Valerie Bader, Director of Trail Operations

Message Val
(412) 550-4125

Val is responsible for trailwide Chapter and Affiliate leadership support and comprehensive trail management, including project funding, advocacy, agency and private partnerships and trail protection.

Bio

Val joined the NCTA in 2018 as the Director of Trail Development. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and now resides in her home state of Pennsylvania with her husband Max. Val previously worked in the National Trail System with the Pacific Crest Trail Association and Continental Divide Trail Coalition, and has worked on trails across the U.S. with various nonprofit trail groups, volunteer organizations and youth corps. She loves spending time in the field with volunteers and teaching trail skills. In her free time, Val enjoys hiking, paddling and gardening.

Will Brazill, Regional Trail Coordinator

Message Will
(716) 268-1140

Will is responsible for trail management, and Chapter support and direction in New York and Vermont.

Bio

Will joined the NCTA in 2025. He previously worked with the National Park Service, Vanderbilt University, and Tennessee State Parks. He holds a B.A. in Parks and Recreation Management from Pennsylvania Western University, and has a passion for land conservation and sustainable trail design. Will lives in Western New York with his wife Kristin, and enjoys spending his time skiing, climbing, hiking, birding, and exploring the outdoors.

Nancy Brozek, Director of Development and Communications

Message Nancy
(231) 685-0711

Nancy is responsible for planning, directing and organizing all fundraising and public relations, including media, major gifts, planned gifts, and individual, corporate and foundation relations.

Bio

Nancy stepped into the role of Director of Development and Communications for the NCTA in 2019. She has a rich and diverse nonprofit career spanning more than 20 years. An avid storyteller, she enjoys sharing the countless adventures found on the North Country Trail. When not striving to protect and promote the Trail, she spends time with her ever-growing family, and friends. She loves the arts, football, and travel – preferably travel that includes exploring sites by bike or foot.

Matt Davis, Regional Trail Coordinator

Message Matt
(701) 997-2213

Matt is responsible for trail management, and Chapter support and direction in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Bio

Matthew has worked for the NCTA since 2006. Previously, he worked for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and University of Wisconsin-Extension. Matthew has an M.S. in Outdoor Recreation and over 20 years of experience in trail management. He lives in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota with his wife Stacy and their four children, who together have visited and hiked in all 75 of Minnesota’s State Parks and Recreation Areas.

Heather Ertle, Membership and CRM Systems Manager

Message Heather
(616) 987-0934

Heather is responsible for managing and maintaining the NCTA’s donor relationship database, which includes membership, Chapter, and volunteer reporting.

Bio

Heather began her career with the North Country Trail Association in 2020. She lives in Alto, Michigan with her husband and their four children. Heather enjoys spending time outdoors with her dogs, hiking local trails, and gardening.

Paul Gagnon, Director of Trail Protection

Message Paul
(802) 216-0977

Paul leads efforts to secure a permanent corridor for the North Country National Scenic Trail and manages the NCTA Trail Protection program. He also has key roles in advocacy efforts, grants management, and partnership development.

Bio

Paul comes to NCTA with 14 years of experience working for land trusts in the northeast United States in both land stewardship and land protection roles. He holds an M.R.P. from the University of Massachusetts where he focused on greenway development, public access planning, and land use law. Paul is a lifelong hiker, naturalist, and avowed map geek. He has thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, practices barefoot hiking, and maintains a hiking blog. He lives in Vermont but will work with our entire Trail Community.

Lauren Kennedy-Little, Regional Trail Coordinator

Message Lauren
(412) 945-0925

Lauren is responsible for trail management, and Chapter support and direction in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Bio

Lauren joined the NCTA staff in 2023. Prior, she worked with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) since 2018, traveling all over the country and holding various outdoor leadership titles, mostly executing trail building and trail construction projects. She still performs contract work with SCA as a Conservation Work Skills Instructor. She attended Washington and Jefferson College with a B.A. in biology and concentration in graphic design. She recently became a certified Forest Therapy Guide and offers those services locally. Lauren is passionate about trail design and loves teaching technical skills to people. Her hobbies include kayaking, backpacking, gardening, yoga, and nature wandering. She resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband Drew.

Kate Lemon, Marketing and Communications Manager

Message Kate
(616) 987-0962

Kate is responsible for the website and social media channels, print and digital marketing materials, branding information, the North Star magazine, electronic communications, and media inquiries.

Bio

Kate joined the NCTA staff in 2018. Prior, Kate was a technical communications specialist in a research grant proposal development office at Penn State University. She also worked with environmental nonprofits and state government in Colorado, served as an AmeriCorps VISTA, and earned a B.A. in journalism from Indiana University at Indianapolis. You can often find Kate outside – hiking, fishing, or paddling with her husband and two young sons.

Karen Raab, Finance and Operations Manager

Message Karen
(616) 207-3596

Karen is responsible for financial reporting, Chapter contact for financial needs, annual audit, grant management, budget, and human resources.

Bio

Karen joined NCTA in 2022 as the Finance and Operations Manager. Karen has over 15 years of finance experience in the nonprofit field, including children’s education, animal rescue, and a women’s shelter. She has a passion for nonprofits and the services they provide to communities. She worked most recently as the Director of Finance for Coldwell Banker. Karen enjoys spending her free time sewing, crocheting, walking in the great outdoors, and weekends with her grandchildren.

Matt Rowbotham, GIS Program Manager

Message Matt
(231) 714-9110

Matt is responsible for Geographic Information Systems, including maps, analysis, trail information and updates. He is also the Association’s main IT support and management contact.

Bio

Matt was first introduced to the NCTA in 2002 as an intern studying geography at Grand Valley State University. He joined the staff in 2004. In addition to GPS and mapping, Matt also provides IT support to the NCTA. Matt lives in Traverse City, Michigan with his wife Brigid and their two daughters. Matt enjoys hiking and fly fishing, most of which he does on or near the NCNST.

Alison Sanchez, Administrative Assistant

Message Alison
(616) 987-0965

Alison is responsible for administrative support to the Executive Director and the Finance and Operations Manager. She manages the Trail Shop and online orders, front-end reception, the Trail Town program, awards programs, Hike 100 Challenge, and other various duties.

Bio

Alison came to the NCTA in 2016 as the Youth Outreach Coordinator and the Hike 100 Challenge Manager. After graduating from Greenville High School in 1999, she spent her summer volunteering with the Student Conservation Association at Mammoth Cave National Park maintaining the Sal Hollow Trail. Alison and her husband, Josh, are self-proclaimed “Nature Nerds” that enjoy geology, foraging, learning about plants and animals, and being outdoors. She also has a deep love for Traditional Celtic music and plays in multiple bands in West and Southwest Michigan.

Becky VanDyke, Data Entry Specialist

Message Becky
(616) 987-0932

Becky is responsible for assisting with the maintenance of the NCTA’s donor relationship database, which includes membership, Chapter, and volunteer reporting.

Bio

Becky joined the NCTA team in 2021. She worked in medical administration for over a decade. She is thrilled to work with an organization that shares her passion for experiencing, protecting, and preserving the natural world. Becky lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan and loves to camp, hike, paddle, and enjoy nature and wildlife with her husband, two daughters, and goofy dog.

Kenny Wawsczyk, Regional Trail Coordinator

Message Kenny
(231) 303-3023

Kenny is responsible for trail management, and Chapter support and direction in both the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan.

Bio

Kenny joined the NCTA as the Regional Trail Coordinator for Michigan in 2015. Seven years prior he worked seasonally for the U.S. Forest Service in the Manistee National Forest as the Trails Crew Leader. He was born and raised in the Trail Town of White Cloud, and still lives close by with his wife Maureen and their son and daughter. In his spare time you can find him outdoors either fishing, hunting or hiking.

Board of Directors

Jan Ulferts Stewart, President

Jan is active in civic and charitable organizations in the Fargo and Moorhead communities of North Dakota and Minnesota. She has been a member of the NCTA since 2001 and after moderate success in hauling lumber for puncheons, lifting a Pulaski, getting the blue blaze on the tree rather than herself, and clearing brush, she enjoys serving on the NCTA Board. A past director of the local community foundation and former chair of the planning commission, she has confidence in the leadership team of staff members and board to carry on the vision of the NCTA. Jan and her husband have two daughters and three amazing grandchildren.

Cheryl Kreindler, Vice President

The North Country Trail is important to Cheryl and to prove it, she rejoined the NCTA Board of Directors in 2023. Professionally, Cheryl is a Senior Vice President and strategic management consultant at WSP USA, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. She brings her passion for optimizing organization performance and business development to her role as an NCTA board member. When not working, Cheryl is out on the trail. She has completed more than 2,000 miles of the North Country Trail, and each year she takes the opportunity to hike another 200+ unique miles. As a result, the importance and beauty of our trail is regularly reaffirmed for her. Cheryl looks forward to working with our Chapters and volunteers to support (and hike) our trail for years to come.

Brad Slagle, Treasurer

Brad joined the NCTA in 2014 after partnering with the Marquette Area Chapter in Marquette, Mich. to get elderly and disabled veterans out on the Trail. He retired as CEO of the Michigan Veterans Health System and is a Past President of the National Association of State Veterans Homes. Upon his retirement he was looking for an active outdoor volunteer opportunity and eagerly joined a trail crew for the NCNST. His experience with advocacy for State Veterans Homes let him to the NCTA Advocacy Committee and he became Chair and joined the NCTA Board of Directors. Backcountry trout fishing led him to backpacking and in addition to the NCNST, he has backpacked a small segment of the Appalachian Trail, part of the Arizona Trail in the Grand Canyon, and multiple trails in Yellowstone National Park (trout!). When he first encountered the NCNST, he was fascinated with the idea of walking on a trail in his hometown that continued over 2,000 miles in either direction. Brad lives in Marquette, Michigan with his wife Lynne and they have four children.

Tina Toole, Secretary

Tina fell in love with the North Country Trail when she and her husband Mike challenged themselves to hike the Allegheny National Forest’s 95.7 miles of NCNST in 2004. As they hiked over the next few years, they saw the work that went into keeping the Trail open. Once they completed their quest, they became Trail Adopters and then took on more responsibility with the Chapter. Tina is currently the Allegheny National Forest Chapter President after serving as the Trail Coordinator for seven years. She looks forward to serving on the NCTA Board to help grow awareness of and improve the quality of the NCNST. Besides hiking, Tina and her husband are avid mountain climbers and paddleboarders. In 2021, they completed the challenge of climbing the highest point in each of the lower 48 states. Tina retired from teaching high school sciences several years ago. Living in Warren, Pennsylvania, she enjoys spending time on the Allegheny River and in the forest with her husband, children and their spouses, and her grandchildren.

Mel Baughman, Wisconsin

Mel began designing and constructing hiking trails in the mid-70s. He later wrote publications and taught numerous trail classes for family forest owners and a credit class for undergraduate college students. He also provided trail consultations for many government and nonprofit organizations, and private landowners, including trips to Dominica and Costa Rica. Mel is Vice President of the NCTA Chequamegon Chapter and active in the Wisconsin Roving Trail Crew. When not engaged in trail work, he is a hiker, backpacker, wilderness canoeist, angler, hunter, and world traveler, periodically giving travel lectures to nonprofit groups. He also serves on the Sawyer County Wisconsin Search and Rescue Team, and is certified as a Wilderness First Responder. Mel is a retired Extension Forester and university administrator.

Josh Berlo, At-Large

Josh is a native of Rhode Island and discovered the many benefits of hiking while attending summer camps in New Hampshire as a youth. Now an avid and accomplished hiker, he is excited and interested in growing the NCNST both in the quality of the Trail itself, as well as the awareness and recognition of it. Josh was a long-time board member of the NCTA Jordan Valley 45° Chapter (Mich.) and got involved after hiking the Jordan River Pathway one spring. Some of his fondest memories are from the peaks, woods, and boardwalks with family and friends, much of which was on the Superior Hiking Trail segment in Northern Minnesota in recent years. Josh has had the pleasure of hiking all over the country, including all 48 peaks above 4,000 feet in the state of New Hampshire, as well as almost 400 miles (some many times over) of the NCNST in Minnesota and Michigan. Professionally, Josh is a seasoned collegiate athletic administrator now serving as the Vice Chancellor for Athletics at the University of Denver, following eight years as Director of Athletics at the University of Minnesota Duluth (located on the NCNST), preceded by experience and degrees from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Notre Dame.

Sue Harvey Brown, Michigan

“I just want to rescue dogs, drink good beer and wine, eat dark chocolate, and play on the trails.” Sue discovered and nurtured her love for the North Country Trail during her 20 years in the footwear and outdoor industries, where she held various marketing leadership roles responsible for product, retail, sponsorship, partnership, ambassador and event marketing. Serving on the NCTA board has given Sue the opportunity to give back to the trail that has given her so much: well-being, solitude, camaraderie, friends, adventure, perspective… the list goes on. The North Country Trail and Manistee River Trail Loop is one of her favorite runs. Sue resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband, two children, and foster dog from Mackenzie’s Animal Sanctuary, where they’ve volunteered and adopted their two previous dogs (RIP).

Mike Chapple, Indiana

Mike is Teaching Professor of information technology, analytics, and operations at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. He earned both B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from Notre Dame, and holds an MBA from Auburn University. He’s been an avid hiker for over 30 years, starting when he was growing up in New York. Mike tries to get on the Trail as much as possible. Mike and his wife Renee live in Granger, Indiana with their three boys, and one of the family’s favorite pastimes is taking backpacking vacations together. There isn’t much elevation change in Northern Indiana, so he escapes the flat cornfields to the relative heights of the North Country Trail in nearby Michigan for both day hikes and extended backpacking trips. Mike also serves on the boards of South Bend Venues, Parks, and Arts, as well as CampFire River Bend.

Claire Drolshagen-Puck, Michigan

Claire Drolshagen-Puck is a lifelong Michigander hailing from metro-Detroit. Claire has a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management and Master of Public Policy, both from Michigan State University. From an early age, Claire fostered a great love for the outdoors while camping in remote areas of the Upper Peninsula. Her passion and commitment to community service and our shared public resources has fostered her work at the local, state, and national levels. During the past two decades Claire has served in township and county appointed positions on planning and zoning boards. She has worked on behalf of two state agencies in land protection and trails, forwarded climate resiliency locally and regionally, and oversaw projects that created community and statewide connectivity for recreation and transportation purposes. Her favorite trail memory is day hiking along the Picture Rocks National Lakeshore with her four young children. It has been said that her love for the great outdoors was engrained in her while her mother hiked Tobermory, Ontario, in the late stages of her pregnancy. Claire now lives near Michigan’s capitol with her partner David and their blended family.

Dan Geiger, Minnesota

Dan has been an advocate for the North Country Trail Association since the 1990s. After retirement from the electric utility industry in 2018, he was finally able to put boots on the ground and get involved with his local Chapter in Minnesota, Star of the North. Since then, he has helped maintain the Chapters 30 miles every year including using his sawyer certification to cut logs off the trail, build structures, and adopt a section. He has also helped the Wisconsin Roving Trail Crew learning how to build new trail and cooking for the crew. Dan and his wife, Julie, live on their farm west of Minneapolis, growing organic vegetables and providing hay to a local farmer. They camp and hike often, enjoy getting out on the water, and participate in other silent sports for enjoyment.

Tom Gilbert, Honorary Member

Tom Gilbert began his federal career in 1972 with the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (BOR). The BOR was responsible for conducting the feasibility study of the North Country Trail proposal. Tom began his involvement with the NCT in 1973 when he helped set up and conduct public meetings across the trail route to review the Draft Feasibility Study Report. When the Trail was authorized as a National Scenic Trail in March 1980, Tom began inventorying existing trails that could be incorporated into the route of the North Country NST. In 1981, the BOR was folded into the National Park Service. Tom was assigned the responsibility of preparing the Comprehensive Plan for Management and Use of the NCT. When it was completed in 1982, he was put in charge of implementing the plan. He served as the NPS Superintendent for the Trail until his retirement in May 2011. He and his family have continued to attend nearly every Annual Celebration. He currently serves on the NCTA Awards Committee and the North Star Editorial Advisory Committee. While NPS Superintendent, Tom particularly enjoyed working in the arena of multiple public and private partnerships to accomplish the vision of the NCT. In December 2023, Tom was extremely gratified to see the NCT recognized as a “unit” of the National Park System as he had launched that campaign 40 years earlier in 1983. Over the years, Tom has authored quite a few articles about the history and administration of the NCT published in the North Star magazine. Tom is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a graduate of Michigan State University. He and his wife, Jan, live in Madison, Wisconsin.

Max Heitner, New York

Max joined the NCTA Board of Directors in 2022. He is the Director of Conservation for the Finger Lakes Land Trust where he focuses on land acquisition and restoration projects throughout the Finger Lakes region. He also serves on the board of the Cayuga Trails Club, a local trails group that stewards part of the North Country National Scenic Trail in central New York. In his free time, Max enjoys outdoor recreation, college sports, and puttering around his backyard with its goats and chickens. Max holds an M.S. from the University of Illinois and a B.S. from the University of Michigan. He resides in Ithaca, New York with his wife Alexandra and daughter, Marigold.

Yvette Jester, Ohio

Yvette is a dedicated Director of Food and Nutrition with a strong commitment to empowering youth through education on balanced nutrition and exercise. With a passion for fostering healthy lifestyles, she integrates wellness education into programs that inspire young people to make informed choices about their health and well-being. Beyond her professional role, Yvette is an active volunteer who introduces youth to the joys of the outdoors. She serves on her local hiking chapter committee, where she helps organize and lead multiple hikes each year, encouraging community engagement and outdoor exploration. An experienced long-distance hiker with over 11 years on the trail, Yvette is currently pursuing her goal of hiking all 4,800 miles of the North Country Trail. Her dedication to the trail reflects her belief in the power of nature to restore balance and perspective in a fast-paced world. A proud mother of four, Yvette resides in Northeast Ohio, where she continues to inspire others to lace up their boots, step outside, and experience the simple beauty of nature where the world spins a little slower.

Duane Lawton, Michigan

Since 2006 Duane has lived in active retirement in Charlevoix, Michigan. With degrees from Michigan State and the University of Michigan, he worked in information technology management in the automotive industry in southeast Michigan for 36 years. He got involved with the NCNST through happenstance in 2008, and was the NCTA Jordan Valley 45° Chapter President from 2012-2017. Duane is now the Chapter’s Projects Coordinator, continuing to build Trail. He is active in the local Lions Club and likes to travel, build stuff, play at golf and hike – not exclusively on the NCNST. Duane finished hiking the 1,150 miles of Michigan NCNST in 2019. On the NCTA Board of Directors, he strives to strengthen support for continuing expansion of the finished Trail on the ground.

Nathan Miller, Michigan

Nathan lives in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, about as far from an interstate highway as possible in the Lower 48. He first discovered the area during his time at Michigan Technological University, before graduating with a Masters of Regional Planning from SUNY Albany. Nathan has built a career around his passion for the outdoors, including working for the Keweenaw Land Trust, Copper Harbor Trails Club, and Visit Keweenaw, among many other side hustles – including volunteering for his local NCTA Chapter, where he cares for 5 miles of rugged trail through the Trap Hills. He’s excited to use his community building skills to assist the NCTA on a deeper level. Not a week goes by without some sort of outdoor adventure, whether by hike, kayak, bike, packraft, snowshoe, ski, bushwhack, camp, or any combination of these in any season. He also cares for his hobby farm and DJs on college radio as Nathan Invincible.

Jane Norton, Michigan

Jane has been in the National Ski Patrol as a patroller at Bittersweet Ski Area (yes, there are ski areas in West Michigan) for many years, and active in her church activities. She has been a member of NCTA since 2010. She began her membership by attending the Dayton Celebration, then volunteering for the Chief Noonday Chapter’s Celebration the following year. She got the “Blue Blaze Fever,” and has served as Chapter Secretary and President, and continues to be Chair of the Hike Committee, a Trail Adopter, on the Trail Protection Committee, and attends workdays. She has completed hiking the NCNST in Wisconsin, Michigan’s lower peninsula, and is working on completing the Upper Peninsula and Ohio. She hopes her “boots on the ground” will help further the vision of the NCTA and looks forward to work with the talented Board of Directors to further the NCTA vision. Jane and her husband have two children (one active on the North Country Trail) and two energetic granddaughters.

Derrick Passe, Minnesota

Derrick works as the District Engineer for Lake County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Using his Civil Engineering and Water Resource Science degrees, he helps private landowners monitor, protect, and enhance their natural resources. Derrick first began working on wilderness hiking trails in 1996. The first trip he led was on the Pow Wow Trail, a Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) trail that had not been maintained for 10 years. He volunteered to lead this trip, and has since led hundreds of volunteers into the BWCAW every year to maintain, map, and protect wilderness hiking trails. In May 2017, Derrick took a leave of absence from his job to spend the entire month leading crews on the Kekekabic Trail to reopen it after extensive storm damage. He was an active member, president, and member of the Board of Directors of the Kekekabic Trail Club. He has also been a member of the Superior Hiking Trail Association and American Hiking Society. Even though he is certified to maintain trails using a chainsaw, Derrick prefers to maintain trails in wilderness areas using only hand tools. When Derrick isn’t volunteering in Minnesota’s BWCAW or Wisconsin’s Rainbow Lakes Wilderness, you may find him sampling water quality or educating about invasive species in his job as the Rainy Basin Coordinator for the Lake County SWCD.

Sharon Ray, New York

Sharon Ray has been Acting Director of the Seneca Nation’s Department of Transportation (DOT) since 2019. In this capacity, she oversees all aspects of the DOT and the Seneca Transit System (STS), the bus service of the Seneca Nation. In addition, she provides staff oversight, performs administrative duties, and sets up staff training opportunities. Prior to that, she served from 2009 to 2019 as Transportation Project Manager, coordinating projects and developing agreements with tribal, federal, state, county, and local officials and their agents and contractors. She also assisted in developing policies and procedures for road and bridge construction projects in accordance with tribal, federal, and state regulatory authorities. She has earned certifications in Federal Information Systems Security Awareness, Road Inventory Field Data Systems, and Highway Safety Awareness for First Responders.

Bob Rosati, New York

Bob discovered the NCT in 2020 when he became active in his local chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club and participated in a bridge replacement project on a section of the Finger Lakes Trail that also serves as the NCT. Upon learning about the NCT and its lack of completion in the Adirondacks, he began volunteering to help scout and construct new trails and maintain existing trails in the Adirondacks to further the completion of the NCT. Having hiked all of the Adirondack 46 High Peaks in summer and winter, his goal is to provide additional hiking challenges in the Adirondacks to minimize the overuse of the existing trails. Professionally he is a Senior Program Manager and when not volunteering spends his time hiking, backpacking, traveling, and working on his O Scale model train layout in his basement.

Kevin Russell, Vermont

Kevin resides in Waitsfield, Vermont and is actively semi-retired. Over the past 25 years, Kevin has worked to improve active transportation opportunities within his community and around the state as a planning consultant and project manager. He now enjoys the fruits of his labor walking, running, biking and hiking many new sidewalks, bike paths, trails and greenways. Kevin remains active as a ski instructor and backcountry guide in the winter. He is assistant golf coach and substitute teacher in the local school. He also serves on the board of the Mad River Valley Backcountry Coalition and the MRV Planning District Transportation Advisory Committee. Upon discovering the North Country National Scenic Trail, Kevin has been very proactive in promoting the newly authorized trail in Vermont and working with Chapter members in the neighboring state of New York, where he originally hails from. Kevin enjoys writing and sharing his experiences on his blog: alongthemillbrook.com.

Joe Shelley, New York

Joe joined the NCTA Board of Directors in 2025. He serves as the Vice President for Innovation and Information Systems at Hamilton College. A lifelong hiker and backpacker, Joe and his family live near the Adirondacks and Finger Lakes regions, which keeps them close to the North Country National Scenic Trail in New York. Joe and his wife spend as much time as possible backpacking across the region with their kids. Joe is excited to support the trail and the NCT community.

Chris Whitsel, At-Large

Chris discovered the North Country National Scenic Trail while on a backpacking trip with his husband in Western Minnesota. Soon afterwards, they joined the North Country Trail Association and were active members of the Dakota Prairie Chapter, which provided many opportunities to participate in organized monthly hikes and hiking seminars. Chris enjoys building new sections of trail, which he’s had the opportunity to do in Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. He has helped maintain and manage a variety of sections in North Dakota (think lots of hours pushing mowers). He is currently serving as a trail adopter and on the Trail Committee for the Chief Noonday Chapter since moving to Northern Indiana in 2025.

National Park Service Staff

The National Park Service (NPS) provides funding for trail projects, planning and decisions on trail routing, trail tools, supplies and signage for volunteers, trail certification guidelines and volunteer support through the Volunteers-In-Parks program. Visit nps.gov/noco to learn more about the National Park Service and the National Trails System Act, and to download the official NCNST brochure.

Chris Loudenslager
Superintendent

christopher_loudenslager@nps.gov

Ken Hendrickson
Trail Manager

kenneth_hendrickson@nps.gov

Steph Liguori
National and Cultural Resources

stephanie_liguori@nps.gov

Nic Loiseau
Volunteer Program Manager

nicole_loiseau@nps.gov

Nina Dittmer
Administrative Officer

nina_dittmer@nps.gov