Former Board Members

Ron Crenshaw - Juneau

Ron retired from Alaska State Parks in 2001 and is living in Juneau.

Volunteer work: As a member of the Anchorage Trails Council 1971-1975, helped organized Anchorage Bike Day to gain public and political support for bicycle trails in Anchorage, and helped research, develop and gain approval for Anchorage's first areawide multi-modal trails plan. Member of Anchorage Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission 1973-1975. Past president and current member Alaska Recreation & Park Association. Co-founder and eight year president of the Anchorage Trails & Greenways Coalition 1993-2001. Member Chugach State Park Advisory Board. Member and current president of Governor's Trails & Recreational Access for Alaska (TRAAK) Citizens Advisory Board. Founding board member of Alaska Trails, Inc.

Professional work: Alaska State Parks planner 1976-1982. Manager of park acquisition, design and development for Municipality of Anchorage 1982-1989. Superintendent Chugach State Park 1990-1991. State Park policy & planning development 1991-1993. Chief of marine recreation & trails for Alaska State Parks 1993-2001. Business owner of TrailTrans, 2001-present.

James King – Juneau

For the past six years, James has been the Executive Director of Trail Mix, Inc. in Juneau. Trail Mix is a nonprofit organization that works closely with local, state and federal agencies, organizations, businesses, the public and others to better manage Juneau trails as a system. The organization works on planning, conflict resolution and trail construction. James has worked for the City and Borough of Juneau as a planner, the Forest Service, and various other agencies and organizations mostly working on natural resource issues. He grew up in Juneau and has spent much of his life there. James has an undergraduate degree in Recreation Resource Management and a Masters in Landscape Architecture. Over the years, he has been actively involved in many organizations and community planning processes.

Kevin Murphy - Seward

Student Conservation Association, Trails Laborer. 1979. Maine Appalachian Trail Club.
Trail crew member, Appalachian Mtn. Club, New Hampshire and New York.1980-81.
Trail crew leader for National Park Service for 9 years, 1981-1989. Grand Teton National Park, Glacier National Park, Everglades National Park, Mt. Rainier National Park.
Outward Bound Base Camp Manager. North Carolina and Everglades Fla. Winters 1984-1986.
Minnesota school of Log Building. Two time student.
Tom Browns School of Wilderness Survival and Tracking. Seven time student. Two-time instructor.
Park Ranger, Alaska State Parks. Shuyak Island State Park. Kodiak, AK. 13 years.
Captain, National Park Service research vessel. Kenai Fjords. Nat'l Park. Seward AK.

W Joe Westfall - Bluffs on Susitna (north of Willow)

Joe was born and raised in arid western Oklahoma. Prior to moving to Alaska, he acquired advanced degrees from Oklahoma State University and the University of Texas. Westfall is a computer scientist, electronics, and software engineer by profession. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War and was additionally qualified in Submarines and Diving.

He is a professional member of: Alaska Mountain Rescue Group; Mountain Rescue Association; National Association of Search and Rescue; and the co-founder of the Alaska Snowmachine Search Rescue and Recovery Team. He is also a contributing correspondent for the Anchorage Daily News and numerous other outdoor publications and newsletters. Westfall is current and qualified as Alaska's: Certified Snowmobile Safety Instructor; Avalanche Awareness, Avoidance and Rescue Instructor; Master Trainer for Tread Lightly; and the state representative partner for National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council.

In Alaska, Westfall has been involved in Mountaineering, Backcountry Trekking, Whitewater River Running and Aviation since 1983.  Additionally, he has been involved in Mountain-Bike, ATV, and Snowmachine activities since 1986.

Pat Owens - Palmer

Pat is recently retired from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and is now pursuing a second career (but first love) in photography. Pat’s 20+ years of work for the Mat-Su Borough in trails, land and resource management, and planning gave her a wealth of knowledge in regard to trails in the Mat Su area.

Her involvement in Alaska Trails is heavily influenced by the urgency to document trails, protect their use for recreation, and manage them for sustainability. Under her implementation, the Mat Su Borough’s trail planning and acquisition has taken a community based approach to solving trail issues. She is excited about Alaska Trails because they will be able to assist smaller organizations, coordinate agency work, and leverage funding for all types of trail groups.

Pat is also on the founding board of the Valley Community for Recycling Solutions (VCRS), a member of the Alaska Photographic Center (APC) and the River Management Society (RMS). She practices homebuilding in her spare time, and loves to hike, bird, canoe, kayak, snowshoe, ski, and explore Alaska.

Lisa Holzapfel - Anchorage

Bachelor's Degree in Recreation and Park Management from the University of Oregon
Outward Bound instructor in MN and OR/ID (2 years)
Bald Eagle Outdoor Learning Center environmental educator (1 winter)
Wild and scenic river ranger for the Bureau of Land Management in OR and AK (1 year)
Smith River Wild and Scenic River planner for the California Dept. of Fish and Game (2 years)
Planner and ranger for the Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Park (2 years)
Knik Canoers and Kayakers membership chair (3 years)
William H. Seward Yacht Club membership chair (3 years)
Ski for Woman (AWAIC) event board member responsible for silent auction/prize donations (5 years)
Land use and river planner; easement and tideland lease adjudicator; land disposal manager; public information office manager; and forest management policy manager for the AK Dept. of Natural Resources (10 years)
Senior trust/land manager for the Alaska Mental Health Trust (5 years)
Senior land manager for the University of Alaska (2 years)
Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program leader National Park Service (1 year)
Avid worldwide trail and river outdoor recreation participant-kayaking, canoeing, rafting, seakayaking, climbing, winter mountaineering, skiing, skijoring, mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, llama packing, birding (47 years)

Bruce Friend – Anchorage

Bruce moved to Anchorage, Alaska from Oregon at the age of 19 in 1970. He is an avid outdoorsman and pilot who enjoys spending time at several remote cabin sites he developed around Southcentral Alaska. Bruce has spent the past 20 years traveling around the state, promoting outdoor recreational products like Coleman camping equipment, Browning hunting products, and several manufacturers of fishing tackle through his ownership of Skyline Sales Company, a manufacturer’s rep firm. For the past 4 years he has also been employed by Polaris Industries, representing that company to promote and market all types of off-road recreational vehicles, including snowmobiles, ATV’s, and personal watercraft. Bruce is an active board member with the Alaska State Snowmobile Association and the Alaska Snowmobile Representatives Alliance, promoting winter recreational tourism and trail access opportunities. He is a member of the Sno-Trac advisory board. Bruce is one of the founding members of Alaska Trails and has a keen interest in promoting trail development and protection throughout the state.

Jim Vorderstrasse - Barrow

Jim grew up in Lebanon, Oregon where he attended school at Lebanon High School and Linn Benton Community College.  He started at center on the basketball team for both Lebanon and Linn Benton.  He was drafted in the spring of 71 not by the NBA but by the US Army.  He was spared Vietnam by President Nixon when Nixon made the order that no new recruits were to be sent to Vietnam.  He was sent to Ft. Wainwright, in Fairbanks, where he was introduced to XC skiing and midnight bicycle rides.    
Jim came to Barrow in May of 73 fresh out of a stint in the US Army where he was a personnel specialist.  He went to work for Pacific Architects and Engineers who were running the maintenance of the Naval Arctic Research Lab.  Jim later served as Personnel Manager for that firm and was introduced to his future wife, Edith, by James Dalton of Dalton highway fame.  Jim later managed the Alaska Dept of Labor Manpower Center.  In 1975 Jim built a home for Edith and him and started Border Ventures, a building construction business, which they ran for 20 years.    In 1995 he succumbed to midlife crises and ran for Mayor of Barrow and much to his surprise as well as many others he was elected.  Jim served two terms and now still dabbles in property management as well as working for the North Slope Borough Savaat Center, a clearing center for employment and training, as the Employer Liaison.

Jim has been a .....
Past member of the Lions club
Past president of the Chamber of Commerce
Past president of the Toastmasters
Past member of the Barrow City Council
2 term (6 years) Mayor of Barrow
Past president of the KBRW Board of Directors
Past president of the Arctic Development Council
Appointed by Governor Knowles to the statewide TRAAK board (state trails)
Current board member of Alaska-Trails
Current board member of KBRW and vice president
Current advisory board member for Alaska Public Radio show “AK”
Current chairman of City of Barrow Taxi Cab Commission
Lifetime member of the League of American Bicyclists
Coach of little Dribblers basketball program
Avid recumbent cyclist
Cross-country skier and ski-jourer
Traction kite enthusiast with XC skies
Cancer survivor
Husband, father, and grandfather.

Howard Davis

I retired from banking in 1989 and shortly there after joined the Caribou Hills Cabin Hoppers. I have helped the club obtain numerous grants for trail improvement and grooming equipment. The club now has some of the best trail grooming equipment in the state. I am very active in maintaining our grooming equipment and trail improvment in the Caribou Hills Recreation area. The current effort is bridges across streams and dedicated easements for the trails. In 2001 received the Governors TRAAK award for Excellence.

Erin Whipple - Kodiak

Erin spent the majority of her childhood in North Pole, where her love of all things outdoors initially developed.  Despite wanderings to Kansas, Montana, and Wyoming, Alaska was always home and she had always had a strong desire to return.  In 2001, after receiving a degree in Abused Land Rehabilitation from Montana State University and marrying and starting a family in Wyoming, her wish to return to Alaska materialized with a move to Kodiak Island. 

Erin’s work with trails began almost immediately upon her return to Alaska when she went to work for the Kodiak Island Borough Community Development Department.  There she was asked to work with the recently revitalized Parks and Recreation Committee, a task she relished despite its challenges.  In 2005 she took the job of assistant manager of lands and natural resources for Koniag, Inc, the Kodiak area’s regional native corporation.  There she inherited the initial Portage Trail hardening project, which involved working with a multitude of state and federal agencies to harden 700 feet of severely degraded trail.  That was the beginning of a true addiction to on-the-ground trail work. 

Erin became a founding board member and president of Island Trails Network, Kodiak’s local non-profit trail organization, in 2006 as well as co-advisor of Kodiak’s newly formed chapter of Future Farmers of America (FFA).  She continues to work on hardening the remainder of Portage Trail as well as other trail work around the island.  Her primary interests are in damaged trail restoration and education to promote sustainable trails. 

Trails play an important role not only in Erin’s life, but in that of her husband Wes and daughter Tessa.  All three enjoy the trails of Kodiak through motorized and non-motorized use. 

Lindsay Winkler - Homer
Past-President

Lindsay Winkler was born and raised in Central Ohio and has degrees in Environmental Studies and Natural Resource Management. Lindsay’s passion for the outdoors has been expressed most recently in her work on the Caribou Lake Trail, a 7.5 mile trail project east of Homer (www.homerswcd.org). She enjoys skiing, entering the world of clip-in shoes on her mountain bike, discovering the usefulness of ATVs, and growing tomato plants taller than her. She is the owner of her own business, Homeostasis Consulting, and currently has a long-term program management contract with the Homer Soil and Water Conservation District. As a board member for Alaska Trails, Lindsay brings experience in trail design & management, grant writing, facilitation, and program management and coordination.

Ken Pendleton - Anchorage
Board Member
 
From 1976 to 1990, Ken served as the principal and founding partner of the Landscape Architectural firm Land Design North. Ken was responsible for the design and construction of many trails in Anchorage, and park design for approximately 75 parks in Anchorage.

Ken then worked as 1991 - 2002 a Landscape Architect with National Park Service (AK Regional Office) from 1991-2002. Ken's duties and accomplishments included planning, design and construction of park facilities throughout Alaska, including major trail design and relocation of the Chilkoot Trail in Skagway, also new trail reconn. and layout for new trails in Kobuk Sand Dunes in Northwest Alaska. He completed the 'first' concept master plan for Kincaid park before transfer from the military to the MOA, on behalf ot the Nordic Ski Club.

An Alaska resident since 1975, Ken is an ardent trail supporter and user.