About Us

Taking Action to Save Oregon’s Trails

Over the course of 2019, TKO underwent an update to our 10-year plan, special thanks to our TKO board, volunteers and staff during that time who helped bring together that original document.

In 2023, the TKO Board, staff and their committees recognized that many objectives set in the plan developed in 2019 were being met and surpassed. We also recognized that the COVID-19 global pandemic and social justice challenges that followed changed our approach to a number of activities and our role in steering change in Oregon. From March 2023 through January 2024, Board committees and staff focused on the Impact Goal Area pages within the plan and asked the questions of:

  • What objectives within our current Impact Goal Areas have been met and how can we refresh a larger goal?
  • Are those objectives still relevant after so much change since the global pandemic?
  • Are there more clear ways to share new initiatives to be included in the plan?

Existing committees on Stewardship, Advocacy, Communications and Executive refreshed strategic impacts and objectives pages and our new committees DEI and Fundraising established completely new Impact Goal Areas with corresponding objectives. We are now happy to share a newly adopted update to the plan approved in January 2024:

TKO Strategic Plan 2020-2030
2020 LBers Hover Photos-09
2020 LBers Hover Photos-05

Volunteer Based

Today, almost all trails on our public lands are now maintained by volunteers. From team building events, to trail parties, and organizing behind the scenes, there’s a way everyone can help.

Get Involved

How We Work

We begin with maintenance and stewardship projects that preserve current trails, with the idea that we’re not willing to lose another trail to neglect.

Our Mission

Long Term Goal

We’re also committed to restoring proper funding and renewing public agency interest in trails for all the proven benefits they provide for the public.

Advocacy

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Feet of Trail Maintained in 2023

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Stewardship Event Days in 2023

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Volunteers in 2023

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In Kind Value of Volunteer Time

People & Partners

As a Trailkeepers of Oregon supporter, you’re helping ensure that our sacred outdoor spaces are protected and maintained for years to come.

Our Staff

Steve Kruger

Steve Kruger

Executive Director

Steve has worked in parks and natural areas for nearly 20 years, around San Francisco, Milwaukee, WI, and across Oregon – connecting people to nature is integral to his passion. Prior to TKO, he served 10 years with Oregon State Parks, spending his last 2 years with the Gorge State Parks management team. As TKO’s first staff person in July 2017, Steve accepted the challenge of moving from a volunteer-led organization to a statewide effort with staff support of Oregon’s trails. Being driven by people-power, the proof of success is in the smiling faces found in the TKO staff directory and the thousands of volunteers they support each day – at more and more scenic sites across the state.

Natalie Ferraro

Nat Ferraro

Engagement Manager

A life long Cascadian, Nat grew up hiking, camping, and climbing trees in Southwest Washington. They earned their degree in Environmental Science from Washington State University and have worked in outdoor recreation and education since 2012. Nat joined Trailkeepers of Oregon as a staff person in 2018 and in addition to helping out with all of TKO’s volunteer and fundraising programs, they also manage the Trail Ambassador Network. Trails are Nat’s passion so when they’re not working on TKO projects, you just might find them out bike-packing or trail running.

Lindsay McIntosh-Tolle

Stewardship Manager

Lindsay comes to TKO with a 20 year background in guiding, outdoor education, and community engagement work. Her passion centers on helping people find their own personal connections to the outdoors, firmly believing that this is the most effective way to inspire people to advocate for and steward our natural spaces. As a lifelong Oregonian, she has a deep love for the wide variety of ecosystems accessible by trail across the state, and is thrilled to be working with TKO’s dedicated staff and volunteer teams as they support responsible stewardship of these unique landscapes.

Susan Schen

Portland Stewardship Coordinator

Susan comes to TKO having been inspired to trail work during her graduate work in ecological landscape design. Having grown up camping and hiking in the midwest, she has fallen in love with the varied and lush terrain of the Pacific NW. Leading trail crews, being a neighborhood tree steward, volunteering as a master naturalist, or helping kick off local open space conservation efforts, Susan takes every chance she can get to help maintain and preserve our outdoor spaces. She is excited to help expand TKO’s stewardship efforts across Oregon.

Josh Durham

Hood/Gorge Stewardship Coordinator

Raised in Oregon, Josh cut his teeth on the woods of Mt. Hood and the waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge.  He has spent the last four years engaged with TKO in various capacities including a season as the Gorge FS Trails Intern, and a season on the Forest Service Trail Crew in the Willamette National Forest and spearheading stewardship on the southern reaches of the Oregon Coast.

Loren Payne

Portland Engagement Coordinator

Loren comes to TKO with a passion for all things outdoors and has been relishing spending time hiking and exploring what Oregon has to offer through every season. They earned their degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Michigan and have worked in natural resource management and habitat restoration since 2018. Connecting people of all backgrounds and abilities to natural areas is the heart of Loren’s mission in environmental work and they are excited to continue this work through trail stewardship and advocacy with TKO.

Vito Perrone

Saw Program Coordinator

Vito’s introduction to the trails and saw world began in 2009, with a Student Conservation Association pilot program in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. A passion for stewardship has taken him to Rocky Mountain National Park, Biscayne National Park and the Sonoran Desert National Monument. In 2015, life and work brought Vito to the Mt. Hood National Forest. Here he has found a variety of opportunities and partnerships through the Forest Service, non-profits, and concessionaires. Keeping his saw tuned and eyes on the trails, he’s excited to join TKO.

Trevor Bradford

South Coast Stewardship Coordinator

Trevor grew up in New England and started his stewardship journey working for his hometown’s local conservation department. He received an Environmental Science degree from the University of North Carolina Wilmington before diving into the world of Wildland Fire. He fought fires across the United States and traveled the world during his off-seasons for many years. As a new addition to the TKO team, he looks forward to helping people from all walks of life enjoy their coastal forest resources.

Carl Bohacek

North Coast Stewardship Coordinator

Carl’s passion for trail building began in rural Minnesota building ad hoc mountain bike trails in and around his hometown. Through countless volunteer work sessions, miles of more thoroughly planned trails, and support from the vibrant midwestern outdoors community, Carl began working at Conservation Corps MN’s Summer Youth Corps. At SYC he worked with and led young adult and youth crews in 2020 and 2021. After graduating college in December 2021, with a degree in Environmental Studies and a Race and Ethnic Studies Concentration, Carl drove his minivan to the PNW and has been working outdoors since (excluding a brief wintertime stint as a morning pastry baker).  Carl is passionate about increasing accessibility and inclusivity in outdoor spaces at a time when we need them more than ever.

Noelle Windesheim

Central Coast Stewardship Coordinator

Noelle grew up in Colorado, starting her stewardship journey volunteering for the local nature center and finding her passion for community engagement through working in the mailroom of her university. She received a BA in Organizational and Strategic Communication from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She further expanded her excitement for stewardship and community engagement by moving to Alaska to work at Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve where she built and developed their volunteer program. Noelle comes to TKO with an adventurous spirit, joy, and a dedication for serving her community and is thrilled to become a part of the central coast of Oregon.

Steven Moore

Office Manager

Born and raised in eastern Iowa, Steven brings five years of experience in providing administrative support to Oregon nonprofits, as well as a background in communications, editing, and database management. He’s an avid trail user and is excited to support TKO’s efforts to help people access Oregon’s natural spaces. In his free time, he enjoys writing, running, and exploring the outdoors.

Current Interns

Past Interns

Kat Mergens

TKO + WTA Columbia Gorge User Made Trails Assessment Intern

Colton Biesley

Santiam Trails Intern

Riley McManus

Gorge FS Trails Intern

Kayla Miles

TKO + WTA Columbia Gorge User Made Trails Assessment Intern

Jasmine Morrow

Santiam Trails Intern

Karen Cheney

Karen Cheney

Gorge State Parks Trails Intern

Tyler Riccatone

Santiam Trails Intern

Emily VanCleve

Gorge FS Trails Intern

Josh Durham

Josh Durham

Gorge FS Trails Intern

Jonathan Bennett

South Coast Trails Intern

Our Board

Vicente Harrison

President

Vicente rose from part-time, park ranger to his appointment in 2018 to lead the program as Portland Parks & Recreation’s Security and Emergency Manager. He holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies-psychology from Concordia University and is an accomplished author of a children’s book called My Nature Exploration. When he’s not working, he enjoys exploring Oregon with his wife Rachel, son Vicente II, and daughter Harper – on a trail or with a pair of binoculars as an avid hiker and bird watcher.

Maya Agarwal

Past President

Maya Agarwal is a parks planner with Portland Parks & Recreation, and her favorite way to interact with nature is to get out on a trail hike. She is eager to bring to the TKO Board her experience coordinating regularly with trail planners and land management agencies in the region. Her experience includes strategic planning, feasibility studies, trail planning alignment studies, and trail route alternative analysis. She is also a landscape architect with many years’ experience in both the public and private sectors, with a professional and personal commitment to public space planning, design, and preservation efforts.

Pablo Medina

Treasurer

Katie Vaughan

Secretary

Katie grew up in Idaho where she enjoyed camping, hiking, fishing, and rafting all over the Northwest. After moving to Portland in 2010, she worked as a freelance writer, a bookseller at Powell’s Books, and eventually made her way to marketing and project management.

Curtis Barnard, Jr.

Board Member

Curtis is a once Project Manager turned Software Engineer who loves spending time outdoors. When not in front of a computer screen you can find him hiking, fishing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, or picking up trash outdoors. His parents took him hiking and camping often as a child helping to install a sense of wonder and stewardship for diverse ecosystems. While at TKO he hopes to bring his technical abilities to create a more inclusive digital experience for those interested in Oregon’s trails.

Tom Kloster

Tom Kloster

Board Member

Tom is a founding member and past board president of TKO. He has served in a variety of other board positions over the years in helping get TKO established. Tom grew up in Oregon and has been hiking since he learned to walk, thanks to an outdoors-oriented family life. He’s passionate about giving today’s young families the same amazing experiences he had growing up.

Kate Harbour

Board Member

Eric Montes

Board Member

Eric’s parents moved to Oregon when he was just two years old, so he considers himself an Oregonian even though he was born in California. As Eric got older – and after many road trips to LA from Eugene – he started to develop a deep appreciation for the beauty of Oregon and its abundance of publicly accessible land. That access and the ability to explore the diverse environments across Oregon has been a fundamental aspect of Eric’s life and personal growth. This is why he chose to become a board member. He hopes his work on the board can help others foster a similar appreciation and connection to the outdoor world. When Eric isn’t busy working as a city planner for the City of Corvallis, you can find him enjoying the outdoors hiking, biking, disc golfing, rock hounding, climbing or on a walk his dog, Harrison.

Ingry Thurow

Board Member

Jessica Carrillo Alatorre

Board Member

Jessica Carrillo Alatorre is the Executive Director of OutGrown (formerly Hike it Baby), a national, community led nonprofit she has helped build from the ground up over the last decade with the goal of helping families of all kinds spend more time outside together. She lives with her husband, two daughters, and four generations of family under one roof. Growing up on the Oregon coast, Jessica spent a lot of her youth outdoors, falling in love with nature. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Management and Organizational Leadership from George Fox University. She is committed to building a future where the outdoors is a welcoming, accessible space for all families to enjoy, regardless of their identity or ability and that the definition of outdoorsy isn’t limited to one type of person with specific gear engaging in specific ways. It is her belief that by building towards a more welcoming and inclusive vision of the outdoors, we can work towards a world where more people have the opportunity to fall in love with nature from birth and grow into people who work to protect the natural wonders of this planet we are all a part of.

Duncan Reid

Board Member

Duncan joined the TKO board in 2023 in order to support outdoor experiences for future generations of Oregonians. He grew up exploring the majestic beauty of the PNW while backpacking, camping, and hiking the many trails on our public lands. His love of the outdoors inspired a career devoted to sustainability and regenerative practices. Duncan holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy and a master’s degree in Regenerative Economics. Duncan served as the sustainability coordinator for Linfield College for many years before transitioning to focus on regenerative farming and land management. Currently, Duncan is the Operations Director for the Westwind Stewardship Group, a non-profit that runs an outdoor education camp on the Oregon Coast. Duncan still enjoys backpacking and hiking all over the PNW with his pup, Rya.

John Hilbert

Board Member

John moved to Oregon in 2006 and quickly thereafter became enamored with its rugged mountains, dense forests, and wild rivers. He began his career with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department in 2008 and currently works as the Trails Ranger at Silver Falls State Park. He holds an Associate’s Degree in forestry from Mount Hood Community College and through the years has constructed bridges, viewpoints and repaired and maintained countless miles of beloved state park trails. He first began his relationship with TKO in 2016 as a volunteer as well as a liaison and coordinator for work parties within Oregon State Parks.

Bonnie Henderson

Board Member

Bonnie grew up in Portland in a hiking family. Now living in Eugene and semi-retired from a career in journalism, she continues to be an avid hiker and backpacker. She has authored two nonfiction books and three hiking guides for Mountaineers Books, including most recently Hiking the Oregon Coast Trail. She is also passionate about conservation and is an active volunteer with North Coast Land Conservancy. She is excited to be working with TKO to improve the sustainability of trail maintenance and construction efforts on the Oregon Coast and across the state and to work with others who share her passion for nature and for making self-propelled outdoor recreation more accessible and rewarding for all kinds of people.

Ginny Sorensen

Board Member

Originally hailing from behind the Redwood Curtain on the north coast of California, Ginny Sorensen has called Oregon home for nearly 25 years. She joined her first TKO Trail Party in 2021 and went on that year to become a certified sawyer and an assistant crew leader. When not out on the trails hiking and cross-country skiing, Ginny oversees the organizational change management program at Columbia Sportswear Company. Before her current career adventure, she worked for a statewide non-profit for over a decade developing and managing nutrition and garden education programs in partnership with organizations around the state. Her favorite outdoor destination in Oregon is the Wallowas.

Russ Plaeger

Board Member

Russ started doing trail work in 1972 on the trail crew in Acadia National Park, later finishing his Masters in Forest Recreation Management. Russ became the Forest Service trails & recreation program manager in the Wind River valley in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, building an active volunteer trail maintenance program that worked in tandem with the USFS trail crew he supervised. He spent 20 years as a program staff member or executive director of environmental organizations including 5 years with Bark in Portland. He was a founding board member of an all-volunteer group that successfully advocated to get the Oregon legislature to increase public school funding statewide. Russ became a TKO volunteer in late 2017 and was an assistant crew leader for trail parties in the Eagle Creek fire area and Coast Range. You can often find him in the forest, hiking or cross-country skiing, doing trail maintenance or gardening.

Our Advisory Council

Christina Taylor

Board Advisor

Shasta Zielke

Board Advisor

Jaime English

Board Advisor

Nova Miranda

Board Advisor

Claudio Berstein

Board Advisor

Elaine Keavney

Elaine Keavney

Board Advisor

Kendra Manton

Board Advisor

Megan Zabel Holmes

Megan Zabel Holmes

Board Member

Wendy Gorton

Board Member

Schuyler Warren

Schuyler Warren

Board Member

Paul Gerald

Paul Gerald

Board Advisor

Curtis Smith

Board Advisor

Maegan Jossy

Board Advisor

Cody Simmonds

Cody Simmonds

Board Advisor

Cheryl Hill

Board Advisor

Emily Swensen

Emily Swensen

Board Advisor

John Sparks

Board Advisor

Jamie Chabot

Jamie Chabot

Board Advisor

Jane Garbisch

Jane Garbisch

Board Advisor

Renee Tkach

Renee Tkach

Board Advisor

Alex Brown

Alex Brown

Board Advisor

Ron Northway

Ron Northway

Board Advisor

Ryan Ojerio

Ryan Ojerio

Board Advisor

Dan Porter

Dan Porter

Board Advisor

Jeff Statt

Jeff Statt

Board Advisor

Cindy Lee

Cindy Lee

Board Advisor

Tom Helmer

Tom Helmer

Board Advisor

Jeff Lawton

Jeff Lawton

Board Advisor

Terry Donahe

Board Advisor

Want to Get Involved?

Email volunteers@trailkeepersoforegon.org for more information on TKO programs. Or contact us at:

Trailkeepers of Oregon
P.O. Box 14814
Portland, Oregon 97293
(971) 206-4351

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