Outdoor Alliance Board of Directors
KATHERINE TSAI, CHAIR
Katherine Tsai is an attorney in Silicon Valley, where she tackles the climate crisis with her colleagues on weekdays and soaks up the California outdoors on weekends. She currently serves as a lawyer at Watershed Technology, Inc., an enterprise sustainability platform that helps companies measure, report, and reduce their carbon emissions. She loves rock climbing, hiking, and camping. Katherine also serves on the boards of Peninsula Open Space Trust and Sustainable Learning.
CHAD NELSEN, VICE CHAIR
Chad is the CEO of the Surfrider Foundation, the world’s largest grassroots coastal and ocean conservation organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves and beaches. Chad Nelsen is a seasoned coastal and ocean conservation leader who works at the intersection of advocacy, ocean recreation, and grassroots organizing to confront some of our most pressing challenges including climate change, plastic pollution and poor water quality. Chad enjoys surfing, hiking, mountain biking, climbing, and snowboarding with his family.
TOM VOGL, TREASURER
Since 2016, Tom has served as the CEO of The Mountaineers, one of the leading outdoor education and conservation organizations in the US. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition and has served on the board of directors of The REI Foundation and the Chief Seattle Council of Boy Scouts of America. Prior to joining The Mountaineers, Tom had more than 25 years of general management, e-commerce and marketing leadership with organizations such as REI, Dell, Redfin and The Clymb. In addition to being an avid climber, backcountry skier, and cyclist, Tom volunteers with The Mountaineers as an avalanche education and climbing instructor.
BRIAN JOYNER, SECRETARY
Brian Joyner is a resource management professional with extensive experience in public history, engaging communities, working collaboratively with internal and external partners, and managing complex projects. He currently serves as Deputy Superintendent for Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC. Since 2000, Joyner has worked for the National Park Service. During his tenure, he has researched diverse and underserved communities as related to historic preservation and public history, served as management assistant to a regional director and to the Deputy Director of the NPS, and has been acting superintendent at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park. Prior to working with the National Mall, Joyner was one of the two 2015-2016 Bevinetto Fellows for the NPS, serving on the House of Representatives’ Natural Resources Committee.
LUTHER PROPST
Luther Propst lives in Jackson, Wyoming and serves as an elected county commissioner in Teton County, 97% of which is public lands. A natural resource lawyer and land use planner by training, Propst founded the Sonoran Institute in 1991 and served as executive director until 2012, where he helped communities around the West protect local resources and better manage growth and change. Propst also serves on the board of the George B. Storer Foundation and has served on the boards of several national and regional conservation organizations.
LINDSEY DAVIS
Lindsey is the Director of Conservation and Advocacy at SITKA Gear. In addition to serving on the board of directors for the Outdoor Alliance, she is a founding board member of the Utah Wildlife Federation, the author of Modern Huntsman’s column , ‘A Guide To the Modern Wild,’ and a member of the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation’s Advisory Committee. Lindsey is passionate about uniting different outdoor user groups around issues of access, wildlife habitat and conservation.
JENNI HENRY
Jenni Henry is the Director of Donor Engagement at the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation. Prior to NFWF, she spent 10 years heading up Development at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. Jenni has 20 years of nonprofit fund development experience and is an active member of the D.C. chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In her spare time, Jenni coaches a Special Olympics swim team and sings with a D.C.-area choir. Jenni enjoys hiking, swimming, bike riding, cooking, and traveling, and loves to see and enjoy as much of the outdoors as possible. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
BEN GABRIEL
Ben is a leader in conservation and outdoor recreation advocacy, currently serving as the Executive Director of the American Alpine Club. He has played a pivotal role in achieving significant milestones in habitat conservation, public land protection, and fostering sustainable recreational opportunities. His focus on collaboration to forge strategic partnerships earned him a reputation as a trusted and effective leader in the conservation and Outdoor Recreation community.
ANNELIESE STEEL
Anneliese Steel is the Senior Director of Public Affairs for Colorado Concern, an executive alliance committed to protecting and enhancing the Centennial state's business economy. She manages a robust policy portfolio, including issue research, legislative drafting, and lobbying. Prior to her work at Colorado Concern, Anneliese was in the Outdoor Industry representing the Access Fund and the Colorado Outward Bound School. She has a background in fundraising and marketing. Anneliese currently serves as Chair of the Fix CRUS Coalition, an Advocacy Committee member of the Boulder Climbing Community, a Leadership Team member of the Colorado Inclusive Economy, and as a Luncheon Committee member of the Women's Foundation of Colorado. Anneliese is a weekend warrior who enjoys rafting, hiking, mountain biking, trail running, and rock climbing.
DAVID PAGE
David is the Executive Director of Winter Wildlands Alliance, a national nonprofit Alliance of backcountry skiers, splitboarders, snowshoers and other human-powered winter recreationists working to protect America's wild snowscapes. Based in Mammoth Lakes, California, he has also served as Senior Policy Advisor for Outdoor Alliance California. He has been a national award-winning journalist, a former Senior Correspondent for Powder Magazine, and a finalist for a 2015 National Magazine Award for his work on decision-making in avalanche terrain.
LINDSAY KNIGHT
Lindsay is an applied social impact geek with over ten years of leadership experience in: strategic planning, systems change, and capacity building; youth and community engagement; bridging divides between closed social networks; applied research; pilot program design, scaling, and evaluation; and all things bikes and outdoors. She has two decades of experience spanning grassroots community non-profits, multinational private sector firms, and academic and policy-adjacent institutions. Her niche area of expertise is creating ways for public, non-profit, philanthropic, and private sector stakeholders to discover and achieve collective ends—and figuring out how to design and embed equity practices within organizational structures. She is currently the Executive Vice President of Social Impact at Blue Star Families, and oversees a portfiolo of work that encompases: Applied Research and Evaluation, Policy, Workforce Development, Outdoors, Museums, Inclusion and Racial Equity, Suicide Prevention, Early Childhood Literacy, Caregiver Support, digital transformation and zero entry community engagement. She has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago, with an area focus on civic responsibility, democratic theory, institutional change, and mixed-methods research.
BETH SPILMAN
The ACA Board of Directors appointed Beth Spilman as interim Executive Director on May 29, 2019. Ms. Spilman has spent most of her career as a marketing and operations executive with financial services firms, including American Financial Group and General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC). Most recently, she spent 10 years leading a privately-held mortgage bank through a period of explosive growth. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and earned an MBA from UVA’s Darden School of Business.