Staff

Mike took the helm as IMBA's executive director in October 2004. With over 25 years of nonprofit leadership, Mike brings a depth of experience in association management, from advocacy and lobbying, to fundraising and volunteer development. Mike was most recently the national vice president of the American Diabetes Association, where he lead the rollout of the highly successful Team Diabetes marathon training and fundraising campaign, as well as several affiliate based cycling events. An outdoor enthusiast, Mike enjoys it all -- including mountain biking, running, hiking, camping, skiing, snowshoeing and canoeing.

For the better part of a decade, Kelly and Collins have called Chattanooga, Tennessee, home. In that time, they've seen their little town become one of the Southeast's mountain bike epicenters. Not only that, they've played lead roles in developing the area's riding opportunities. Both have served in various capacities for SORBA-Chattanooga, most notably as Program Directors. Also, Kelly has developed a wildly successful women's cycling program through Scenic City Velo club, called Krystal Chiks. Besides their extensive activity with local advocacy, Kelly and Collins both have honed their professional skills with significant experiences in the bicycle industry and in the corporate world. We're happy to have convinced them to take off their monkey suits and hit the road with the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew program.

Patti's hiring reflects IMBA's expanded emphasis on events and on-the-ground opportunities to energize the mountain biking community. She has a background in journalism, including writing and production positions with "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" and ABC News. Her event planning experience includes stints as the production manager for the Telluride Film Festival, as coordinating producer for HDNet. Bonnet recently visited southern Sudan, where she produced and directed a film about local Sudanese "lost boy" refugees. She holds a Masters Degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins.

James has been IMBA's webmaster since 2000. He has led the effort to make IMBA.com a comprehensive, user-friendly resource for mountain bike advocates while growing it to over 3,200 documents. At his day job, James serves as the University Webmaster at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas where he's becoming a pretty good kayaker, too. He has been mountain biking since 1991, building trail almost as long and authored a very successful trail guide for Ohio.

Rich joined IMBA in 2007. He recently served as the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center's executive director for 11 years. During that time, he worked closely with the Town of Breckenridge, Vail Resorts and the Forest Service, on open space, trail development and recreation planning, and also founded the Breckenridge Crest Mountain Marathon. A former guide in South America and Outward Bound course director, Rich loves teaching his two young kids about the outdoors and seeks every opportunity to get out and explore.

Jenn joined IMBA in June 2001 and directs IMBA's national public lands advocacy efforts. Jenn previously worked as a political lobbyist and press director. She is an avid mountain biker who competes annually in the ultra-distance Leadville Trail 100. She also enjoys snowboarding and good espresso.

Tammy keeps IMBA HQ running by handling key bookkeeping, human resources, banking and office management duties. A former professional downhill racer from Northern California, Tammy enjoys it all on two wheels - from BMX to freeriding.

Rich is a nationally respected trail design expert who developed his skills during three years as a leader of the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew. Rich has assessed, designed, constructed and maintained trails in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Wales, Scotland and England.

Mark creates electronic and print publications to help spread the word about IMBA's various projects. His background is in magazine publishing -- he was Senior Editor of Ski Racing magazine before joining IMBA in spring '05. Mark competes in adventure races, road and off-road triathlons, endurance-oriented mountain bike races and all manner of foot races.

Scott leads IMBA's Ride Centers initiative; facilitating partnerships and providing project management. He is an experienced trail designer, advocate and a seasoned non-profit fundraiser. Scott graduated from California Polytechnic State University where he met his wife, Lisse. When not remodeling his Boulder home or playing pit boss at Lissešs 24-hour races, Scott enjoys mountain biking, racing cyclocross, coaching water polo, and sipping java porter at the local pub.

Joey spent three years as a leader of the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew. Since 2002, Joey has worked as a trail specialist - a position that enables him to share his exceptional trailbuilding skills with trail groups and land managers worldwide. He spends his free time surfing and skiing in destinations across the globe.

Anna Laxague and Jason Wells hail from the Pacific Northwest (Laxague is from Truckee, CA and Wells is from Port Angeles, WA). They bring a unique combination of professional experience to the program -- both have worked as school teachers and as guides in a variety of outdoor endeavors including mountain biking, climbing, kayaking and rafting. They're also committed volunteers who have logged hundreds of hours building trails and performing outreach work with a host of public agencies. They worked as a team running a kayaking school in Hood River, OR, and will hopefully find some time to paddle a few rivers on their way around the country, in addition to riding as many trails as possible.

A four-year veteran of the IMBA team, Scott oversees IMBA's growing field staff and programs. He also works closely with IMBA reps and local mountain bike leaders on advocacy and trailbuilding issues. Scott has a masters degree in Environmental Management degree from Duke University. Scott is also an avid mountain biker, excellent grill chef and fisherman.

Ryan joined IMBA in February of 2008 and focuses on developing IMBAšs membership. He fell in love with mountain biking through his work with EX2 Adventures, an off-road race production company based in the Washington, D.C. area, where he was introduced to the good fellows of MORE. Ryan has a background in outdoor education and professional team development, as well as in event management. Hešs passionate about helping to build outdoor-based communities and getting himself into as many adventures as possible. He is also on a personal mission to find and punish that illusive saskwatch, which has most likely gotten into your garbage, too.

Matt came to IMBA in the fall of 2007 from the outdoor and climbing industries. A long time avid cyclist, Matt will be working closely with corporate partners and members to fly the IMBA flag proudly here in the US and abroad through events, awareness, and unique IMBA-branded products available through our store. If you need to find him, look for his wife. He is usually 20 minutes behind. When not climbing or riding, he is usually dropping a fly in any water-filled ditch larger than a tub.

Spencer coordinates two of IMBA's most visible field programs: the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew and the National Mountain Bike Patrol. Spencer is a recent transplant from Vermont, where he graduated from Saint Michael's College. He's semi-pro mountain bike racer, skier and off-road winter triathlete. His wealth of organizing experience comes from stints at Senator Patrick Leahy's office as well as at USA Cycling.

Stefan joined the IMBA staff in September of 2006, and has been ŗrocking it˛ ever since. As IMBAšs Membership Services Coordinator, Stefan is the go-to-guy for membership and product questions, customer service, database maintenance, shipping, the Subaru VIP program, mail processing, and generally getting things done. After graduating with degrees in Literature and Psychology, Stefan worked as a wild fire educator and an outdoor science teacher in California. In addition to enjoying mountain biking, he also has a good deal of trailbuilding experience, hosted his own bluegrass show on the radio, campaigned for Rock-the Vote, and enjoys backpacking, camping, and snowboarding.

Lora Woolner and Mark Schmidt are professional trail experts who retired from three years on the road as Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew leaders. Mark and Lora have been the lead instructors at more than 75 IMBA Trailbuilding Schools and have helped improve trails in more than 30 U.S. states and Canadian provinces. This dynamic duo continue their work with IMBA as coordinators of IMBA's efforts in Canada - leading trailwork sessions, meeting with government officials and land managers, and working with bike clubs and associations to improve mountain biking opportunities north of the border. Lora and Mark's professional trail design, construction, and consulting services are also available through IMBA's fee-based Trail Solutions Program. They are based in Collingwood, Ontario.

Ryan Schutz hails from Deerfield Beach, Florida, where he helped create ClubMud, an IMBA-affiliated trail maintenance, advocacy and merrymaking organization. Ryan has a Masters in Urban Planning, has a passion for trail advocacy, and is fascinated by Elvis impersonators.

Drew started his IMBA career in the summer of 2005 and is now the full-time policy analyst. Drew works primarily on federal and state public lands issues, helping to shape mountain bike-friendly policies and empower local riders to be effective advocates. He has a masters degree in resource policy and planning from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining IMBA, Drew researched and analyzed collaborative processes on state trust lands in the West and was a Forest Service timber cruiser. When not in the office, Drew can be found riding one of his many bikes, trail running, hiking, camping, or skiing.

Jill began her IMBA career in 2004 as a Trail Care Crew, with her husband, Chris. Through her travels with Trail Care Crew and since joining IMBA Trail Solutions in 2006, Jill has planned, designed, and constructed trails and educated advocates and land managers throughout the United States. Jill has a professional and educational background in Plant Biology and Environmental Studies. Through her work in habitat restoration, plant stress tolerance, botany, and water quality, she has cultivated a diverse background in natural resources that informs all of her trail consulting projects. While Jill loves to ride all kinds of bikes, whenever and wherever she can, she also finds solace in trail running and backcountry skiing

With over two decades of experience in recreation management for California State Parks, Tom leads IMBA's California Campaign to preserve and enhance mountain bike opportunities in the Golden State. He has been a champion of non-motorized recreation on California public lands for most of his life, and now lives in Sacramento.

Pete served as IMBA's Membership and Communications Director from 1998 thru 2005. An expert in many aspects of mountain biking, Pete now writes and produces various IMBA trailbuilding and advocacy resources. He served as project director for IMBA's best-selling Trail Solutions book, and is currently creating a new IMBA book focused on trail management strategies. Pete also helped launch IMBA's professional trail consulting program (called Trail Solutions) in 2002 and aided the formation of IMBA Canada in 2004. His 20 years of mountain biking experience include six years as a professional racer.