TIME TO VOTE!  

The COTA Board of Directors is comprised of 15 members: 9 at-large positions and 6 chapter representatives. In this 2020 election cycle, we have openings for 3 at-large positions, a Redmond Chapter Rep and a Sisters Chapter Rep.

On this ballot:

• Three (3) at-large board positions open
• One (1) Redmond Representative position open
• There are no nominations for the Sisters Chapter Representative

To vote:

1. Review candidates
2. Cast your votes - please vote for three (3) individuals for the at-large positions, as well as the Redmond Chapter Representative position. There are no current nominations for the Sisters Chapter Representative.
3. Enter your name, email, and COTA member confirmation.
4. Click Submit Ballot at the end

Alex Anderson

Position: Board Member at-large

Q: Please describe why are you interested in becoming a member of the COTA Board of Directors:

I want to join the Board to help COTA continue with its mission and grow its capability. COTA has done a great job making Central Oregon a great place to ride, and I want to help continue that legacy. I enjoy leading crews, doing signage, and doing training (like the trailer training I did in March). As we grow the number of volunteers who have taken stewardship training, I want to ensure that they have the skills, resources, and support to lead crews so we can grow our volunteer capacity to better maintain our trails.

Q: Describe your experience serving on a Board of Directors or comparable experience:

I was a Board member of Silicon Valley Mountain Bikers from 2013 - 2015 where I led events and lobbied land managers for trail access. I have volunteered for MTB organizations since 1993, leading trail crews in Santa Cruz County and advocating for access with land managers and stakeholders.

Q: Please note any experience you have overseeing groups of volunteers or other groups of people:

Professionally, I have managed teams of up to 20 people in the Engineering field. I have led trail work groups of up to 15 people in Santa Cruz and smaller groups in Central Oregon.

Q: Describe any experience you have in trail design, construction and maintenance including safety, education, stewardship, public outreach, and advocacy:

I have spent many hours maintaining trails, about 50 hours building new trails in Santa Cruz, and I have a small amount of trail design experience on 2 trails. Here in Central Oregon, I worked on crews building Ticket to Ride, Voodoo Child, the Sunriver trails, and the new COD alignment. I started doing extensive signage in 2019 in the Phil’s network and the Swampy trails. I attended COTA’s trail steward training in 2018 and I did over 60 hours of work my first year and over 190 hours in 2019. I have organized citizen groups advocating for beach access in Santa Cruz County and spent many hours in public meetings advocating for trail access for MTB riders in both Santa Cruz County and Santa Clara County before I moved to Bend.

Q: Describe any other skills that you may bring as a member of the Board of Directors (ex. financial, GIS, etc):

I have managed budgets up to $5 million in both up and down economies and have run my own business. I have many years of experience building teams and mentoring. I also have over 20 years of project management experience. I’m a strategic thinker and capable at long term planning. And, more than anything, I really like to see people enjoy their time in nature.

Q: Please indicate if you may have a possible Conflict of Interest (COI) for being on the Board. This will not omit you from the pool of candidates, but we need to make it known to the public. For example, you could have a conflict of interest if you have a financial stake in a business that could profit from COTA’s activities or if you hold an elected political office.

No conflicts

Andrew Galbraith

Position: Board Member at-large

Q: Please describe why are you interested in becoming a member of the COTA Board of Directors:

I have been a passionate mountain biker for the last 25 years and seriously involved in MTB advocacy for the last 6 years. I truly love the sport and I know that it doesn't just happen; the creation of good riding requires decades of dedicated advocates and trail builders to create that experience. I want to continue to give back to the riding community, especially now that I have kids starting to ride.

Q: Describe your experience serving on a Board of Directors or comparable experience:

Prior to my 2019 move to Bend I was the board president of Access4Bikes, a 527 political action committee connected to The Access4Bikes Foundation. Together these groups are the advocates for MTB access in Marin County CA, the birthplace for Mountain biking, and one of the hardest places to gain new trails. I worked to connect our riding community and engage with local land managers and elected officials to influence new trail projects.

Q: Please note any experience you have overseeing groups of volunteers or other groups of people:

Our organization directed volunteer efforts in several ways. We did trail works days, put on events, and encouraged volunteers to attend public meetings and lobby elected officials. (almost all Marin riding is on county and state lands). My role was mostly in the latter, coordinating with our members to attend meetings and contact officials and land managers.I also wrote communication (email, social media posts) to our members for volunteer actions.

Q: Describe any experience you have in trail design, construction and maintenance including safety, education, stewardship, public outreach, and advocacy:

My trail design and construction experience is limited to being a laborer on trail work days as builds were led by county crews, but I want the opportunity to learn more. I was involved in the planning process with land managers to help advocate for the best trail experience for bikes on multi-use trails.

Q: Describe any other skills that you may bring as a member of the Board of Directors (ex. financial, GIS, etc):

I don't have any specific skills to list here. I covered my experience on other boards in MTB advocacy, but no GIS, Accounting, Irish Dance or other really useful specialties.

Q: Please indicate if you may have a possible Conflict of Interest (COI) for being on the Board. This will not omit you from the pool of candidates, but we need to make it known to the public. For example, you could have a conflict of interest if you have a financial stake in a business that could profit from COTA’s activities or if you hold an elected political office.

No conflicts of interest.

Cody Gardner

Position: Board Member at-large

Q: Please describe why are you interested in becoming a member of the COTA Board of Directors:

I have been part of the bike community here for almost a decade, but I haven't been able to give back with my time as much as I would have liked to. I am now in a place where I do have the time and I would like to dive right in with my commitment and help shape Central Oregon's trail network and bike community. With my background in recreation planning, GIS, and my work in the bike industry for Pine Mountain Sports, I feel I can contribute to the Board from both a trails and engagement perspective. I have had the opportunity to mountain bike around the world and am familiar with how other trail associations are planning their trail networks and growing as organizations, and I think we as COTA can draw inspiration from these burgeoning organizations to keep on progressing our trail network.

Q: Describe your experience serving on a Board of Directors or comparable experience:

I do not have any experience as an acting Board member, but I am willing and able to spend the time to learn the ropes and offer a fresh perspective. This has been my first opportunity to join a Board and I am consciously applying for this organization's Board given the importance of its work to me and my immediate community.

Q: Please note any experience you have overseeing groups of volunteers or other groups of people:

I have significant management experience in the outdoor industry - adventure tourism, emergency response, and outdoor retail. Although my positions as a supervisor have not always included supervising volunteers I am very aware of the value and passion that volunteers provide to this type of effort. I have always, and will continue to, try to make the importance of the people I work with apparent to them and make sure that they are also deriving value from the work they are doing.

Q: Describe any experience you have in trail design, construction and maintenance including safety, education, stewardship, public outreach, and advocacy:

I have an academic background in Recreation Planning with a working knowledge of GIS and mapping and an understanding of what goes into efforts to coordinate with entities that COTA collaborates with (municipalities, USFS, BLM, etc.). I have volunteered for COTA trail works days and have played around with building trails on private land, really enjoying the experimentation with different designs and the learning process. As a Pine Mountain Sports employee I am involved in some of the local events that support public outreach and stewardship of our local trail system. Additionally, in my former life I was boat captain in Alaska, Hawaii, and Mexico for small boat adventure cruising. This work was primarily about safety and education on the culture and wildlife for the places we visited and I can bring those skills to this position.

Q: Describe any other skills that you may bring as a member of the Board of Directors (ex. financial, GIS, etc):

I have some mapping and GIS skills and enjoy working with the program.

Q: Please indicate if you may have a possible Conflict of Interest (COI) for being on the Board. This will not omit you from the pool of candidates, but we need to make it known to the public. For example, you could have a conflict of interest if you have a financial stake in a business that could profit from COTA’s activities or if you hold an elected political office.

I do not have any financial or other conflicts of interest, although I am an employee at Pine Mountain Sports in Bend.

Emma Maaranen

Position: Board Member at-large

Q: Please describe why are you interested in becoming a member of the COTA Board of Directors:

As an active member of the local bike community and avid used of the local trails I would like to give back and get more involved with support, vision, etc..... to ensure that the Local trails and bike community are carefully and creatively managed.

Bends extensive trail system is moving into a maintenance focus as other Central Oregon communities are expanding their systems. I want to ensure our trails meet the needs of all riders and user groups. This does not mean all trails are ideal for every user, but that there are trails for novice riders, advanced riders, ability groups such as hand-bikers, and of course visitors to our trail systems.

• I would like to see challenging terrain sustained by designating black diamond lines and a green or blue line, or similar solutions to keep the stoke high for all riders. Increasing and rehabbing signage at trailheads and on trails will help users make educated ride choice decisions.
• I would also like to see increased community pride and stewardship of our trails. I am interested in Adopt-A-Trail programs where groups of people organize trail care and experience gratitude for their stewardship efforts.
• And parties! Central Oregon is special, and our MTB community is amazing. Let’s bring the community together more with a few fund-raising events such as Bike Prom.

Q: Describe your experience serving on a Board of Directors or comparable experience:

• As a co-founder of the KS Kenda Women’s Elite Professional MTB Team I have had the opportunity to develop the vision and more importantly do the heavy lifting of realizing the vision. In this role I am responsible to raise and allocate funding, organizing events, media relations, and athlete management. I am actively involved in the professional MTB racing community and have built many contacts and relationships.
• As the CEO of Focus Bodywork I was responsible for all aspects of business development. This included strategy development, Infrastructure, budget management, team management, and being the public face of the company.

Q: Please note any experience you have overseeing groups of volunteers or other groups of people:

• In my role as an instructor at COCC, I oversee curriculum development and implementation in my courses, ensure hands-on education is accessible and relevant while sustaining cohesiveness within a diverse learning population, and work with the greater department to create a symbiotic program for faculty and students.
• I successfully started and grew a business over 15 years and grew from a 1 person show to a thriving multi person organization that is thriving to this day.
• I develop and implement MTB skill clinics as a coach with Wenzel Coaching. These groups vary in size and ability ranges, keeping me adaptable! These sessions often include showing participants trails new to them, trail etiquette, and good Samaritan trail and environment stewardship.

Q: Describe any experience you have in trail design, construction and maintenance including safety, education, stewardship, public outreach, and advocacy:

• Over the past 10 years I have been fortunate to get the opportunity to volunteer on COTA trail work events and on trail crews in Utah.
• I have been an invited panelist annually for the Fat Bike Summit in Jasper, Alberta and Fat Bike Nationals in Grand Rapids, discussing strategies for trail stewardship and advocacy with other user groups.
• I educated MTB racers in UT about trail stewardship while racing and organized clean-up and repair crews after Mid-Week MTB Race Series events.
• My passion for cycling goes beyond racing and is something I strive to share with others. I have focused on sharing my excitement by founding #LadySwarm. This is a movement whose mission is to get more female participation in events and races through talks, clinics, and increasing turn-out at targeted races with cooperation from race directors and local bike shops.
• In partnership with local bike shops and bike industry partners, I do talks and hands-on seminars on various topics from Bike Racing 101 to tubeless tire set-up and maintenance.

Q: Describe any other skills that you may bring as a member of the Board of Directors (ex. financial, GIS, etc):

• Time and desire!
• Professional relationships with the large bike industry
• Fund raising within and outside the bike community
• Bike Event promotion
• Extensive social media marketing for profit and non-profit organizations

Q: Please indicate if you may have a possible Conflict of Interest (COI) for being on the Board. This will not omit you from the pool of candidates, but we need to make it known to the public. For example, you could have a conflict of interest if you have a financial stake in a business that could profit from COTA’s activities or if you hold an elected political office.

No known conflicts of interest.

John Mackay

Position: Board Member at-large

Q: Please describe why are you interested in becoming a member of the COTA Board of Directors:

As a member of COTA Board of Directors I would actively promote participation in COTA events, increase COTA visibility within our local communities, increase membership and expand our donor base by engaging local businesses. Since retiring in 2017 I've enjoyed the time afforded to give back to our community, and have enjoyed working with the dedicated, motivated members of COTA.

Q: Describe your experience serving on a Board of Directors or comparable experience:

My 30+ year career in Telecommunications working for multi-national companies required close collaboration with a variety of individuals to achieve organizational goals. Roles included Network Engineering, Product Line Management, Sales Engineering, Wireless Cellular Industry Consulting and on-site Customer Support.

Q: Please note any experience you have overseeing groups of volunteers or other groups of people:

COTA Membership and Donor Relations Committee member, working in conjunction with COTA Communication Committee. Leadership role in several COTA events including Subaru Outside Games, trail head Demo Days for local bike shops and Hydro Flask Seconds Sale.

Q: Describe any experience you have in trail design, construction and maintenance including safety, education, stewardship, public outreach, and advocacy:

COTA Trail Steward Level 1, ongoing training to achieve Level 2/3. COTA Machine Training Level 1. Active participant in several COTA trail building events.

Q: Describe any other skills that you may bring as a member of the Board of Directors (ex. financial, GIS, etc):

COTA Forest Collaboration Committee member working in conjunction with Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project and Deschutes National Forest.

Q: Please indicate if you may have a possible Conflict of Interest (COI) for being on the Board. This will not omit you from the pool of candidates, but we need to make it known to the public. For example, you could have a conflict of interest if you have a financial stake in a business that could profit from COTA’s activities or if you hold an elected political office.

N/A

Bob Gilbert

Position: Redmond Chapter Rep

Q: Please describe why are you interested in becoming a member of the COTA Board of Directors:

I would like to continue to grow the quantity and quality of trails in the Redmond area.

Q: Describe your experience serving on a Board of Directors or comparable experience:

I have approximately 6 years of experience serving on the COTA board at different times. I have hosted dozens of volunteer work events. I have overseen the construction of 30+ miles of new, hand built trail.

Q: Please note any experience you have overseeing groups of volunteers or other groups of people:

I helped organize and run several cycling events / races in central Oregon.

Q: Describe any experience you have in trail design, construction and maintenance including safety, education, stewardship, public outreach, and advocacy:

I was and still am heavily involved in the conception, design, planning, land management permissions, and building of the Radlands trail network.

Q: Describe any other skills that you may bring as a member of the Board of Directors (ex. financial, GIS, etc):

Truck driver by day. Avid fair weather mtn bike shredder by evening.

Q: Please indicate if you may have a possible Conflict of Interest (COI) for being on the Board. This will not omit you from the pool of candidates, but we need to make it known to the public. For example, you could have a conflict of interest if you have a financial stake in a business that could profit from COTA’s activities or if you hold an elected political office.

No conflicts.