About Me

Arkansas - Roots in the Ozarks

Growing up in the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas, I spent nearly all of my free time outside. Whether it was hiking to waterfalls, taking nature photos, or simply wandering through the woods, I was always looking for a reason to explore. As I got older, that same curiosity for adventure led me to mountain biking. My dad had been involved in the sport throughout my childhood, and watching him explore the outdoors on two wheels inspired me to give it a try.At 11 years old, I entered my first mountain bike race. I may have finished dead last, but I was hooked. Mountain biking combined everything I loved about being outside with a new sense of challenge and community. As my passion for the sport grew, so did Northwest Arkansas’s transformation into a world-class mountain biking destination. Experiencing that growth firsthand showed me how outdoor recreation could do more than create places to ride; it could shape a region’s identity and bring communities together. Those experiences ultimately led me to pursue a career focused on creating opportunities for others to experience the same benefits of the outdoors.

Colorado - Expanding My Perspective

While Arkansas was an outdoor paradise where you could hike and bike nearly every day of the year, I realized there was an entire side of outdoor recreation I had yet to experience: winter. Having just wrapped up my undergraduate degree at Arkansas Tech University and wanting to expand my understanding of the field, I packed up my car one January morning and moved to Granby, Colorado, to work at the YMCA of the Rockies’ Snow Mountain Ranch.I was thrown headfirst into the world of winter recreation, learning to manage programs that were completely new to me. Cross-country skiing lessons, guided snowshoe hikes, and dog sledding quickly became part of my everyday routine. While the activities were unfamiliar, the sense of community and excitement surrounding them felt surprisingly familiar. I realized that the same connection I had experienced through mountain biking in Arkansas was thriving throughout Colorado’s outdoor culture. Seeing two very different places embrace recreation in such meaningful ways made me start asking bigger questions about how these communities develop and how similar experiences could be created in other parts of the country.

Utah - Beyond the Experience

Those questions and curiosities about how recreation communities develop ultimately led me to the next step in my journey. I moved to Logan, Utah, to pursue a master’s degree in Recreation Resource Management, where I began digging deeper into the systems and strategies behind successful outdoor spaces. My research focused on visitor experiences and how management approaches could be used to better understand and improve the ways people interact with parks and recreation areas.It was also during this time that I began exploring GIS and the growing role that technology plays in recreation management. Learning how data, mapping, and spatial analysis could help inform decisions introduced me to a new side of the field. I began to see how combining an understanding of people, places, and technology could help create better experiences and more thoughtfully managed outdoor spaces.

Hawaii - Trails for All

After years of exploring different aspects of recreation management, I had the opportunity to bring together the experiences and skills I developed along the way. My lifelong passion for trails and outdoor recreation, combined with my background in visitor experiences, planning, and resource management, brought me to Hawaii, where I now help plan, build, manage, and maintain the State’s public trail systems across the islands of Maui, Lanai, and Molokai.As the Trails and Access Specialist for the State’s Nā Ala Hele Trail and Access Program, I work alongside communities, landowners, and partners to steward some of Hawaii’s most unique trail systems. From uncovering historic Hawaiian trails to planning for the future of outdoor access, my role allows me to apply the lessons learned throughout my career while continuing to shape how people experience and connect with the outdoors. Each step of my journey has reinforced the same idea that first drew me to this field: well-managed recreation spaces have the ability to connect people, strengthen communities, and create lasting relationships with the places around them.

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