TRTA Staff
Angelique Carl
Guided Programs Manager
angeliquec@tahoerimtrail.org
Angelique spent her younger years exploring the Great Lakes region of the friendly Midwest, and spending summers in the French Alps with her family. After graduating from Northland College with a degree in Sustainable Community Development, she moved around the country working as an outdoor educator and ski instructor, leading wilderness trips and traveling internationally as much as possible. In 2018, she pursued a passion for long distance hiking and spent the next few summers immersed in that world, orbiting back to South Lake Tahoe in the winters and eventually deciding to call this beautiful place home. She has worked in sustainable agriculture, resource conservation, wilderness education, backcountry ski guiding, and avalanche education. When not working, you can find her and her dog exploring all the nooks and crannies of the Tahoe Basin by foot, by bike, and on skis. Angelique is thrilled to join the TRTA as the Guided Programs Manager and looks forward to supporting guides and participants in TRTA programs in exploring the incredible natural beauty of the Lake Tahoe ecosystem.
Brooke Clayton
Development Manager
brookec@tahoerimtrail.org
Brooke fell in love with the outdoors while growing up in Evergreen, CO. Skiing, hiking, and camping were only rivaled by one other passion: writing. She ventured to the Midwest to attend the University of Iowa’s Creative Writing program, but quickly moved back to the west when she graduated, along with her wife and their dog Sandi. Brooke started her career in Seattle on a conservation corps, where she quickly realized that it was of paramount importance to unite her personal passion for the outdoors with her professional aspirations as a writer, environmentalist, and advocate. Brooke moved to South Lake Tahoe to become a full-time Ski Patroller at Heavenly Mountain Resort, where she spent two winters before joining the Tahoe Rim Trail Association. Brooke regularly walks out of her door and onto the TRT and couldn’t be more thrilled to join an organization dedicated to protecting such a special trail and giving more people the opportunity to develop a meaningful relationship with nature.
Emily Dawes
Youth Programs Manager
emilyd@tahoerimtrail.org
After graduating from South Tahoe High School, Emily moved to the beautiful Central Coast to attend Cuesta College. There, she explored Big Sur, Los Osos and other charming coastal towns finding her love for community events, sustainable food systems and passion for equity in the outdoors which guided her to finish her undergraduate degree in environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz. Most of her time was spent in field courses around California doing ecology research or on the UCSC farm; always happiest when tending to the earth. After graduating in 2019, she moved to Olympic Valley to ski coach and guide in the summer months on Donner Summit. Her adventurous spirit brought her on many incredible life adventures; rafting the Grand Canyon, bike packing through Patagonia and of course exploring her backyard through backcountry skiing in the winter and backpacking and mountain biking in the summer. Emily is excited to return to her roots in South Lake Tahoe and join the TRTA as Youth Programs Manager to serve youth in her community through meaningful outdoor experiences!
Delaney Diamond
Outreach Manager
delaneyd@tahoerimtrail.org
Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Delaney’s love for the environment started at a young age hiking, skiing and camping in northern Wisconsin and Michigan. Her passion only grew as she became SCUBA certified at the age of 13. She SCUBA dives with her family every summer learning about different environmental impacts of the ocean and reefs. After graduating from Hiram College in Ohio, she headed to the west coast where she fell in love with northern California and the Sierra’s. She spent most of her early career in sports events and higher education recruiting events eventually following her dream of working in environmental non-profit work. Delaney is an avid skier, hiker and backpacker with a love for Tahoe, the community and giving back. Delaney is excited to work with the hiking community to give back and help the Tahoe Rim Trail thrive for years to come!
Ryan Kuehn
Trail Operations Director
ryank@tahoerimtrail.org
While exploring the Eastern Sierra on a climbing trip, Ryan came across a trail crew and instantly knew that he had found his future career. Soon afterwards, Ryan began working on a trail crew on the Pacific Crest Trail and has since worked on some of the most popular trails in the Tahoe Basin, Inyo National Forest, Big Sur and out in Colorado. After many years of working on climbing access trails in Colorado, Ryan moved back to California to continue his career in trails and enjoy climbing on some of the best granite in the country. More than a decade after that fortuitous encounter, Ryan has been able to build a career around spending most of his time outside, moving rocks and building trails that allow others to visit the beautiful places that he loves so much.
Veronica Palmer
Development Director
veronicap@tahoerimtrail.org
Starting at an early age with family hiking trips around Red River Gorge, Kentucky, Veronica developed a great passion for the outdoors. Later in life, she discovered her love of long-distance trails. After completing her degree in photography from Sam Houston State University, she set out to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail where she learned a lot about herself and about living in the wild. She loved the trail life so much that Veronica and her husband decided to complete the Pacific Crest Trail for their honeymoon. While hiking the PCT they became enamored with the west coast, specifically the Tahoe Basin, and relocated from Texas soon after finishing their hike. She now spends her free time hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, skiing, and photographing in the mountains she loves. As the Development Director for the TRTA, Veronica is excited to give back to the hiking community that has given so much to her and to help the Rim Trail grow.
Anthony Porter
Communications Director
anthonyp@tahoerimtrail.org
Anthony started off as a passionate hiker and climber wanting to inspire others to feel the same sense of adventure he felt while in the forest. He has worked in 5 different states educating and inspiring people to get outdoors. He has also traveled to 22 countries as a biogeography enthusiast, interested in animal adaptations differentiating based on their geography. Anthony is passionate about helping our planet while enabling all generations to access the wonders of the natural world. Anthony also recreates outdoors by backpacking, rock climbing, participating in archery, and training for his yearly competition on TV’s American Ninja Warrior, where he is a 2x National Finalist, appearing as the “Archery Ninja.” In his free time, he helps eco non-profits with sharing their voice with a larger community through podcasts, educational apps and videos. He works to continue the excitement and public notoriety for the TRTA, and always loves to talk with the enthusiastic participants of the Tahoe Rim Trail.
Lindsey Schultz
Deputy Director
lindseys@tahoerimtrail.org
Lindsey’s first volunteer trail workday on the Tahoe Rim Trail was in the early ’90s when she was a foot shorter than the shovel she was wielding. One of the few babies to be delivered in the Incline Village Hospital, Lindsey Schultz spent her childhood split between the north and south side of Lake Tahoe. Like many a Tahoe native, exploring Tahoe’s many beaches, trails, coves, and snowboarding routes that contribute to the must-see reputation that Tahoe holds for so many sports enthusiasts and nature enthusiasts alike was just what you did when you grew up here. With long stops in the Bay Area, Long Beach, Denmark, Florida, and Portland, Lindsey finally returned to the Tahoe area where she spent two incredible years as the Tahoe Rim Trail Association’s Trail Operations AmeriCorps. After a short TRTA hiatus, Lindsey is thrilled to return “home” to the Tahoe Rim Trail Association where she has been for over a decade.
Morgan Steel
Executive Director
morgans@tahoerimtrail.org
Morgan’s adventures with Tahoe Rim Trail began many years ago hiking, biking, and skiing on the trail. Today, as the Executive Director of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, she enjoys the trail full-time, leading the organization and crafting initiatives to achieve the Association’s strategic goals. Morgan oversees a dedicated group of permanent and seasonal staff members who complete on-the-ground improvements and works with the TRTA’s committed donors and volunteers. She ensures the organization meets financial, legal, and administrative requirements to sustain the organization and the Tahoe Rim Trail as a premier destination and thriving nonprofit.
Morgan came to the Tahoe Rim Trail Association most recently from the Sierra Nevada Alliance, where she directed the Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership, which places AmeriCorps members throughout the Sierra Nevada to conduct watershed restoration and education. Morgan also worked with various conservation organizations, including the Student Conservation Association, Northwest Youth Corps, and the National Park Service. She is a passionate advocate for the outdoors, access for all, and preserving the unique and awe-inspiring qualities that make the Tahoe Rim Trail experience world-class!
Judi Van Fleet
Finance and Admin Manager
judiv@tahoerimtrail.org
Judi first started hiking while growing up in Virginia. She explored trails in the Shenandoah Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, and Great Falls National Park. A few years after obtaining her degree in Biology at the University of Virginia, Judi decided to join a group of friends who were moving to Lake Tahoe to be ski bums for the winter. She was immediately in awe of the abundance of amazing local trails, especially the renowned Tahoe Rim Trail. There, she fell in love with trail running, and now her favorite pastime is venturing out on the trails with her dog, Pliny. A passion for the TRT also runs in the family as her parents are long-time volunteers with TRTA. Judi is excited to combine her love of the outdoors with her professional background in finance and administration.
