The WWA Board

The WWA Board includes a broad range of key figures in outdoor activism and the non-motorized recreation industry. Each board member was selected to build a collective group that could guide the Alliance while bringing invaluable experience, contacts and influence to the cause.

Meet WWA's exceptional board

Lew Peterson, Boise ID, President
Lew is the Creative director for Primedia Digital, which develops learning environments primarily delivered on the Internet (e-learning). He is active in the resort and backcountry skiing communities as a PSIA Nordic instructor, clinician and examiner, ski guide, volunteer and event organizer. He has an M.S. degree in Instructional Technology and spent 10 years in ski area management as a Marketing and Communications Director. Sharing the joy of the alpine environment is a lifelong passion for Lew.

David Gottschall, Chicago IL, Vice President/Treasurer
As an avid backcountry skier and an Investment Analyst at Allstate Investments, LLC, David provides insight on financial management and planning to Winter Wildlands Alliance. His background includes experience as an outdoor educator with the YMCA of the Rockies and Wilderness Medicine Institute, as well as an MBA from the University of Denver.

Chris Gaughan, Fort Collins CO, Secretary
Chris is a Biologist who consults on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) projects. He previously worked within the Natural Heritage Network from 2000 to 2008 on the inventory and monitoring of threatened and endangered wildlife species. He has an M.S. in Wildlife Conservation from UMass Amherst where he focused on the differences between suburban and rural white-tailed deer and a B.S. in Geography from Montana State University where he was also involved with the backcountry ski club and surveying amphibians in Yellowstone National Park. Chris and his wife Steph both commute to work on bicycles year-round and have not owned a dryer since 2003; they enjoy getting to work refreshed, shirts with the fresh scent of the outdoors, and a small carbon footprint.

Reid Haughey, Carbondale CO, Immediate Past President
Reid is the president of The Wilderness Land Trust. The Trust has completed over 200 transactions in 38 wilderness areas throughout the country. During his 20-year career in preservation, Reid has completed wilderness in holding transactions through specific federal legislation, land exchange and purchase, often by assembling multi-party public-private partnerships. Additionally he has been instrumental in the establishment of public and nonprofit land preservation programs, as well as public conservation planning and land use systems. He lives in Colorado and enjoys wilderness year round with family and friends on ski and foot

Amy Roberts, Golden CO
Amy is Director of Government Affairs for Outdoor Industry Association, the national trade association for manufacturers and retailers of outdoor recreation gear and apparel. In her role with OIA, Amy works to increase funding for human-powered outdoor recreation and to promote management policies on public lands that support active recreation. Amy worked as a journalist for several years covering politics and then as press secretary in the Idaho governor’s office, before switching roles to work as a public lands advocate. She recently took a year off from work to climb and ski and is dedicated to preserving the quiet recreation and solitude found in the backcountry. Amy lives in Golden, Colorado with her husband, Craig, their two children and their dog, Boise.

Dan Seifert, Red Lodge MT, Secretary
Dan Seifert works as a geology and planning specialist for the U.S. Forest Service. Dan grew up skiing powder in the mountains of northwest Montana. His background includes degrees in Geology and English and employment in various resource management and environmental planning positions for the Forest Service, National Park Service, and the State of Montana.

Deb Wechselblatt, Portland OR
As the former campaign manager for Restore Mt Hood, a teacher, natural resource planner, policy analyst and community organizer, Deb brings a diverse range of experience to WWA’s board. She is currently a Board member for Trailkeepers of Oregon and has a strong network of relationships with environmental and conservation groups in the Northwest. She holds a B.A. degree in Environmental History from Oberlin College and will enter Lewis and Clark Law School in 2010.

Brooke Williams, Castle Valley UT
Brooke lives in a collapsed salt-dome valley east of Moab, Utah where he works for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance focusing on rural counties. He holds an MBA in Sustainable Business from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute and a Biology degree from the University of Utah. An active outdoor adventurer for more than 30 years, he has written four books including Halflives: Reconciling Work and Wildness, and has been the keynote speaker and panelist at numerous meetings, conferences, and workshops. He is currently involved in The Great West Institute, a think tank exploring expansion and innovation in the conservation movement.

Jim Werntz, Boise ID
As the Director of Idaho's Operations Office for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Jim provides Winter Wildlands Alliance with a crucial federal-agency perspective regarding its public policy issues. Jim has expertise in water quality, sustainable development, and community-based work. In his 23-years with EPA, he has lived and worked in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, before moving to Boise in 2000. He is an experienced facilitator, having travelled to Russia, Ukraine, and Indonesia as an EPA instructor on environmental policy. As a native Minnesotan, Jim grew up on skis and skates and now enjoys snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and snowboarding in the Idaho mountains. He is married to Stephanie, and has two young sons, Davin and Orion.

Charlie Woodruff, Boise ID
A former WWA staff member, Charlie serves as Development Director for Conservation Voters for Idaho. In a previous life Charlie was an All American ski racer and ski coach from Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He has a B.A. in environmental studies and geology from Whitman College and has been active in conservation work for nearly 10 years. His great passion for skiing in the pristine backcountry brought him to the work of Winter Wildlands Alliance.

John Garder, Washington DC
John Garder focuses on appropriations for the National Parks Conservation Association. With and M.S. from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, John has worked on federal public lands policy in Washington, DC for nearly a decade and applies that expertise to the board. He is proud to represent the East, grew up primarily in Vermont and gets out to backcountry ski in West Virginia whenever there is snow. He is a self-described mountain freak, and gets away from the city most weekends to nordic or telemark ski, paddle, climb and hike in the Appalachians. He brings his passion for backcountry recreation, winter ecosystems and public lands protection to the board. His favorite season—by far—is winter.