Our Board
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail is led by an experienced Board of Directors, with representatives from the paddlesports industry, local government, nonprofit organizations, media and more. Our Board provides strategic direction, fiduciary oversight and governance.
Board of Members
Warren Whitney, Chair
Brandon Devito, Vice Chair
Zand Martin, Secretary
Jess Wilson, Treasurer
John Bernardi
Anne Brewer
Dan Brown
Laurie Chandler
Thomas Hark
Paul Heintz
Cameron Held
Danny Mongno
Emeritus Directors
Ron Canter
Rob Center
Kay Henry
Join Our Board
If you are interested in helping shape the future of this grand adventure contact Executive Director Karrie Thomas at .
Board Responsibilities
Board Recruitment Announcement
Board Member Application
Our Staff
The NFCT’s staff works across New York, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire and Maine to implement stewardship projects, host races and community paddles, build relationships with businesses and communities, and more. If you have general questions for our team, please email and we will direct you to the appropriate person.
Karrie Thomas
Executive Director
Karrie joined the NFCT team in 2014. She is inspired by connecting people to the Northern Forest through outdoor recreation and appreciates the privilege of providing stewardship and access for paddlers today and into the future. She participates in local, state and regional partnerships from New York to Maine including the VOREC Steering Committee, Maine’s High Peaks Initiative and the Coos Outdoor Recreation Value Chain Project. She grew up exploring the forests and mountains of the Northeast. Her passion for the outdoors — and its capacity for recreation of the mind, body and spirit — has its roots here. In college, she fell in love with kayaking and multi-day trips on remote waterways and has remained dedicated to rivers and river travel ever since. She enjoys combining work and pleasure, exploring the northeast by paddle craft with her husband and two sons.
Noah Pollock
Stewardship Director
Noah first learned about the NFCT while leading Adirondack paddling trips as a student at Cornell. In 2007, he earned a Master’s degree from the University of Vermont, completing a thesis examining the economic impact of paddlers along the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. Noah was one of our first interns in 2007, and then moved on to serve as a Field Coordinator and Outreach Coordinator, assisting with interns, Waterway Work Trips and community outreach programs. Noah manages construction and maintenance of the trail and oversees the summer intern stewardship crew. An accomplished trail builder, community organizer and paddler, Noah also leads projects for the Vermont River Conservancy, including the Lamoille Valley Paddlers Trail and the Connecticut River Paddlers Trail.
Chris Morris
Communications Director
Chris joined the NFCT in August 2019 and manages communications, marketing, outreach and community programming for the organization. Chris spent his early career working in journalism for media outlets across northern New York and Vermont before transitioning into a career in marketing and communications. He’s worked and volunteered in outdoor recreation since 2008.
Marthe Peterson
Office Manager
Marthe manages the day-to-day operations of the office. She will gladly help you with your map and guidebook needs or your membership and event questions. She joined NFCT in 2015. While she is an ocean girl at heart, her interactions with the NFCT community have helped her quickly understand the draw of the Northern Forest. Marthe’s background is in corporate marketing but she much prefers managing the NFCT office and learning something new about the trail every day. Growing up on the beaches of Massachusetts and living in Bermuda for eight years, she surprisingly lives on the Mad River in Vermont with her husband, two children and so many pets.
Nick Hall
Assistant Trail Director
Nick supports the NFCT’s stewardship work in a variety of ways, from planning projects and working with landowners and state agencies to training seasonal interns and coordinating with local partners to implement projects that improve access to the waterways of the Northeast. Nick started at the NFCT as an intern before leading our Allagash trail, then transitioned to become assistant trail director. He has a background in outdoor recreation, having completed his studies at SUNY Adirondack’s Outdoor Education program.
