Board of Directors

Mark Haberle, President, joined the Board in August of 2021. Mark grew up in Connecticut in a family devoted to backcountry adventures including paddling, hiking, and alpine skiing. He was introduced to telemark skiing on a NOLS program in the late 80’s and, selling his alpine gear, never looked back. He completed the transition to telemark for enhanced backcountry mobility when began working at the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) in Pinkham Notch, NH. His interest in the off-piste, and alpine areas in particular, was buoyed by his role as an AMC winter hut caretaker and a backcountry rescue specialist in Huntington and Tuckerman ravines.  Carrying this interest in high elevation natural areas into Vermont, Mark served as a summit caretaker for the Green Mountain Club on Camel’s Hump and Mt Mansfield while completing his undergraduate research work developing an alpine zone trail treadway monitoring program for the UVM Natural Areas on the Mt Mansfield summit ridgeline. 

 Mark continues to be passionate about the backcountry and managing the impact of its explosive popularity. Working with MRVBC allows Mark to continue to apply the skills learned through to thoughtful and respectful management of backcountry use.  

 Mark lives in Waitsfield and is a technology project manager in a large engineering firm. When not getting lift-serve lunch runs, Mark enjoys hiking in the Green Mountains, wandering its valleys, and paddling in its beautiful rivers with his wife Sandy and, sometimes, his dog Sadie.

Alan Hammersmith, Trail Chief, is a founding at-large Board member, has been a lifelong skier. As a son to a ski instructor, his first and fondest memories are of sliding on snow. Born in the hills of New Jersey, his upbringing included trips to the Poconos and Catskills, Southern Vermont, and annual trips out west or to the Alps. Alan settled on the University of Utah to fuel his need for the glissade. It was here he first tried telemark skiing in 1996, fueled by an interest to get into the backcountry. Despite ill-fitting leather boots coupled with 3-pin cable bindings, narrow skis and plastic “snake skins”, his passion only increased as he dipped into the nooks and crannies of the Wasatch and hasn’t locked down his heel since. Eventually he made the trek back east, landing in the Mad River Valley in 2011. While his activity is dedicated to skiing as long as there’s snow to be found, his summer months are full of gravel biking and peak bagging, having finally completed all 115 of the Northeast’s 4000 footers in the Summer of 2021. Alan is also one of three known people to have skied all of NH’s 4000 footers, and doesn’t recommend it to anyone. 

Alan lives in Waitsfield and is a GIS Web Developer.  He enjoys skiing all over the Valley and occasionally beyond. He also loves sharing his passion with his son who is ripping up both Sugarbush and MRG (and also the neighborhood rope tow!). He can’t wait for a few more years when he can share the joy of backcountry with him and show him what it’s really all about!

Kevin Russell, Board Secretary, is a founding member of MRVBC.  Kevin also serves on the board of directors of the North Country Trail Association (NCTA), stewards of the nation's longest National Scenic Trail, representing the State of Vermont, its eastern terminus. He leads snowshoe and backcountry ski tours for a local outfitter. During his free time, Kevin can be found exploring the local backcountry on skis, hiking boots, or whatever is needed to perambulate in nature. Kevin's contributions to the well-being of the Mad River Valley over the past 28 years are many, earning him credibility as the Valley's ambassador and ardent brand warrior. His occasional musings can be found at www.alongthemillbrook.com

Kevin lives in Fayston where he is partially retired but rarely idle, as a part-time teacher, writer, outdoor guide, and consummate volunteer. When he is not frolicking outside, Kevin will while away time cooking, listening to music, and playing his drum set or his Steinway grand piano.  

Wendy Bridgewater, Board Treasurer, is a founding member of MRVBC. She was raised in a ski lodge in the White Mountains. Wendy became a ski bum as a teenager, spending many spring weekends camping and skiing around Mount Washington. After attending art school in Massachusetts and longing to be back in the mountains, Wendy worked for an outdoor outfitter in North Conway.  There she discovered a newfound love of Nordic and telemark skiing.  Wendy moved to Vermont and found her way to the Sugarbush Pro Ski Patrol. There she met her now husband (and also MRVBC board member), Ben. Soon she met the legendary Dickie Hall and started to teach telemark for North American Telemark Organization (NATO), working at the Mad River Barn Touring Center, and also teaching at Mad River Glen. Wendy also raced telemark with the Eastern National Telemark Team in 1986. Wendy taught for NATO for 30 years, and has been teaching at Mad River Glen, 35 years and counting. Wendy’s primary focus at MRVBC is in the education that is critical to keeping the backcountry safe. She also feels passionate that skiers of all skill and fitness levels have access to this amazing skiing experience.  

Wendy (and Ben) live in Fayston.  Wendy has had her own design/maintenance landscaping business for over 35yrs, and is In the process of becoming semi-retired. 

Ben Bridgewater, a founding at-large Board member, started skiing at age 6, a son of a 10th Mt Division Instructor. Skiing was paramount for family winter activity, and many school vacations at the grandparents in New Hampshire. High School summers were spent as a lifeguard and water safety instructor and later became an AMC Hutman. After college in Colorado, some time working for a Post & Beam Co. in NH, Ben moved to the Mad River Valley and joined the Pro Ski Patrol at Sugarbush for 3 years. There he met his future wife, Wendy, and together they made the switch to telemark. Soon Ben became one of the North American Telemark Organizations instructors, as well as a groomer and instructor for Tucker Hill Ski Touring Center. Ben has also been a ski guide for a local outfitter in Stowe.  Ben is keenly interested in education and safety in the backcountry. His goal is to help the MRVBC Board continue its mission to keep it fun, safe, and accessible for everyone’s enjoyment while honoring the environment.  

Ben (and Wendy) live in Fayston. Ben has been a lifelong building contractor/jack of all trades and is in the process of becoming semi-retired. 

Julie Frost, Communications Coordinator, joined the Board in January 2023 after moving to the MRV in 2020.  A lifelong avid lover of all things outdoors, she moved to Newport, RI in 1995 after college in Florida and immediately became addicted to downhill skiing. She became a volunteer ski patroller at a small local hill and bought a second home in Jay, Vermont in 2007. Soon Julie found that Vermont felt like where she truly belonged.  She has been exploring more in the nordic and backcountry realms slowly the last 10 years.  In 2021 she attended the Wilderness First Aid course hosted by MRVBC and realized the organization aligned with her values and never-ending pursuit of playing in the outdoors.  Julie believes deeply in fostering a sense of community, ensuring that everyone has access to nature, and fostering responsibility for our Earth.  She joined the board so that she can integrate more fully into this special community and give back to the sport that has given her so much.

Julie lives in Warren where she works remotely as a scientist for a biotechnology company.  She has spent many years volunteering for various outdoor groups.  Her other passions include hiking, biking, paddling, live music, and reading.  Julie is currently in transition - leaving her corporate career of 22 years to return to graduate school in Fall 2023 at UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.

Keith Berkelhamer, at-large Board member, joined the board in July 2024 after spending the prior year helping to jump start the Dawn Patrol initiative, a weekly uphill tour event at Sugarbush Resort and Mad River Glen. Keith also served on the board of the Mad River Riders.

Keith is very passionate about skiing. In fact, some may say he is crazy. During the 2023/2024 ski season he skied 200 consecutive days! He got himself up the mountain on his own steam for nearly 25% of his 200 days.

Keith and his wife Ginger moved from Connecticut to the Mad River Valley in 2014. Prior to the move, Keith spent 26 years in the advertising/media world, working most of those years for CNN.

Looking to escape the corporate world and his daily 4 hour round trip commute, for a better work/life balance in Vermont, Keith did some part-time media consulting and also ran his own business. The business was based on another passion of his, keeping saltwater reef tanks (Keith is also an avid fly fisherman and bike rider).

After a few years, Keith dropped the media consulting work and became Executive Director for Mad River Valley Television, a public access TV station serving the Mad River Valley. In that job he collaborated with both Mad River Glen and Sugarbush Resort to create and direct a weekly TV show that was live streamed on both Facebook and YouTube. The show won a regional public access TV award in its first season.

Today, Keith devotes his full attention to his reef tank business, ReefBum. Yes, ski bums can be reef bums too.

Jacki Strenio, at-large Board member, joined the board in September 2024. Jacki grew up skiing in Vermont before moving west, living and skiing across Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Oregon. She finally returned to settle in central Vermont in 2021. 

She is committed to making the outdoors more inclusive and welcoming, and her goal is to help MRVBC create more opportunities and partnerships that support this commitment. Jacki lives in Northfield, where she is an economics professor at Norwich University. In her free time, she loves being outside, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, and trail running, usually with her dog, Rollo.

Gannon Osborn, at-large Board member, joined the board in September 2024. Gannon was born in Vermont, but grew up in the Finger Lakes of New York. After college he moved back to the Green Mountain state to work in land conservation, and reignited his love for skiing. Since then, Gannon has spent his winters and springs exploring the glades, bowls, slides and chutes of the Green, Adirondack and White Mountains. 

Gannon continues to work in land conservation, protecting the forests and recreation opportunities of the Green Mountains, and also serves on the board of the Association of Vermont Conservation Commissions, and as a steering committee member of the Champlain Adirondack Biosphere Network. When there isn’t snow on the ground, you can find Gannon exploring Vermont by bike or on foot.