Meet Our People

UVTA Staff

Russell Hirschler
Executive Director
Russell is the Executive Director of the Upper Valley Trails Alliance where he is responsible for the day to day operations as well as the future vision of the organization. He was formerly the Director of Education at Save The Bay in Providence, RI. He also served as the Development Director at the Upper Valley Land Trust in Hanover, NH and the Development Director and Program Manager at Wolftree, Inc, a science education organization in Portland, Oregon. Russell received his undergraduate degree in Natural Resource Management and Environmental Planning from Binghamton University and his Masters Degree in Organizational Management from Antioch University, New England. Russell grew up in and around New York City and has been traveling and hiking worldwide for the last 20 years. He currently lives in Lyme, NH with his wife and daughter.
John Taylor
Trail Programs Director
As a College graduate in Fish and Wildlife management, John has honed his skills during 27 years of post graduate employment in natural resource, land use and people management. With experience ranging from Fisheries Research and Land Conservation to Hatchery and Watershed Management to educator in Freshwater and Wildlife Ecology, John has worked to share his knowledge of the natural world through innovative programs, volunteerism, public liaison and outreach for all ages. Since moving to the Upper Valley in 1994, John has been engaged in exploring area trails, connecting people with the wonders of the outdoors and as a Trails Design Specialist, worked to enhance community trail opportunities throughout the region.
Becky Lewandoski
Program Coordinator
Becky is the new Upper Valley Trails Alliance’s Program Coordinator. She will help implement the Passport to Fun program in area schools, coordinate the UVTA's events such as the Tour de Taste and the Skate-a-Thon, and support all our ongoing efforts. After growing up in Woodstock, Vermont, she attended Middlebury College where she majored in Environmental Studies. Upon receiving her Bachelor of Arts, she worked on constituent relations and various policies for Senator Jim Jeffords in Washington, D.C. Wishing to return home to the Green Mountains, Becky returned to Vermont to attend Vermont Law School, where she earned her Juris Doctor and Masters in Environmental Law. She most recently has been enjoying her time raising her two active children with her husband in South Strafford, Vermont.

UVTA Board of Directors

Hank Plaisted
Rivendell School District
UVTA Chair
Hank Plaisted is the Director of Information Technology for the Rivendell Interstate School District. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island with majors in Geology and Geography, he moved to the Upper Valley where he soon after found himself the owner of a sled dog kennel. A past president of the New England Sled Dog Club and winner of the 2004 Laconia World Championship 6-dog race, he has been on the UVTA board from nearly its inception. No longer a practicing musher, he spends his spare time in a wide variety of trail oriented activities while also squeezing in regular Tai Chi practice.
Jay Davis
Dartmouth College Education Faculty
UVTA Secretary
Jay teaches in the Teacher Education Program at Dartmouth College, and is a program officer in Dartmouth's Tucker Foundation. He directs an enrichment program for urban and rural high school students from under-resourced schools, serves as a leadership consultant for the Hanover/Norwich school systems, and is a national facilitator for the National School Reform Faculty. Jay taught middle and high school English for eleven years before coming to Dartmouth, including at Kimball Union Academy and at the Richmond Middle School in Hanover. His outdoor passions include hiking, running, canoeing and x-c skiing, and he coaches the latter with Ford Sayre. Jay lives in Etna with his wife Julie -- a family doctor at White River Family practice -- and their two children.
Don Avery
Engineering Consultant
Don Avery has been a resident of the Upper Valley since 1997. He enjoys a great variety of outdoor activities ranging from guiding Mt. Rainier to hiking the Appalachian Trail. He has done 10 years of Mt. Search and Rescue, 7 years of AMC trail crew, guided approx. 1000 student days of vertical rock and ice climbing and climbed every 4000 footer in New England. Don has a talent for logistics and does a great deal of volunteer work with the Boy Scouts, other youth organizations and his own outing club to promote safe outdoor recreation. Don lives with his wife Christina and a large German Sheppard in Lebanon, NH. When Don is obligated to come indoors he is an engineering, metallurgy and computer consultant.
Charlie Brackett
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Charlie is a general internist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center with an interest in the effects of lifestyle on health. Before joining the board, he served as medical director for the UVTA's Trails for Life program. He and his wife Joanne moved to the Upper Valley from Cambridge in 2003, attracted by the many opportunities for outdoor activities. Favorites include biking, hiking, sculling, camping, and skiing of all kinds. He lives in Etna with Joanne, Sophia and Alex.
Dave Celone
Tuck School of Business
Dave enjoys spending active time on trails of all types around the Upper Valley with his family and friends. He works at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in annual giving and alumni relations. Dave also volunteers as a member of the Upper Valley Business Education Series committee, a collaborative effort between Tuck, the Hanover Chamber of Commerce, and the Upper Valley SCORE chapter. Dave has served on the Thetford School Board, and he helped co-found the Thetford Diversity Forum. He also serves on the Lyme Country Cooperative advisory board. When not working or volunteering, Dave enjoys hiking, Nordic skiing, cycling, and camping. A prior resident of South Royalton, VT and Thetford, VT, Dave, his wife, Lisa, and their two children now call Lyme, NH home.
Peter Hult
Revers Fellow at the Tuck School of Business
Peter is a second-year student at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. For his summer internship, Peter worked with the Facility Management team at Glacier National Park in Montana. His project work involved updating the park’s fleet management plan, as well as conducting a financial analysis of the park’s shuttle bus system. Prior to Tuck, Peter worked at Forrester Research where he analyzed consumer data and wrote research reports on trends in the online retail industry. As an avid trail runner, cross-country skier, and cyclist, Peter is a regular on the Upper Valley trails. Peter attended Williams College and earned his B.A. in Psychology and American Studies.
Anne Janeway
Resident - Norwich, VT - Trails Enthusiast
Anne Janeway has been a resident of Norwich for the past thirty years, enjoying the outdoors of the Upper Valley on skis, snowshoes, foot, bike, and boat. She has worked in non-profit administration and development at educational institutions including Dartmouth and Middlebury colleges, Vermont Law School, and Kimball Union Academy. Anne is currently the Director of Development for the Concord Community Music School. Anne is affiliated with several local recreation and conservation groups and is a strong proponent of getting people actively engaged outdoors and stewarding this area's expanding network of trails. The UVTA Tour de Taste is a perennial favorite of hers, combining delicious food, cycling comradery, and fundraising.
Kiki Keating
Tuck School of Business
Kiki Keating has been the Public Relations Director at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth since 1998 when she was hired to design and develop Tuck’s first Public Relations Department. She earned a BA from Smith College and a JD from the University of Maine. Kiki worked as a trial attorney, was certified as a mediator/arbitrator, started a local magazine in Hanover, NH and worked in sales and marketing for a publishing company before she joined Tuck. As Director of Public Relations, she manages press and media relations, oversees the PR efforts for the school, works to build Tuck's brand around the world, and develop and implement the School's media strategy. Kiki works closely with faculty, staff, administration, research centers, and students to promote research, programs and events, and other developments at the school. She designs media relations projects to increase brand awareness and enhance the reputation of the Tuck School around the world.
Conrad Reining
Wildlands Network
Conrad Reining is the Eastern Program Director for Wildlands Network (wildlandsnetwork.org), where he is responsible for coordinating conservation planning, outreach and fundraising. Since joining Wildlands Network in 2001, a major focus of his work has been the development of a trans-border proposal for a network of linked conservation areas -- a Wildlands Network Design -- in the Northern Appalachians of southeastern Canada and northeastern United States. From 1991 to 1997, Conrad was the Washington, DC-based Director of Conservation International’s (CI) Guatemala Program. In that position he co-directed the design and implementation of CI’s conservation project, ProPetén, in Guatemala’s northern lowland region. Conrad holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Management from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Sciences and a BA in Environmental Sciences from UC Berkeley. Conrad lives in East Thetford, VT with his family.
Becky Rice
Tuck School of Business
Becky is the Senior Associate Director of the MBA Program Office at the Tuck School of Business. At Tuck Becky works closely with student clubs and activity groups, and is a co-founder of Tuck Sustains, a student/administrative partnership at Tuck that works to enhance programming around community, wellness and the environment. Becky and her husband Don enjoy hiking, road biking, and Nordic skiing; Becky also is an instructor with Dartmouth’s FLIP program. Becky and Don live in Hanover.