BOARD MEMBERS

Don joined the Beartooth Trails Board in October of 2023 and serves as the board President. He worked for 30 years for the US Forest Service serving as a District Ranger in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. He was directly involved with easement acquisition, trail construction and projects involving cities, counties, major ski areas and land trusts. Don has also worked for Montana Land Reliance, monitoring existing conservation easements.

Along with his wife, Traute, he enjoys hiking, biking and backcountry skiing.

Thomas serves as the Summer Trails Committee chair and secretary of the board. He is passionate about building trails with an emphasis on mountain biking. He has been known to go on the odd trail run and now spends a lot of time hiking with a toddler. Outside of Beartooth Trails he is primarily an at home dad, but also works as a nurse and a volunteer ski patroller.

Erika Purington grew up loving the Beartooths and gets excited about introducing others to the beauty and magic of them. She is a local business owner and area nonprofit leader.

Maggie joined the board recently after volunteering for several years for Beartooth Trails. Outside of Trails she can be found working at Beartooth Books downtown (one of her very favorite places), running around the mountains yelling “woooooo” (when appropriate) and trying every form of outdoor recreation the Beartooths have to offer (at least twice as a rule of thumb). She particularly loves backpacking, mountain biking and climbing.

Tonada grew up on an island in the Pacific Northwest, where trails played a huge part in her upbringing and laid the foundation for a deep love of the outdoors and community experience. She loves skiing, trail running, mountain biking, hiking, sailing, tending to her plants, coming up with new recipes, and spending quality time with family and friends. She brings lots of enthusiasm to her adventures, and is very excited to be a member of the Beartooth Trails board. 

Luke is one of the newest additions to the BRTA board. After two decades of service in the US Navy he has traded the roar of afterburners for a love of the outdoors and volunteering. The thrill of adventure and community is important to him, and he has found his outlet building trails and raising his family in the rugged beauty of the Montana mountains.

Shelly is a proud parent of 6 pairs of skis, 2 bikes, a 30 year old backpack, 4 pairs of trail shoes, 2 young men aged 20 and 22 and a 10 year old black lab named Flash.  A retired physical therapist, she moved with her husband Steve to Red Lodge in November of 2024.  She courageously volunteered at the Gear Swap her fourth day in town.  The community of people we so welcoming, that she kept volunteering with Beartooth Trails, becoming active with the winter trails committee and Penguin league, and then went all in volunteering for trail work, events and sprucing up the Nordic Center. Her enthusiasm made her an obvious choice for a board member, and she joined the Beartooth Trails board in June 2025. She brings a passion for outdoor adventure, health and well being, and community doing.