SWTrails all-volunteer Board of Directors are people who love the outdoors and believe in the mission of protecting trails so that the community has access to safe pedestrian routes in southwest Portland.

BOARD MEMBERS:

Debbie Small, President

Debbie is a recent arrival to Portland, having retired from teaching and then selecting Portland as her retirement location.  Her love of hiking and walking led her to choose the Hillsdale area where she can walk to places like the grocery store, the library, many fine restaurants, and the Multnomah Arts Center, to name a few.  She is president of the Board and works as a jack-of-all-trades to support the efforts of hiking, trail work, the website, and other projects as they arise. debbie.small@swtrails.org

Lee Buhler, Treasurer  

Lee has been involved with SWTrails PDX since 2006 and is currently our treasurer.  He lives in the Homestead neighborhood and is one of the leaders of our monthly walks, along with his dog Benny. Lee enjoys all SWTrails PDX activities, especially trail-building, walks, fairs and just being around other people who share those interests. The Buhler Cut-Off  honors his many years of commitment to the activities of SWTrails PDX.  lee.buhler@swtrails.org

Bonnie Birch, Secretary

Bonnie joined as a board member in 2023.  After moving to the Marshall Park area, she began wondering about those brown signs she kept seeing on her daily walks.  She was surprised to learn that much of the work on this extensive system is done by volunteers with SWTrails PDX. She is very happy to be serving with a dedicated group of people who share her passion for the outdoors and making our urban environment more walkable.

Don Baack, Advocacy 

Don Baack was a farm kid who lived on farms in four states. He has degrees from Nebraska University (Civil Engineer), University of Washington (MBA), and is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer. He has worked in a variety of management positions, mostly dealing with forest products and timber, and also ran his own company. After retiring in 1993, he founded SWTrails (1995) and has been advocating for pedestrian improvements and joining others in building connections in southwest Portland ever since.  The Raz-Baack Crossing on the Stevens Creek Trail honors his many years of service trail-building in southwest Portland.  He’s been married to Gaile since 1964. They have two children and two grandchildren, and have been residents of Hillsdale/southwest Portland since 1972. Don can be reached by phone at 971 678-1635, or by email at don.baack@swtrails.org

 Dave Manville, Trail Construction  

 Dave has been involved with SWTrails PDX since 2008, working mostly on trail construction, maintenance and advocacy in both our southwest Portland Parks and on PBOT rights-of-way. Dave has some former trail experience working with WTA in Washington and the Forest Service.  He has enjoyed getting involved in Portland’s trail culture. Dave lives in the Ashcreek Neighborhood.  If you include Crestwood, you will find over 20 neighborhood trails and 3 Natural Area parks that connect via trails to provide an excellent walking environment. Retired from the Telecom Industry as a developer, Dave enjoys the change of pace of working in the dirt, with an occasional return to administrative and organizational duties. dave.manville@swtrails.org

Jason Bergstrom

Jason Bergstrom is a long-time volunteer at SWTrails work parties and we finally convinced him to join our board!  Jason spends his days as a “computer guy” for a large local employer and would like to see more people (including himself) out of a car. He is also involved in other local non-profits supporting causes that aim to improve the environment and access to common services for everyone.  Learn more about the SW Portland Tool Library.

Barbara Stedman, Social Media

Barbara moved to Portland from Germany in 2002 and is living in Hillsdale with her husband and two daughters. She likes exploring the neighborhoods of southwest Portland on foot and commutes to work downtown by bicycle.  She manages the social media accounts for SWTrails PDX. If you have any ideas reach out at: barbara.stedman@swtrails.org

Brian Brady

Brian is a native Portlander and an avid walker/trail runner. He has completed 15+ marathons, and is always looking to explore more. Becoming involved with SWTrails PDX has led him to discover the best trails in Portland as he helps to maintain and establish new routes. . He is currently working on improving interpretive storymaps for the Hillsdale-Lake Oswego Trail, and has been the driving force behind our self-led hikes, developed as a response to COVID restrictions in 2020-21.  Brian is a certified arborist and holds a BS in Forestry from Oregon State University.

Scott Wyse

Under Construction

Keith Liden

Keith Liden is a (mostly) retired land use planning consultant who has lived in the Bridlemile neighborhood since 1983.  A long-time bicycle commuter and avid hiker, he has served on a variety of city advisory committees including Portland’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, Steering Committee for the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030, and currently as a member of the Fixing Our Streets Oversight Committee.  To complement the walking routes and trails created by SW Trails, he led the development of a neighborhood greenway system to identify low-traffic walking and bicycling routes in SW Portland.

Andrew Wallace, Website Manager

Andy moved to Portland from the UK in 1999 and has lived in Southwest Portland since 2000. While working in high tech in Hillsboro, he commuted daily on TriMet—often using trails maintained by SW Trails as part of his journey. This experience inspired him to create PDX Bus, a free, open-source iPhone app designed to help riders and encourage public transit use. Seeing firsthand how trail maintenance improves neighborhood livability deepened his appreciation for community efforts like SW Trails.

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Joe Fram – SWTrails Sign Manager

Joe started his hiking career in the Boy Scouts and even spent two years as a Philmont Ranger where he earned the trail name of ‘4 Wheel Drive’. It referred to his ability of frequently getting lost and requiring scaling mountain to determine his location. He moved to Portland 3 years ago and quickly learned about the wonderful SW Trails. After becoming lost a few times, he volunteered to maintain (and improve) trail signage. Questions on our little brown signs can be directed to Joe.Fram@swtrails.org

Tyler Weber – Trail Run Coordinator

Under Construction

OPEN POSITIONS

There is space immediately available on our board of directors for the following roles:

– Membership Coordinator
– Outreach Coordinator
– Hike Leader

If you have passion for improving the pedestrian experience in SW Portland, please contact president@swtrails.org for more information.