Board members are visible and vocal ambassadors. They contribute to and steward the organization’s fiscal health. The most effective board members demonstrate a commitment to the organization and to its overall goals, which — in the case of Friends of the Parks and Trails — includes environmental stewardship, promoting park-friendly policies, preserving open spaces in our urban community and providing a vehicle for citizen engagement.
That’s why we are turning to you — our members — to help us find potential board members for Friends of the Parks and Trails or to step forward yourself.
- Have ideas for people who would add depth and diversity to the board — in ethnicity, age, gender identity, skill set, geographic location in the city or county?
- Would you like to discuss what the position entails?
- Contact Executive Director Lauren Dees-Erickson at lauren@friendsoftheparks.org.
We added three board members to our roster in the past year:
- Wolfie Browender has lived in St. Paul since 1986. He volunteers as a photographer for Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi, a Native-Led, East Side environmental stewardship nonprofit, and is a longtime platelet donor at the American Red Cross. Through interviews, photographs and historical research, Wolfie documents his effort to ride every block of every street in the Capitol City through his blog, Saint Paul By Bike.
- Kathy Sidles is a master naturalist and a retired electrical engineer who lives near Lake Phalen. Keeping our parks free of trash and invasive species, documenting the wildlife and beauty of the neglected Pig’s Eye Regional Park and advocating to keep the Metro Transit Purple Line off the Bruce Vento Regional Trail are among her passions. Saint Paul Parks Conservancy featured Kathy in a “Volunteer Spotlight” in March 2022.
- Ashley Ward, who lives near Battle Creek, moved to Minnesota from North Carolina in 2018. She teaches blind and visually impaired children from birth up to age 21 in the Saint Paul Public Schools and aims to plan more activities for young people in the parks. She and her husband, Saint Paul School Board member Uriah Ward, have a 1-year-old son, Orren.
Please contact Lauren, our new executive director, if you have ideas for additional board members or would like to discuss a position for yourself. We welcome the conversation!
