BOARD OF DIRECTORS
JOE PAUSTENBAUGH
Joe has lived in Utah for 41years and in Liberty for the past 8 years. I enjoy the beauty and recreational opportunities that we have in the Ogden Valley. We all are fortunate to have North Fork Park right in our backyard. Whether we use the park for hiking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, skiing, or biking; we all are responsible to maintain, preserve, and improve it for current and future generations of outdoor enthusiasts. As a board member my goal is to apply my experience in industry to assist in the preservation of North Fork Park and the Ogden Nordic experience.
KACEE WEAVER
Learning to swim in the North Fork river in the late 80s and hopping on a pair of skis at the age of four, Ogden Valley’s beauty and recreational opportunities have shaped who I am as a person. I am an avid mountain biker, trail runner, downhill skier, snowboarder, and new nordic skier. As an elementary teacher, I am also passionate about providing environmental education and outdoor opportunities to the children of Ogden.
I am excited to join the Ogden Nordic community and looking forward to meeting great people with the same passion for volunteering, winter sports, and appreciation of our gorgeous valley.
HELENE LIEBMAN
Helene has been involved with Ogden Nordic since 2011, working as a volunteer in the yurt. After moving here in 1999, I worked as the Weber Pathways Executive Director for 5 years and served on state and county level committees between 2004 and 2016 to award grant funding to build hiking, biking, and cross-country ski trails. I'm out hiking or snowshoeing in North Fork Park pretty much every day.
NICO VILGIATE
We live in Eden and thrive in the outdoors while fully embracing the four seasons which the Ogden Valley offers. I was born and raised in SoCal but found my love for the mountains when I spent four years in college at CU Boulder. After graduating with my degree in 1992 I spent one winter in Park City where I was a quintessential ski bum working in the restaurants in the evening and riding Jupiter Peak almost everyday. Since then, I have been a 30 year veteran in commercial real estate and am currently an EVP at Colliers International. My wife and I have been happily married for 18 years and we have one amazing daughter who is an 8th grader at Snowcrest Junior High. We enjoy Ogden Nordic all year round for its beauty and peaceful surroundings.
MATT GNAGEY
After growing up insisting that skis should only go downhill, Matt was introduced to cross-country skiing by his Minnesotan wife. I quickly fell in love with the peaceful way of exploring winter landscapes. Nowadays I split my time between backcountry skiing and skate skiing, and I believe there is not a better spot than North Fork Park. While not out recreating on the trails and in the mountains, I am an environmental economist at Weber State University. I am excited to support all trail users, and I hope Ogden Nordic can continue to provide unparalleled winter experiences for all.
ALAN WHEELWRIGHT
It all started in 2005 when Dave Jenkins asked me to help with grooming. After spending several weeks grooming, Dave suggested in his kindest voice “Alan you should take up crosscountry skiing, so that you can understand what good grooming looks like”. With that gentle nudge, I started a love for skiing and beautiful corduroy.
In 2015, I decided to try that “stupid” fatbiking thing to prove how dangerous it was to skiers and destructive it was to the trails. Fortunately, neither were true and I became hooked. Since then I have spearheaded the building of 10+ miles of multi-use trails at North Fork.
Since 2005 I have moved through most of the board positions including a 4 year stint as president. The organization has grown in the last 15+ years into a world class fatbiking and skiing destination. Fortunately you can still find the moments when you are skiing/fatbiking by yourself with perfect corduroy and all the hard work is worth it!
JOHN PENDLETON
I was born in Ogden and grew up in Salt Lake and Bountiful. I played ice hockey for bountiful high, and afterwards went to college in California, and finished an engineering degree in Utah. For the last 30 years I've worked in the aerospace industry in Michigan, Arizona and Utah, and for the last 20 years for the Air Force at Hill Air Force Base. My job is to keep the T-38 flying well past its original design life. We have five children, and our sixth grandchild was born the first week of November. I've always loved the outdoors. I really love biking. When people ask what kind of biking I like best I usually say I like road biking, but I love mountain biking. Fat biking in the snow on the groomed trails at North Fork has become my favorite winter activity over the last few years. I joined the Ogden Nordic grooming crew 3 years ago. I'm really looking forward to working with the Ogden Nordic board and seeing where I can help with all of the great things being done there.
TRISH PAINTER
Trish grew up on skis in Michigan and started XC skiing in 1975 and has moved from the downhill areas to the backcountry and trails. She has been involved with Ogden Nordic since moving to Utah in 2011, has served on the board and is now the operations director for Ogden Nordic. She is out on the trails in North Fork Park nearly every day, all year round. She is very grateful that she can skijor on the Ogden Nordic trails.