Since her first Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in 2007, Deborah Berman has returned to Spain 8 times to walk a variety of routes that lead to the historic cathedral in the city of Santiago de Compostela. Deborah is a retired nurse, mother of 3, and grandmother of 4, who has fully embraced the adventure of trekking through Spain, either alone or with her husband and daughter. She loves to share her experiences and especially to help others prepare for hiking in Spain.
Fran Boyd is life long outdoor enthusiast who grew up hiking and camping with her family and friends in the North Georgia Mountains. As an active leader for Trail Dames and organizer of Off the Grid Outdoor Adventures for Women, she keeps a full calendar leading day hikes, backpacking trips, and hosting camping events.
Jules serves on the Board of Directors of Trail Dames and is also Co Head Dame of the Georgia chapter. Her Love of all things Hiking and Backpacking came as she was in the Remission/Rehab phase of a Rare, long term illness. She found Trail Dames and the support to “put one foot in front of the other” and that gave way to something far greater than just a physical recovery. The Healing power of nature combined with the focus to empower women wherever they are on their journeys has given Jules new purpose in life and giving back is her biggest reward.
Jules will participate in the Hammock forum and discuss her “obsession with hanging”.
Dawn retired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory 3 years ago. She is working on the 900 miles of trails in the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee and plans on completing it by July! She was inspired by Deborah and Brenna 2 years ago to do the Camino - and since that time she has been preparing. August 31 is her start in St Jean pied deport and she will finish October 10 in Santiago de Compostela.
Lisa Holliday is a 54-year-old former IT executive and small business owner living with her husband in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She is a workshop conductor and facilitator of a variety of personal development processes, and also leads meetings and clinics on cutting-edge techniques for addiction recovery. When she's not doing that, she is a part-time stand-up comic!
Vera grew up in Indiana’s big backyard seeking a land with higher elevation. She currently lives in Ohio. Having found her creative voice while wandering eastern trails, camping, teaching environmental education and selling gear, she shares her poems and stories with others at a local Writer’s Group.
Shelly Huskey is a military spouse, Momma of 5, substitute teacher, avid hiker, voracious reader, and die hard Vol minion. She goes by the trail name Tenacious Tanasi which reflects her attitude to always keep trying and for the love she has for her home state of Tennessee especially the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near her home in Sevierville, TN.
Shelly coordinates the Women Hikers of East Tennessee. This group is a grassroots movement to encourage, educate, and empower women to get outdoors while providing a welcoming community of sisterhood that fosters individual personal growth and personal responsibility through outdoor exploration.
Anna lives under many names. She is the Bow Queen at her family violin shop, Mud Butt on the Appalachian Trail, and the Grand Poobah in Trail Dames! She created Trail Dames in 2007, and with the help of a tribe of amazing women, has seen the organization grow from nine members to over 4,000. With chapters in 20 states and its own Charitable Foundation, Trail Dames is working tirelessly to encourage women to get out on the trail. When she is not engrossed in Huthmaker Violins and Trail Dames, she can be found in developing countries teaching bow repair with Luthiers Without Borders-USA.
Leanna hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2003 and nearly half of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2010. The rewards she enjoys while in nature on our National Scenic Trails are those she hopes others will benefit from through her continued work with people and conservation-based organizations. She facilitates JoYusGROOVE in Asheville, North Carolina.
After Iris was diagnosed with breast cancer at the still relatively immortal age of 37, she decided to use her love of the outdoors to channel the angst of her diagnosis into more than just worrying and wondering if and when the cancer would return. She was fortunate to meet Andrea Martin, founder of The Breast Cancer Fund, who was using mountain climbing as a way to raise money and awareness. As a result Iris has climbed many peaks in the United States including Shasta, Rainier, Whitney, Baker and Denali. She was also lead American guide on a joint American/Japanes eclimb of Mt Fuji. She and her partner just returned from walking the Camino de Santiago. They reside in Asheville where they continue to plot their next adventure.
Diane describes herself as wanderlust, a lover of story and possibility. The story closest to her heart is that of the shared journey she, like her partner Iris, never had on a list of travel choices. When breast cancer ‘called Iris out of line’ in 1998, little did they know the shape or form support would take. Iris’decision to ‘play’ out the diagnosis on her own terms has morphed into a shared journey that continues to amaze and bewilder. Diane bears witness to the power of the sisterhood of the mountain that has reached from Denali to Mt. Fuji,and seemingly into forever. The mirth and magic of the women along the way—the ongoing story of the spirit side to this magical mystery tour.
Becca began teaching group exercise classes in 2003 and quickly sought certification with the National Academy of Sports Medicine. By 2007, she had acquired advanced certifications in Corrective Exercise and Performance Enhancement, and knew that she needed more. In 2011, Rebecca completed coursework to acquire her Master’s Degree in Human Movement at A.T. Still University. Additionally, she completed certification through the RRCA as a Certified Running Coach and took the coursework for the Functional Movement Screening, a test used by the NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBA to screen athlete’s for muscular and biomechanical dysfunction. In 2013, Becca added to her credentials with the Digestive Intensive through the Holistic Nutrition Lab and the Full Body Intensive, which will be completed in 2014. She is recognized by the Pastoral Medical Society as a Diplomat of Pastoral Medical Sciences.“Whether you compete at some level or just do fitness for fun, whether you laugh while you sweat or cry through a workout, it is my hope for you that you always know that you are so capable of being a better version of the you that you are right now. Strive for that daily!”
Patricia Moxley is an active mother, grandmother, retired Visual Arts instructor, pharmacy technician, lover of the outdoors and LymeWarrior. Her favorite quote is, “The truly educated never graduate”. She is constantly learning and gaining new insights into how to live, understand and enjoy life, and she wants to share her knowledge and experience with others. Patricia believes a life of service is the best and most rewarding way to spend her time.
Karen Mulder, Ph.D., is Corresponding Secretary of the Rivanna Master Naturalist chapter (VA), and assists several nature-based healing initiatives, including Camp Mabon, for survivors of abuse. She has trained with Wilderness First Aid, Leave No Trace, and abided with nature at the School of Lost Borders (CA), and in the Ecology of Awakening (CA) program. She loves hanging out (literally, hammock camping!) on the A.T., in the Shennies and along Virginia's gorgeous Blue Ridge.
Carole Pivarnik is a Virginia artist who paints and sketches in watercolor and gouache. Her favorite subjects are dogs and nature. She teaches watercolor painting and sketching workshops, paints pet portraits on commission, and loves to sketch everywhere she goes. You can see Carole's work at her web site (www.carolepivarnik.com) and blog (lostinpaint.blogspot.com).
When her third son finished homeschooling in 2007, Regina walked the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. At 52, it was now her time to walk into her dream. Getting to the trail, completing the journey, and navigating the stormy relationship waters of attracting a hiking partner gave Regina plenty of personal experience to test her new skills as a certified Radical Forgiveness Coach.
She had hiked the AT to get it out if her system only to realize that walking in Nature for personal transformation IS her system.
Regina is an expert hiker and backpacker and shares her well-honed, creative skills with everyone who hikes with her. She shares her love of walking in Nature and all the skills that go with it in her life coaching business, ForgivenessWalks.com She offers individual, personal coaching sessions, videos, online teleclasses and Forgiveness Walks ranging from 2 hours to 6 months.
Her clients, both hikers and home-bodies alike, love Regina's gentle, warm, spontaneous ability to love them just as they are as she helps them take their next steps to self-love and to new perceptions of their past. With their path clear of old emotional baggage, they are free to walk into their lifetime dreams.
Kathy Rioux moved to Atlanta in 1980 and started exploring the trails and waterways of North Georgia shortly thereafter. Her husband, Jerry gave her a pair of hiking boots for their first anniversary! Her love of the mountains and lakes grew as her children, Andrea and Gerard, joined scouting organizations. Through scouting, she has had the opportunity to experience the beauty of many locations in the east and in the Rocky Mountains. Her love of exploring the outdoors led her to pursue the Leave No Trace Master Educator designation. She enjoys helping others make the best of their outdoor adventures.
Carla Robertson is a master life coach who specializes in helping busy people find their true selves and reclaim their sense of wonder and joy. She works with individuals and groups and leads courses and retreats in everything from indulgent money management to stress reduction to stillness in nature. With a former career in education and educational consulting, Carla loves to teach, and her presentations reflect her enthusiasm for empowering participants and making learning fun. Carla has been camping out since Girl Scout summer camp and she solo thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2009 (Trail name Zipper.) She is the founder of Wild and White Blazing, a "virtual campfire" program for women planning a long distance hike. Via WWB, women can hear the stories of dozens of successful women hikers of all ages and get support about everything from fears to gear to food preparation to planning. No matter what, Carla puts her feet on the Appalachian Trail somewhere each year. Carla writes for Appalachian Trials and is the author of Badass Women on the AT.
Terri has a hiking bio longer than the state of Florida where she resides!! But she also has other talents. Her first major hiking experience was traipsing up the A.T. with hiking partner Mud Butt in 2003. After her partner left the trail, she went on the hike the entire thing and then follow it with a trek of the Santiago del Camino. She went on to publish a book about her A.T. adventures entitled Gone for a Walk: One Woman's Revealing Discovery of Forgiveness, Healing, and Hope While Hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Carol day hiked over 700 miles or one third of the Appalachian Trail during the last 10 years. She day hiked 150 miles of the El Camino in France and Spain and the 100-mile Robert Louis Stevenson Trail in France. She backpacked the Georgia portion of the A.T. with her son, Harmon, and his friend, Justin, in 1988. In 1997, Carol and her husband, Jim, supported their son, thru-hiking the A.T. by sending him food and supply packages. Carol loves exploring the outdoors and traveling to new places. As a young girl, she explored the piney woods of North Florida on foot and the inland waterways by canoe with the Girl Scouts. In 1962, she was selected to attend the National Girl Scout Roundup in Button Bay, Vermont. In her 20’s and 30’s, she explored the airways as a private pilot, flying from the California to New York in the Power Puff Derby, vacationing in the Bahamas, and training public health nurses throughout Georgia. Carol’s professional career in public health spans 39 years. She began as a county public health nurse and then went back to graduate school. After receiving her masters in nursing, she taught public health nursing at Georgia State University before joining the Georgia Division of Public Health in Cancer Control. She retired as the Director of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in 2005. During her public health career, Carol began researching and writing articles for professional and scientific journals. She authored more than a dozen articles, receiving the Dorothy Barfield Award for Scholastic Achievement in the Promotion of Public Health in Georgia for her article, “Access to Cancer Prevention, Detection, and Treatment,” published in the Supplement to Cancer, March 15, 1991. Carol was born and raised in Pensacola, Florida. She received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of Florida and her Masters in Nursing from Emory University.
Susan "Hammock Hanger" Turner, the trail name of Hammock Hanger was given to me by the kids at Camp Regis-Applejack, in the Adirondacks, where I was head of the Backpacking/Canoeing Department for 8 years. I continued with the moniker when I hiked the AT, and it stuck.
I have hiked just about all the long trails on the east coast i.e.: AT, LT, BMT, BT, GET, FL and many smaller trails, too many to mention. My passion for the long trail adventure has taken me westward to complete the JMT and dabble with the CT.
After replacing my worn out knees I started hiking internationally. This took me to Spain where I completed the Camino de Santiago. Followed by trails in the UK such as the Coast to Coast, the St. Cuthbert's & St. Oswalds Ways, Sussex Ridgeway, Ridgeway Trail, Ickneild Trail, Peddars Way and the Norfolk Coast Path. This coming year I will be adding the Offa's Dyke to that list.
In 2014 I was lucky enough to be the recipient of the Trail Dames Adventures of the Year Award.
www.trailjournals.com/HHENGLAND2015
I teach History at Greater Lowell Technical High School in Tyngsboro, MA. I started hiking in 2011, but moved on to the mountains of New Hampshire in 2012. In just over three years, I have completed the New Hampshire 48 (mountains over 4,000ft.). Four were completed in winter. I have hiked and backpacked all over New England, the Mid Atlantic, and completed the WV section of the AT in 2014. Other lists I am working on are the 52 With a View and New England 67. I co-lead with the Boston chapter of the AMC and regularly give the Leave No Trace presentation at our Spring Hiking Program. When I am not hiking, teaching, or leading, I work at REI in Reading, MA. I am the mom to a runt Maine Coon and feisty Siamese mix.
Bringing in the cows for milking was one of Judy's chores when growing up on a farm in rural Kentucky. She loved walking around the 100 acre farm imagining herself on grand adventures. While teaching and raising 3 kids, she read a book about the Appalachian Trail. She began reading every book about the AT and collecting gear. After Judy retired and the kids were grown, she set off on her "real" adventures. She's been hiking and backpacking for over 15 years. Along the way, she has met so many wonderful and diverse folks.
Michele "Certain" Zehr, M.A., M.Ed., serves as both the Head Dame of the Central Virginia Chapter of Trail Dames as well as the current Vice Chair on the Trail Dames Board of Directors. She backpacked the entire Appalachian Trail in 2007/2008 and considers this most sacred journey to be a major turning point in her life. It was on her hike that the seeds were planted for what has become her business and life's work today. She founded We2 Women's Experiential Empowerment (www.we2empower.com) three years ago and she offers a wide variety of experiential opportunities for women to discover and embrace their gifts, inner strength and power.