Board of Directors
Washington Trails Association's Board of Directors is a volunteer board made up of people who love the outdoors and believe in WTA's mission to protect hiking trails and ensure everyone has access to the outdoors. The WTA board helps establish the strategic priorities for the organization.
Officers*
Anson Fatland — President
Anson (he/him) had the good fortune to grow up in the Pacific Northwest. He fell in love with the outdoors from an early age, back in the days of external-frame backpacks and cooking meals over a campfire. While backcountry experiences have changed (thankfully!) his love for the outdoors remains, extending from the local park to the most remote mountain peak. He often spends time outdoors trail running or backcountry skiing. Sometimes in the same trip if he’s lucky. When he’s forced to be indoors, he works at the University of Washington, supporting the translation of research discoveries into impact outside of the academic environment. Anson and his wife have two daughters and they all love the outdoors!
Bryce Bolen — Treasurer
Bryce is a father of two, husband, and outdoor enthusiast. His outdoor passions are primarily mountaineering, snowboarding, and cycling. However, he is easily convinced to take up a new sport so there are no promises of what he'll be doing next season. When not figuring out where to store all of that outdoor gear, he can usually be found behind his keyboard working on spreadsheets. Bryce is a finance leader at a local startup, Wyze Labs. He is drawn to Northwest startups and enjoys helping them flourish through strategic planning and thoughtful analysis. While working at one of these startups, an e-bike brand called Rad Power Bikes, he developed a passion for sustainability and stewardship. This passion is what led him to serve on the WTA Board.
Arun Sambataro — Secretary
Professional change-maker. Rebel. Engaged advocate for equity, racial justice and social justice. Arun is the Equity Strategies Manager for King County’s Executive Office, Office of Equity and Social Justice; she advances equity and racial justice by overseeing strategic plan implementation, providing policy analysis for major Executive initiatives, and develops the Office’s budget. For Arun, hiking, backpacking, climbing and kayaking offer personal peace, challenge and adventure. She and her husband Joe have hiked and climbed worldwide, but they love the Cascades and Olympics so much, they had these mountains engraved in their wedding bands! Arun is committed to ensuring equity in accessing, preserving and using the outdoors; she is thrilled to advance WTA’s mission with a strong focus on equity and social justice. Someday, Arun hopes to summit Mount Athena in the Olympics — a goal she’s held since her first date with her husband.
Todd Dunfield 
— VP, Development
Todd Dunfield is a volunteer WTA crew leader who lives with his wife and three sons in Spokane. He is a conservation professional who works for the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy where he focuses on community conservation. Todd is passionate about conserving the lands and waters around Spokane and Couer d’Alene. One of his favorite annual WTA traditions is leading the trail maintenance crew that completes the logout on the Salmo Loop in the Salmo-Priest Wilderness.
Halley Knigge 
— VP, Governance
Halley Knigge (she/her) currently serves as divisional vice president of communications, community and inclusion for REI Co-op. She’s worked in a variety of industries, including aviation, healthcare, nonprofits, education and daily newspapers. Her favorite outdoor activity is anything that involves feet on a trail, and has many fond memories of backpacking through the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and Ozette Loop, hiking Mt. St. Helens and running through Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park. She grew up on Mr. Rogers, so her no. 1 core value is to always be a helper, and she also serves on the board of the Tacoma Urban League. She lives and rabble rouses in Tacoma, Washington with her stay-at-home artist husband and first grader.
At Large Directors*
Tom Bugert
Tom is Director of State and Local Affairs for Helion Energy, a fusion energy company based in Everett. Prior to Helion, Tom served as State Government Affairs Manager for REI Co-op, as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and as State Government Affairs Director for The Nature Conservancy of Washington. He currently serves as Vice President of the Henry M Jackson Foundation and is on the board of the Clean Tech Alliance and the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition. A Wenatchee native and graduate of Whitman College, Tom can be found chasing his two young children through the great outdoors and enjoying all the beauty that Washington State has to offer.
Bhavna Chauhan
Bhavna (she/her) is an Army brat originally from India, growing up in parts of North, East and West of India. She moved to the US in 2001 to work for Microsoft and currently works as an engineering manager at DocuSign. Her exposure into official volunteering began with Microsoft's day of caring back in the day and volunteering outside in nature resonated with her and she found an almost permanent home in volunteering with WTA since 2015! She recently completed her MBA in Technology Management from University of Washington's Foster School of Business. Bhavna lives in Redmond with her husband Vinay, their 10 year old son Arjun and 5 year old golden retriever Maya. Her family loves the outdoors especially skiing and hiking and she is a ski instructor at Snoqualmie West during the season.
Jared Jonson
Jared (he/him) has nearly 20 years of experience in the non-profit and public sector. He currently serves as Co-Executive Director for the Seattle Chinatown-International District Preservation & Development Authority (SCIDpda)--a community development organization that specializes in historic preservation, affordable housing, and economic development. He is most proud of SCIDpda's recent work to increase affordable family-sized housing in Seattle in order to fight displacement and gentrification. His family is originally from the Philippines and he was born in Boston, MA and grew up in Olympia, WA. Jared and his partner have two young kids and two dogs, and they all love to get outdoors as much as possible! In the winter, Jared is an avid Skier and considers the Mt. Baker Ski Area one of his favorite places. Jared graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelors degree in Political Science and Comparative Ethnic Studies.
Kizzy Klouse
Coming soon!
Paul Kundtz
Paul has been an enthusiastic hiker since the age of 10. He grew up in Illinois and Michigan. He worked as an attorney in Seattle and as the Northwest Director for the Trust for Public Land. He obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan, and a Master's Degree in Nonprofit Leadership from Seattle University. Paul has served on and held leadership positions in other nonprofit boards, including the Great Peninsula Conservancy, Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition, Bloedel Reserve, Seattle Aquarium, and the Bainbridge Island Land Trust. In addition to hiking, Paul enjoys biking, skiing and sailing throughout the Pacific Northwest. He has hiked in 54 of the 63 national parks.
Chris Liu
Chris was born and raised in Houston, where access to quality greenspace was limited. He didn't grow up hiking or camping, but he always felt a deep connection to the natural world. His first time on a trail was sometime during the summer of his sophomore year when a roommate helped him pick out a pair of trail runners and took him out on his first hike. He was immediately hooked, and nowadays, he'll take any chance he can get to be out on the trail. Chris loves connecting people to the outdoors, whether through volunteering with Outdoor Asian Washington or through his work at the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust. He's very grateful to be living in a place with such great access to the outdoors and a community that cares deeply about the protection of the land and water.
Ken Myer
Ken’s lifelong passion is hiking and backpacking, from his early days in the Boy Scouts to later years camping with family and friends. When he’s not in the mountains, Ken serves as an Interim Executive for companies going through organizational transitions and is also a leadership lecturer at the UW Foster School of Business. Ken has spent his career in the technology industry, including roles in companies both large and small, and a stint as CEO of the Washington Technology Industry Association. He loves the high country, whether in the Cascades, Olympics or Sierra, and admits to a weakness for cool camping gear.
Soraya Shattuck
Soraya has led the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund (ATCF) since its founding, growing the organization into a global force for grassroots conservation. Under her leadership, the ATCF has funded dozens of community-led initiatives that protect natural and cultural resources around the world. She also serves on the board of The Conservation Alliance, where she brings her expertise in international conservation and advocacy. Whether climbing, skiing, or mountain biking, Soraya lives her belief that travel can—and must—be a driver for protecting the planet. And as a longtime Washingtonian, she finds joy and grounding on the state’s trails and is honored to give back to the landscapes that have shaped her.
Ashleigh Shoecraft
Ashleigh was born and raised in Seattle, WA. She has 15 years of experience in non-profit work from direct services to program design, management, and grant writing. She is a certificated middle school teacher, with 5 years of teaching experience. Ashleigh is the owner of Latitude Grant Writing, a business that specializes in securing funding for BIPOC-led organizations. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Braided Seeds, a nonprofit whose mission is to provide opportunities for rest, reconnection, and reclamation of the land for communities of color in Washington. She is excited to bring experiences in curriculum and resource development, fundraising, nonprofit management, and racial justice and equity to the WTA board.
Kelsey Vaughn
Kelsey (she/her) first fell in love with being in the woods in college with the Great Smoky Mountains as her backyard. The Pacific Northwest has been her home for the last 25 years, providing endless opportunities to hike, backpack, bike, kayak, snowshoe and cross-country ski with her family and friends. The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is her happy place, where she feels simultaneously at ease and empowered. Kelsey, a former Partner Director of UX Research at Microsoft, continues to bring a researcher’s curiosity to all her endeavors.
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* All Officers and At-Large Directors serve as independent, voting members of WTA's Board of Directors.
Green Hard Hat: Participated on five or more trail work parties.
Orange Hard Hat: Assistant crew leader for WTA on trail work parties.
Blue Hard Hat: Chief crew leader for WTA on trail work parties.