Meet the AMC Trails Department Staff

Andrew Norkin

AMC Director of Trails and Recreation Management: White Mountains, NH

I have been working with AMC's Trails Department since 2000, and I have had the privilege to share my experience with, well as learn from, the outstanding programs the Trails Department offers. I very much enjoy working with the wide variety of staff and volunteers on the over 1,700 miles of trails that AMC maintains.

Before working with the AMC I have spent several years working with recreation management all across Alaska. When not on the trails I can be found running my team of sled dogs on the trails in Maine.

Jennifer Heisey
Mid-Atlantic Recreation Planner: Bethlehem, PA

I am originally from Carlisle, PA but I have lived, traveled, and hiked in many beautiful places. My love for the mountains and trails began in my adolescence by being active in my high school's Environmental Club and from hiking and working in PA state parks. This led me to pursue a degree at Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!) and explore the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains. I received a B.S. in Natural Resources Recreation with a minor in Forestry. I then moved to the Twin Cities and received a M.S. in Natural Resources and Science Management from the University of Minnesota. Even without mountains Minnesota had the Boundary Waters to offer an outdoor enthusiast. Beyond my current position with AMC I have been working in the field throughout college and beyond. My past work experience has been working for Virginia DCR – State Parks as a District Resource Specialist, a Research Assistant on a recreation Benefits-Based Management project, a Project Coordinator for a community tourism assessment program as well as seasonal positions as a GMC Backcountry Caretaker and a PA State Park's Environmental Interpretative Technician.

What does AMC's Mid-Atlantic Recreation Planner do? I was hired in August 2006 into this newly developed position. AMC decided to begin some exciting new recreation projects in the Highlands. The first big project is the extension of the Highlands Trail into the PA Highlands (check out www.outdoors.org/PA_Highlands). Beyond working on the extension of the Highlands Trail I help to support the Mid-Atlantic chapters with their trail efforts. I also help get more folks out into the Highlands with working with chapter leaders and conservationists to plan recreational activities to “critical treasures” in the Highlands.

Matt Moore
Souhtern New England Regional Trails Coordinator: Berkshires, MA

Hi, I am Matt and I love trails. I hiked the AT in 1999, then hiked a bunch out west including the John Muir Trail and Wonderland Trail, then hiked a bunch of the AT again then worked on the AT as a Ridgerunner for the AMC a couple years and then put in a bunch of seasons on trail crews for the AMC, RMC, GMC, and Yosemite. I managed in that time to get a degree from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA.

Now I am excited to have the best of both worlds: a full time job in trails. I manage the Ridgerunner program in Connecticut and the Volunteer Vacation Program in Massachusetts, as well as work with the local AMC Trails Committees and other organizations local to southwestern New England to promote stewardship and enjoyment of our great trails!

Mariah Keagy

White Mountain Trails Supervisor, White Mountains, NH

Hawk Metheney
Backcountry Management Specialist: White Mountains, NH

Alex DeLucia
North Country Trails Volunteer Programs Supervisor: White Mountains, NH

I am originally from New Haven, CT, and a graduate of Unity College in Maine in Adventure Education/ Art. Before working with the AMC I led long distance canoe trips, worked for a dog sledding company, and worked as a climbing guide. I am been working with the AMC Trails Department since 2001, and got my start as a Camp Dodge Trail Crew Leader in the Whites. I still enjoy climbing and mountaineering, and food! I am a fairly good cook if I do say so myself, and many of my past participants (especially my past Acadia Crews) would agree with me. Now I coordinate the North Country Volunteer Vacations and Custom Crews, AMC Adopt-A-Trail Program, Alpine Stewardship Program, and AT Corridor Monitoring Program in the southern Mahoosucs. My passion is to work with volunteers, and I can think of no better setting than the trails of the White Mountains, Baxter and Acadia.



Don Hoffses
Trails Challenge Coordinator: Boston, MA

I have been working at the AMC since 2007 as part of the Coleman Trails Challenge. I have been an active member of the Worcester Chapter for many years with trails and conservation. One of my job functions is to work with land managers in the Chapters area and identify possible trails members can adopt and get them the training they need to do so. The Chapter Trails Challenge is trying to get local AMC Chapters to adopt 5 new miles of trails each year.

A rewarding part of the job is getting inner-city youth out and working on the trails. This has been very satisfying for me to see kids succeed on projects they initially found overwhelming and didn’t think they could accomplish. The best part of the job is meeting and working with the people who get out and do the work on the trails.