Executive Management Team

Neal Falk

President of the Board

Neal fulfilled a life long dream when he moved to the Carson Valley from South Florida in the summer of 2017. When he is not practicing Nevada law, he can be found hiking our Carson Valley trails with his yellow lab Jackson. Neal is passionate about our community and the preservation of it’s first class trail system. He joined our board in March 2019 and looks forward to helping CVTA fulfill it’s vision for the future.

Dianne Jennings

Treasurer

Dianne is an enthusiastic hiker and a lover of history. She combines these two passions by leading groups along the California Emigrant Trail through Carson Valley and up and over the Sierra Nevada, “History really comes alive when you struggle up the same trails and around the same obstacles that the gold-seekers faced in their rush to California in 1849.” Recently, Dianne journeyed even further back in history when she walked a portion of the 500-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in Spain. She would like to see more opportunities for long-distance walking here in the US, and has pioneered a 5-day walking route from Gardnerville to Minden. Closer to home, her favorite trails are the Eagle Ridge Trail and the River Fork Ranch Trail. She joined the CVTA Board of Directors in 2021.

Linda Kleiner

Vice President

Growing up in New Jersey, Linda spent time at the shore, not the mountains. She and husband Ed started a native seed company in Reno in 1992 and moved the operation to the Carson Valley in 2000, with sons Evan and Eric. Linda is on the board of GreenACTnv and is currently a mentor through Tahoe Youth & Family Services. She enjoys hiking the trails with gal pals.

Vickie Kieffer

Secretary

Vickie has been in Genoa for 10 years and appreciates all the hiking opportunities our Valley has to offer. “The CVTA has developed an amazing trail system and I want to be a part of it! I love the fact that I can step out my back door and hike all the way to the TRT.” Coming from Flagstaff, Arizona she was able to do lots of hiking, river rafting, and backpacking in the Grand Canyon. With an education in business and 20 years of experience as an Administrative Officer, she brings behind the scenes skills such as budgeting, fund raising, grant writing, and outreach.

Board of Directors

Laura Ammons

Director at Large

Laura hails from 2500 miles away in North Carolina where she spent her whole life hiking the Appalachian Trail, riding the bike trails around Raleigh, and boating on local lakes. She moved to Nevada in 2022 for a change of pace and to take advantage of the beautiful views and amazing access to nature. She joined the CVTA Board in 2023 to help preserve that access. In her professional role she serves the Nevada Supreme Court as Deputy CIO and holds a degree from UNC Chapel Hill. She loves cats, hula hooping, visiting state and national parks, and recently decided she doesn’t mind snow.

Lee Elson

VP/Membership

Lee has always loved the outdoors so when an opportunity to retire appeared, he and his wife Anne moved to the Carson Valley mainly for the recreation opportunities: skiing, snowshoeing, biking, hiking and kayaking. After building a passive solar house which later found itself only feet from the Clear Creek Trail, he finds time to be outdoors most days. He is active in his community in several volunteer capacities including the Douglas county Community Emergency Response Team and Angel Flight. Although he left a career in Southern California with NASA, he continues with a second part time job giving flight instruction.

Juan Guzman

Director at Large

After fifteen years of service as a planner in Mono and Douglas Counties and fourteen years as the Carson City Open Space Administrator, Juan retired in September of 2014. He is passionate about the stewardship of open space and sustainable forms of recreation. Jobs Peak Ranch Trail is so far his preferred trail where his Australian Sheppard Shelby  takes him for walks almost daily. The non-profit organization, Carson Valley Trails Association, has accomplished so much in a short time. Future growth and strength is tied  to collaboration and partnerships with similar  organizations and public agencies as expressed in the strategic plan. Based on his past work experience, Juan anticipates that fostering and maintaining these critical  relationships will become one of his areas of contribution to the Carson Valley Trails Association.

Michael Hartstein

VP/Chief Information Officer

Mike visited the Tahoe area frequently while living in the Bay Area, and finally moved to Carson Valley in 2009. Now he loves the convenience of local skiing, hiking, and snowshoeing. His favorite hike is up to the tops of the three peaks — Job’s Peak, Job’s Sister, and Freel Peak. 

Mike has Computer Science degrees from Cornell and Stanford, and taught Computer Science at the University of California at Davis, and he worked for several technology companies in the Bay Area.  Mike now manages CVTA’s technology assets including the CVTA website, document repository, email, and others.  Mike has been on the board of the Carson Valley Trails Association since 2011. 

Judy Larquier

VP/Outreach and Publicity

Judy was born and raised in Southern California but quickly moved to Fairbanks, Alaska after graduation from high school. After 17 years of beautiful summers, incredible Northern Lights and extremely cold winters, she traded in her boxing glove mittens for a more temperate climate. She has resided in Carson Valley for 30 years and appreciates all the easily accessible outdoor sports available close to home. She likes backcountry skiing, hiking, kayaking, backpacking and domestic and foreign travel. She comes from a management and public relations background and retired three years ago from Western Nevada College’s Community Education Department.

Laura Parks

Director at Large

Growing up in Southern California, Laura spent her summers as a camp counselor in the San Bernardino mountains. When she wasn’t exploring the mountains she was seeking the then  remote beaches along PCH with her dad who taught her to love the ocean, adventure and travel. Moving to the Carson Valley in 1989, she and her husband started teaching at DHS. They raised a family camping, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, and…of course…surf camping in Southern California. When she is not gardening or cooking, you will find her elevating her heart and attitude on trails in our beautiful valley and whatever state or country she happens to find a path.

Bill Rogers

VP/Marketing

After more than a decade of visiting the Tahoe region from the Philadelphia area, Bill and his wife Andrea decided become permanent residents of the Carson Valley in 2017. He made the move after establishing himself as an off-site freelance Creative Director and Copywriter for various marketing agencies. Along with this career move came more time for hiking and biking throughout the Carson Valley. Soon enough, Bill became a CVTA volunteer for trail building and eventually a board member. In addition to serving on the CVTA board, Bill volunteers for the Alpine Watershed Group, the Black Ice Theater Group, and gigs as a drummer whenever possible.

Jeremy Vlcan

VP/Trail Operations

Jeremy oversees the planning, design, construction and maintenance of trails around Carson Valley. He has worked and been active in the Nevada outdoors and the west for over 15 years. Jeremy’s contributions to the CVTA are to help establish and maintain a high quality system of trails for the benefit of residents and visitors to experience and enjoy.