Every month, we’ll be highlighting a TAMBA Trail Legend – a volunteer, donor, or community partner who’s gone above and beyond to support TAMBA’s work. None of the awesome things we achieve would be possible without the Trail Legends who work with us.
This month, we’re celebrating the Women Trailblazers of TAMBA!
- Eight women have held TAMBA Board of Director’s seats since 1988. A study found that the nonprofit sector is the third largest employment sector in the country and 73% of all nonprofit employees are women (Forbes 2020). We have a lot of women to thank for all of the amazing work nonprofits accomplish especially in Lake Tahoe.
- 50% of TAMBA’s staff are currently women (Trails Director, Kristine Koran and Operations Manager, Beca Martland)
- 2 out of 3 Board Officer positions are currently held by women. (our Board Chair, Jess Smith and Secretary, Jenna Langer)
- 1 of the 3 Initial Founders in 1988 was Kathlee Martin.
- Special Shout Outs to:
- Amy Fish, who is responsible for organizing many of TAMBA signature community events to date.
- Christine Dobrowski, for being instrumental in many of the logistical systems still in place today and contributing to the well-oiled machine that is TAMBA.
- Dina Anderson, Trail Crew Leader who’s spent countless hours working on the Lily Lake Trail and the Stinger Trail.
- Helene Drumm, a driving force behind much of the work on the beautiful Meeks Ridge Trail.
- Lani Raspen, who plans and hosts ladies’ rides and women’s mountain biking clinics. Lani is the Co-owner of Shoreline of Tahoe, and she also can be found volunteering at most TAMBA events and Dig Days.
- Sue Hughes, pioneer crew leader responsible for many signage improvements on the North shore over the years and for serving on the board.
A Big Thank You to these women and all trailblazers who have supported TAMBA and advocated for mountain biking over the years.
Mark your calendars to join us in kicking off our Women’s Trail College: Intro to Trail Building on June 29th.
TAMBA Trail Operations currently has 5 women crew leaders and hopes to double that in 2024. Please join us at either training opportunity on Crew Leader Training April 27-28 or Women’s Trails College: Intro to Trail Building June 29 to gain knowledge and learn new skills.
Thank you to the women who have supported TAMBA over the years. Your dedication, passion, and expertise in building and advocating for Tahoe trails do not go unnoticed! We’re excited to grow our TAMBA team and look forward to breaking down barriers and opening more doors to women in mountain biking.
