Lindsey Schultz
Executive Director
lindseys@tahoerimtrail.org
Lindsey’s love for the Tahoe Rim Trail started young—so young that on her first volunteer trail workday in the early ’90s, the shovel she used was taller than she was! Born at Incline Village Hospital (a rare claim to fame), she spent her childhood exploring every corner of Lake Tahoe, from its beaches and coves to its trails and snowboarding routes. Tahoe wasn’t just home—it was her playground.
Her young adult adventures took her from the Bay Area to Long Beach, Denmark to Florida, and even Portland, but Tahoe kept calling her back. In 2011, she returned and joined the Tahoe Rim Trail Association as an AmeriCorps member focused on trail operations. What was supposed to be a temporary gig turned into a career, as she worked her way up through the organization, eventually stepping into the role of Executive Director in 2024.
With over a decade dedicated to the TRTA, Lindsey is passionate about preserving and enhancing this incredible trail. She’s honored to lead the organization and, when she’s not in the office, you’ll probably find her out on the trail—preferably deep in the forest with her dogs by her side.
Sam Donnelly
Trail Operations Director
samd@tahoerimtrail.org
Sam grew up on the east coast just outside of Boston but developed a love for the outdoors and the west at an early age on annual family vacations to Yosemite and the eastern Sierra. In the summer of 2014 after a back-to-back NOLS course and John Muir Trail hike, Sam discovered his passion for backpacking and thru-hiking. After countless shorter trips, in 2020 he scratched his thru-hiking itch, completing Te Araroa in New Zealand. While in college Sam began working for the Forest Service, spending his first season patrolling the backcountry of the Emigrant Wilderness. Nine years and four national forests later, Sam is thrilled to return to California to work with a great organization that is passionate about the ability of trails to change lives. As Trail Operations Director Sam is excited to help maintain and improve this incredible trail.
Colleen Hoffman
Engagement Manager
colleenh@tahoerimtrail.org
Colleen grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and spent her summers exploring the Tahoe Basin. It was during those summers that she first fell in love with the towering mountains and pristine alpine lakes. After earning degrees in Communications and Anthropology from the State University of New York at Oswego, Colleen heard the Rocky Mountains calling and moved west to Colorado. Colleen’s professional journey includes recruiting for a global manufacturing company and directing a children’s summer camp in the High Sierra, this experience further deepened her commitment to outdoor recreation and stewardship. In 2023, Colleen completed both the Pacific Crest Trail and the Long Trail (both southbound) with her partner and triple crowner, LongJohn, officially catching the thru hiking bug! Colleen is thrilled to be returning to the Tahoe Basin and joining the TRTA as Engagement Manager.
Judi Van Fleet
Finance Manager
judiv@tahoerimtrail.org
Judi first started hiking while growing up in Virginia. She explored trails in the Shenandoah Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, and Great Falls National Park. A few years after obtaining her degree in Biology at the University of Virginia, Judi decided to join a group of friends who were moving to Lake Tahoe to be ski bums for the winter. She was immediately in awe of the abundance of amazing local trails, especially the renowned Tahoe Rim Trail. There, she fell in love with trail running, and now her favorite pastime is venturing out on the trails with her dog, Pliny. A passion for the TRT also runs in the family as her parents are long-time volunteers with TRTA. Judi is excited to combine her love of the outdoors with her professional background in finance.
Mark Wise-Hassett
Youth Programs Manager
markh@tahoerimtrail.org
Mark’s love for the outdoors began at an early age taking trips to the Zoo, Aquarium, gardens, and local county parks with his Nana and older sibling. After spending his youth in the Hudson River Valley, he journeyed to the Finger Lakes of New York to pursue a degree in Outdoor Adventure Leadership and Environmental science at Ithaca College. During his studies he spent time exploring the West Coast on a semester program with the Northwest Outward Bound School. His values of services and stewardship led him to pursue work with National Park Service in interpretation at Death Valley National Park and Redwood National and State Parks. His love for backpacking in the outdoors led him to attempt a SOBO thru hike of the PCT in 2019. After completing the Northern Half, he stepped away from the trail which took him back and forth across the country pursing opportunities in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Then in 2022 he returned to the PCT completing a NOBO thru hike with his fiancée. Finding a love for the Northern Sierra he moved to Truckee, CA to work for Tahoe National Forest as environmental educator. He then found his way to the Marin Headlands of Golden Gate National Recreation Area honing his honing his operational and logistical skills running environmental education programs with NatureBridge. Mark has found his way back to the Tahoe Basin. He is overjoyed to be returning to the mountains to help steward the Youth Programs at TRTA and inspire new connections between youth and the natural world.
Maggie Wise-Hassett
Membership Coordinator
maggiew@tahoerimtrail.org
Maggie grew up in Northeast Ohio, just miles from Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Her early days fishing and swimming in the muddy waters of the Grand River, turning over logs for salamanders, and wandering in the woods with her brother and dog shaped her curiosity and sense of belonging. Family time was always spent outside, and the natural world quickly became inseparable from the idea of home.
Like many, college was a time of exploration and learning about her place in the world. Maggie started her studies in Roanoke, Virginia, pursuing Exercise Science and Kinesiology, then transferred to Ithaca College the following year. There, she discovered the Outdoor Adventure Leadership program and joined the Immersion Semester Program: a semester-long instructor-development experience in partnership with the Northwest Outward Bound School. It blended technical skill development with immersive experiences that helped her learn how to build strong relationships with others, with herself, and with the natural world. It was during this time, while weaving together her love of movement, writing, and nature, that Maggie began to understand how trails could serve as both a space and a practice for exploring identity, testing limits, and finding greater connection.
Over time, trails became bridges to new ways of seeing and being in the world. Trails became places she could confront herself, notice her strengths, and cultivate a sense of place within her community and the wider world. She experienced this most deeply on her thru-hikes of the Pacific Crest Trail and the Long Trail. Today, living in one place, trails remain her daily refuge, offering both a portal to calm and wonder, as well as a space to explore endurance, rhythm, and presence.
As Membership Coordinator for the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, Maggie sees the trail as are more than a path through the landscape; it is a place where identity is shaped, community is built, and care for the land becomes personal. She is excited to help grow a thriving, connected TRTA membership community rooted in love for all the Tahoe Rim Trail exemplifies to the people who use it.
