In 1969 Chris participated in a YMCA rafting trip on Oregon's Rogue River and has been a paddler ever since. Though the early years were dominated by army surplus rafts and inner tubes, today he's more likely to be creeking or squirt boating in a kayak or canoeing with his two daughters. Chris's most signifi cant contribution to AW to date has been his work on the Cheoah dam relicensing project, where by happy not-quite-coincidence he's been fortunate to combine his love of paddling with his professional skills as an economist. Chris also served as a Gauley Festival volunteer and is currently AW's Southeastern Regional StreamKeeper. In October 2002 Rod Baird and Chris shared honors as AW Volunteers of the Month in recognition of their Cheoah work. Chris's non-AW volunteer activities include originating and coordinating the Western Carolina Rescue Rodeo (1992- 1997), serving on the Pigeon River Fund board (1997-2004), serving as President, Newsletter Editor and Webmaster of the Western Carolina Paddlers (1990-1998, 2004-), and creating and maintaining the boatingbeta.com regional website.

I started paddling 28 years ago at Camp Mondamin in Tuxedo, North Carolina. Since those first strokes on Lake Summit, paddling has been a major part of my life. After graduating from camper to counselor I went on to teach canoeing for another four years. I've worked for an environmental consulting firm, an association offering environmental services to airports, and now the Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco. As a federal employee, I have helped to coordinate EPA?s comments on the recreational aspects of environmental assessments and environmental impact statements to make sure our whitewater concerns are addressed. Specifically, I hope to help open more river reaches so that we can all play and enjoy these resources for years to come. I can bring a lot to the AW board including prior board and association experience, dedication to the environment, a love of the river, and a passion for river preservation. I think that AW has made a substantial contribution to the whitewater community, and I would love to be a part of its growth as AW moves beyond its 50th anniversary.

Charlie Walbridge started canoeing at summer camp in the early 60's and started paddling whitewater seriously in college. He was an active C-1 slalom and wildwater racer and worked as part-time as a river guide in the 70's. He has paddled rivers throughout the US and Canada, including several first descents, but he now spends most of his time in West Virginia. He ran a mail order company, Wildwater Designs, for 22 years. There he developed the HiFloat life vest and adapted the throw-line rescue bag for whitewater use. He's been the Safety Chair for both the American Canoe Association (ACA) and American Whitewater (AW) and is well known for articles in American Whitewater that reporting on U.S. whitewater fatalities. He helped develop the ACA programs in both canoeing and swiftwater rescue, and continues to serve as an instructor-trainer. He's written many magazine articles and produced or contributed to numerous books, including The Boat Builder's Manual, Wildwater West Virginia, Appalachian Wildwater Volumes I and II, The Whitewater Rescue Manual, Knots for Paddlers, and several editions of the River Safety Report. He is on the board of Friends of the Cheat River, a watershed group, and Camp Mowglis, where he first learned to paddle. He currently works an independent sales rep and does consultations on canoeing safety for outfitters, organizations and attorneys. Charlie lives with his wife Sandy in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia and is active in Cheat and Upper Yough river issues. His web site is www.charliewalbridge.com.

My paddling career began at 15 as a result of an ill-fated trip in a Styrofoam sailboat, an unknown river, and a blown out dam. I was instantly hooked. I went to an outfitter and bought a boat, never having sat in a kayak before. Boating quickly became a key part of my life both from the river experience and the fellowship that developed with my paddling friends.

After a well spent youth as a raft guide and photographer on the Ocoee, Chattooga, and Gauley, I eventually completed college and began a career as an environmental engineer.

I became involved with AW as a volunteer in the 1990s on the Chattooga effort as AW started petitioning for access and study.

I was elected to the AW Board of Directors in 2013.

My relationship with American Whitewater started 13 years ago when I realized the importance of doing something I loved, and that would make a difference in areas I cared about. At that time, as today, rivers and water fill that special niche.

Former Conservation Director and Executive Director with American Whitewater (1991-2001), Rich is now a nonprofit and management consultant living in Bellingham, Washington. In addition to being an honorary board member with American Whitewater, Rich also serves on the board of the Whatcom Land Trust and is currently Managing Director with the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association.

Upon finishing school, I delved further into the paddling lifestyle, working an assortment of random part-time jobs so that I could live hand to mouth while kayaking as much as possible, and periodically maxing out my credit cards to travel and see new and different rivers. I did freelance web work for various paddlesports industry companies before taking a job with a kayak company where I worked for several years, learning the ins and outs of how the business side of kayaking works. Ultimately, the call of the rivers I hadn’t seen yet was too strong, and I returned to the kayak bum lifestyle, using my experience to start a company with my wife Andria making guidebooks and DVDs. Since then, we’ve spent four to six months on the road each year, exploring the rivers of our continent from our kayaks. My goals are to be a local boater wherever I go, and to experience as many whitewater rivers as possible. I hope that as an AW board member, I can work to further the connection and communication of what AW does to all paddlers, providing greater organizational transparency and encouraging more people to support and become involved in AW.

David grew up on the rivers of the west. His passion for rivers has led him into a career of river-related work. David offers a unique perspective on rivers since he has worked with river issues from many different viewpoints. He has been rafting and kayaking rivers noncommercially since 1982, and has lived and boated in most areas of the country. While completing a master's degree in natural resource management, David worked as a professional researcher investigating river user behavior. His specialties are river carrying capacity, crowding and conflict issues. He has volunteered countless hours for many river conservation related causes. During his education, David worked with the National Park Service's River, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program in Washington D.C., where he participated in national river conservation policy formulation and the Wild & Scenic Rivers Program. David is presently the River Manager for the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where he administers all river corridor use. Part of his job is coordinating the Snake River Fund, a donation program used on the Snake River in lieu of a mandatory fee program. This one-of-a-kind program is led by the river using community and works in partnership with the US Forest Service to protect and care for the Snake River Corridor.