Voices of Dedication
Voices of Dedication
Inspired Leadership
THE NEXT GENERATION ADVISORY COUNCIL (NextGen) seeks to support the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) strategic goals of bringing new partners and new people to the A.T. In fostering a culture of inclusion, the ATC will cultivate greater strength and resilience as we work to manage and protect the A.T. and its greater ecosystem of communities and people. The council consists of 14 to 16 young, diverse leaders between the ages of 18 and 30 who serve two-year terms. Members work to address barriers, create a more inclusive narrative of people utilizing the A.T., and contribute advice to the ATC on programs and policies designed to encourage membership, advocacy, and leadership from a younger and more culturally diverse population than the current demographic. In 2020, that work included supporting strategic directions, advancement, advocacy during Hike the Hill, communications pieces (blogs, articles, podcasts, and more), and continued program participation during Youth Summits and education workshops. Our gratitude and thanks go to Kristin Murphy, Marcela Maldonado, and J.T. Stokes who completed their terms and provided incredible service over the last few years. And we welcome our four newest members, Sophie Mangassarian, Aaron Troncoso, Peter Shultz, and Jacob Wildfire.
Inspired Leadership - Kristin Murphy

An inaugural member of NextGen since 2015, Kristin served on NextGen’s leadership team as Liaison for the last three years. Kristin hails from the suburbs of Chicago where hiking and camping were not a regular part of her life growing up. It wasn’t until she had interned at Canyonlands National Park in Utah that she truly understood and appreciated the importance of conservation of our public lands. “After that, I was truly hooked on public lands advocacy,” Kristin says. After graduate school, she advocated for Congress to fully fund and permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which provides funding for land acquisition projects including many projects along and near the A.T. through her position as campaign coordinator for the LWCF Coalition.

In her NextGen liaison role, Kristin represented the Youth and Diversity Committee of the ATC Stewardship Council, as well as the Board of Directors’ Strategic Directions Committee. She served as the conduit between NextGen and the overarching ATC network. During her years of service, her impact to the organization was phenomenal — including suggestions that literally changed ATC’s mission statement, speaking with members of Congress and staff about the A.T. during Hike the Hill, planning events and volunteer workdays during National Public Lands Day, and providing meaningful content for ATC’s publications and social media posts. Most importantly, Kristin helped advance the NextGen Advisory Council into a group that provides incredible advice, feedback, and support towards ATC’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion strategic direction. “The fact that we have a continuous path of wild lands that stretches north to south across the U.S. and that it continues to be protected to this day lends proof to the legacies that we are all capable of leaving,” she says.

Inspired Leadership - Marcela Maldonado

As a founding member of the NextGen Council, Marcela also helped create the council’s base, which set their intention, goals, and mission. As a leading member, Marcela supported the foundational creation of NextGen’s charter and goals. She facilitated difficult conversations around environmental equity, and assisted in the management of the council’s calls, meetings, and events. Marcela’s strong leadership and empowering voice encourages those around her to think differently. “It’s important to bring new people to the Trail and show them that it is theirs,” she says. “The future of the Trail is in exactly that, bringing in new people and adapting to new ways of using and caring for it.” She also assisted in the planning of a National Trails Day event in New York that brought new and urban partners to the A.T. And she lobbied with congressional delegates during Hike the Hill in Washington, D.C. As an artist, Marcela contributed her talent to create thank-you cards for ATC’s advocacy efforts. She currently serves as a Land Steward for the Nature Conservancy in New York and she hosts a podcast about the outdoors and the environmental field alongside her fellow NextGen council member, Dakota Jackson, called “Woke in the Woods.”

Inspired Leadership - J.T. Stokes

J.T. (Jillian-Taylor) Stokes is an eco-spiritualist and perennial student of off-grid homesteading, self-sufficiency skills, and all things botany. She served on the NextGen Council starting in 2018 and provided incredible facilitation skills to keep the group focused and on topic. She continuously delivered critical feedback to ATC staff and fellow NextGen members and contributed greatly to the structure of operations. J.T. led the 2020 Partnerships Task Force of the council, creating a framework for authentic partnerships and created solutions for this through innovative job descriptions for internships and regional NextGen councils. In 2019, she also led the effort to streamline and improve new member orientation, eventually titled the “Onboarding Task Force.” After participating in the ATC’s co-hosted Everybody’s Environment Emerging Leaders Summit (E3) in North Carolina, she became a leader in a newly formed regional council. E3 Council members are working together to develop an organizational structure and action plan with a vision to serve as an inclusive community hub where young people are empowered to find new outdoor opportunities, network, participate in events, and develop leadership skills. She is currently the E3 Council facilitator.

Inspired Leadership - Sophie Mangassarian

Originally from Maryland, Sophie is a current Environmental Policy student at the University of Colorado Boulder. Through her graduate capstone project, she has been working closely with the Colorado Office of the Trust for Public Land to advance public space, active transportation policies, and highlight their role in health and social equity. Previously she has worked closely in both the nonprofit and governmental fields in research, program support, and science advocacy. Her interest in working with policies at the intersection of public land, environmental quality, and social equity began when she was a biology major at Virginia Tech. Living in Blacksburg, Virginia, Sophie got to experience the benefits of living near the Appalachian Trail and is committed to ensuring that everyone can feel welcome to form their own connections with the Trail.

Inspired Leadership - Aaron Troncoso

Aaron is an aspiring environmental advocate originally from New York City. As a rising second-year law student, he is currently pursuing a dual J.D. and Master of Environmental Management at Yale Law School and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Before graduate school, he worked to help communities around Massachusetts prepare for the impacts of climate change at the grassroots nonprofit Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW). Aaron is also passionate about conservation and long-distance hiking. As part of a senior thesis project, he hiked 1,100 miles along the A.T. from West Virginia to Maine, studying how an increase in use has affected the Trail’s ecology and social dynamics. He has also section-hiked portions of the Continental Divide Trail in Montana and Wyoming.

Inspired Leadership - Peter Shultz

Peter is a program manager at Microsoft, where he works on high-performance computing. He completed a northbound thru-hike of the A.T. in 2018 after graduating from the University of Michigan with a BS in computer science and economics. While at Michigan, he helped organize and run MHacks, one of the largest collegiate hackathons in the world. “I am excited to work with other members of NextGen and the ATC to improve the A.T. experience for everyone,” he says.

Inspired Leadership - Jacob Wildfire

Jacob lives in Alexandria, Virginia and works as a public sector consultant supporting government and nonprofit clients to more effectively achieve their missions, including clients like the Bureau of Land Management, Farm Service Agency, and National Park Service. Before working as a consultant, Jacob served as a teacher in rural Appalachia (Prestonsburg, Kentucky) with the Teach for America program, teaching English Language Arts. He attended and received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University. During his time there, he was president of the Outdoors Club and led backpacking and canoeing trips all over the Mid-Atlantic. Jacob originally hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he grew up exploring the Laurel Highlands of western Pennsylvania with the Boy Scouts of America, eventually earning his Eagle Scout award. He also volunteered with the Student Conservation Association during one high school summer, cementing his love for Trail work and conservation.

Inspired Leadership - Jacob Wildfire

Jacob lives in Alexandria, Virginia and works as a public sector consultant supporting government and nonprofit clients to more effectively achieve their missions, including clients like the Bureau of Land Management, Farm Service Agency, and National Park Service. Before working as a consultant, Jacob served as a teacher in rural Appalachia (Prestonsburg, Kentucky) with the Teach for America program, teaching English Language Arts. He attended and received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University. During his time there, he was president of the Outdoors Club and led backpacking and canoeing trips all over the Mid-Atlantic. Jacob originally hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he grew up exploring the Laurel Highlands of western Pennsylvania with the Boy Scouts of America, eventually earning his Eagle Scout award. He also volunteered with the Student Conservation Association during one high school summer, cementing his love for Trail work and conservation.

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