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Board of Trustees

Dick Lemieux

President
Trustee since Nov. 2011, Term expires Nov. 2023

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Dick is a retired highway engineer and transportation planner.   He served four years as an elected member of the Concord City Council and 15 years the Chairman of Concord's Transportation Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC) and he currently serves on TPAC and Concord's Bicycle and Pedestrian subcommittee.


He is a past board member of the NH Regional Trails Coordinating Council, Concord 2020, Groundwork Concord, the NHDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Advisory Board, the Central NH Bicycling Coalition, the NH Rail Trails Coalition, the US Transportation Research Board's "Standing Committee on Bicycling" and the Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission.


He wrote the first nationwide bicycle facilities design guide in 1981 and the goals and objectives chapter of the NH statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan in 2000. He was instrumental in organizing and obtaining grant funding for the MRGT Feasibility Study and was a member of the Steering Committee that guided the study. 


He has been a bicycling enthusiast for more than 50 years. In the mid-1970's, he commuted to work by bicycle on one of America's first and premiere riverside bike paths: the American River Bike Trail, in Sacramento, CA, a model for the MRGT. Dick and his wife, Barbara, ride on bike paths, trails and rural roads all over New England.

Patrice Rasche

Treasurer
Trustee since Mar. 2019, Term expires Nov. 2024

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Patrice lives in Canterbury with her husband and two certifiably gorgeous dogs.  A computer programmer now retired from the State of New Hampshire, she spends her time biking, hiking, skiing, and rabble-rousing as only a tree hugging liberal can do.

Christine Vigneault

Secretary
Trustee since Aug. 2019, Term expires Nov. 2024

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Christine, originally from the North Shore of Massachusetts, now calls Concord home.  She lives in town with her husband, Andrew, and her two young and boundlessly energetic boys, Colin and Will.  As a coach with the Concord Crew youth rowing team, she is often on the Merrimack, marveling at Concord's landscape from the water, the hidden gem that will soon be accessible by way of the Merrimack River Greenway Trail.  Inspired by the success and beauty of the rail trail in her home town of Newburyport, she's joined the board and is eager to help showcase Concord's natural beauty and environment as well.

Greg Bakos

Chair, Board of Trustees
Trustee since Nov. 2011, Term expires Nov. 2025

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Greg is a Concord resident and active member of the bike subcommittee of Concord’s Transportation Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC).  He is a transportation engineer with Vanasse Hangen Brustlin in Bedford and has been fortunate to augment his love of cycling with professional duties that have included planning and/or design of bike and pedestrian facilities in the four northern New England states.  He is also a League Cycling Instructor and is a Board Member of the NH Bike-Walk Alliance, and a member of the NH Complete Streets Advisory Committee.  He hopes to contribute his technical expertise and knowledge of state and federal funding and regulatory programs to the development of the MRGT.

Chris Kane

Chair, Nominating Committee
Trustee since Nov. 2011, Term expires Nov. 2025

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With great sadness, we report that Chris passed away suddenly  on September 25, 2023.  Chris was a member of the Steering Committee for the MRGT Feasibility Study in 2010 and he was a founding member of the Friends of the MRGT and a member of the Board of Trustees in 2011.  His contributions to our success were indespensible.  We will miss him.


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Chris is a consulting ecologist with over 15 years of experience in land conservation and stewardship, conservation planning, resource inventory and field ecology. Prior to consulting he was Easement Steward for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Chris is currently providing a variety of natural resource inventory, botanical survey, land conservation planning and stewardship services to municipalities, agencies and organizations in New England, and is an Adjunct Faculty member at Antioch New England Graduate School. Conservation and ecology are Chris’s second career, having formerly toured, performed and taught widely as a classical guitarist. For nine years Chris served as trustee and chair of Five Rivers Conservation Trust, during which time he worked on the planning and dedication of early sections of the Heritage Trail. He currently serves on the Concord Conservation Commission.

Craig Tufts

Chair of the Trail Committee
Trustee since Nov. 2011, Term expires Nov. 2023

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Craig is a GIS and Transportation Planner with the Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission, a non-profit local government organization that assists 20 communities in the Concord area with transportation, land use, and environmental planning.  At the Planning Commission, he has spearheaded several bicycle and pedestrian related plans and projects, chairs the NH Department of Transportation Complete Streets Advisory Committee, supports a number of trails committees and initiatives, and also works on a wide range of land use and natural resource projects. He is also a member of Concord’s Transportation Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC) and chairs the Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee.  Craig is a longtime bicyclist and a dedicated bicycle commuter, and dreams of one day riding the MRGT through Concord with his kids.

Rick Silverberg

Chair, Fundraising Committee
Trustee since Oct. 2020, Term expires Nov. 2025

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Rick is the Chair of the NH chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club and has been the Director of Leadership and Mountain Safety Schools continuously since 1982.

He has been an AMC 4-season mountain trip leader since 1977 and is a long-time member of AMC club-wide Outdoor Leadership Development Committee.

He is avid hiker, snowshoer, XC skier, mountain biker, trail developer and maintainer, and wilderness canoe tripper.

He is also a master builder and set designer with the local community theater group “Concord NH Community Players”.

He has retired from Field Facility University of NH School of Social Work, and a retired CEO of Health First Family Care Center. He is a retired Managing Director of Caring Community Network of the Twin Rivers public health network.

He is on the Board of Directors of the Winnipesaukee River Trail Association and the Bow Trails Committee.

He is a Principle in Synergy Works Consulting.

Rick has over 40 years of experience developing coalitions, interagency collaborations, developing and administering comprehensive health and mental health private nonprofit agencies, outdoor leadership development programs and excursions of all sorts. Rick has a long history of experience using and teaching collaborative leadership, experiential education and mountain leadership.

Nick Holmes

Trustee since July 2023, Term expires Nov. 2025

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Nick is a recently retired construction attorney, with more than twenty years experience representing owners, architects, engineers, and contractors throughout the United States. He has been an avid cyclist since law school, enjoying touring, gravel and especially mountain biking.  Nick serves on the steering committee for Concord Hospital’s Pedaling for Payson fundraising event and is an officer of the Central NH chapter of the New England Mountain Biking Association.  Nick also enjoys traveling, hiking, backpacking, canoeing, and wandering through the woods with his dog.  Nick and his wife Brigette live in Concord.

Katy Murray

Trustee since Oct. 2023; Term expires Nov. 2025

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Katy is a new K-8 Health teacher at Northwood School, bringing over 20 years’ experience in health, wellness, fitness and recreation, and a lifetime of energetic creativity to her lesson planning. An avid runner, triathlete, and multi-sport athlete, Katy brings decades of experience in event planning, race organization and group ride leadership to the Friends of the MRGT Board of Trustees.


A New Hampshire native, Katy has lived in nine states across the US since graduating high school, including Oregon and Alaska. She returned to her home state in January 2022, and currently resides in Concord. Her work with the Oregon Department of Transportation and Commute Options in Bend, Oregon sparked a strong interest in improving community walkability and safe bike routes to school and more. Katy has dreams of being able to bike pack hundreds of miles within the state of New Hampshire without sharing space with motor vehicles. She would also love to see safer commute options within the city of Concord. She is hoping to increase community awareness and involvement as the momentum for the Merrimack River Greenway Trail grows.

Scott Clark

Trustee since Oct. 2023; Term expires Nov. 2025

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Scott is a nonprofit management consultant with 30 years of experience in strategic planning, operations, budgeting and donor relations. His focus has been on international agricultural development, starting as a Peace Corps volunteer in highland Ecuador, followed by management positions with nongovernmental organizations in Mozambique, Ghana, and Washington DC.


He’s a longtime hiker, cyclist, and urban walker and has done volunteer trail maintenance and invasive species removal. Scott and his partner Lesley live in Concord and strive to do most in-town errands by bike or foot.

Kelly Ovitt Puc

Trustee
Trustee since 2013, On sabbatical until 2024

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Kelly has lived and worked in Concord since 2006.  She is an attorney at the law firm of Sulloway & Hollis, P.L.L.C., Concord, where her practice includes the representation of businesses, non-profits and individuals in general corporate, real estate, commercial financing and bankruptcy law matters.  Kelly is a recreational runner and regularly participates in local road, trail and adventure races.  She also enjoys swimming, kayaking, hiking, biking and skiing and exploring the many ways and places to be active outdoors in New Hampshire.

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