Adirondack Wilderness Advocates is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and expanding the wildest places in the Adirondack Park.
We were founded in 2016 by a trio of outdoor enthusiasts, all of whom were concerned by the current state of Wilderness management and advocacy. Beginning with an award-winning campaign to promote an all-Wilderness classification for the Boreas Ponds Tract, we accumulated numerous supporters and decided to incorporate in 2019.

Our People

Board of Directors

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Pete Nelson
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Kayla White
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Ari Epstein
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Craig McGowan
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Janelle Jones
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Amy Nelson
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Tim Mount
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Contributors

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Bill Ingersoll

Bill is a writer and publisher of the Discover the Adirondacks series of guidebooks.

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Brendan is a landscape and nature photographer, as well as a limnologist who focuses on studying Adirondack lakes and rivers.

Brendan Wiltse

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Shelly Cihan

Shelly has been a resident of the Adirondack Park for over 25 years. With a degree in Natural Resources: Environmental Science, she currently sits on the board of the National Audubon Society, with former appointments on both Northern New York Audubon and the Audubon Council of NY/CT. She is the founder of Rooted Rock Marketing, a full-service marketing agency in Saranac Lake, NY which helps businesses of all sizes across the Adirondacks and the Northeast.

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Tyler Socash is a former Wilderness Trip Leader with Adirondack Mountain Club. After receiving his master’s degree at the University of Rochester, Tyler embarked on a 7,000-mile thru-hiking journey across the Pacific Crest Trail, Te Araroa across New Zealand, and the Appalachian Trail. He is a New York State Licensed Guide, a Leave No Trace Master Educator, and trained in Wilderness First Aid.

Tyler Socash

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Jacqueline Keating is an environmental sociologist and park ranger for the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. When she’s not sneaking back to the Adirondacks, her research focuses on the human dimensions of wildlife management, specifically brown bears, polar bears, and the impacts of ecotourism in remote communities across the state of Alaska.

Jacqueline Keating

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Tyra is a geographer, professor, and writer who has also worked as a summit steward, park ranger, and physical science technician.

Tyra Olsted, Ph.D.

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Andy Testo is the trails manager for a nature center in the Adirondacks. He passionately maintains a 25 mile trail system to include a multitude of ages, abilities, and multi-use recreational activities. He is an avid hunter and fisherman, a trainer forester, enjoys naturalizing, mountain biking, hiking, paddling, swimming, skiing and snowshoeing. Andy believes there is an appropriate place for everything.

Andy Testo

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Scott served as New York State Forest Ranger for 25 years, much of that time in the Adirondack High Peaks, before retiring from the force in 2021.

Scott van Laer