PCTA Hires New Associate Regional Reps Please join me in welcoming aboard new Associate Regional Representatives to the Pacific Crest Trail Association staff!   Eric Mason has been working for the PCTA as a technical advisor since February 2009. Prior to that, he worked as a Northwest Service Academy AmeriCorps crew leader and his crew worked on the PCT.  Eric is from the upper peninsula of Michigan and earned his bachelor degree in International Studies from Northern Michigan University, where he played varsity football.  He also spent time studying abroad in Brazil and Spain.  He is also conservational in both Spanish and Portuguese.  You can contact him at emason@pcta.org   Val Sokolowski has also been added to the PCTA staff as an Associate Regional Rep.  Val will be working in Southern California until the beginning to middle of February when she will then transition to working in both Justin's and Ian's regions.  Val, as many of you know has been working for the PCTA as a Technical Advisor.  Previously, she worked as a crew leader for SCA for many seasons.  She also worked for the Southwest Conservation Corps, and after Hurricane Katrina worked in Mississippi as a field supervisor for the Gulf Coast Conservation Corps doing environmental restoration.  She earned her undergraduate degree in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh where she went on to earn graduate degree in education, specifically special education.  She also taught environmental education.  She is a rabid Steelers fan and her favorite color is orange.  You can contact her at vsokolowski@pcta.org   Isaac Daniel started this week in the Columbia Cascades office; he has worked for the last six years for the McKenzie River Ranger District leading youth conservation corps crews and working on the district's wilderness trail crew.  He grew up in Baltimore escaped to New Jersey to attend Rutgers University and then really escaped when he moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2002 to join up with the Northwest Service Academy.  Isaac has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Planning and Design and two masters degrees from Oregon State University in Geography and Forest Resources.  On top of all that, he's learning to play old time banjo!  You can contact him at idaniel@pcta.org   Joe Grossman started in the Southern California office this week. He is originally from New Hampshire.  Most recently Joe worked for the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI), an organization that rebuilds, builds and maintains the main ascent routes to Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks.  He has worked for CFI for 5 seasons. Joe received his Bachelor of Science degree from University of Vermont in Environmental Studies concentrating on Geo-spacial technology.  His is also an avid ultimate Frisbee player.  You can contact him at jgrossman@pcta.org   Sam Commarto will start February 1st.  He has been working for the Student Conservation Association (SCA) in some capacity since 2004; he led a SCA-PCT crew in the winter 06-07 in SoCal and most recently worked for SCA's New Hampshire Conservation Corps as the Conservation Manager.  Most of his positions have dealt with member management and mentorship, trail building, work skills training, chainsaw and rigging training, agency partnerships, risk management and volunteer coordination.  He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Union College in Schenectady, NY.  He also loves Bluegrass, backcountry skiing, and the writings of John Steinbeck and Hunter S. Thompson.  You can contact him at scommarto@pcta.org   While Eric, Joe, and Sam are starting the new year in Southern California, when the snow melts and the weather warms up, they will be traveling North to work in other regions along the PCT. So again, join me in welcoming our new staff! Jennifer Tripp Coordinator of Volunteer Programs Pacific Crest Trail Association

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