President, Arrowsic, Maine
Don Hudson led wilderness expeditions, taught natural history, and directed Chewonki over more than four decades. He was presented with a Lifetime Merit Award by the U.S. EPA, the Espy Land Heritage Award of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and the L.L. Bean Outdoor Hero Award when he retired in 2010. Along with Don Nicoll, Don Founded AWWF in 2012. Don served on the Founding Board of Directors of the Friends of Baxter State Park, the Governor’s Working Group on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and served as Chair of the AWW Advisory Council. Don was also a Founder of the International Appalachian Trail, which extends across the arc of the North Atlantic Basin from Maine’s Katahdin to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
Secretary, Fort Kent, Maine
Leslie is a wife, a mother of two boys and a high school science teacher. She graduated from the University of Idaho with a Master's Degree focused in Reproductive Biology and is the Head Alpine Coach position for our high school ski team, an officer for the Lonesome Pine Trail board of directors, and a volunteer for the Can Am Crown sled dog race and biathlon ski races. She is one of six owners who manage the Too Far North Fit gym where she also coaches CrossFit classes.
Treasurer, Fort Kent, Maine
Peter Sirois is the President and CEO at Northern Maine Medical Center. He began his career with NMMC in 1981. Throughout his professional career, Peter has worked as Associate Administrator at NMMC, Administrator of the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough, Maine; Administrator of Borderview Manor in Van Buren; Controller for NMMC; and COO of NMMC. Peter is a trained paramedic, registered Maine Guide and a Maine Notary Public. He has been a licensed Maine Nursing Home Administrator since 1990.
Clerk, Portland, Maine
Aga is an attorney at the Drummond Woodsum in Portland, Maine, with a diverse practice serving schools, municipalities, and tribal nations and focusing on land use, energy, and climate change issues. Aga served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ellen Gorman of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. While in law school, she was the recipient of the Edward S. Godfrey Leadership Award, the Maine Law Alumni Association Award, and the Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation fellowship. As a former land use planner, Aga coordinated regulatory reviews of significant and controversial development projects for the Maine Land Use Planning Commission. When she is not lawyering, she enjoys spending time in nature – camping, biking, hiking, sailing, and paddling – with her wonderful children and husband.
Beverly, Massachusetts
Bob McIntosh, AWWF President 2015-2023, is a retired National Park Service senior executive and recipient of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Distinguished Service Award. Since retirement Bob has focused his volunteer efforts on the Allagash and as a board member of the Mongol Ecology Center. MEC is a Mongolian NGO providing assistance to protected areas in Mongolia and the Lake Baikal region of Siberia; and fostering the development of a Mongolian youth sustainability corps. Bob’s first visit to the Allagash was in the early 1950’s and decades later he served as a charter member of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway Advisory Council.
Portland, Maine
Dick served in the administrations of three Maine governors as Director of Public Lands, Commissioner of Conservation, and Director of State Planning before founding the Muskie School of Public Service at USM, where he taught public policy and community planning for 25 years. He is author or editor of numerous books and publications on Maine and its economy and natural resources. Since leaving full-time public service, he has chaired or served on various boards and commissions of the New England Governors’ Conference, the State of Maine, and the City of Portland.
Falmouth, Maine
Scot is a Senior Product Developer for Equipment at L.L. Bean Inc.. In this role he creates gear that helps people enjoy their time outdoors. Scot is a Registered Maine Guide, Wilderness First Responder and a former Baxter State Park Ranger. He has led paddling, backpacking and backcountry ski trips all over North America. A Maine native he enjoys exploring remote corners of the state. Scot also serves on the Steering Committee for the Maine Outdoor Coalition, The Great Maine Outdoor Weekend Board and the Winterkid’s Board of Directors.
Westbrook, Maine
Jana is an attorney at Bernstein Shur in Portland. A native of central Maine, Jana graduated from the University of Maine and is a graduate of the University of Maine School of Law, where she was an editor on the Maine Law Review. Jana is passionate about both natural resource protection and elder advocacy. In her free time, Jana is most likely found hiking and climbing in Maine and New Hampshire.
Old Town, Maine
Dr. John J. Daigle is Professor in Forest Recreation Management in the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Program at the University of Maine, Orono. Dr. Daigle received his Ph.D. in Forestry from the University of Massachusetts with an emphasis on application of social science concepts and methods to outdoor recreation and natural resource planning and management. He has studied public access to private lands for recreation in the Northern Forest and non-timber forest products among coastal private landowners. Prior to accepting his present position with the University of Maine, he served approximately 10 years with the National Park Service as a Park Ranger and U.S. Forest Service as a Research Forester. John is a native of Old Town, Maine and received his Bachelor of Science in Parks and Recreation Management at the University of Maine, Orono.
Fort Kent, Maine
Travis began his insurance career as a Commercial and Personal Lines producer for the Thibodeau Agency. Today he is a Partner, Account Executive and Producer for United Insurance in Fort Kent. Travis earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Maine and is currently working toward his Certified Insurance Councilor Designation and Star Designation. He has served as treasurer, secretary, and president of his local Lions Club in Fort Kent with a membership of 100. Travis is married to his high school sweetheart, Kristal, and they have a son, Everett, and a daughter, Ella. He enjoys fishing, skiing, hunting, canoeing, and any activity having to do with the outdoors.
Madawaska, Maine
A University of Maine, Orono graduate Tom had a career with Fraser Papers for over 25 years. Tom gained a second degree from University of Maine Fort Kent and a Master’s Degree from Fresno Pacific University and began a second career as a Health and Physical Education at Madawaska Middle High School. He has coached a variety of sports continuously and participated in various staff roles for the past 15 years. Tom is also a 2001-2002 Iota Class member of Leadership Maine; Registered Maine Guide; and Board President of St. John Valley Associates that serves adults with intellectual disabilities. Hobbies include enjoying the woods and waters of this great State year-round, reading and enjoying time at home.
Chelsea, Maine
Alec serves as representative in Maine for the New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) and also works on a number of specific projects; for example, efforts to accelerate the pace of conservation in Maine, efforts to define “exemplary forestry” and increase the use of wood in construction. Alec serves as a Senior Science and Policy Fellow for the Clean Air Task Force and heads up their efforts to capitalize on the role that forests can play in reducing global warming. He previously served as Director of the Maine Forest Service and has over 40 years of experience in natural resource planning and program administration.
Allagash, Maine
Chace lives in the valley opening where the Allagash and St. John Rivers meet. Allagash has been his family's home since the early 1800s and their identity is intertwined with it. He managed the Allagash Historical Society Museum, was involved in efforts to preserve cultural uses and resources of the Allagash River, and was an assistant ranger at Michaud Farm. His professional career has since been in electoral politics, government affairs, and now external affairs. However, Chace’s primary interests lie in Allagash where he is committed to documenting, studying, exploring the Moosetowner culture and identity. This identity is associated with the modern town of Allagash but historically referred to the people who live along the lower Allagash, upper St. John, and Little Black Rivers. As such, Chace believes interpreting and understanding the Moosetowner perspective is an integral part of preserving, protecting, and promoting the Allagash River in the future.
Oakland, Maine
Paul Johnson worked as a fishery biologist in Maine’s Moosehead Lake Region for 35 years. His responsibilities included managing fisheries in the headwaters of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. Throughout his career he strived to conserve Maine’s forested lands and their associated natural resources. In retirement Paul remains dedicated to maintaining these lands, their resources, and their traditional uses.
North Yarmouth, ME
Jason is the Brewmaster/VP of Brewing Operations at Allagash Brewing Company in Portland Maine. He began with the company in 1999, as the third full-time employee (including the owner). He has watched the brewery and craft beer grow greatly during that time. Prior to Allagash, Jason graduated from Bates College is currently on the board for the national trade organization for Craft beer, the Brewer's Association as well as the Economic Development and Sustainability Committee for North Yarmouth. He enjoys hiking, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, playing hockey and spending time with his family.
Greenville Junction, ME
Jenny is the Maine Brand Strategist for the Appalachian Mountain Club. A graduate of the University of Maine and Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program, she was instrumental in the successful launch of AMC’s Medawisla Lodge & Cabins and led the effort to designate AMC’s Maine Woods as an International Dark Sky Park. She is a Registered Maine Guide and serves on the boards of Destination Moosehead Lake, Moosehead Lake Region Economic Development Corp, Greenville Planning Board and is a Piscataquis County Advisor for the Maine Community Foundation. She also volunteers on a number of conservation and community projects. In her free time she loves to hike, trail run, cross country ski, and stand under the stars and look up.
Falmouth, ME
Phyllis Jalbert, a native of Fort Kent, operates the Jalbert Camps on the AWW and is the grand-daughter of the late Willard Jalbert – the “Old Guide." Following in his footsteps she has guided many trips on the Allagash River. Raised with the greatest respect for the river and its heritage, her goal has been to continue the legacy of the Jalberts on the Allagash. After graduating from Colby College in 1967, Ms. Jalbert moved to New York City. During this time, she pursued an interest in the restoration of distressed housing and helped pioneer the renovation generation of brownstone neighborhoods. She is a director of the U.S. Biathlon Assn., a Trustee for Maine Public and a director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine in the Michael Klahr Center named in memory of her late husband.
Eagle Lake, ME
Portland, ME
Don is one of the few people alive that has been directly involved with the Allagash Wilderness Waterway since its creation. He worked as a staff member in the United States House and Senate and was later a policy planner in government, health care and education. His Allagash ties date from his time as Senator Edmund Muskie’s administrative assistant, when he worked on the federal and state joint endeavor to establish the Waterway and the debates over the Dickey-Lincoln project and other proposed dams on the St. John River. Don was the Allagash Working Group chair, AWW Advisory Council founding chair, and AWWF founding president.
OUR MISSION IS to enhance the wilderness character of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, protect its environment, and preserve and foster knowledge and understanding of its natural, historic and cultural values. In close collaboration with the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, we serve as the Friends of the Allagash.
- Allagash Wilderness Waterway Foundation
