Board of Directors

The Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Foundation’s Board of Directors is full of experienced, driven community members who volunteer their time and talents to provide guidance and strategic focus to ABWF.

Interested in joining their ranks? We are actively recruiting new board members help further the organization’s mission and ensure a healthy future for the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Contact us to learn more.

Board Officers

William Hopkins | Board President

Bill Hopkins lives in Bozeman where he is active in volunteerism and four-season outdoor recreation. He is retired from the National Park Service, having worked primarily in Yellowstone. He held several positions throughout his career, ultimately managing volunteer and youth groups for backcountry project work. He joined the ABWF board in 2019, soon after his retirement from the NPS. He is originally from Washington State and is a graduate of Western Washington University. Bill is drawn to the landscape of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness for its majestic high elevation peaks and plateaus cut by stunning canyons and valleys. As a member of ABWF’s board of directors, he welcomes the opportunity to protect the fabulous land, flora and fauna of the Beartooth and Absaroka mountain ranges. Ultimately, Bill believes proper backcountry stewardship is a balancing act; the maintenance of access to public land must be informed by a respect for the wild nature of the land. In his free time, Bill is an avid nordic and backcountry skier. He also enjoys fishing, gardening, and maintaining his 100 year old house. In addition to his work with the ABWF, he has volunteered for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and the Gallatin Valley Land Trust.

Peter Aengst | Vice President

Peter Aengst is a professional conservation advocate based in Bozeman. He has worked for The Wilderness Society since 2001 and currently serves as their Senior Regional Director for the Northern Rockies and Alaska. From that work and from past service on boards of other conservation and recreational non-profits, he brings deep experience with strategic planning, fundraising, governance, and management. A passionate hiker, backcountry skier, and climber Peter has many fond memories of trips into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and is dedicated to seeing it well stewarded for his son and future generations to enjoy. Peter is particularly drawn to the remote alpine lakes found in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, and he views volunteering his time on the ABWF board of directors as an important way of giving back to the landscape that has provided countless amazing trips and experiences for himself and his family. Stewardship in particular is important to Peter because it builds connection—and because the US Forest Service is unable to do it alone. In his free time, Peter enjoys hiking, backpacking, and backcountry skiing in remote, off-trail areas.

Lisa Robinson | Treasurer

Originally from Arizona and California, Lisa Robinson now lives in Montana where she enjoys spending as much time as possible exploring and supporting the public lands of the Greater Yellowstone region. She is a CPA and MBA with more than 30 years of experience in finance, operations, compliance, and nonprofit governance, including leadership roles in technology and mission-driven organizations. Lisa currently leads Security and Privacy Customer Enablement for a global technology company and has previously served in executive financial leadership positions including CFO and VP of Operations. Serving as Board Treasurer for the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Foundation allows Lisa to combine her considerable professional background with her lifelong passion for wilderness conservation, education, and stewardship. To Lisa, protecting and preserving wilderness requires active stewardship and community support, and organizations like ABWF are a vital part of ensuring public lands remain accessible and healthy for future generations. In her free time, Lisa enjoys hiking, cycling, trail volunteering, rescuing and fostering unhomed dogs, and exploring Montana’s public lands with family and friends.

Bernard Quetchenbach | Secretary

Bernie Quetchenbach has lived in Montana for twenty years, and is a professor emeritus at Montana State University Billings. He has written six books and edited or co-edited four others. He has been active in many community and environmental projects and organizations, including Wild Montana (formerly the Montana Wilderness Association), where he served as board president for the Eastern Wildlands Chapter, with a territory including much of the Montana half of the Beartooth Mountains. Bernie first encountered the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness when he lived in Northwestern Wyoming during the 1990s. Despite having access to closer wildlands, the pull of the Beartooths kept him coming back; their high meadows, lakes, and waterfalls were hard to match in other ranges. Bernie joined the ABWF board shortly after receiving an Artist-in-Residency award to give back something in return for the days spent on trails maintained in part by ABWF. The current pressures of climate change, increasing use, and development motivate his continued service to ABWF. Bernie believes vigilant stewardship is necessary to maintain connectivity for wildlife while keeping the wilderness sound and carefully accessible for humans. In his free time, Bernie enjoys wandering the backcountry in this remarkable corner of Greater Yellowstone.

Board Members

Lauren Brown

Lauren Brown is a fourth-generation Montanan, creative business owner, and outdoor advocate with deep roots in Montana’s outdoor culture and public lands community. She is co-owner of The Base Camp, a 50-year-old Montana outdoor specialty retailer, where she leads marketing, community partnerships, fundraising, and business development while helping grow and modernize the family business. Lauren previously owned and operated Lauren Brown Photography for more than 20 years and now lives in Bozeman with her husband and three daughters. Lauren joined the ABWF board as a way to give back to the landscapes that have given so much to her and her family’s lives over the years. The Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness was formative in shaping Lauren’s connection to the outdoors, and as both an outdoor enthusiast and co-owner of an outdoor specialty retailer, she understands how deeply healthy public lands and wilderness areas support Montana communities, outdoor recreation, local businesses, and people’s overall quality of life. In her free time, Lauren loves spending time outdoors with her family and their dogs— especially skiing, hiking, camping, and taking river trips throughout Montana. She is also an avid traveler, gardener, and beekeeper. Whether close to home or exploring somewhere new, Lauren is happiest when she’s outside sharing meaningful experiences with family and friends.

Garry Edson

Garry Edson retired from the U.S. Forest Service after 35 years of service. Twenty of those years were spent as a District Ranger on three different National Forests in Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana. His last appointment was as the Northern Region's Trail and Dispersed Recreation Coordinator. After his retirement in 2014, Garry spent four years working as a Naturalist Guide for a private company in Yellowstone National Park. After 11 years spent living in Bozeman, he and his wife recently moved back to Missoula, where they had lived previously. Garry is an enthusiastic outdoorsman who enjoys almost any outdoor activity: hunting, biking, skiing, and especially hiking. Volunteering with an organization like ABWF is one of the ways Garry chooses to assist wild and beautiful places like the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. He views board service “a wonderful opportunity to give back to these truly magnificent places.”

Carol Endicott

Carol spent her formative years in the Midwest, where she had the privilege of being a free-range child who explored the streams, woods, and fields outside her back door. After a decade-long stint on the East Coast, she felt the call of wilder places, first landing in Colorado, then moving to Montana, where she has lived for over 35 years. Those early experiences of nature exploration inspired an MS in Fish and Wildlife Management from Montana State University, and an over 30-year career working in both the public and private sectors, culminating with 17 years with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks working with Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Living on a cattle ranch outside of Livingston, the peaks of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness provide the stunning backdrop to daily life. As an avid outdoor enthusiast and scientist, Carol has spent years with hiking boots, skis and waders exploring the treasure that is the AB. Her occupational focus was conservation of Yellowstone cutthroat trout within and around wilderness. The majesty of the landscape, rich wildlife and flora, and her appreciation for wild areas inspired her to become a board member of ABWF. She now spends her summers exploring the west coast on her trawler, Sapphire.

Rosanne Lockhart

Rosanne Lockhart is a law clerk in Montana’s 11th Judicial District, serving Judge Paul Sullivan. A public-interest attorney by training, she has practiced across Montana's counties, including Pondera, Gallatin, and Yellowstone, with extensive experience in criminal prosecutions, civil matters, and trial advocacy. She earned her JD from the University of Montana School of Law (2016) and a BA from Hunter College, City University of New York (2010). A longtime outdoors enthusiast and yoga advocate, she lives in Kalispell and remains engaged in Montana conservation efforts. Rosanne is drawn to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness in particular for its rugged and pristine interconnected ecosystems that offer opportunities to hike, observe wildlife, and reconnect with nature—an ongoing source of inspiration and perspective. Volunteering with ABWF aligns with her commitment to public service and conservation. By supporting backcountry stewardship, Rosanne helps protect the landscapes and trails that sustain our communities, outdoor recreation, and the cultural heritage of the region for current and future generations. In her free time, Rosanne enjoys spending time with her toddler and puppy, visiting with friends and family, and being outside in any capacity—preferably on a trail walk, swimming in a lake, or sliding on some snow.

Advisory Board

  • Bob Hughes served on the ABWF Board of Directors for six years. An MBA, he was a financial manager in Chicago before moving to Livingston in 1999. He’s published three mystery novels: Bone Mountain, Dirty Money and Twisted Greed. He helped develop the ABWF license plate. He loves to explore the A-B Wilderness.

  • Jim is a seasoned technology leader with an unwavering passion for the outdoors. Raised in Minnesota, he developed an early appreciation for wilderness through formative adventures in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, where he first explored pristine lakes and forests, sparking a lifelong love of nature. A graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato, with degrees in Computer Science and Biology, Jim blends his technical and scientific expertise with his enthusiasm for adventure, enjoying hiking, fishing, snowboarding, biking, birding, and quality time with his wife and daughter.

    For 15 years, Jim immersed himself in Montana’s Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness, a rugged and awe-inspiring landscape that expanded his understanding of wild places and solidified their importance. It was here that he truly grasped the value of untouched ecosystems, marveling at the area’s role as a vital buffer for the Greater Yellowstone National Park ecosystem. The solitude and disconnection from modern society offered by the AB Wilderness captivated him, deepening his commitment to protecting such spaces. Now residing in Denver, Colorado, Jim channels this passion into his work with the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Foundation. He leverages his strategic and technical skills to support the organization’s mission, driven by a desire to ensure that the splendor of the AB Wilderness endures for his daughter and future generations.