Board of Trustees
Chair: Carl Spikner
Carl’s background includes leading a consumer product business unit for a Fortune 100 company and development and financial management for not-for-profit organizations. Carl currently works for the National Development Council providing advisory services to drive capital investment in affordable housing and supporting community development initiatives. Carl’s first exposure to CFI was as Head of School for an Inclusive Montessori school in the Salt Lake Valley, providing his students the opportunity to engage in CFI programming.
Vice Chair: Tom Rees
Retired Building Contractor, Moab UT
Treasurer: Gordon Beh
Gordon came to Utah from New Jersey as a 19 year old kid and has been here ever since. He worked as an accountant for 39 years and retired from Larson and Company where he was a shareholder. He went to the school of hard knocks never having completed a college degree. He is a family man, first and foremost, with a large family of children and grandchildren. In retirement, he is gardener of sorts and loves to build and remodel. He keeps busy helping two of his sons with their excavation business and not letting them spend any money. Gordon has been involved with CFI for the past nearly 19 years mostly in the capacity of accountant/tax advisor and more recently on the finance committee. He spent about 10 years on the board of the Moab Valley Multicultural Center and served a term with Wabisabi. He loves what CFI does and hopes to help further the mission of CFI by volunteering at the Board level.
Secretary: Cindy Kaufman
Cindy is a branding, marketing, and design professional with experience across corporate, international, and grassroots levels. After building a career in experiential brand engagement, she followed her passion for design to fuse her brand-centric vision and project management background with a focus on the built environment, creating an interdisciplinary expertise with a distinctive POV.
Sue Bellagamba
For more than 35 years, Sue Bellagamba has been working with the Conservancy to conserve the lands and waters of southeastern Utah. Today, Sue leads the Conservancy’s projects in this region as the Canyonlands Regional Director. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University in 1979. Shortly after graduating, she arrived in Moab, Utah, to work for the Bureau of Land Management as the Westwater River Ranger, initiating her love of rivers and red rocks. Her current projects include working on Colorado River issues focusing on projects that balance water needs, improve water infrastructure and operations for environmental flows and addressing Tribal water issues. And overseeing the Conservancy’s projects at Canyonlands Research Center with the aim of providing land managers with science driven solutions to adapt to climate change.
Emily Cox
Emily, originally from Washington DC and now a resident of Moab, is a lifelong educator, outdoor enthusiast and professional musician. She began her career as a high school French teacher in the Baltimore Public Schools and then, after several years of teaching, eventually went on to become a public school principal at the Mather Elementary School in Boston, Massachusetts. There she prioritized experiential education and partnerships with organizations such as the Farm for City Kids and Outward Bound. Prior to moving to Moab in 2021, Emily was the Head of School at the Willow Creek Academy Charter School in Sausalito, California.
Shawn Crawford
Shawn is a professional educator, athlete and coach based in Park City, Utah. Over the past eight years, Shawn and his Daughter have supported CFI, it’s mission, vision and community of educators, on the Colorado Plateau and from afar.
Walt Dabney
Retired National Park Ranger, Chief Ranger and Superintendent, and Texas State Parks Director, Moab UT
Wayne Freimund
Wayne started his career as a canoe guide and evolved into a professor who studies the impact outdoor experiences have on people, communities and protected areas. He is a professor at USU-Moab and loves being in such an outdoor oriented community.
Diane Hanson
Retired Sales and Marketing Executive. CFI supporter and participant since 1985.
Erin Towns
Erin Towns is an experienced teacher, world explorer, and visual artist from Augusta, Maine. As a PolarTREC Educator, National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow and alumni of numerous global teacher professional development programs, she was taught to create experiential learning opportunities to address contemporary global and environmental issues. She values using inquiry based social studies and science methodologies that inspire students into action.
Ex Officio: Jory Macomber
Jory grew up in New England, and his love of the outdoors began on hiking trips in the White Mountain National Forest. At age 14, he planned and completed a traverse of the NH section of the Appalachian Trail with two other teenage friends. As a teacher at the Holderness School in New Hampshire, he led over a dozen OutBack trips which are eleven-day winter camp trips with high school students. Since moving to Utah in 2014, he has taken up canyoneering and backcountry skiing. Professionally, Jory has served as the Associate Head of School at Holderness School (where he helped grow the outdoor education program), as the Head of School at Burke Mountain Academy and as the Executive Director of the Kimball Art Center. Outdoor education breathes in his heart.