Members of the Board of Directors are a group of varied individuals. Their shared interest in Trails is a unifying tie, and their diverse interests cover almost all outdoor activities. Volunteering their time and efforts, they are a blend of people who care deeply about giving the present community and future generations the enjoyment of trails in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Barb Thomas, President has been a member of the SMMTC and has served on the board since 2006 and was elected president in January 2023. She attributes her love of the outdoors to being born in Germany where her first outdoor sights were of the Alps. Barb has been active in trail riding since childhood, sneaking off into the jungle of Panama alone on her pony, exploring trails in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, California and Nevada. She participated in endurance rides, with distances up to 100 miles in 24 hours, served on the board of directors for the Old Dominion Rides and managed the Malibu Endurance Ride for several years. In addition to her love of horses, Barb is an avid hiker and has backpacked sections of the Appalachian Trail, Northville-Lake Placid trail, and many others on the east coast, as well as hiking and riding on many of our Southern California trails. Living out west in the Conejo Valley since 1997, she values the enormous multi-use trail system we have in our back yard.
George Sherman, Vice President is responsible for keeping our website updated, informative and engaging. He has been a member of the SMMTC board of directors since 2005 and a Trail Crew regular since 2013.
George has resided in Newbury Park since 1993. A California native, he has enjoyed hiking, biking and running in the Santa Monica Mountains since 1974. Depending on the weather he enjoys a hike or bike ride in the Santa Monica Mountains anywhere from two to five days a week.
In addition to the website & newsletter, George's focus within the SMMTC is on trail work and access issues. He is an avid observer of local plants and has greatly expanded the content of the Plant of the Month Pages.
Peter Sullivan, Treasurer, is an advocate for our local trails and joined the board in February 2023. He has been exploring the Santa Monica Mountains and the Conejo Open Space by bike and on foot. He moved to the Conejo Valley in 1969 and has lived here ever since. Sharing his cycling passion brought him to coaching in the Newbury Park High School mountain bike team and mentoring kids about the gifts our open space provides. He assists in the COSCA (Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency) Trail Education Days as well as being a crew leader at trail work days. As a director of CORBA (Concerned Off-road Bicyclists Association), he headed the development of the Sapwi Bike Park in Thousand Oaks. Peter enjoys SMMTC work days and always looks forward to doing his part on keeping the trails safe and accessible.
Melody Reilly, Secretary since December 2022. She was born in South Africa, where she developed her love for the outdoors at a young age. She has lived in and around Newbury Park for 25 years and enjoyed many of the trails in the Santa Monica Mountains with her horse Ebony (a mustang!). Now a resident of Agoura Hills with her husband, horse, dog, and 2 cats, she enjoys getting to know more of the neighborhood and learning about the birds and flowers native to the Santa Monica Mountains.
As a project manager in the technology industry, Melody has honed her skills in organization, communication, and problem-solving. She is also an avid photographer, which has given her a unique perspective on the beauty and fragility of nature. Melody's passion for the outdoors mixed with her love for animals, hiking, art and technology make her a unique addition to the board!
Robert Bittner, is a native Los Angelian who joined the Board in 2024. He has always lived in the South Bay region, and gained a love of hiking and backpacking first from his parents that roamed the Austrian Alps, and then from his Boy Scout days. He enjoyed an intentionally diverse 35 years in aerospace, progressing from assembly line work to developmental engineering, supervision to management, and supplier and project management to risk aversion specialist, while attaining degrees in Industrial Engineering and Business. Retirement in 2013 created time for hiking and trail work once again, along with travel, gluten-free recipe creation and cycling. He is a member of the SCGA Rules & Competitions Committee, and has mentored, tutored and taught for over three decades.
Don Brusselars, a resident of the Somis is a retired from Aerospace Industry and is an avid geocacher. Don joined the ranks of our trail crew in 2016 and worked more than a 150 hours! Don is moving up the ranks in terms of volunteer hours as he racks up 250 hours plus per year! Since joining the board in the summer of 2017, Don has been active in helping the board find solutions on a variety of issues.
Denise Pomonik has been a member of the SMMTC board of directors since 2024. She is a hand model and puppeteer who’s been enjoying mountain biking and hiking with her hubby for many years. She also loves backpacking in the Sierras…especially off the grid! When asked why she volunteers for trail work, she says, “I just love it. I’m outdoors, working with a great team, burning calories, and being a part of something that feels great – giving back to the trails that give me such peace and joy.” Her next adventure…joining the Board to see how else she can help this amazing group of people dedicated to a wonderful cause. She looks forward to seeing you on the trail.
John Kross, Since retiring, the Trails Council is the primary beneficiary of the boundless energy John shows for life. Prior to joining the board in June of 2015, John was a Crew leader who leads dozens of events during the year, and regularly racks up three hundred hours of service! John has also volunteered with NPS and manages COSCA's adopt-a-trail program. When it is time to run the gas powered brush trimmer or gas powered pole saws, John is the one who steps up without prompting.
A neat and tidy trail is a wonderful thing - John's trail work was rated "Most Meticulous" by COSCA. John has been known to grab some tools and run out to the trail to remove downed trees - something that has happened all too often in recent years.
Our Backbone Trek is fortunate to have Hike Leaders like John, so that we get from point A to Point B safely and in an enjoyable manner.
Roger Young, joined the board in August, 2023. Roger is an SMMTC Crew Leader and focuses on trail running events in the Santa Monica Mountains as a participant, pacer and aid station volunteer. When he’s not hiking or running, he works as a financial and HR consultant.
Roger coordinates SMMTC trail maintenance events with race directors and trail running groups. He has been a member of the local running community since his move to the Conejo Valley in 2011.Non-Board Member VIPs
Ruth Gerson, President Emerita - has been a board member since 1979, serving as Secretary and Treasurer in the early years and as President from 1997 through 2014 before resuming the role in Spring of 2017 and then retiring in January of 2023. An Agoura resident since 1975, Ruth has been riding her horses in the Santa Monica Mountains for over 50 years, enjoying the trails for pleasure while savoring the beauty, the wildlife and the serenity. In prior years, she did endurance riding placing 5th at Tevis. She still enjoys riding in the Sierra every summer. Ruth is involved in several equestrian organizations promoting public access to public lands for horseback riding and keeping the backcountry lands open for historic saddle and pack stock. For more than 40 years she has been trying to get State Parks to build their designated equestrian campground in Malibu Creek State Park. She feels it is very important to develop trail camps along the Backbone Trail. She strives for the Trails Council to maintain a presence within the community to educate people about the irreplaceable resource in trails and to collaborate with the land agencies in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA)
Dave Edwards, Trail Crew Coordinator is responsible for planning the SMMTC Trail Crew Schedules and in general is the coordinator for the SMMTC's Trail Maintenance outings in the Santa Monica Mountains. Dave has resided in Oxnard since 1971. He retired from the federal government in 2001, having worked at the Navy base in Port Hueneme, CA. He is very active in the SMMTC trail maintenance program in the Santa Monica Mountains and on Santa Cruz Island for the National Park Service. Dave has been an active volunteer for many years for Channel Islands Restoration, which restores habitat in sensitive and unique natural areas on the Channel Islands. He enjoys backpacking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the local Sespe Wilderness.