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Home > About Family Nature Summits > Directors
Meet the Executive Board
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Wes Kussmaul
Chairman
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I am a business entrepreneur and author of several technology and business books.
In 1981 I founded Delphi Internet Services Corporation. In 1986, I launched a spin-off, Global Villages to serve magazine publishers with private-label online services. Global's hosting business was sold in 1998 to WingNet and is now a part of Verio.
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Chris Blank
President
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When not working on Family Nature Summits I am private practice attorney based in Newport Beach, California. My firm's focus is business litigation, business law, and bankruptcy. In addition to my law practice I sit on the board of a local educational non-profit organization and recently founded a political action committee to support local candidates.
I've been coming to the Nature Summits since 1994. This is the highlight of the year for my sons and me. I've been a committed environmentalist since the 1970s. I'm excited about continuing the Summit mission.
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Maria Kussmaul
Treasurer
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I attended my first Summit in the White Mountains in 1993, shortly after moving to the Boston area and attended again the next year in Hawaii. It wasn't until 1998 in Estes Park Colorado however, that, an as yet unbroken summer tradition began. Since then my husband Wes and children Carolyn (16), Christopher (12) and Caleb (9) have attended each year. We regularly encourage friends and family to come with us and to date, my in-laws, my mother, two neighbors and my cousin's family have attended. We have all come to love the experience for the community, learning, love of the outdoors and recreation.
Professionally, I am co-founder of America's Growth Capital, a full service, Boston-based, boutique investment bank targeting emerging growth companies and investors.
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Michael Shelby
Technology
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My family's relationship with NWF Family Summits started in North Carolina. We have attended every Family Summit since 2000. I attend the Summit annually with my wife Sabina and children Nika (13) and Ryan (11). My children always look forward to the next summit as much as we do. We all have made wonderful friends all over the country that we stay in touch with between the summits and always look forward seeing them every summer.
For the last 11 years I've resided in West Hartford, CT. I am owner of Shall Be, LLC – a premier regional technology consulting firm.
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Kathleen Tollaksen
Secretary, Compliance
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My husband, daughter and I have attended summits since 1989. My daughter loved the teen program and we enjoyed everything we learned and the new places we visited. The past two years our 6 year old granddaughter started attending and she just loves it.
I'm a CPA in public accounting in Illinois. I work both professionally and as a volunteer with not for profit entities.
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John Kullmann
Marketing
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My family's involvement with NWF Family Summits began five years ago in Montana. After reading an advertisement in Ranger Rick, we suggested my in-laws attend with our son. After hearing their enthusiastic reviews, we agreed to all attend in Maine. Since then our full family has been forever hooked. I attend the Summit annually with my wife Emily and children Becky (16) and Dean (13). Our participation always includes my in-laws and has included my brother in-law's family.
Back at home in New Jersey, I am Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Macrosoft, a technology consulting firm.
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Annie Tiberio Cameron
Faculty
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Annie's professional training is in environmental education. She taught public school and was an education coordinator for the Massachusetts Audubon Society for a total of 13 years before leaving to begin a family and to run a performing arts agency as a business endeavor from home. Photography has always played a part in her professional life, shooting, exhibiting and teaching for many institutions, including Continuing Education at the University of Massachusetts, and the National Wildlife Federation. She also tours a slide show, "Death Valley, Okefinokee, and Beyond," a visual and narrative retrospective of her 15 years of solo wilderness camping trips, designed to do her photography in solitude. After more than 35 years living in Amherst and the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts, and with her two children now grown, (Adam and Jenny grew up coming to Summits,) Annie moved to Vermont to marry Paul Cameron, an old college buddy and new Summiteer. With photography now her full time career, she is focusing her lens on all corners of Vermont. Annie has taught photography at the Summits since the mid-Eighties, with the 2006 Utah Summit her 25th. |
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Steve Houser
Faculty
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Steve Houser is a Talent Development teacher in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System. He has a master's degree in Elementary Education as well as a graduate degree in Counseling. Steve is also certified in gifted education, social sciences, geography, and is certified as an Environmental Educator by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. His work as an educator of young people for over 30 years has been recognized through numerous awards, including receiving The President's Award for Excellence in Science Teaching (sponsored by the White House and the National Science Foundation), receiving the North Carolina Governor's Award as the NC Environmental Educator of the Year, receiving Outstanding Educator Award for Contributions to the Arts by the Mecklenburg County Arts and Science Council, and receiving the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System's Wachovia Ben Craig Teacher of the Year Award. He has been a presenter numerous times at national, state, and local educational conferences. In addition, Steve is a professional storyteller with over 25 years experience in telling old North Carolina tales and international stories that inspire and educate the listener. He has worked the past twenty summers as a National Wildlife Federation Family Summit youth faculty member at locations all over North America. Recognized as an “Educator of Excellence” with the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, Steve has participated in their educator institutes in Belize, Ecuador, the Amazon Rain Forest in Peru, and in Yellowstone National Park.
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Ron Wahl
Faculty
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Ron Wahl is a computer scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He received a Geophysical Engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines and a Master of Science degree in geophysics from Stanford University. He then taught geology, computer science, physics, and astronomy for Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado and astronomy for the Jefferson County, CO Schools Adult Education Program. Ron has taught various classes at a number of summits since 1973.
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James Sherrard
Young Adult
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I am a New Hampshire native and my mother and I have been attending Family Nature Summits since 1993 when I was 8 years old. Over the years, the Family Nature Summits helped shape my life in one positive way after another. In addition to the life long friends I have made, the knowledge gained from each class and activity has lead me into a life of nature awareness. I graduate in May of 2007 with a degree in Civil Engineering with Emphasis in Sustainability and I will begin working within the field of sustainability following graduation. My choice of major and career is due to my level of exposure to wildlife through my family and the Family Nature Summits. I hope to start giving back to what the Family Nature Summits have given me in the following years by doing my part in the conservation effort.
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