Staff

Board

Facts

Q&A

Brad Barber,

Chair

Brad serves as the president of the Utah Open Lands Board of Directors, and also sits on the Budget and Finance subcommittee.  Brad is currently a Planning Consultant working on Quality Growth Planning efforts throughout the State of Utah. Brad was formerly Senior Fellow of Environmental Management for the Oquirrh Institute, a Utah Non-Profit Corporation. Brad also served as the Deputy Director and State Planning Coordinator for the Utah Governors Office of Planning and Budget from 1989-2000, serving three governors. Brad was also a Member of the Quality growth Commission from 2000-2007.  Brad currently serves as Commissioner, for the Utah Reclamation Mitigation & Conservation Commission and a member of Envision Utah's Quality Growth Cabinet.

Jeff Appel, Vice Chair

Jeff currently serves as the Board of Director’s Vice Chair and serves on the Conservation Easement Subcommittee. Jeff is an attorney with Ray, Quinney and Nebeker, is a member of their Litigation Section and heads the Natural Resources, Land, Water and Environmental Law practice group. He has extensive experience in the environmental law area, especially with the complex issues relating to the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act. He also has significant experience in the area of water rights law, in both an administrative and judicial context and in real estate and municipal law. Finally, in addition to his overall lands practice, he has represented individual landowners in the emerging area of conservation easement law for many years. Jeff has been voted by his peers throughout the state as one of Utah's "Legal Elite" in the categories of Energy/Natural Resources Law, Environmental/Land Use Law, Government Law, and Pro Bono Work (as published in Utah Business Magazine).  He is also listed in Best Lawyers of America in the area of land use and zoning law and in Mountain States Super Lawyers in the field of environmental law.

Matt Steward,

Secretary

Matt currently serves on the Board of Directors in the capacity of secretary and as a member of the Conservation Subcommittee. He is a shareholder of Clyde Snow Sessions & Swenson. Matt has extensive trial experience and practice experience in the areas of trade secret litigation, shareholder litigation, and complex business disputes. He is a former Clinical Instructor for the University of Utah in Family Law Practice (1996-1998), as well as a current Utah Bar Examiner (since 2000).

Des Barker, Director

Des is currently on the Board of Directors and has served in the past as the organization's past president.  He is president of Des Barker Associates, Inc., a full service public and government affairs consulting company.  2006 marks Des' 16th year actively lobbying on Utah's Capitol Hill.  Des formerly worked at Barker and Jorgensen  (a 30+ year Salt Lake advertising, marketing and public relations firm); the Park City Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau as Park City/Summit County's Economic Development Director; and The Economic Development Corp. of Utah as a  National Business Recruiter attracting high-tech and international businesses to Utah.  Des has also worked in the tourism industry, lived and worked in Japan for three years, and works extensively with state agencies, the legislature and local governments.  Besides working tirelessly for Utah Open Lands as a board member, he also serves on the University of Utah College of Social and Behavioral Science Advisory Board; the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee and Transportation Committee; and the Utah Manufacturing Association Legislative Committee.

Wendy Zeigler,

Director

Wendy currently serves on the Board of Directors of Utah Open Lands. She has been a practicing physical therapist for 23 years, and is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association. She is currently a member of the steering committee for Big Cottonwood Regional park. She founded the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. She previously served on the Holladay City Parks and Open Space Committee, and on the Cottonwood Elementary Community Council. Besides her deep commitment to the preservation of open space, she is a member of Save Our Canyons, The Nature Conservancy, The Utah Cultural Alliance, The Audubon Society, and The Utah Rivers Council.

Heather Ross,

Director

Is lucky enough to live beside Utah Open Lands’ Perkins Flat parcel. She joined UOL to try and help save the planet; because after recycling and switching a few light bulbs in her house, really, what could she do?  Heather was a journalist for 15 years at KUTV. Now she's trying to publish children's fiction and is growing accustomed to rejection. Wine helps.  Besides being an amateur jock, Heather obedience trains dogs because her 12 year old son, Aidan stopped listening years ago.

Eric Lee,

Director

Eric Lee brings over twenty years of legal experience to the Board of Directors. His legal work primarily involves litigation services to a variety of clients in business, construction, and real estate, among other fields. His practice at Jones Waldo also includes zoning, planning, land use, and entitlement work. Eric was born in Chicago and lives in Park City. Eric received his law degree from the University of Utah, is a member of the Salt Lake County and Utah State Bars and serves as the Secretary for the Park City Bar Association.

Jeff McCarthy,

Director

Jeff is Professor of English and Chair of Environmental Studies at Westminster College. His academic specialty is environmental literature, and his recent book Contact: Mountain Climbing and Environmental Thinking traces the connection between extreme sports and North American environmentalism. Educated in New England, Scotland and Oregon, Jeff has had awards from distinguished bodies like the Fulbright Foundation and the National Humanities Center. He is an active climber, and when not at the library you can find him in the mountains.

Mark Raming,

Director

Mark currently serves on the board of directors of Utah Open Lands and the conservation subcommittee.  He has 30 years experience as an environmental planner and biologist and 20 years in business and executive management.  He was a founding principal of a national environmental consulting firm and served as its executive vice president until his retirement in 2009.  He has significant experience in  land conservation planning and environmental permitting as well as organizational development and marketing. Mark also serves on the Advisory Board for the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at Utah State University.   

Lorna Vogt,

Director

Lorna Vogt has been with Salt Lake County government for the past 4 years most recently as Associate Director of the Sanitation Division. Previously she was the Open Space Program Manager administering the County's $24 million open space bond funds. During her tenure, the County preserved close to 2,500 acres of local open space. It was in this capacity that Lorna became a fan of Utah Open Lands. Prior to working in public administration, Lorna worked in the non-profit sector as director of Utah Progressive Network and HawkWatch International. She has served on local and regional nonprofit boards supporting hard-working, under-paid ED's and their staffs.      

Jonanthan S. Clyde,

Director

Jonathan S. Clyde is an attorney at Clyde Snow & Sessions where he practices as a member of the firm’s Natural Resources and Water Law Group. Working alongside Attorneys and Industry Leaders Steven E. Clyde, Brent Rose and Wendy Bowden Crowther, he provides legal solutions for individuals, corporations, and municipalities in matters of water rights, water quality, and natural resources. Mr. Clyde has a lifelong appreciation for Utah’s outdoor heritage and an interest in sustainability and conservation. He recently authored an article on rainwater collection for The Enterprise, Utah’s business journal, and was appointed to serve as a committee member for the Utah State Bar Young Lawyers Division - Green Utah Pledge. He is a member of the Rural Water Users Association; and in early 2011, he helped to organize a conference at Willamette University Law School entitled: “Implementing the UN's Human Right to Water in the West.” Outside of work, Mr. Clyde enjoys making use of Utah’s natural landscape through skiing, fly-fishing, camping, and cycling.

Joe Geroux,

Director

Joe brings over twenty years of Architectural and Urban Planning experience to the Board of Directors. He is a licensed architect with IBI Group and has a wide range of professional experience that  includes large scale civic master planning, higher education facilities, hospitality resorts, commercial, retail, residential, adaptive re-use and restoration, and transportation projects.  He has a unique ability to listen to the needs of clients and deliver results above expectations. He understands construction as an architect but also comprehends public policy as an urban planner and has worked as a liaison between clients and various public agencies at multiple levels.

Joe was born in Milwaukee, WI and now lives in Salt Lake City. He received his architecture and planning degrees from the University of Wisconsin and is a member of American Institute of Architects and National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.

Ben Machlis,

Director

Ben currently serves on the Board of Directors. He is an attorney at Holland & Hart, where he advises clients on natural resources and environmental issues in transactions, administrative appeals, and litigation. Ben previously worked as a policy advisor to the Utah Governor’s office of public land policy coordination, helping to direct Utah's involvement in public lands litigation and coordinate state agencies' interaction with the Bureau of Land Management, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  He received his law degree from the University of Utah, where he was a research assistant for and co-published several articles on conservation easements with Prof. Nancy McLaughlin.  Prior to law school Ben worked in various jobs in Utah’s outdoor industry, and continues to enjoy Utah’s open spaces on skis, bike and foot.