Nathan Reigner, Ph.D., is Pennsylvania’s first Director of Outdoor Recreation. He was instrumental in the establishment of Pennsylvania's Office of Outdoor Recreation.

Born and raised in the Pittsburgh suburbs, Dean has dreamed of opening a climbing gym like Iron City Boulders in his hometown ever since first taking a University of Pittsburgh rock climbing course in 2009.

From Private Instructor to Head Routesetter to Design Consultant, Dean has positioned himself as a sport climbing industry innovator and works tirelessly to grow the sport of climbing on local and international stages.

Executive Director, Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia

Assistant Vice President of Economic, Community and Asset Development for the Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative at West Virginia University

Director of Design @ Environmental Planning and Design

Education and Outreach Coordinator, Mountain Watershed Association

Principal, Firefly Outdoor + Economics

Joel Brady is the former and founding Board President of the Southwestern PA Climbers Coalition, a 501(3)(c) non-profit dedicated to fostering responsible development of climbing in Pennsylvania and working with public and private land managers  to gain and preserve access, while promoting conservation of climbing resources. He is a longtime resident and climber in the Southwestern PA region.

Director of Planning and Projects @ Riverlife

Assistive Resources and Accessibility Coordinator for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

Pfaffmann + Associates is known for a wide range of award winning architecture and urban design projects in Pittsburgh. Rob began his career in higher education at Syracuse and then with Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in the early 80's and 90's where he led key higher ed projects including CMU’s Software Engineering Institute and the Heinz History Center.

Vice President for Western Pennsylvania Central Region, Pennsylvania Environmental Council

Greg Schaffer created Bad Sauna in 2023 following his certification as a “bath master” from the International Bath Academy in Vilnius, Lithuania. A lifelong Pittsburgher, Greg first fell in love with sweat bathing at Archimedes Banya in San Francisco and has been working to establish an authentic sweat bathing culture in his hometown ever since. Greg is also certified as a “sauna master” by the Deustche Sauna Akademie (Germany) and adds his knowledge of aufguss, a popular German sauna ritual, to his expertise in traditional Lithuanian sauna treatments and rituals (e.g. vanta treatments), his knowledge of sweat bathing history and folklore, sauna microclimate, and human anatomy. In addition to his duties as bath master at Bad Sauna, Greg’s writing on sweat bathing culture has been published by Hamam Magazine, the Hot Room, and on the Bad Sauna blog, Bad News.

Race Director of The Frigid Bitch and Head Organizer of Pittsburgh Babes on Bikes

Owner of Carpie Diem Coaching and Founder of Roughneck Gravel Roubaix in Titusville, PA

Director of Paddlesport @ Venture Outdooors

Team Captain of Unison Racing and Architect at Strada

John Stephen is principal of Ecosophic Strategies where he guides projects at the intersection of ecological resiliency and quality communities.  With a background in engineering, law, and public policy, he is a Pittsburgh-based leader of trail, watershed, and urban revitalization initiatives, raising millions to support regional environmental projects. He is a founder of the Friends of the Riverfront and the Nine Mile Run Greenway Project (now UpstreamPgh) and currently coordinates the Many Trails, One Community program of the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy.

Landscape Architect (Allegheny County Parks)

Asst. Operations Director and Marketing Lead @ GCXC Racing

Shequaya “Bailey” wouldn’t be who, what, and where she is today if it weren’t for the kindness and generosity of others. Centering generosity is at the core of her life decision making. She strives to make choices based on this, as a result, where she works and the organizations she works with exemplifies these values. 

Bailey works at Allegheny County as an Operations Specialist. She is a native of Pittsburgh who graduated from Peabody High School; attended Pennsylvania State University to study Health Policy and Administration and earned her Bachelor of Science degree; she has her Master in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

In her spare time, Bailey is the President of the Pittsburgh Major Taylor Cycling Club (PMTCC), MajorForce Youth Mentor, Pittsburgh Youth Leadership Mentor and Ruach Cycling Club Coach. A League Certified Instructor. She also sits on the board of BikePGH and PCRG.

She has been cycling consistently since Spring 2011 as a commuter and then began dabbling in bicycle racing in approximately 2014. Since that time she has raced bikes for several different teams and currently races for Pittsburgh Babes on Bikes. In addition, she is a member of The Black Foxes, a collective of cyclists who aim to control their own narratives and a LIV Ambassador.

Owner of Signal Sauna

Co-Founder of Mindfuel Method

Owner of Red Point Productions and Race Director of Laurel Highlands Ultra

After growing up riding her bike on the trails and rowing the rivers of Pittsburgh, Kelsey lived and worked in New York City as a nonprofit manager and then as a nonprofit and economic development attorney. Her first introduction to Friends of the Riverfront was as a board member and volunteer. Before joining Friends as Executive Director, Kelsey was the Director of the Microenterprise Project at Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS), an economic development program that provides free legal assistance to under-resourced small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Prior to working at VOLS, Kelsey was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Lawyers Alliance for New York where she designed and implemented a program to provide legal services to nonprofit clients addressing food security. Kelsey has a J.D. from Fordham Law School and a B.A. in Environmental Studies and American Studies from Fordham University. She continues to hike, bike, and row along Pittsburgh’s rivers