BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Get to Know our Board of Directors

  • Director of Policy Governance, Walmart;J.D., Business Law Certification, and B.S. in Biochemistry, all from the University of Arkansas

    Resident of Bella Vista

    Lauren Brewer is an attorney and Director of Policy Governance at Walmart, where she is responsible for designing and overseeing the framework of policies that govern Walmart’s global ethics, compliance, legal, security, and investigative functions. She is also part of a team working to enhance the cycling programs and infrastructure at the new Walmart home office campus in Bentonville.

    Lauren is active in the outdoors, spending most of her free time sport climbing, riding bikes, and exploring her backyard trails with her husband and two dogs. 

    A native Arkansan, Lauren grew up in southeast Arkansas and earned her Juris Doctorate and B.S. in Biochemistry, both from the University of Arkansas.

    Term Limit Date 12/31/27

  • Executive Director, studio DRIFT (Ecological Design Group, Inc.) B.S Science- Earth Science/Geology

    Resident of Fayetteville


    Jordan grew up in Fayetteville and earned his Bachelor of Science in earth science from the University of Arkansas. He then moved away from Northwest Arkansas to explore a wide range of professions including marketing and creative services for Confluence Watersports, managed the New River Academy for Junior Olympic kayakers, and constructed a social and environmental impact investment portfolio and investment funds for a single-family office in Seattle.  Jordan then moved to Ruston, Louisiana, and was given the opportunity to serve as director of development for the city and while there built more than nine miles of multi-use paved trail, which continues to enhance community health and economic and neighborhood revitalization.  In 2018, Jordan came home to Fayetteville and has quickly become an integral part of the cycling community.  As the Active Transportation Coordinator for the University of Arkansas he oversaw the build out the Fayetteville Traverse trail and Tsa La Gi Bike Park, speed limit reductions to improve bike/ped safety on ~10 miles of streets on and around campus, and the restoration of 12 acres of upland prairie ecosystems.  He currently serves as Executive Director of studio DRIFT the non-profit arm of Ecological Design Group, Inc. (EDG).  Ammen leads EDG’s vision for strengthening Arkansas through purpose-built outdoor recreation and active transportation infrastructure. 

    Term limit date 12/31/27

  • Cycle Education Specialist and member of English Faculty at Thaden School

    MFA in Poetry from Brooklyn College; B.A .in Creative Writing and Philosophy from the University of Arkansas

    Resident of Bentonville
    Slaton serves on the national steering committee for the Youth Bike Summit. Previously, Slaton served as the deputy reviews editor at Publishers Weekly, director of communications at Bike New York, and managing director at BikeNWA.

    Term limit date 12/31/27

  • Walton College Professor of Sustainability, Chair of Strategy, Entrepreneurship Department, and Founder of The Sustainability Consortium.

    Ph.D. in Management from Indiana University; MBA from the University of Arkansas, B.S. in Zoology from the University of Arkansas

    Resident of Fayetteville
    Jon is a native of Northwest Arkansas and has enjoyed a long-time passion for whitewater, cycling (road, gravel, mountain), and camping in the Ozarks. He is a former manager of the Pack Rat (1980s) and joined the faculty in the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in 1996. Jon has been an advocate for many cycling initiatives at the University of Arkansas, including cofounding (with Eric Boles) the Bicycle Advocacy Council and serving as faculty sponsor for UA Cycling Club. He is heading up the creation of undergraduate and graduate curricula at UA to prepare students for careers in the cycling and outdoor industries.

    Term limit date 12/31/25

  • Beatrice Becerra is a Project Designer and EIT with McClelland Consulting Engineers in Fayetteville where she collaborates on a wide variety of water/wastewater and transportation engineering projects. This position gives her a unique perspective into both the political and technical aspects of city/regional project planning. 

    While she’s always been an outdoors enthusiast (enjoying hiking, camping, and climbing), cycling was a sport that did not feel accessible to her until 2021. Since then, Bea has worked to make biking more inclusive by showing up as a brown woman on a bike and sharing the joy of riding with her community. She is a ride leader and BICP certified mountain bike coach with Latinas en Bici and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Bike.POC. Bea hopes to inspire the younger and older generations to heal through bikes. 

    Bea is a native to Northwest Arkansas, attending Bentonville High School and Northwest Arkansas Community College before graduating with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from University of Arkansas in 2020. 

  • =Megan Bolinder is the Executive Director of the newly formed Trails Trade School and Construction Technology at NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC). Prior to that she was NWACC’s Dean of Workforce and Economic Development for four years, which followed three years of service as the Dean of Communication and Arts. She remains a PT faculty member to stay connected to students and the classroom.

    Bolinder’s interest in the connection between lifelong learning, effective communication, workforce technologies, and economic opportunity was catalyzed when she helped develop the Chicago Civic Leadership Certificate Program at the University of Illinois, Chicago while she earned her PhD. As a 24+ year educator and researcher, her work at schools such as Malcolm X College in Chicago, Illinois, Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and now at Northwest Arkansas Community College, has been punctuated by intentional diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies, specifically focused on increasing access and opportunity - through accessible and affordable education - for marginalized, underserved, and underrepresented groups.

    Her “why” is her 13yr old son who keeps her busy with his academic pursuits and daily sports practices, and her joy comes from reading, knitting, hiking, and playing with their dog Maxine. 

Board Member Nomination

We are now accepting new board member nominations. Individuals with an interest in trails, active transportation, community outreach or advocacy are encouraged to submit a nomination form, regardless of background, education, or experience level.

Directors are elected to three-year terms and may serve up to nine consecutive years before “rolling off” for at least one year. Each year, one-third of the directors are elected. Every two years, one-third of board members roll off. 

If you are interested in joining the board or know someone that would be a candidate, please complete the "Nomination Form" in Step 2.

A matrix of current board member skills and attributes is reviewed and updated at the Q2 and Q4 board meetings each year to ensure it reflects current needs. The identified gaps will become priority characteristics to assess future board candidates to create a diversified board.

  • Names of potential board members are suggested by current board members, staff, or significant philanthropic funders/donors, or are received by self-nomination from members of the public. The Trailblazers Board of Directors Nomination Form is required to be completed for the nominee.

  • Forms that are submitted at least 2 months prior to the next board meeting will be reviewed and discussed by the board governance committee and CEO. Forms received within 2 months of a board meeting will be reviewed at the discretion of the governance committee and CEO, but at least prior to the following quarter’s board meeting.

    If the candidate info form is submitted at least 1 month prior to the next board meeting, then it will be reviewed and discussed by the board governance committee and CEO.  If consensus is reached to invite the candidate to the board, then the Candidate Info Form will be sent to the full board at least 2 weeks prior to the next board meeting. Forms received within one month of a board meeting will be reviewed at the board governance committee and CEO’s discretion but will be reviewed prior to the following quarter’s board meeting.

  • If consensus is reached on a nominee to move on to the next step, then the nominee will be contacted to set up a phone or zoom meeting with the CEO. The goal of this meeting is to determine whether there is any interest by the nominee to serve on the board, share the roles and responsibilities of being a board member, and answer questions that the nominee may have. If the nominee is interested in serving on the board, then they are asked to complete the Trailblazers Board of Directors Candidate Info Form.

  • At that meeting of the full board of directors, the candidate information will be presented to the board and discussed.  The board will then vote at that meeting on whether to nominate the candidate to the board or not.  If the board approves the candidate by a majority vote, then the candidate will be notified and invited to attend the following board meeting.

    The nominee must attend the next board meeting, and at the end of the meeting, the nominee is appointed to the board by a vote, formalizing the appointment.