Board of Directors

Kevin Bacon, Chair

• Retired Management Consultant/Adjunct Professor
• Sacramento, California
• Joined board: 2019
• Second term expires: 2026

Kevin Bacon has over 35 years of experience providing consulting services to public sector organizations. He is retired from IBM Business Consulting Services where he was a Vice President in its public sector consulting practice. Prior to joining IBM, he was a senior partner and consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in their government consulting practice. After retiring from IBM, Mr. Bacon was an adjunct professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. There he taught public management courses in the regular and executive masters degree programs. After he moved to Northern California he served as an adjunct professor at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. Kevin has a BA in Political Science from the University of California at Davis and a Master of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics. Prior to his career in consulting, he was a senior consultant to the California Legislature on tax and public finance issues. He has also served as a legislative advocate for University of California students before the California legislature. Kevin has been an avid backpacker since 1968. He and his wife Kim live in Sacramento, CA. They have one son who lives in California.

John Remmers, Vice Chair and Treasurer

• Retired Executive, Consumer Goods and Building Products
• Pewaukee, Wisconsin
• Joined board: 2021
• Second term expires: 2027

John is a business executive with 35 years of experience in medical devices, and in building and consumer products. He serves on numerous nonprofit, university, and economic development boards. John’s passion for the outdoors and the PCT started at a young age with backpacking trips to Philmont, later progressing to Outward Bound and the John Muir Trail. He and his wife, Cathy, are passionate section hikers of the PCT and have enjoyed sharing the experience with small groups of family and friends. John is a graduate of Missouri University of Science and Technology and University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Dianne Daley Laursen, Secretary

• Retired Forester/Project Manager
• Moscow, Idaho
• Joined board: 2021
• Second term expires: 2027

Dianne is a retired forester with 20+ years of natural resource management experience including working as a US Forest Service liaison to the Appalachian Mountain Club collaborating on management of the AT in New England. She has received wilderness management awards, and was previously awarded the Montana Forester of the Year by the Society of American Foresters.  More recently, she was a project manager on two large interdisciplinary climate adaptation grants one addressing agricultural processes and one on developing new sustainable energy grids. In addition to her passion for the outdoors (hiking, camping, rafting, fishing, etc) she is involved with Tribal Climate Camps sponsored by the Affiliated Tribes of NW Indians, is an avid reader, a community organizer/activist/volunteer, concert goer, and a frequent regional and international traveler. Dianne lives in Moscow, Idaho with her husband Steve, a dog and a cat, and has two adult children who have inherited their parents’ love of the outdoors.

Jennifer Albinson

• Professional Development Manager, McKinsey and Company
• Denver, Colorado
• Joined board: 2021
• Second term expires: 2027

Jennifer works in talent for McKinsey & Company, where she was previously a consultant working on strategic questions around people and organizational performance. She also spent time in the education industry, including four years as a teacher in the Bay Area. Jen now lives in Denver, Colorado, where she loves camping with her family, and is proud to say that both her daughters were sleeping in tents by the time they were 3 months old.  She and her husband have thru-hiked the PCT one and a half times, including a full border-to-border hike in 2016, with a few “zeros” in the middle for their wedding in Sierra City.

Kim Box

• Independent Director, Advisor
• Granite Bay, CA
• First term expires: 2027

Kim is a former technology executive with over 25+ years of experience in the Information Technology industry. While at HP she led IT outsourcing services, customer support services and every aspect of IT products and services.  She has served on several corporate boards including public, private and non-profit.  She is past Chair of the National Association of Corporate Directors Northern California.  She has held CEO positions most recently Gatekeeper Innovation (acquired by RxGuardian) and several advisory positions.  Kim is the author of Woven Leadership – The Power of Diversity in Transforming Organizations to Success.  She is passionate about all outdoor activities including backpacking, hiking, paddleboarding and cycling.  She has hiked/backpacked sections of the PCT and looks forward to continuing to experience many more sections.

Elizabeth Dorsi

• Attorney at Farella Braun + Martel LLP
• Mill Valley, California
• Joined board: 2021
• Second term expires: 2027

Elizabeth grew up on the Central Coast of California going on family vacations to state and national parks. Her love of hiking and backpacking blossomed when she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for college and intensified when she learned that her backpack didn’t need to weigh 30 pounds. In 2017, Elizabeth took a break from practicing law and thru-hiked the PCT. She quickly learned that it’s hard to beat a sunrise on the PCT and looks forward to the opportunity to enjoy more in the years to come. She is currently a litigation partner at Farella Braun + Martel LLP practicing complex commercial and trust & estate litigation.

Keith Dorsey

• Managing Partner and U.S. Practice Leader, CEO & Board Services at Boyden
• La Quinta, California
• Joined board: 2022
• First term expires: 2026

Dr. Keith D. Dorsey is a researcher, author, advisor, and active board member focused on issues of diversity, governance, and strategic growth for private and public corporate boards. Keith is currently a Managing Partner and the U.S. Practice Leader of CEO & Board Services at Boyden, a global executive search firm with 75 offices in 45 countries. His work focuses on helping clients recruit board directors and executives. Keith is a proud U.S. Air Force veteran, where he served for five years. He has a Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership at the University of Southern California and also has an MBA from Pepperdine University and BS in Business Administration from Charter Oak State College.

Carmen Ibarra

• Chief Executive Officer, The Achievable Foundation 
• Culver City, California
• Joined board: 2022
• First term expires: 2026

Carmen is the Chief Executive Officer of The Achievable Foundation (“Achievable”), a federally qualified health center providing high quality, integrated health care services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and other vulnerable populations. Carmen has served as a leader in the health care field of the nonprofit sector for more than 25 years, including a variety of senior management roles at community health centers in Los Angeles County. She earned a graduate degree in Nonprofit Management from the American Jewish University and a Bachelor of Science from Loyola Marymount University. She credits the Jesuit education at LMU in feeding her passion for serving others. Carmen looks to the great outdoors to help put things in perspective, decompressing from the rigors of professional responsibility. Her introduction to hiking and camping came while working a high school summer job for the U.S. Forest Service. Carmen learned about nature while maintaining firebreaks and trails, as well as cleaning campgrounds and recreational waterways. Recently she was able to complete Section A of the Pacific Crest Trail and hopes to eventually complete the full trail.

Ashley Martinez

• Founder and Principal, California Public Relations & Advocacy
• San Diego, California
• Joined board: 2022
• First term expires: 2026

Ashley is a trusted advisor to athletes, executives, government agencies, entrepreneurs, and trade associations. Ashley is the founder and principal of California Public Relations & Advocacy, a full-service traditional public relations firm providing advocacy, community outreach, and digital media consulting. His career experience includes Government and Community Relations Manager for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, lobbyist for the Service Employees International Union, and policy consultant for California Advocacy. He currently serves as a member of the Linda Vista Planning Group, a citizen organization advising the City of San Diego on land use-based community goals and development proposals. Ashley runs ultra-marathons and has completed distances of 13.1, 26.2, 50k, and 50 miles.

Paulina Robledo Williams

• VP, Assistant Controller at Pattern Energy
• La Quinta, CA
• First term expires: 2027

Paulina grew up in the flat grounds of Chicago and didn’t experience her first hike until visiting California for the first time as a young adult. From that point, she fell in love with the outdoors and the importance of coexisting with nature. So much that she transferred from Chicago to Los Angeles to take advantage of the ample outdoor activities year-round. Paulina spent approximately 10 years working in public accounting at PwC, serving clients in the energy industry across the country. After leaving public accounting, she’s spent the last few years in the renewable energy space, currently working as Assistant Controller for a renewable project developer and operator. Paulina holds a BBA in Accounting from Loyola University Chicago and is a licensed CPA. She currently resides in the Southern California desert with her husband and new baby.

Rick Thalhammer

• Retired Attorney
• Portland, Oregon
• Joined board: 2016
• Third term expires: 2026

Rick has returned to the board of directors after having previously served from 2006-2014. He retired from 31 years as a Deputy and Supervising Deputy Attorney General for the State of California where he focused on land use, land acquisition, natural resource protection and land use planning. Rick has been part of PCTA’s “Hike the Hill” advocacy team along with his children for several years, and he recently worked with PCTA’s team on mountain biking issues. He has a lifelong passion for the outdoors through hiking, camping, mountaineering, skiing, and fly-fishing, among other hobbies. Rick has hiked the entire John Muir Trail with his son, Korbi, and has hiked more than 300 miles on the PCT in California and Washington with his daughter, Kal Amelior Thalhammer. At 71, he is attempting to complete section hiking the entire PCT before he turns 80.

Ginny Too

• Vice-President of Growth Operations, Comcast
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Joined board: 2022
• First term expires: 2026

Ginny grew up reading classic tales of adventure including Hatchet, My Side of the Mountain, Call of the Wild, Julie of the Wolves, and Where the Red Fern Grows. She had been on a few hikes with the Girl Scouts, but her first overnight backpacking trip was the first night of her Appalachian Trail (AT) thru-hike. She and her knees had no idea what she was doing, but the AT was just as wild and wonderful as she imagined as a child. After finishing the AT, she later thru-hiked the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide Trails with her wife Emily. When she isn’t outside, she also serves as the Vice President of Growth Operations at Comcast. She also worked at McKinsey & Co., serving as a consultant to consumer goods and retail companies globally on a range of growth and finance topics. Ginny received her BA from the University of Chicago, and her MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Ginny, Emily, and their three smallish children live in Philadelphia, PA.