The NEMBA Regional Team Has Grown!
NEMBA Staff
(Left to Right) Bill Boles, Travis Counsell, Emily Thibodeau, Liz Coffey, Rachel Gittens, Amanda Royce, Mick Ferraro
Travis Counsell - Executive Director - (he/him)
Travis is originally from Vermont and currently resides in Easton, Connecticut. He has managed bike shops, owned a bicycle rental & tour business in Hawaii, and has worked & volunteered for bicycle advocacy organizations. He grew up riding mountain bikes around the Green Mountain National Forest, and has since ridden mountain bikes in New Zealand, Italy, Hawaii, and more, but loves the variety of terrain and trails in New England!
Travis brings a great mix of passion for mountain biking and bike advocacy with a broad set of skills covering business management, development, event planning, communications, and the importance of relationship building at all levels of our sport.
He is excited to use that passion, as well as his MBA, to guide NEMBA into the future as we grow our community with a focus on Trails, Advocacy, & Community for all. Follow him on Instagram here.
Amanda Royce - Events Director - (she/her)
Amanda grew up in southern New Hampshire and moved to Vermont to attend Lyndon State College. While attending college and living near Kingdom Trails she got her first taste of mountain biking and fell in love with the sport. With a degree in Outdoor Recreation, she moved out west and worked for various organizations coordinating events and programs.
She moved back to New Hampshire to get her M.S. in Outdoor Recreation & Policy. After graduating she got a job with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension program where she coordinated 4-H youth development events, programs and camps.
She loves connecting with people and bringing ideas to life and is excited to work with the NEMBA chapters and coordinate NEMBAfest.
Mick Ferraro - Director of Membership & Outreach - (he/him)
Mick brings a passion for bikes to the NEMBA team that dates back to chasing his brothers on his GT Pro BMX Bike in the 80’s. With his first mountain bike race in the mid 90’s 24 HR. Granny Gear races, it was clear that the mountain bike would be a part of of his life forever.
A member of NEMBA since 2006 and a former member of NEMBA Racing, Mick has continued to race and ride throughout the US. Today, he shares his passion for mountain biking and the outdoors as an advocate for the growth of our sport. As a former CCAP mountain bike coach and parent of twin 11 yr old boys; building a future with great trails, access and advocacy is key to the future with NEMBA.
Originally from Maryland, Mick is a graduate of Greensboro College (NC). He and his wife Mia, reside in Simsbury with those twin boys, Hudson and Hendrix. Follow him on Instagram here.
Emily Thibodeau - Chapter & Volunteer Coordinator - (she/her)
Emily grew up on the coast of Maine, where she started working in a bike shop during high school. After graduating from the University of Maine, she went on to work in bike shops in Maine & Oregon. In 2010, Emily started her own business, Hub Bicycle Co, a bicycle service shop in Cambridge, MA. She ran Hub Bicycle Co for 7 years and eventually shifted her focus to bicycle event management and community-based programs. She has worked in Events and Training for Cannondale, taught mountain bike skills classes for REI, and supported the Boston Cyclists Union Bike to Market program.
Emily loves to use her connections throughout the bike industry to connect new riders to the sport. She is excited to help NEMBA promote and protect riding here in New England. Follow her on Instagram here.
Liz Coffey - Operations Coordinator - (she/her)
An outdoor activities generalist and a master of none, Liz embodies the idea that one doesn’t need to be an expert at an activity in order to really enjoy it.
A graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a degree in Outdoor Education, she has a passion for helping people move past their preconceived notions of what it means to be “outdoorsy”, and enjoy an outdoor space that is safe and inclusive for all.
When she isn’t outside biking, hiking, camping, snowshoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, or gardening, she is inside baking, planning the next outdoor adventure, and touring Maine’s many great restaurants and breweries.
She is super excited to use her organizational skills to help NEMBA and the chapters grow!
Bill Boles - Outreach / Community Engagement - (he/him)
Bill has been around since the founding of NEMBA. Taking part in the crucial early meetings that set the tone for mountain bike access in our region.
A graduate of Stonehill College he’s a lifelong resident of Massachusetts and worked for the Boston Globe for 36 years. He wrote the “Old Coot” column in Dirt Rag magazine for 15 years. Over the years he was NEMBA’s president twice. And after his retirement from journalism, he volunteered for NEMBA and was later hired as Director of Outreach and man of many hats. His passion for riding and leading rides, especially kid’s rides, has not diminished. Bill is excited about the direction that NEMBA is going and sees a bright future for MTB in New England.
Rachel Gittens - Events Volunteer - Flow2Fest Coordinator - (she/her)
Rachel is originally from Ontario, Canada, and spent over a decade living in Vancouver, British Columbia where she fell in love with mountain biking. Mount Fromme, Squamish, and Whistler quickly became her favourite local riding networks while completing a diploma in Outdoor Recreation Management and a BSc at the University of British Columbia.
After recently relocating to Boston with her husband, and becoming a NEMBA member almost immediately upon arrival, Rachel wanted to dedicate more time supporting the local New England MTB community. Her background in recreation programming and administration along with passion for mountain biking aligned perfectly with the NEMBA mission.
Rachel is excited to explore the diverse riding terrain New England has to offer, and put on some rad events with the rest of the NEMBA team. Learn more about Flow2Fest here.
NEMBA Board of Directors - Executive Committee
Adam Glick - Board President
Matt Shulde - Vice President
Tom Grimble - Secretary
Anne Shepard - Treasurer
Paula Burton
David Hughes
Matt Caron
Brett Russ
