About Us
Top of the Pines, Inc., is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization, vested by Ouray County, to oversee the operation and maintenance of the Top of the Pines facility. Top of the Pines, Inc. consists of a Board of Directors and an Advisory Council of consultants and experts.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- Tim J. Manzagol
- Tim is a co- founder of TOP, Inc. He and his wife own and operate Shining Mountain Herbs, a local organic medicinal herb farm near Ridgway, CO. Aside from his interest in natural medicines, he is a professional engineering geologist. In 1982 he formed Applied Earth Sciences Consultants located near San Francisco, where he still maintains a practice. Manzagol has dedicated his life to the environmental and earth sciences. His education includes a degree from Michigan Technological University and studies at Stanford University. His passions lie in open space preservation, sustainable farming practices, resource management, plus environmental education of the young and old. He currently is an advisor to the Trust for Land Restoration in Ridgway and western Colorado’s Valley Youth Orchestra.
- Patsy Young
- Patsy is also a co-founder of TOP, Inc. and has been a member of the Ridgway/Ouray community for 30 years. Young is a tenured businesswoman, including owning and operating the Ridgway Chipeta Sun Lodge and Spa. Her education includes Constructive Design from Florida State University. Patsy is a founder of the local Voyager Youth Program. She has tenaciously worked towards the acquisition and renovation of the TOP property for 15 years. Young’s inspiration lies in her passion to bring our country’s youth to the great outdoors.
- Liza Clarke
- Liza is another co-founder of TOP, Inc. She has lived in Ouray County for 30 years. Liza and her late husband, Bill Ferguson, founded Park Nursery, Inc. in 1980. Shortly thereafter. they expanded the ranch into a working cow/calf operation. Interests in maintaining access to public lands and the preservation of open space are what attracted Liza to the TOP project.
- Karla Edd
- Karla is the fourth co-founder of TOP, Inc Her professional career is in the vitamin supplement industry. A major focus for her, and on-going special interest, is her devotion to creating opportunities for outdoor education and recreation for children.
- Susan Lacy
- Susan has spent over twenty years as an educator, both locally in Ridgway and overseas in Mexico, Romania, Indonesia, and (currently) Zambia. During her years as principal of the Ridgway Secondary School, she worked hard with faculty to establish an integrated, outdoor field-trip program for grades six through twelve. Her commitment to outdoor and experiential learning was what originally attracted her to Top of the Pines. She recognizes the tremendous possibilities for student outdoor and environmental education that TOP represents, and has been excited by the expanding use of the facility.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
- Alice Billings
- John Clark
- John has lived in Ridgway since 1982, evolving from a landscaper, to a glass artist, to a computer consultant & graphic artist/web designer. He has taken on the task of being TOP's webmaster, while continuing to pursue his love of the great outdoors.
- Chris Haaland
- Chris is a professional civil engineer with a degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado. He has 15 years of experience in design, operations and management of ski resorts, including Breckenridge. His interests focus on outdoor education and recreation, plus mountain climbing, Nordic skiing and environmental protection.
- Owen Knudsen
- Owen, now semi-retired, has been a certified public accountant for more than 30 years. He is a long time advocate for environmental education and protection plus preservation of Colorado Rocky Mountain open space.
- April Montgomery
- April operates April Montgomery Consulting and specializes in providing grant writing, fundraising and strategic planning to non-profits and governmental organizations. She is also an attorney and has more than a decade of land use planning experience.
- Marisa Murphy
- Liana Schmidt