GDPF Board Members
Ruth Anne Norris, President
Ruth Anne Norris moved to Prescott after retiring from the Neighborhood Services Department for the City of Mesa. She has experience serving on other non-profit Boards including the Mesa Community Action Network, the Forest Hylands HOA Board, and the Board of Directors for the Prescott Art Docents.
She was drawn to the Prescott area for its four seasons and miles of hiking trails, and is an avid hiker herself. Working to preserve the unique landscape of the Granite Dells was a natural step. She joined the GDPF Board in 2018.
Dottie Morris, Vice President
Since Dottie Morris moved to Prescott over 24 years ago she has been an active member of the community. Her volunteer efforts included co-director of the Tribute Fence Preservation Project, Court Appointed Special Advocate, Arizona Foster Care Review Board, Community Advisory Board for the Yavapai County Juvenile Court and Gabriel’s Angels canine therapy for children.
The mission to maintain the magnificent, unique beauty of the Granite Dells drew Dottie to join the board.
Brenda Smith, Treasurer
Brenda Smith first came to Prescott in 1972 to work at Prescott College as an Administrative Assistant in the outdoor programs. She has degrees in Psychology, Elementary Education and Special Education and taught for 20 years in Pennsylvania. While residing in Colorado, she served on the Crested Butte Town Council for four years.
Her love for the outdoors has involved hiking and biking trips in the U.S. and abroad over the last 50 years. Since returning to Prescott in 2011, she has been a volunteer with Save the Dells, the Highlands Center for Natural History and the Granite Dells Preservation Foundation.
Valerie Isley, Secretary
Valarie grew up in Prescott and has spent most of her life enjoying the natural wonders it has to offer, like the incredible Granite Dells. As an avid outdoor enthusiast, she enjoys hiking and kayaking. The natural world inspires her as an artist.
Walt Anderson, Board Member
After serving on the Open Space Acquisition Advisory Committee for the City of Prescott for many years, Walt Anderson co-founded the Granite Dells Preservation Foundation in 2010 and later the Save the Dells political action committee. He is an artist, photographer, expedition guide, and speaker who taught Environmental Studies at Prescott College for 27 years. He uses his words and images to support conservation efforts in Yavapai County as well as other initiatives in Arizona, California, Oregon, and East Africa.
Juana McDonald, Board member
Juana McDonald moved to Prescott a year before she retired from the field of education. She has degrees in Medical Technology, Bilingual Education, and Mathematics Instruction. In addition to working in the classroom, Juana has enjoyed collaborating with teacher education and parent education.
Juana and her family have been avid campers and outdoor enthusiasts for over 40 years. She has visited most of the Western US and West Coast National Parks. Her love of nature is shared with her grandchildren. She hopes to support and advocate for future conservation of the environment.
Renee Girard, Board Member
Information coming soon!
Steve Munsell, Board Member
Steve is Faculty Emeritus at Prescott College, Prescott Arizona, having taught in the Adventure Education program for 30 years. His diverse professional interests include working in both polar regions as a field assistant and mountaineer for earth and climate science research. He has assisted field science work on vertical cliffs during the Peregrine Falcon restoration project and fisheries biologists in the white water canyons of the Colorado River Basin. His love of the Dells began in his earliest days in Prescott in 1974. "I remember coming from Cedar Rapids Iowa, I found the Manzanita and Scrub Oak against the golden Dells rock at sunset the most beautiful natural scene I had ever experienced."
Peter Sherman, Board Member
Peter is a rainforest ecologist, animal behaviorist, and conservation biologist teaching at Prescott College where he leads the MA program in Environmental Studies and the degree of Sustainable Community Development. He also works as a sustainability consultant and is a published photographer.
Peter and his wife Mariana Altrichter (IUCN peccary specialist) conduct immersive research, and with their two daughters adventure-travel, in some of Central and South America’s most remote National Parks. When not further South, the family regularly immerses into the US backcountry. It is from these diverse perspectives, crafted from some of the world’s most spectacular scenery, that they return home to Prescott’s own Granite Dells with appreciation for our own locally available world-class backdrop.