Board of Directors

Will Roger Peterson
President
Will Roger is currently a member of the board of directors of Black Rock City LLC (Burning Man), Black Rock Arts Foundation amd serves on the Northern Nevada RAC. Will's background in science, fine art, education and management support his broad interests that range from environmental issues to interactive public art. He splits his time between his studio in Oakland, CA and his outpost in Gerlach, NV. Will's other interests include motorcycle riding, sailing, wind surfing, hiking, underwater photography, aerial photography, astronomy, green and alternative energy and preserving Nevada's wilderness. Will is also a member of the NRA, ACLU and SAC.

Margie Reynolds - Vice President
Over 20 years in design and marketing enables Margie to doubly handle Outreach for Friends. She's worked with Visitor Bureaus in the Tahoe / Carson area and is currently active with the Lake Tahoe Earth Day Foundation. Her clients include the Nevada Museum of Art, UC Davis, and the BLM.

Margie's fist visit to the Black Rock region was in '92. Armed with a USGS geothermal map, a few hot springs books and a Gazetteer, she set off in search of a good soak. An outdoor-lover from Tahoe City, she feels fortunate to be able to spend her time soaking at both ends of the ancient Lahontan watershed. Zella doesn't mind either.

James Kudrna
Secretary
James Kudrna is the manager of Kudrna Nevada LLC and owner of Soldier Meadows Ranch & Lodge. Jim retired in 2005 after over 30 years in the real estate industry as a broker, manager, marketer, CFO, dealer, portfolio acquisition specialist, and developer. Jim is experienced in the implementation of marketing, planning, organization financing and development of all types of communities and resources. He is an avid conservationist, friend of all wildlife, critic of waste, a minimalist, and now he is becoming a rancher at Soldier Meadows, a key destination along the Emigrant Trail. He loves to hunt chukkar (and doesn't much care if he gets any), fish, camp, explore, fix things, learn, teach, build consensus, travel, and make changes happen. Jim is married with two sons, and received his formal education in economic forecasting and business at Western Washington State University.

Lucy Moreton-Hall
Treasurer
Lucy has more than 30 years experience as a high-level escrow officer and has also processed loans, taught at a real estate school, worked in the banking industry, and has taken law classes. She has been the treasurer of the Sparks Elks lodge # 2397 for 3 years and was also Secretary of the Walnut Creek chapter of the Navy League. Lucy has lived in Nevada since 2002, recreated in Nevada since the 80's, and likes being close to the Black Rock.

Jeff Barker
Known as "JB" in the local circles, was raised in Washoe County, and manages the old Iveson Ranch, a short distance from Gerlach,where he and Sylvia are developing a Wildlife Conservation Ranch supported by Art Car Storage and Playa Base Camp, as well as the BarSyl Bazaar in Gerlach. Jeff has spent the majority of his life in and around the Black Rock High Desert Area. JB's lifelong background in sales and marketing with major international companies makes him an asset to any business, but his heart is here!

David Book
Self proclaimed Desert Rat David Book has been with Friends for nearly 10 years. Dave's been scouring the deserts of Arizona, California, and Nevada since the 1970's. He's an active member of Washoe Country Search & Rescue, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Oregon California Trail Associatiion, Sierra Club member and trip leader, does amateur radio and has been a Burning Man attendee since 1993. Dave has also been a BLM volunteer since the mid 1990's. When he's not at meetings, he's out poking around in ghost towns, mining camps and deserted backroads. His favorite motto's: "I don't care where I go or what I do, Ijust want to go" and "When you're in the desert, you always have a view"

Dan O'Day
Dan lives in Incline Village, Nevada, and has spent many years exploring the Black Rock Desert. For the past several years, Dan has worked internationally as an ERP software consultant. Dan worked in the radio industry in Chicago prior to his move to Nevada in 1997. As an amateur astronomer, Dan also sits on the board of Space Science for Schools, an educational program that operates in partnership with Sierra Nevada College. He has also been on the board of Pet Network of North Lake Tahoe. Dan is generally a big history buff, a pretty serious amateur photographer, and also works on intellectual property violations for Burning Man.

Dennis Porter
Dennis has been involved in activities in the Black Rock / High Rock region sinde the late 1970's. He's a past Chairman of the Shasta County CA Air Resource Appeals Board and has been an attorney since 1975. Currently, Dennis is semi-retired and limits his practice to recreational access and environmental law. Past president of the High Rock Trekkers, a 4WD group formed over 20 years ago to work in partnership with teh BLM to protect recreational access and the historical structures and pioneer trails in the region.

Sam Stern
Sam has been in Nevada since 1975, after serving in the US Army as a field medic in South Korea. He worked as a district supervisor in Las Vegas and Reno for Nevada First Thrift, a state bank owned by his family with over 22 branch offices, and for Vassar Wells Music Hall in Reno as general manager and booking agent of a bar and restaurant. Sam has also worked for himself in the mortgage business in Las Vegas and Reno, and has been associated with "Your Front Porch Neighbors" as sales and operation manager for a local home magazine. He has a daughter attending the University of Colorado and a son graduating from Reno High School this year. Sam serves on the Diabetes Foundation Board in Reno and was appointed by the Governor to the Automobile Advisory Board in 2007. He spends his free time doing photography, hiking, and playing golf and tennis.

Arlo Stockham
Arlo is an experienced land use planner who works as an "in-house" project manager for the Jaksick family, the largest private landowner in northern Washoe County. He graduated with high honors from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography and minor in Geology. Arlo has also completed extensive post-graduate training in land use planning, public policy and environmental law. Before joining the Jaksick family team, Arlo worked as a planning consultant for a variety of private and public sector clients and as a staff member for several local, state and federal government agencies. Arlo is especially interested in protecting and enhancing the unique and scenic character of the Black Rock Desert region.

STAFF

Matthew "Metric" Ebert
Program Director
After his formative years near Washington, D.C., Matthew "Metric" Ebert headed west, a motorcycle beneath him and dreams in his head. After a year in the Trinity National Forest working a mineral rights claim, Metric moved to San Francisco to pursue higher education and other interests. There he developed a career in the arts, working with several bands and event production companies while pursuing a music business degree at San Francisco State. While this was often satisfying, it was rarely lucrative, and so Metric also worked for the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the UCSF School of Medicine as a research assistant. Ultimately, he decided to move to northern Nevada in 2000 and became the ranch manager for Burning Man, developing their rural property into a professional storage and production facility. Now Metric has settled in Gerlach, and serves the Gerlach Empire Citizen Advisory Board in addition to his work with the Friends of Black Rock.

To contact Metric, call 775-557-2900.