About Vermont Huts
Why We Exist
The beauty and allure of the Green Mountains have attracted mountain enthusiasts from all over the world. Hard-working residents have created remarkable recreational opportunities for Vermonters and visitors to enjoy. Countless trails were created over the years by skiers, mountain bikers, and hikers. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, our mission is to foster a deeper appreciation of our natural environment and strengthen Vermont’s communities by providing enriching and immersive outdoor experiences for all.
We work to increase access to outdoor recreation and actively support rural economies throughout Vermont. To do that, we’re creating the country’s largest statewide, hut supported trail network, intentionally routed into local communities and linking existing networks.
This process won’t be easy, but it needs to be done, and that’s what we’re here to do.
It will take an enormous amount of statewide and community collaboration to build this network. So, if you operate a backcountry shelter, we’d love to chat with you. If you’re an eager mountain biker, skier, hiker, or trail runner get involved by becoming a member, staying at one of our huts, or volunteering with VHA! The time has come to put Vermont huts on the map.
From all of us at VT Huts
RJ Thompson
Co-Founder, Executive Director
RJ lives to be in the mountains, and he loves sharing his passion for the outdoors with anyone who is willing to join him on foot, skis, or bike. His love for the Green Mountains began in 2002 while studying at the University of Vermont, and, after a three-year stint in Jackson Hole, he received an M.S. in Environmental Studies from Green Mountain College. RJ also serves on the Green Mountain Club’s Camps Committee and the Moosalamoo Association’s board of directors. He has also visited hut systems across the US and Europe. When RJ is inside, you can find him chasing his children around the house with his wife, Olivia.
DANI KEHLMANN
Development Director
Dani and her best friend, Boots the dog, are generally found eating snacks in the woods and calling it trail running. She can also be found serving on the Waterbury Selectboard, coaching a fitness class, or telling a bad joke. It has always been Dani’s mission to leave the world a little better than she found it, leading her from the arts, to teaching, to social services, and finally to Vermont Huts. It is with great joy that Dani joined the team to leave a lasting impact on Vermont’s outdoor recreation and increase access for all people in the backcountry. Everyone deserves a safe, accessible way to play – and stay – outdoors.
ANGUS MCCUSKER
Velomont Trail Director
Angus is excited to see the Velomont Trail and hut network’s southern terminus connect to where he grew up in the ‘hilltowns’ of western Massachusetts. Angus lives to backcountry and Nordic ski but also loves long distance mountain bike rides that involve epic climbs and long descents. A member of the 251 club of Vermont, he has been to all of Vermont’s 251 towns and cities. Angus is also a founding member and Executive Director of Ridgeline Outdoor Collective, a non-profit chapter of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association and the Catamount Trail Association. Angus enjoys spending time building back yard and front yard rope tows, and doing most anything that involves moving around outside with his wife and two kids in Rochester, VT.
Dan hallberg
Project Manager
Dan’s love of Vermont started when he first moved to Burlington in 2008 and although he left and spent time in other parts of the country, no other place felt as much like home as Vermont does. Dan has made a point to work in the outdoors for his whole life, first as a trail builder and carpenter, then after earning a degree in Washington state as a land surveyor. In his free time you can find him skiing, biking, hiking or camping with his elderly lab Loki, or working with his small goat herd that he rents out for brush clearing projects.
Merrick Gillies
Project Manager
Maggie Twitchell
Program & Communication Coordinator
Maggie lives in Waterbury Center with her partner and a house full of pets. She spends her time with her old Saint Bernard, Tilly running a hiker hostel from her family home, poking about on the trails with eager leaf peepers, and burning off steam with her springy Springer, Willie.
When she’s not out there having epiphanies, she’s here, having fun with our social media account and growing our F.O.R.E.S.T. program; our way of getting those with fewer opportunities, into the outdoors.
Board of Directors
Click to view board photos and bios
Berne Broudy | Jamey Fidel |
Chris Quinn | David Goodman |
Mike Donohue | Liz Gleason |
JULIA BUNTING | Julia Austin |
Matthew Mole | Adam Rubin |
Cate Starmer | Jason Mintz |