Team Members

Robert "Bob" Mindick – Osceola County Parks and Recreation
Robert “Bob” Mindick is a Central Floridian and Park Planner with the Osceola County Department of Parks and Recreation. Bob has traveled from Alaska to Zambia, extensively photographing the natural and cultural worlds he has visited. As a trained naturalist, he has led groups into the rainforests and wild areas of Borneo, eastern and southern Africa, Central America and the Amazon basin in South America. Bob has also paddled along some of the best known rivers in the world, including the Amazon, Zambezi, Napo, Okavango, Rouge, Columbia, Missouri and Ohio. He earned a Master's degree in Wildland Recreation Management from the University of Idaho.

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Doug Alderson – Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Greenways and Trails
Doug Alderson is currently the field director for the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail, a planned sea kayaking trail around the entire state being coordinated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Greenways and Trails. He has an extensive writing, photography and outdoor adventure background. Doug’s articles and photographs have been featured in Wildlife Conservation, American Forests, Sierra, Mother Earth News, Campus Life, America, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Florida Naturalist, Florida Sportsman, Tallahassee Magazine, Florida Wildlife and several others. A recipient of three national writing awards, he is the author of Waters Less Traveled: Exploring Florida's Big Bend Coast (University Press of Florida 2005), The Vision Keepers (Quest Books 2007) and The Ghost Orchid Ghost and Other Tales From the Swamp (Pineapple Press 2007).

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Judson "Mike" Jones
Mike Jones retired in 1999 from the U.S. Department of Defense, Naval Weapons Unit. Since then, Mike has traveled and hiked throughout the United States and Canada. He has participated in Outward Bound's backpacking, climbing and survival course at Kings Canyon National Park in California, and he recently participated in a 100-mile canoe trip through the Boundary Waters area of Canada and Minnesota. Mike spent the past summer and fall hiking, camping and fishing amongst the mountains and valleys of Glacier National Park in Montana and Yosemite National Park in California.

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Julia Recker - Osceola County Parks and Recreation
Julia Recker is the Parks and Recreation Director for Osceola County, a position that she has held for three years. As director, she is responsible for planning and developing a quality parks and natural resource system for the residents and visitors of Osceola County. Julia loves to be outdoors camping, kayaking, hiking, riding horses or taking photos of her surroundings. Her travel excursions include most of the United States but extend all the way to the Caribbean, Ukraine and even Korea. Julia obtained her bachelor's degree in Parks and Recreation Administration from Florida State University and her master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Central Florida.

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W. Dale Allen - The Trust for Public Land
Dale Allen joined the Trust for Public Land (TPL) in 1981, was appointed Southeast Regional Manager in 1986, made a Vice President in 1988, and Senior Vice President in 1999. As regional director, he is responsible for TPL’s work in a nine-state area that stretches from the Carolinas south to Florida and west to Louisiana. Among his most notable land preservation accomplishments during his 25 year history with TPL is the preservation of the 450-year old deSoto-Apalachee Historic and Archaeological site and the Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway in Tallahassee. Dale has been a member of the Florida Trail Association for more than 20 years, and was responsible for surveying and developing the Florida Trail from the Suwannee River to the Apalachicola River, a distance of 150 miles, which included sections through the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (the only coastal section in north Florida) and along the Aucilla River and Sinks. A native Floridian, Dale was raised in Hollywood and attended schools in Broward County. He is a 1970 graduate of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

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Doug Hattaway – The Trust for Public Land
Doug Hattaway, AICP, is a project manager in The Trust for Public Land’s (TPL) Tallahassee office. He has worked for TPL since 2000 to improve communities’ quality of life through the creation of public parks and open space. Several of his land acquisition projects have been located along the Shingle Creek Greenway. Doug is heading up TPL’s new program in southwest Florida, providing conservation land acquisition services to Sarasota County over the next three years. Before coming to TPL, Doug worked with disaster recovery and hazard mitigation in Florida and served as a volunteer for the U.S. Peace Corps. He has a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of South Florida and a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning from the Florida State University.

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Beth Kelso – Florida Trail Association
Beth Kelso’s life long passion for adventure started during college while earning an MBA. After her junior year, she backpacked across Europe with a friend. She continued with adventures such as hiking the International Appalachian Trail in Canada and the Inca Trail in Peru, White Water Rafting in the northwest, Hot Air Ballooning across the Chec Republic and Austria, as well as Paragliding and White Water Surfing in New Zealand. Beth is proud to represent the Florida Trail Association on this exciting expedition. She looks forward to learning and sharing with other experienced adventurers.

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