Board of Directors

Ed Price, a geologist and professor, founded the Trail Access Project in 2015. Over the years he has led many friends and students to enjoy the outdoor adventure, grandeur, learning opportunities, and solitude while hiking in our national parks and other public lands. Now that he uses a manual wheelchair because of a progressive disability, he has quickly learned how much less meaningful a park experience is for a person with a physical disability.

Ed earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in geology from the University of Georgia and his Ph.D. in geology from Washington State University. Dr. Price recently retired after teaching at Nevada State College for eleven years. Through the Trail Access Project, he hopes to provide better access to nature for people with disabilities.

Frank Lewis is a Senior Landscape Project Designer and Authorized Desert Tortoise Biologist with fifteen years' experience across multiple areas within the field. Frank’s educational background includes a Master of Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University where he completed his thesis as a Study of Accessibility Issues at Louisiana State University. An abiding concern for environmental integrity, quality of life and equality in design contributes to each design that is undertaken by Frank.

Frank has contributed to numerous designs and studies of designs including single family residences, multi-use developments, municipal parks and regional parks, as well as studies of existing National Park Service properties. Of particular note is the design of Craig Ranch Regional Park, a 153 acre park in the City of North Las Vegas, NV and the Cultural Landscape Inventory of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Gateway Arch) which was conducted as part of a National Park Service team.
Being part of a creative team allows Frank the opportunity to explore many ideas for the benefit of the client and the end-user of each designed space. Frank’s diverse experience, educational background, and camaraderie with project team mates contribute to unique and well thought out design solutions to fit each client's needs.

Shelley Blackler, AICP, RYT-200 is based on Cape Ann, Massachusetts, north of Boston. She is a certified city planner whose previous planning work includes long range planning for the City of Henderson (NV), community and economic development research at the Federal Reserve of Atlanta, and co-authoring the Human Services Transportation (HST) Plan for the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Mobility Division. That HST plan empowers local decision-makers in the 20-county Atlanta region to address transportation options available to, accessible to, and needed by frequently underserved populations, whose travel options are reduced due to low-income, low-English proficiency, and/or disability. She drew heavily from her prior professional experience on the Customer Experience team at the non-profit American Cancer Society to infuse this plan with a user experience-based approach to addressing the needs of underserved populations.

For her Masters in City & Regional Planning from Georgia Tech, she applied this user experience lens to open space and recreation planning. She investigated implementing a customer experience measurement program to identify opportunities for optimized mobility and more meaningful access to nature for national park visitors with disabilities. Her recommended program of visitor engagement and spatially-tied data collection would help park managers prioritize their limited budgets toward specific improvements that would have the most efficient and greatest impact on park experiences for those with disabilities.

Most recently, she has worked at civic technology start-ups focused on pedestrian/visitor data collection to inform better public space design and to more appropriately value public lands.

​Noel Williams currently works as an architectural and interior designer and is a Nevada State Registered Interior Designer with more than twenty years of experience in design and decorative arts. In addition he is an adjunct instructor with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Architecture department of Interior Design. A Las Vegas resident since 2006, Noel has worked primarily in hospitality and commercial design providing full scope project management, specialized programming, space planning and construction administration. Noel’s association with UNLV has focused on sustainable design and environments for seniors. He was a key member of the UNLV Solar Decathlon team, creating a flexible sustainable age-in-place home, winning 2nd place in the international competition. Noel’s senior Interior Design studio has focused on creating unique living environments senior clients.

​Since 2014 Noel has worked with Las Vegas Ronald McDonald House Charities to provide design services for the house remodel and Sunrise Children’s Hospital Family Room and was honored in 2016 as an RMHC House Hero.
Noel’s ongoing efforts and interest in sustainable and supportive design environments by extension has led to an extensive working knowledge of accessible design requirements and appropriate design approaches that integrate thoughtful planning and practical access. He continues to explore opportunities for integration of thoughtful design and convenient accessibility in living environments.

Diana Morgan is the Director of Annual Giving & Advancement Services at Nevada State College. She designs and manages annual giving campaigns, coordinates advancement services for the College, and develops community partnerships to benefit NSC students.

Diana’s past development experience is extensive. She has been Director of Development for DISCOVERY Children’s Museum, Major Gifts Officer for Vegas PBS, Program Design Manager and then Director of Development for The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, and Manager of Annual Giving Programs for all medical and public health departments, institutes, and centers at the University of Minnesota.

Prior to becoming a development professional, Diana taught high school social studies in North Carolina and Minnesota. She was born and raised overseas and considers travel one of life’s greatest educators. Diana graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1992 with a BA in Geography.

Outside of work, Diana enjoys knitting, cooking, baking, hiking, traveling, exploring, and solving puzzles. She has dreams of becoming an amateur rock hound, opening a yarn shop, and sitting on the summit of Turtle Head Peak. She lives in Henderson with her husband, daughter, and Goldendoodle.

Angel Frechette is a graduate student studying for a Master of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at New York University, and holds a BA in Psychology with minors in Neuroscience and Family Studies from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. She is currently located in Las Vegas, Nevada with her longtime partner and her bichon-poodle.
Most recently she served as Operations Manager for DRIVEN NeuroRecovery Center, a community fitness and wellness center based in Las Vegas, Nevada that offers activity-based therapies to those with neurological physical disabilities. From 2018 to 2022 she coordinated and oversaw both operations and holistic wellness programming services at DRIVEN. From 2021-2022 she served as DRIVEN’s designated site mentor for Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone students from universities both locally and nationwide.
Currently Angel is completing her clinicals and externships for certification and licensure in Speech-Language Pathology. Angel loves scenic hikes with water elements, eating Italian and Asian food, and cooking! She has a passion for people of all ability levels living life to the fullest extent!

Aaron Leifheit, a central Illinois native, grew up exploring the forests of Illinois and was lucky to have a family that took yearly camping trips ‘Out West.’ These experiences helped him develop a passion for protecting nature and sharing outdoor places with others. Aaron currently lives in southwest Las Vegas with his wife, Bertha, and their cat, Dwayne. He has worked on environmental and public land issues in southern Nevada since 2006, where his passion and efforts focus on increasing access and making parks and nature more accessible to local communities.

During college at the University of Illinois, Aaron was nominated for Teaching Assistant of the year, and won the River Management Societies’ yearly award for student research. After graduating with a degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Aaron relocated in 2005 to Boulder City to work as Environmental Education AmeriCorps with the National Park Service at Lake Mead.

After volunteering, Aaron spent 6 years with the Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area as an Environmental Education Specialist, where he managed interpretive programs for underserved youth, led astronomy night hikes, and created the Mojave in Motion classroom science program for the Clark County School District.

In 2013, Aaron joined Get Outdoors Nevada as the Education Program Director, where he grew and led a talented team that now conducts hundreds of environmental programs a year. In addition to working on efforts such as Meet Your Mojave, Next Generation Science Standards, Mojave Max, and Families in Nature, Aaron also facilitated the CHOLLA workgroup, conducted Certified Interpretive Guide trainings, and led department planning, budgeting, and grant writing. In these efforts, he used his resources to connect the community to parks, increasing access to nature and its benefits, and attempted to center and listen to diverse and underserved groups.

In 2022, Aaron transitioned to working as a park ranger with the National Park Service at Death Valley National Park. In this capacity, he helps oversee the concessions and businesses in the park, and issues Special Use Permits. He helped start and now facilitates the park’s IDEA committee (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility), where he advocates for increased accessibility resources in park facilities. Also in 2022, Aaron began an online master’s program at the University of Illinois, which focuses on GIS and ecology.

Aaron loves learning, and spends his personal time tinkering with a variety of projects, such as making Kombucha and cutting boards, collecting silver age comic books, old novels and Grateful Dead shows, and of course hiking, backpacking, and exploring beautiful Southern Nevada.