
Our Council Members are a mixed group of riders who were brought together by our passion for mountain biking and our desire to see more miles of local trails — many have been biking for years while others just started. We look forward to seeing you out on the trails; below is a little information about each of us.
WEST SOUND COUNCIL

Jon Phelps
President
jonphelps@evergreenmtb.org
My passion for biking started at a young age, as my bike was my ticket to adventure that continues today. Although I participate in many trail activities, mountain biking is still my top choice.
I am honored to be selected as tej Evergreen West Sound President. I am privileged to have a dedicated team working hard to make the Peninsula a top destination for trails for all riders.
I want to develop strong relationships between Evergreen West Sound membership, the biking community, local government officials, and all trail users to ensure focus and vision for our trails and growth of opportunities fo further our mission.

Charlie Sponsel
Trail Maintenance
charliesponsel@evergreenmtb.org
Charlie is a recent transplant to Kitsap County and is a former pro downhill and enduro racer from Oregon. He's excited to be on the EWS council because he's never been a member in an MTB trail organization that actually gets things done. EWS has 3-4 different trail projects going at the same time. It's amazing! He's looking forward to helping EWS design and build better trails in our area.

Tess AMatt Blossom
Vice Presidentnderson
mattblosson@evergreenmtb.org
Matt was raised on Bainbridge Island and has been riding in West Sound his whole life. He is skilled at utilizing heavy machinery in trail maintenance and building, and looks to contribute those skills to EWS to make the West Sound a great place to ride.

Heather de Choudens
Coming Soon

Aaron Wilkinson
Treasurer
aaronwilkinson@evergreenmtb.org
A native of Washington, Aaron grew up outdoors and started riding bikes at the age of three. In high school he spent time on a junior development team, Rad Racing Northwest, racing Cyclocross and XC.
These days he shares the love of adventure and the outdoors with his family, adding two little pink helmets to the mix. When he isn’t recovering from broken bones, Aaron has learned to use gravity to his advantage on the trails and DH rides.
Being a part of the West Sound council, Aaron is looking forward to sharing the fun, adventure, challenges, and camaraderie mountain biking creates.

Kevin Wise
Trail Maintenance
kevinwise@evergreenmtb.org
Kevin was born and raised in the Bremerton area. After moving away for college, Kevin returned to Kitsap County to teach middle school PE. He enjoys all types of cycling, from road, to trail, to downhill and has traveled to ride all over the Pacific Northwest. Kevin hopes to help EWS with trail maintenance and building.

Chris Hallam
Key Parks Representative
chrishallam@evergreenmtb.org
Chris has been riding in WA for five years and has loved every single minute of it. He started riding in high school outside of Phoenix, AZ. After a hiatus from riding while working in Afghanistan for several years (yes, there is a small but growing mountain bike community there amongst the locals!) he moved his family to the Gig Harbor area. They frequent 360, Swan Creek, as well as Green Mountain, with forays to many other corners of the state. He enoys almost anything with a good climb to it.
Seeing Evergreen's fingerprint on many of the trails that he rides, the education and volunteer network, and the opportunity for building more local mountain bikes, served as the impetus for him to get involved. He can't wait to see what the future holds for mountain biking here in the West Sound.

Ashley Pascoe
ComingSoon

Nick Marvik
Trail Maintenance
Nickmarvik@evergreenmtb.org
Nick was born and raised in Gig Harbor (Key Peninsula!) and has been racing and riding mountain bikes for 15+ years. He’s passionate about designing and building mountain bike trail systems riders love and has worked on multiple Evergreen and WMBC projects throughout Washington state.
Most notably, Nick designed and installed the machine-built jump trail, Blood Pressure, at Key Peninsula 360 Parks. He’s also implemented the West Sides first Trail Adoption Program (TAP), where local businesses can sponsor and maintain a trail.
Nick believes the West Puget Sound has the potential to be a premier mountain bike destination for all riders and is excited to help shape and create the future for our region.

Alyssa Eckert
Secretary
alyssaeckert@evergreenmtb.org
A transplant from Pennsylvania, Alyssa started mountain biking with her husband in 2015 when they rented bikes from Olympic Outdoor Center in Port Gamble. Since falling in love with the sport after exploring those trails, Alyssa has participated in DH and enduro races and became a certified Evergreen instructor in 2018. As an instructor, Alyssa enjoys teaching and helping beginner riders build their confidence and passion for the sport. By joining EWS council, she is really looking forward to getting more involved with her local chapter to learn and to help spread the joy of mountain biking to community members.

Scott Chaffee
At-large Member
Chaffee.s@gmail.com
Scott grew up riding Dash Point trails as a kid in Federal Way. He rode trails all over Montana in college including participating in XC races around Bozeman. Now living in Gig Harbor, he spends most of his riding time at KPN 360 with his family. Scott really enjoys seeing hte progression young riders can make with the wide variety of trails this area offers. A big fan of gravity oriented riding via an e-bike, shuttle, or lift access, Scott appreciates the local mtb community and heading out on group rides.

Sara Ragsdale
Women/Youth/Family
Sara started mountain biking later in life, after a series of injuries/diagnoses left her unable to continue impact sports like distance running. She needed to find a way to stay active outdoors, so she started road cycling and quickly found her way to mountain biking. Trail riding is very family-friendly, and Sarah's two daughters have also picked up the sport.
As a family, they have completed a number of group rides, races of events. Sarah and her kids have participated in trail build/maintenance events together. Her kids take pride in riding a trail they helped to build.
Skills progression is empowering for youth riders, and especially builds confidence in girls. Sara enjoys helping to empower her kids and and passionate about encouraging our entire West Sound community of family, women and children riders.

Wayne Short
Volunteer Coordinator
wayneshort@evergreenmtb.org
Wayne was raised in Texas, spent 18-years in San Diego, but has happily called Washington home for the past 10-years. A lifelong lover of the outdoors and thrill-seeker, he naturally gravitated towards mountain biking in the early '90s and has been hooked ever since.
Like most, he holds down a 9-5 and loves spending time with his family but can most likely be found riding or working on trails every spare minute he has. Wayne is a true believer that the spirit of enjoying and giving back to your local trails is what makes the mountain biking community unique from all other cycling disciplines.
As the West Sound Volunteer Coordinator, Wayne is looking forward to engaging with the local community and sharing his passion for creating and enjoying trails of all skill levels. "Together we have the opportunity to build something very special on the Kitsap Peninsula that can be enjoyed by generations to come

Laura DeLong
Education
lauradelong@evergreenmtb.org
Raised in the Four Corners, Laura has had a passion for outdoor recreation her entire life. She rode her first full suspension mountain bike in the Kitsap area at Biketoberfest in 2013 and fell in love. Since that initial ignite of passion, she has gone on to race Enduros in Washington and California, advance yearly in Downhill Races, travel all throughout the West Coast to different trail destination, and has become a certified instructor for Evergreen.
When not out on the trails Laura spends her days working as an Engineer and planning her next adventure. She hopes to spread the joy of mountain biking to all those she comes across and help build the beautiful West Sound area into the vast mountain bike community it is becoming. Full of rad people who share a common thrill of two wheels.