Board of Directors
Barry Denton, President
Barry is an avid “e-biker” and never misses an opportunity to enjoy a ride through the Fort. It’s an amazing place! Since joining the board in 2020, he has been able to blend his professional career in engineering and project management with his volunteer experience. Barry became fascinated with the history of the gun batteries and created historical interpretive signs for each one. He led a project to add bike racks on the main campus and collaborated with the Jefferson County Native Plant Society to refurbish signage along the beach.
Hallie Whitley, Secretary
Hallie recently relocated to Port Townsend with her husband, Owen. She has been a long-time admirer of the Fort and visited yearly with the Western Washington University Cross Country Team. She was drawn to volunteering with the Friends thanks to her appreciation for the Fort, love of the outdoors, and passion for history. She is also a fan of Excel spreadsheets and will serve as the secretary for 2023 and 2024.
Luis Tolley, Treasurer
Luis moved to Port Townsend in 2020, drawn partly by the miles of beautiful trails and coastline in Fort Worden. He loves walking his dogs in the park and seeing all of the seasonal changes to the environment and wildlife. Luis volunteers with the trail team and is slowly learning to distinguish between invasive plants to pull and native plants to foster. He has experience working to strengthen the capacity of local organizations and government agencies and recently became board treasurer.
Will Barrett, Trail Team Leader
In the summer of 2017, after Will and Patti moved to Port Townsend, they happened to meet a work party pulling invasive dune grass near the beach at Point Wilson. Contact with the Friends of Fort Worden led to an interest in invasive species control, habitat restoration, and trail maintenance. As the Trail Team Leader, Will enjoys working with local State Parks leadership and staff to help engage Trail Team members in work that benefits the park and supports staff.
Mitch Freeman
Mitch spent lots of time walking through Fort Worden over many years, admiring the beauty and nice trails without thinking about the work that went into keeping it that way. When he retired several years ago, he learned of the Friends and joined the Trail Team and board. Mitch lives close to the park and visits daily to walk his dog, take classes, listen to music, and enjoy the place. After serving as the board president, he is currently focused on helping with habitat restoration.
Dave Given
Dave has a Ph.D. in Water Resources from the University of Washington. He retired to Port Townsend in 2010 after a 34-year career with the National Park Service, the last 15 years as Deputy Regional Director of the Park Service’s 13-state Midwest Region. He joined the Friends’ board because he is passionate about the role parks play in our society and wanted to “keep his fingers” in the parks business. Dave keeps our Little Free Libraries in the park campgrounds filled with books and recently completed liquidating the Friends’ Gift Shop inventory following the board's decision not to reopen it.
Vicki Legman, Volunteer Coordinator
Vicki started with Friends of Fort Worden by pulling scotch broom and thought, “Wow, these folks get a lot done!” In 2022, after a couple of years of volunteering, she and her husband, Dana Sullivan, decided to join the board. The Legman/Sullivan team arrived in Port Townsend in 2019, all the way from the East Side of Seattle. Now the Friends’ Volunteer Coordinator, Vicki comes with 34 years of experience in team and person-to-person communication training. Vicki and Dana love it here, regularly walking the trails, both in and out of Fort Worden, and are happy to be giving back to this wonderful park.
Terry LeLievre
Terry has filled most of the Board officer positions since joining the board in 2016: secretary (2018, 2021), treasurer (2019), and president (2020). He brings strong computer and marketing skills to our organization following a professional career in IT and has been responsible for implementing the Friends’ membership tracking database, setting up our MailChimp quarterly newsletter platform, and designing and maintaining our website. He is also active on the noxious weed control, fundraising and marketing committees and has participated in many Friends’ trail maintenance and park improvement projects.
Jutta Schneider, Donation Coordinator
Jutta works in the rehabilitation world, so restoration (in this case of habitat) is familiar ground. Spending time in nature is her health and wellness tonic of choice. The satisfaction of eradicating invasive species with other wonderful Fort volunteers helped her get through the pandemic-mostly sane. Never has she waivered from hugging a tree, nor from the belief that every small act matters.
Deb Schaack, Donation Coordinator
Deb and Jutta moved to Port Townsend at the start of the pandemic and found respite in frequent walks through the forest and beaches of Fort Worden, as well as the camaraderie of joining the Friends in invasive removal projects. She has worked as a project manager, teacher, and as a small business co-owner. Now you’ll find her at the front desk in Imaging at the hospital and working with Jutta tracking and thanking our wonderful Friends Donors.
Vince Maniaci
Vince and his wife Amanda moved to Port Townsend in late 2022 . He’s an avid lover of the outdoors and enjoys his weekly walks through Fort Worden and the surrounding shores. Excited to get involved with the community, he began volunteering with the Friends of Fort Worden this past summer working with the trail crew and invasive species eradication team. He looks forward in creating a balanced and sustainable future for Fort Worden State park and its inhabitants.
Polly Lyle
Polly has been enjoying hiking in Fort Worden State Park since moving to Port Townsend in 2007. She remembers her father telling her about that pretty yellow Scotch broom about 30 years ago (“Some people really hate it!”), not knowing she’d be moving to the Olympic Peninsula and joining the invasive plant battle. Volunteering with the Friends of Fort Worden is helping to preserve Fort Worden’s past, enjoying its present, and providing for its even-better future.
Dana Sullivan
Dana does not have a green thumb, so when his lovely wife, Vicki, asks for his help in the garden, it involves either killing or moving something. Turns out, those skills are exactly what’s needed to be on the Friends of Fort Worden Trail Team! After showing up enough times, they let him join the board, where his past corporate marketing skills and current children’s book writing/illustration skills have been put to good use as chair of the Marketing/Communications Committee. Dana loves walking the Fort Worden trails with Vicki and watching the Garry oaks sloooowly growing.