Green Mountain Club hires new director

After months of interviewing, the Green Mountain Club didn’t have to go too far to find its new executive director.

Longtime club member Michael DeBonis was named to the nonprofit organization’s top spot last week, making a return to his native Vermont from New Mexico to take over the position.

DeBonis currently serves as executive director of the Forest Guild, a national nonprofit forestry organization based out of Santa Fe.

He will help the Waterbury Center-based club continue to maintain and protect Vermont’s Long Trail System, spanning 450 miles.

It’s currently the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, with a 273-mile footpath and 175 miles of accompanying side trails.

DeBonis was born in Rutland and later moved to Middlebury, where he graduated from high school in 1989.

He grew up exploring the Green Mountains via hiking, camping and backpacking excursions, and spent time working at Branbury State Park in Salisbury and Lake Carmi State Park in Franklin.

DeBonis explored his love of nature and the outdoors at Johnson State College, earning a bachelor’s degree in natural resource management before moving on to Yale University, where he earned a master’s degree in forestry.

He’s also volunteered with the Peace Corps in Jamaica, where he met his wife Jennifer.

DeBonis has been a member of the club for at least 10 years and said his inspiration to join came after hiking portions of the Long Trail.

“I wanted to support the organization and people that maintained the trail,” DeBonis said in an email earlier this week from New Mexico.

And he’s remained a member ever since, he said, because he believes the Long Trail has a lasting impact “on connecting Vermonters to their natural world.”

The couple and their two rescue dogs are now preparing for their move eastward.

“I have been fortunate to live in a number of different places during my career, but Vermont has always been home,” he said. “My wife is originally from Massachusetts and is looking forward to moving to Vermont as well.”

But the dogs, who hail from New Mexico, might need some time to adjust to their new surroundings.

“Vermont will be a change for them,” DeBonis said. But he’s sure “new opportunities and adventures” are on the horizon for everyone.

The hiring hunt

Maisie Howard has served as the Green Mountain Club’s interim director since Wil Wiquist’s resignation from the position last November. She said the club is thrilled to have DeBonis on board.

“We’re all really looking forward to working with (him), and he has such deep roots in Vermont, which is great,” Howard said by phone last week.

The hunt for the right candidate peaked shortly after the club announced the employment vacancy in mid-December. By January, Howard said, the club’s hiring committee had received an “impressive amount” of resumes.

Howard said it was DeBonis’ proven work history, outdoors expertise and nonprofit experience that helped make him a standout choice.

Jean Haigh, who was named the club’s board president in 2012, said DeBonis possesses key assets, like a quick intellect and understanding of issues, that are essential to the job.

“His strengths and experiences lie in the areas of organizational, financial and personnel management — skills that he has used to successfully manage organizational change within the Forest Guild, all of which are very important to the Green Mountain Club,” she said in statement. “And he already has a number of positive and collegial relationships in Vermont.”

DeBonis will officially start as executive director in mid-May, just in time to attend the club’s annual meeting on June 13 and 14 in Killington.

In his new role, DeBonis said he plans to maintain both the “financial and organizational structure to keep the club on a strong, healthy footing.”

He would also like to create more opportunities for kids to access and experience the Long Trail and other natural space in the state.

“Building a strong connection between youth and the land is one of the best ways to develop a citizenry that cares about Vermont’s landscape and will work to protect it,” DeBonis said.