Barry J. Baker, Secretary

Barry J. Baker is a corporate liaison for tourism businesses located in Tusayan near the South Entrance to Grand Canyon National Park. He currently serves as the Tusayan representative on the Coconino Plateau Water Advisory Council and as Chairman of the Tusayan–Grand Canyon Sustainable Energy project. He is also a past member of the Tusayan Fire Protection Planning committee. Baker’s work has included resort consulting, real estate, retail, outdoor recreation, and property and hotel management.

Greg Batie, Vice Chair

Greg Batie is the Director of Warehouse Operations for Nestle Purina Petcare of St. Louis, Missouri; he has worked for Nestle Purina (formerly the Ralston Purina Company) for more than twenty-five years. In addition, Batie has owned and operated two Mazda dealerships, and he served as a board member for a community bank in Clarksville, Tennessee. He has worked in many capacities for other civic organizations in multiple communities. 

Nikki Cooley

Nikki Cooley is of the Diné Nation and of the Towering House Clan, born for the Reed People, maternal grandfathers are of the Water that Flows Together Clan, and paternal grandfathers are of the Manygoats Clan. For the last nine years she has been working as a cultural interpreter and river guide on the San Juan River and Colorado River in Grand Canyon. As the co-founder of the Native Guide Training and Cultural Interpretation Program she has helped train more than 30 Natives (Canada and US) in the fundamentals of the river-guiding industry. Cooley currently sits on the Board of the Grand Canyon River Guides Association, serves on the Advisory Panel for Native Voices on the Colorado River and is a co-founder of Fifth World Discoveries. 

Bill Johnston, Treasurer

Bill Johnston spent thirty years living and working in national parks for several park concessionaires, the last nine years of which he was the General Manager for Xanterra at Grand Canyon’s South Rim. He has twenty years of experience in park service management developing park policies and projects, including local implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and historic preservation.

Jim McDowell

Jim McDowell is the Chief Executive Officer of AAA Arizona, Inc., an independent affiliate of the American Automobile Association serving 800,000 members in Arizona. He formerly served as Executive Vice President and the President and CEO of Clubs for Affinity Group, Inc., in Ventura, California. McDowell serves on the boards of AAA Arizona, Inc.; AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety; Greater Phoenix Economic Council; Valley of the Sun United Way; and the Dean’s Advisory Board at the George Washington University School of Engineering.

Chris Muldoon

Chris Muldoon has more than thirty years of expertise in the area human communication skills. Founder of CM Communication International, Inc., she researches, coaches and consults with organizations worldwide. As the Manager of Training and Development for the Fred Harvey Corporation and as Deputy Director of the Division of Communications for the Arizona Department of Corrections, she pioneered major efforts in implementing leading-edge communication programs.  Muldoon is currently a board member of AZ Foundation for Women; AT Still Women's Wellness Program; the Grand Canyon Music Festival and the ASU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Advisory Council.

Linda Pallas

Linda Pallas worked as Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services for two major school districts in the Metropolitan Detroit area and as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan–Dearborn. While in public education, Pallas served on numerous county and state-level committees dealing with national and state policy. Now retired, Pallas and her husband, Tom, a fellow educator, make their home in Sedona. Pallas serves as Chair of the Arts and Culture Commission for the City of Sedona, Vice President of the Sedona Arts Center and a member of the board of the Sedona Arts Festival.

Paul Schmidt

Paul Schmidt practices law in the areas of estate planning, probate and nonprofit entity formation and compliance.  He is the Secretary/Treasurer of The Gumbo Foundation, a private family foundation.  His career has included ski area operation and management, governmental budgeting and retail enterprise along with participation on a number of nonprofit boards.

John Stark, Chair

John Stark has been general manager of public radio station KNAU-FM in Flagstaff since 1993. He has transformed KNAU into the thirteen-station Arizona Public Radio network based at Northern Arizona University. Arizona Public Radio’s KNAG-FM 90.3 serves Grand Canyon National Park. Before arriving in northern Arizona, he worked at public radio stations in Colorado, California, and Nevada, and was a producer for National Public Radio (NPR) in Washington, D.C.  He serves on the NPR board of directors. 

Robert Stieve

Robert Stieve is the Editor in Chief of Arizona Highways magazine. Previously, he served as managing editor and then as editor of PHOENIX magazine. In addition, he has worked for several newspapers and radio stations throughout the country, and was a speechwriter at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. In addition to his work at Arizona Highways, Stieve is an adjunct professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

Joseph G. Warren

Joseph G. Warren Jr. is retired as Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary of CoorsTek, Inc., a leading supplier to the semiconductor industry. Warren originally joined the Coors’ businesses in 1977 at Coors Container, later becoming VP of Finance for Coors Ceramics followed by CFO. In 1992 he became President of Ceramicon Designs, Ltd., and then CFO of Golden Technologies. At the same time, Warren served as Executive Vice President of Finance and Strategic Planning for the Coors Porcelain Company and as Chairman of the Board of Alpha Optical Company. He was subsequently CFO of White Electronic Designs, Inc. Warren currently serves as Vice Chairman of AAA Arizona Board of Directors, and he has served on the Board of the Epilepsy Foundation of Denver and as President of the Financial Executives Institute, Rocky Mountain Chapter.