Making the good life in Teton Valley even better.

Our Board of Directors

Derek Ellis

Derek Ellis

Board Chair

Derek grew up in Ohio, but after graduating from Miami University, he traded the flat-lands of the Midwest for the alluring landscapes of the West. Derek landed in Teton Valley in 1994 making it home-base while conducting field biology studies, guiding ski tours, working for local businesses, and running a meat processing business. In 2016, Derek gave up the valley shuffle for a full-time work with the Jackson Hole Land Trust where he continues to work as the Director of Stewardship. Derek is excited to bring his knowledge of non-profit management to help grow the extraordinary community assets that the TVF operates. Although he has dreams of curling greatness, Derek primarily enjoys sharing the wonders of the Greater Yellowstone Area with his wife, Jen, and two daughters, Lila and Quinn.

Mara Brannon

Mara Brannon

Board Secretary

After 20 years in Texas, Mara & her husband found paradise in Teton Valley in 2014. She has a background in financial analysis and over 30 years of experience in healthcare software technologies, specializing in project management and new product launches. Mara is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. She has served on several non-profit boards in the valley including the Teton Valley Health Foundation, Family Safety Network, and currently serves on the Teton Valley Foundation, the Good Shepherd Pastoral Council, the Act Foundation Board, and the PAWS of Teton Valley Advisory Panel. She and her husband Jack of 35+ years have 2 adult children, 2 five-year-old puppies, love fly fishing, skiing, and Teton Valley.

Susan Jackson

Susan Jackson

Board Treasurer

Originally from Pennsylvania, Susan has been a Teton Valley property owner since 2018 and year round resident since 2023. She and her husband now split their time between Idaho and Western Pennsylvania. With grown children living in Salt Lake City and Berkeley, CA, her family is moving their base of operations from Pennsylvania’s Laurel Mountains to the Teton Valley.

Susan is the President and member of the Board of Directors of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation – an organization uniting industry leaders, the environmental community and leading scientists in the creation, advocacy and adoption of science-based best
practices that advance the long-term sustainability of global tuna fisheries. She spent the first half of her career practicing law. She earned her J.D. from Duke University School of Law and B.A in Economics from the University of Notre Dame.

In other non-profit experience, Susan served as a Board Member (2008-2014) of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (CLP), a system of 19 free libraries in the Pittsburgh area, holding the office of Board Secretary on the Executive Committee and Chair of the Facilities Committee. During her tenure on the CLP Board, she participated in the search and hiring of a new Executive
Director and the development of CLP’s strategic plan.

The only non-musician in her family growing up, Susan’ passion for music runs deep. Since her first summer visit to the Teton Valley in 2016, she has been an avid fan of Music on Main.

Ari Kotler

Ari Kotler

Board Member

In 2005, Ari founded Teton Basin Ice & Recreation (TBIR). In 2010, TBIR merged with TVF, providing TVF its first significant recreational programming and the ability to hire a full time ED. It was Ari’s vision to develop a recreational ice facility for the community of Teton Valley Idaho. It was his hard work and vision that made it a reality.  Ari is a committed father to his daughter and operates SOAR Northwest, an outfitting operation on the Selway and Salmon Rivers in Idaho. He has been a philanthropic and dedicated community member since 1998 and has served on the Idaho Outfitters and Guide Association BOD since 2012.  The Kotler Ice Rink is named for Ari and his family. Their dedication to bringing affordable winter recreation to the valley is unparalleled.

Alex Seddon

Board Member

Alex Seddon was born in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He spent his formative years in Alta, Wyoming and St. Louis, Missouri where he graduated from Ladue Horton Watkins High School. It was in Wilson and St. Louis where he first learned how to ice skate and play the game of hockey. He attended college at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and graduated with a degree in EnvironmentalScience. While living in Colorado he worked in the landscape industry and enjoyed many types of outdoor activities. Currently Alex resides outside of Tetonia, Idaho where he owns and operates a landscape construction company. During the winter months he maintains the Alta ice rink and spends time skiing and playing ice hockey.

John Gavin

Board Member

Bio coming soon!

Hilary Calagna

Board Member

Bio coming soon!

Cait Barilec

Vice Chair

Bio coming soon!

Board Emeritus

Shannon Brooks Hamby

Shannon moved to the Tetons from Boston, MA over 17 years ago and lives with her husband Curt and daughter Cadence in Victor, ID. She spent 14+ years in resort, tourism, and outdoor industry marketing and public relations before transitioning to the nonprofit field as the Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Teton Valley, where she launched the Youth Philanthropy program. Shannon is currently the Executive Director for CLIMB Wyoming and a volunteer for several nonprofits in Teton Valley. She has served as a Big Sister, as a Teton Valley Chamber of Commerce board member, as Chair of the Teton Valley Marketing Alliance and is a volunteer coordinator for Stripping for a Cure, an annual all-women’s fly fishing fundraiser for local cancer organizations.

Jenny Wade

Originally from Memphis TN, Jenny took the long way round to get to Teton Valley. Upon graduating from Loyola University Chicago, Jenny spent four years studying the behavior of rhesus macaque monkeys in the Caribbean before earning a Master’s of Studies in Environmental Law at Vermont Law School. Jenny left Vermont to travel to Phoenix, AZ where she spent 15 years as the founder and Executive Director of Paw Placement Animal Rescue, an organization that is now one of the largest animal rescues in the state of Arizona. However, the triple-digit heat was just too much and Jenny had always loved the Tetons. So, she packed up her three dogs and moved to Victor, ID in 2014. Jenny served as the Executive Director of Teton Valley Hospital Foundation for 3 years and is enthusiastic about her new role as Group Sales Director at Teton Springs. She has been a Music on Main volunteer for five seasons and enjoys seeing everyone come through the front gates. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, and pretty much everything about Idaho. 

SKATERS PER SEASON AT THE Kotler Ice Arena

Music on Main Concerts Since 2007

Feet of Chiller Piping at Kotler Ice Arena

Music on Main Concert Goers Since 2007

Get In Touch

Teton Valley Foundation:
info@tetonvalleyfoundation.org

Kotler Ice Arena:
208-970-7498
rink@tetonvalleyfoundation.org

Music on Main: mom@tetonvalleyfoundation.org