Chad Irey President Elsmere, KY As a professional trailbuilder since 2012, Chad believes in a holistic approach to land stewardship for the benefit of the local community, including building trails that are not only physically sustainable over time but that also promote social, ecological and economic sustainability. His experience spans all kinds of projects ranging from maintaining individual trails to designing and building entire trail systems, and he enjoys working with the conservation community through groups like The Nature Conservancy and the Cincinnati Nature Center. Some of his favorite projects have included creating trail networks in Devou Park, Kentucky; Jakes Rocks Trails in the Allegheny National Forest of Pennsylvania; and Hammond Hills and Mosquito Creek in Michigan. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree from Ohio University and prior to founding Dirt Artisans, Chad was a professional carpenter serving residential and commercial sectors. He worked his way up into the role of Vice President of Operations at a commercial carpentry firm but eventually tired of the daily desk-focused grind and traded in his office attire for work boots. Always active as a volunteer and board member in organizations like the Cincinnati Off-Road Alliance and the Kentucky Mountain Bike Association, Chad has trained hundreds of volunteers, many of whom went on to become future trail work professionals. In 2012, he received the Covington Outdoor Environmentalist Stewardship Award for his pioneering work in Devou Park. A lifelong outdoor enthusiast, Chad enjoys long distance backcountry hikes - especially in the winter in the Smoky Mountains - and off-road cycling including downhill and cross country mountain biking. He counts water and snow skiing, most paddle sports and kicking around a soccer ball among his other hobbies.