Karen Benton

Karen and Maggie May

Karen Benton, ND is the current Columbia and Loo Wit Outings Chair and serves on the national Sierra Club Local Outings Support Committee (LOSC) which represents a variety of Chapters and groups.

In 2007, she coordinated and led the first “All Women’s Mount St. Helen’s Trek” to the rim of the mountain, and is working with a variety of other community groups to expand the diversity of Outings and outings participation.

In addition to her local outdoor interests, she is a student of Anasazi culture and enjoys participating in National Sierra Club service trips in the Southwest. Her other hobbies include her “dog family”, stained glass design, “dark skies” and gourmet cooking.

Please contact Karen at drbenton@comcast.net if you have ideas for local outings, or are interested in getting involved in the group outings program!

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Tierra Curry

Tierra Curry North Cascades National Park

Tierra Curry is a wildlife biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity where she focuses on the conservation of endangered species. Tierra is passionate about ending mountain top removal coal mining in Appalachia and spreading the word that there is no such thing as clean coal.

Tierra is heartbroken about the amphibian extinction crisis and feels strongly that humans should do everything we can to make the world a safe place for frogs and toads, which were, after all, here first.

Tierra enjoys backpacking, swimming in rivers, bird watching, reading, all-night dancing, growing tomatoes, and spending time with her cat String Theory. She loves reggaeton and would love to improve her rusty Spanish on the trail. She is a new outings leader.

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Kim Kelly

Kim Kelly

Kim Kelly has always enjoyed hiking and camping. She co-leads outings with her husband and fellow outings leader Brian Pasko. Together, they enjoy backpacking, wilderness canoeing, kayaking, cross country skiing, and snow shoeing.

Kim feels that getting away from the demanding work atmosphere and being in nature is essential for rejuvenating the soul and refocusing on the important issues in her life. She is a family doctor and is passionate about promoting health lifestyles, part of which can include Sierra club outings.

Kim and Brian moved to Portland from Minneapolis, MN at the beginning of 2009. She is originally from Painesville, Ohio. She is eager to meet new people and find more beautiful places to hike on outings.

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Brian Pasko

Brian Pasko and Kim

Brian is an amateur photographer, avid hiker and backpacker, and experienced canoeist. He co-leads outings with his wife, Kim Kelly (a family physician in Portland), and his dog, Cookie (a very cute 30# blue-heeler and german short-hair pointer mix).

Brian has summitted Mt. Hood and also enjoys winter-camping, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. In 2006, Brian and Kim planned and enjoyed a 28 day wilderness canoe expedition in northern Canada.

Brian is the Director of the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club and a passionate wilderness advocate. He explores Oregon’s wilderness areas as often as he has the chance.

You can always view photos of his most recent adventures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/brian.pasko.

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