Angie Burford
President
I’m Angie Burford and I became a member of TOWN 3 years ago after I saw an announcement on Facebook, of a Becoming an Outdoor Woman weekend sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife and I signed up and went to my first BOW event. I was so excited that there was such an event for women to experience outdoor activities with the opportunity to learn new ones. After further research, I discovered there was a group, TOWN-Austin, right here where I live that had organized outings of camping, kayaking, hiking, etc. I joined without knowing anyone and after 1 year, I became a board member of TOWN. Now I have the privilege of holding the office of President. I loved attending BOW events so much that became a member and board member of Friends of Becoming an Outdoor Woman (Friends of BOW). We raise money for equipment like life jackets for kayaking, and archery equipment, etc., supplies for some classes, and scholarships for women to attend a BOW weekend.
My family is from Austin. Met my husband in high school here in Austin. We have two children, a son and a daughter. I have retired from Farmers Insurance Group and currently work for the state and plan to retire in a couple of years or sooner. Camping has been a favorite thing to do all my life, as a child with my family, with my husband, as a parent volunteer with my son’s Boy Scout troop, and as a Girl Scout leader for my daughter’s Girl Scout troop. I’m so thankful to have found TOWN and look forward to enjoying future outings with you.
Marie Wilson
President Elect
I have been a member of TOWN for over fifteen years and a member of the Board for almost two years and counting. I am originally from Brooklyn, New York and found my way to Northwest Austin in June of 1984. During my working career I have been an Electro-mechanical drafter (at Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque), an Administrative Assistant and an entrepreneur in the field of Professional Organizing. I am currently retired which gives me the flexibility to participate in many outdoor activities. Discovering TOWN has been a joy. Participating in outdoor activities with like-minded women has given me more confidence in the outdoors. TOWN continues to be a great source of discovery and learning. I especially enjoy camping, kayaking, hiking, and biking.
Janet Fitzsimon-Barr
Treasurer
Native Texan who has always been a nature geek. I love birdwatching and watching all of nature. I love to walk around on our 3 acres in Bastrop county each season and see all the changes. So much fun to take amateurish photos and upload them to the app iNaturalist. I work full-time in downtown Austin so my weekends are sacred, but filling them with a Townie outing is the best! I have been a TOWN member and board member for many years. No kids, just a slew of cats and 2 dogs, 1 husband.
Kathleen Coyne
Secretary
I’m Kathleen Coyne. I love a wide variety of outdoor activities. I joined TOWN after meeting JacqueA leading a hike at Turkey Creek. A few minutes later I realized I was missing my dog Baby who had already joined TOWN and followed the group down the trail!
I enjoy hiking and am currently training for an eight day walk on the West Highland Way in Scotland next May. I enjoy tent camping and exploring new places and swimming. I live with my wife, two dogs who hike but don’t camp, and two cats. I have an adult daughter who is one of my favorite people to camp with.
Sherry Mason
Publicity Chair
My name is Sherry Mason and I have been a member of TOWN for almost one year. I was born in New York and at the age of three my family packed up and moved to sunny Miami, Florida.. Miami was a great place to grow up. In 1970 my husband and I moved to Austin where he got a state job, and I went to UT School of Nursing. I worked as an RN for many years finally retiring in 2013. I am a member of the native plant society and Travis Audubon. In fact, I was volunteering at Blair Sanctuary pulling up invasive plants with another volunteer who happened to be a member of TOWN. She told me all about the organization and how much fun it was to camp, so I immediately went to the website and signed up. I love being out in nature and TOWN provides so many opportunities to do this! My all-time favorite parks are Enchanted Rock and Pedernales Falls.
Dawn Goodall
Outing Coordinator
I am delighted to be back in Central Texas, to make more memories with TOWNIES. It was beautiful where I recently lived in East Tennessee, (less than an hour from the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park), but my heart was still in Texas where I have spent most of my adult life. I previously served as a TOWN board member and made valuable friendships that I will always treasure. I enjoy camping in my passenger van or tent, hiking, kayaking and taking photographs, with my rescue fur baby Frannie usually at my side.
Dawn Kidd
Membership Chair
Born and raised in Miami, FL. My interests include kayaking, camping, hiking, and reading. Attended Vanderbilt University for my B.S., University of Texas at Austin for my M.A. and Ph.D. Retired last year after 30+ years of teaching at the Texas School for the Deaf. I currently work part time as an ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter, an adjunct instructor for Lamar University, and on several projects for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, NY. My husband and I have a daughter and a son, and two granddaughters. My first trip with TOWN was 2016 (I think!) to Palo Duro Canyon. I was looking for people to camp with; I had been very active as a Leader for my daughter’s Girl Scout troop, and we did tons of camping, but then they graduated from high school and moved on. So, I moved on to TOWN!
Anna Elman
Webmaster
I am a long time Austin resident. I moved to Austin for an Electrical Engineering degree from UT and pretty much never left. I’ve always been a big on hiking, camping, and traveling. But I got involved in TOWN through Wednesday kayaking group. It was so wonderful to find women with so much experience in the outdoors! I really enjoyed all the varied activities that TOWN offers. I am slowly getting into birding. My husband and I have 2 grown daughters and a rescue Chiweenie named Nacho.
