Goren begins new role May 15
By Gwendolyn Craig
Julia Goren is resigning from the Adirondack Mountain Club after nearly 20 years, and will be the new executive director of the Adirondack Rail Trail Association (ARTA).
Goren, 45, is slated to start her new role on May 15. She replaces Brian Woods, who left the organization last year.
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ARTA is a nonprofit centered around the 34-mile multi-use trail connecting Lake Placid and Tupper Lake. About 25 miles of the trail are currently open to the public for biking, hiking, roller skating and more. The state Department of Environmental Conservation is working on the final segment to Tupper Lake.
“I’m very excited,” Goren said. “I love how every time I’m out, I see members of the community and visitors both, really engaging with the trail, the natural communities and the physical communities.”
John Brockway, chair of the ARTA board, said he is thrilled Goren is the organization’s next leader.
“Her extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and community engagement makes her the ideal candidate to lead ARTA into its next phase of growth,” Brockway said in a news release. “With her vision, the Adirondack Rail Trail will continue to develop as a premier recreational corridor, connecting communities and fostering economic and environmental resilience.”
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The executive director position is currently funded through a $150,000 two-year grant from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund under the Parks and Trails Partnership program, with matching funds from the organization. Goren hopes to serve beyond two years and assist ARTA with fundraising, stewardship, and its long-term plans. She will be focused on promoting the rail trail, engaging volunteers and making the trail part of the solution for bringing visitors to Adirondack communities.
The rail trail, she said, is a great opportunity for those who are not looking to hike a High Peak, or who don’t have the equipment for such a trek. It still provides users with an “amazing, beautiful and satisfying adventure,” she said.
Goren is finishing up her tenure as interim executive director at the Adirondack Mountain Club at the end of April. She originally joined ADK in 2004 and led its High Peaks Summit Stewardship Program and Education Department. She left ADK for a couple of years for the Adirondack Council, before returning to ADK in 2021.
ADK announced last week that it had hired Cortney Koenig Worrall, a New York City-based nonprofit leader, to its executive director position. Worrall will be moving up to the Adirondacks and starting on May 1.
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Goren had put her hat in the ring for the top ADK post, but said the position at ARTA was an exciting, new opportunity.
“I’ve been really proud of the work I’ve done with ADK, and I’m really proud of the staff,” she said. “I’m grateful to have been a part of it, and for it to have been a part of my life. I’m excited to see what the next chapter brings for ADK with Cortney, and I’m excited for what the next chapter brings for me as well.”
Goren has a master’s degree in environmental studies from Antioch University New England. She has also worked in the Catskills and at Wupatki National Monument in Arizona.
ARTA, which also goes by Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates, had a total revenue of about $115,000, according to 2023 IRS records.
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Top photo: Julia Goren, who will be the next executive director of the Adirondack Rail Trail Association, hikes Cascade Mountain. Photo by Mike Lynch
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