BEND, Ore. — Emmy Andrews confesses she had never tried mountain biking until she moved to Bend in 2008.
Like many who experience Central Oregon’s renowned singletrack trails for the first time on two wheels, she was immediately hooked.
The once avid rock climber had found a new outdoor sport.
“About a year later, I was not doing much climbing anymore,” Andrews says. “It was mostly just mountain biking.”
Once Andrews realized there was a volunteer organization that works to develop, preserve and enhance the mountain biking trails in Central Oregon — the Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA) — she became a member and eventually joined its board of directors in 2016.
After serving as the board treasurer for three years and then as the Bend chapter representative, Andrews, 44, has been hired as COTA’s first ever executive director, the first ever paid position for the nonprofit that was established in 1992. She will work to support the dedicated volunteers that have helped turn Central Oregon into a mountain biking mecca over the last three decades.
“I love variety, so I’m looking forward to all the different things I’ll get to do,” says Andrews, who worked in the environmental consulting industry for 16 years. “So many people reached out to me. It was wonderful. It just feels great to get the community’s vote of confidence.”
As executive director, Andrews — who moved to Bend from San Francisco with her husband 12 years ago — will focus on trail stewardship, financial management, fundraising, communication, advocacy and partnerships.
While on the COTA board, Andrews was instrumental in developing COTA’s first Strategic Plan and coordinating the Crew Leader program. She has been an active trail work volunteer and mountain bike advocate for many years.
Andrews was selected after a five-month search that included evaluating a strong list of applicants from all over the country, according to COTA.
“Emmy’s energy and enthusiasm for what we do, her ability to maintain positive long-term relationships with stakeholders and volunteers, and common-sense approach convinced us that Emmy is the one to guide COTA in achieving great things in the years to come,” says COTA chairman, Bruce Schroeder. “We look forward to working with Emmy in this new capacity starting in 2021.”
Andrews — who has more than 20 years of experience in project management, planning, and marketing — will officially start as executive director on Jan. 4.
Andrews says she will spread her efforts across all of COTA’s six chapters: Bend, Crook County, Madras, Redmond, Sisters, and South Deschutes County.
While the popular trail networks west of Bend — including the Phil’s Trail and Wanoga complexes — are already vastly developed, those outlying areas of Central Oregon are ripe for trail growth and construction.
“I don’t even know that people are fully aware that we have six chapters, and it’s not just the trail system west of Bend,” Andrews says.
“So our focus will be on supporting all of our chapters. The trail network west of Bend is fairly well developed. It is in the other chapters where we primarily see the opportunity for lots of new trail development. So I think we just have to be really open to supporting those other chapters to find other new trail opportunities.”
Andrews hopes to empower volunteers in all chapters to ensure that they have “the resources and support they need to achieve their goals.”
As Bend continues to grow, and more and more folks seek outdoor recreation on Central Oregon’s popular trails, Andrews will also have a role in dealing with user conflicts and educating the public on what is allowed and what is prohibited on different nonmotorized trails.
While COTA is focused on mountain biking, it also recognizes that hikers, runners and equestrians enjoy Central Oregon singletrack as well.
“I would implore folks to be aware of the signage on the trails,” Andrews says. “Crowds, e-bikes … all of those are an issue. But we have such great people and people are so kind around here. Most people make it their business to be educated for what trails are appropriate for the use they want to engage in. User-conflicts are a big exception, and not the norm.”
