Meet the Trails & Vistas Team

Dan Joseph is a fine woodworker and long time Truckee Tahoe resident, now living in Paradise, CA. Dan works for the Chico Housing Action Team, an organization that gives shelter to houseless people in the Chico region. Dan actively serves on the board of the Paradise Guild, the board of KZFR Radio station, and the board of Trails & Vistas. An appreciator of live music, Dan serves on our World Concert Committee and plays a vital role at our autumn events. "I am a custom woodworker and appreciate the beauty of our forests. I love being on land and in water in the great outdoors. I enjoy leading you on trails of natural beauty dotted with musicians, artists, poets and unimaginable creations to support the annual Trails & Vistas Art Hikes."

Jean Fournier serves as board president. She is a performing poet and expressive artist who is inspired by our natural world. Her work reflects a close affinity for her natural surroundings. With gratitude for time spent in nature throughout her life, she is passionate about furthering the mission of Trails & Vistas as a poet and founding board member. For the Dreaming Tree school field trips, Jean inspires hundreds of children to create poetry along the trail. She’s lived in the Donner Summit-Truckee area since 1986, teaches Art for Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, serves on Truckee’s Public Art Commission, and is delighted about the rise in appreciation of arts and culture in our rural town.

Maria Jones moved to the Tahoe area after graduating from San Francisco State University with a BA in Outdoor Recreation, interning in Environmental Education. Her experience in outdoor leadership includes years of working with Ropes Courses, which provide opportunities for self discovery as well as group growth. Maria has also facilitated team building programs where every team member’s ideas, abilities and talents are used in different creative challenges. She incorporates these experiences within the Dreaming Tree field trip and while guiding on Art Hikes. Maria’s main contribution to Trails & Vistas is heading the Historical Haunted Tour committee, Trails & Vistas signature fundraiser. Maria's motivation for living in the mountains is skiing. She and her husband Randy moved to Truckee in 1994 where they shared their passion for skiing with their two children, Chelsea and Dylan.

Family Hike Guide: I love the expression of art and there is no better place to experience art than in nature. Walk with me and be inspired by both the arts and nature. Family Hikes are designed for hiking with children with more of a relaxed playful experience. 

“We need to talk and share stories to grow and learn about each other’s culture. The goal is integration, to offer opportunities for everyone, to grow with creativity and move forward for individual’s wellness, and build a more integrated community." - Romina Branje Romi Branje's paintings bring a splash of color to life. Romi is from southern Chile, she grew up on the big Island of Chiloe. Her father was a watercolor painter, as well as her siblings. Romi moved to America as an adult and has been living in the beautiful Lake Tahoe area for over 20 years. She loves animals and likes to bring them to life through her paintings. Romi has a lively personality and likes to make people happy, spreading joy with her colorful paintings. Outside of the art world, Romi is very involved with the community, working with children and helping others.

As an artist working in the landscape, Nancy Tieken Lopez fuses art and nature together to offer those rare, fleeting moments when sights and sounds seem to take on an added importance, filling us with a sense of profound but equivocal mystery, which often lie hidden beneath the trees, and within our own imagination. Rightly so, the art hikes may open to an act or attitude that is capable of multiple interpretations of meaning, enhanced with each fleeting mark created by an artist, dancer, musician, or poet.

Nancy received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Southwest Texas State University and Masters of Fine Arts from San Jose State University. Her graduate studies included an emphasis in bronze sculpture and later installation and performance art. Taking art outside lead her to using more ephemeral materials in her earth installations. She began creating art hikes in nature while completing her Master of Fine Arts in 1997, and founded the non-profit organization Trails and Vistas in 2004. Collaborative strategies continue to play an essential role in her work as a professional artist with her unique art hikes.

Former renewable energy general counsel and early renewable energy advocate. I've been away from the industry for the last few years raising our family and volunteering in the community, as well as pursuing an MFA in creative writing.