Staff & Board
Our Board is a small team of talented professionals with a wide range of skills and experience. We love what we do. A deep passion for our mission unites us all, and we are actively involved in guiding the Foundation.
We look forward to working with you.
Founders — Eric Anderson & Angela Santini
Over the last 25+ years, Eric has established national stature as the founder, operator and master groomer of ABR Ski Trails. Eric and Angela are the face and the heart of ABR to all who come here to enjoy the quality of the skiing and the personal warmth of the community they have built.
After completing his mechanical engineering degree at Michigan Tech, Eric spent over 10 years in the automotive industry. After living in Europe 4 years, Eric returned to the 80 acres where he grew up and began the creation of ABR, first working in partnership with his dad, then with his wife Angela Santini.
Both Eric and Angela’s families have been proud residents of the Gogebic Range for generations and their big-heartedness will create a legacy of active, fun lifestyles for generations to come.
President — Will Andresen
Will was captain of NMU’s 1983 national championship ski team, and skied ABR when it first opened in 1995. Today, Will is living in his home on the ABR trails, skiing every day the trails are open. Both of Will and Marianne’s kids have returned to Ironwood to join the growing group of young professionals seeking active northern lifestyles, so 4 grandkids are also a daily part of their lives.
After degrees in Biophysical Systems and Geography, Will spent 35 years in professional pursuit of his other passion, community and economic development, creating the systems and relationships necessary to effect change. He embraced the challenges of collaboration among diverse groups through field work and leadership roles, including the University of Wisconsin Community Development Institute, the Gogebic Range Health Foundation, Copper Peak Foundation, and the Iron Belle Trail.
Vice president — Randy Ahnen
Randy grew up in the Gogebic Range as the grandchild of Croatian immigrants who worked the mines. After graduating from Michigan Tech with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Biology, Randy joined Honeywell, then Medtronic in Minneapolis, but always wanted to return home. For over 25 years now, he has led new project development for Ironwood Plastics. He serves as VP of Wolverine Nordic Ski Trails and volunteers with the Friends of the Iron Belle Trail and is humbled by the difference committed volunteers can make.
As natives of the area, both Randy and his wife Mary raised their 4 daughters to share their love of active outdoor lives. Randy’s friendship with Eric Anderson goes back to Michigan Tech where they studied together and were both competitive power lifters. Randy welcomes the opportunity to help sustain the legacy of ABR as a gem of the broader community.
Marketing Director — Emily Burchell Fitting
Emily grew up in Ironwood as her parents own and operate the Classic Motor Inn and each of them has served as Ironwood’s mayor. In addition, her husband Eric follows his dad as owner and operator of an Ironwood bike and ski shop, the Hobby Wheel. Emily received a degree in fine art from the University of Minnesota, before completing a Master’s program at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Soon after, she immersed herself in efforts of the Denver Public Schools to provide access to the trades for at-risk kids. She then lived and worked in a resort marketing firm in Summit County, Colorado.
After returning to the area, she expressed her love for outdoor sports by working for WinMan trails. She currently works as an independent graphic and web designer, and is especially proud of her work with Regis University as they develop the largest on-line learning system in the country. Eric Anderson and Emily’s dad grew up together and lived in Ann Arbor when Emily was an infant, so Eric has been like an uncle to her.
Director — Clay Diggins
Clay grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Professionally, Clay joined a fledgling Slumberland furniture in 1983. In his later years as Vice President of Stores and Operations, Clay initiated and supported the relationship with the American Birkebeiner Foundation that resulted in Slumberland’s title sponsorship of the Birkie, now in its ninth year.
Clay’s two daughters, Jessie and Mackenzie, were born into a family that values quality time outdoors. Jessie’s passion for skiing motivated her to take it to the highest levels. Some of the pictures Jessie shares of her early years developing a love for skiing were taken on the trails at ABR. The family has been enjoying ABR for decades.When Clay learned about the vision to maintain the legacy of ABR by putting the land and business into a nonprofit foundation, he was truly awed. Clay is honored to lend his experience, skills, and energy towards helping the new foundation reach its potential.
Director — Sue Schroeder, Ph.D.
Sue is a retired academic with a passion for outdoor adventures. Her academic background includes an MBA with a focus on marketing, and a MS and PhD emphasizing the human dimensions of natural resource management. Professionally, she worked in communications and development in the nonprofit world for several years, then spent 20 years doing social psychological survey research related to natural resource management at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
Sue enjoys a multitude of outdoor activities including rock climbing, mountaineering, cycling, kayaking, and cross-country and telemark skiing. In what seems like a previous life, she was a division one track and cross-country runner and marathoner, and continues to feed her competitive streak through gravel cycling and cross-country ski races—but adventure in beautiful places is her main focus. She has traveled widely to engage in her passions, including recent trips to ski in Norway, cycle across Bhutan, and climb in the Italian Dolomites. She and her husband Jim had been traveling to the UP to ski for 30 years, so they retired early and bought a second home in Ironwood several years ago. They love the unpretentious, hardworking, and friendly Yoopers who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty to get things done in the community. Sue and Jim participate in a variety of volunteer activities including grooming at Miner’s Park and Wolverine. Sue looks forward to seeing how ABR evolves and grows as part of the greater Ironwood area community.
Donate Today
Supporting the Anderson Bluff River Trails Foundation helps ensure a lasting legacy for Nordic skiing in the Ironwood area for generations to come. We’re so excited to continue building toward our goal of connecting all Gogebic Range communities via world-class Nordic ski trails.
