President

Steve Canale moved to the Olympic Peninsula in 2007 to pursue a career as a dentist with the Quileute tribe, where he worked for 13 years. His enjoyment of outdoor recreation drew him to Port Angeles in 2008 where he began hiking in the Olympic mountains and kayaking the rivers of the peninsula. He started mountain biking in 2010 and was introduced to trail building in 2014. He’s been building and maintaining trails in the Port Angeles area ever since. Steve also enjoys creating art and videography based on these trails, which has become a critical contribution to the marketing and outreach efforts of Top Left Trails. He recently retired from Dentistry and is excited to spend more time focusing on Top Left Trails. He has a bachelor’s degree in molecular, cell and developmental biology from UCLA and a doctorate in Dental Medicine from Nova Southeastern University.

Vice President

Pete Steelquist is a lifelong Washingtonian, born and raised on the Olympic Peninsula. He has been riding bikes since he can remember, and his favorite thing is to take his 5-year-old son for a ride or to dig in the woods on Top Left trails. He is currently the Washington Policy Manager for the Surfrider Foundation, an international environmental non-profit that works on ocean recreation. He serves as the Vice Chair of the Washington Coastal Marine Advisory Council, a Governor appointed board serving our coastal communities. He also serves on the executive committee of Outdoor Alliance WA, a coalition of human powered rec orgs. Pete spent eight years working in the Washington State Legislature and holds a bachelor's degree in Geography and Environmental Policy from Evergreen State College. 

Director of Outreach & Marketing

Lauren has lived in Port Angeles since 2003. She became immersed in the PNW Enduro mountain bike scene through her husband’s racing and spent over 5 years traveling and working at races and riding new trail systems. For two years, she worked for the Cascadia Dirt Cup Series as the Volunteer Coordinator. In 2016, Lauren cofounded the organization, Team Laser Kittens, a way for women in Port Angeles to connect and grow their MTB prowess through group rides and skill clinics. As her mountain biking lifestyle evolved, Lauren also became passionate about trail building. Outside of biking and trail building, Lauren has studied and worked in freelance commercial photography and graphic design since 2001. She’s collaborated with local businesses that include Yuen Lui Photography Studio, Olympic Dirt Society, North Olympic Discovery Marathon, Next Door Gastropub, Moss and Olympic Printers and brings this wealth of experience to her role as Director of Outreach & Marketing. Lauren has worked for the Port Angeles community in the public health sector for the past 15 years, serving at North Olympic Healthcare Network (NOHN) for the past 3 years.

Director of Finance & Operations

As a native Norwegian, Marianne feels very at home in Port Angeles terrain. She’s been riding bikes her whole life and got into mountain biking while living in California in her twenties. Professionally, Marianne brings over 15 years of experience from the corporate sustainability industry, specializing in finance, analytics, and business management. She currently heads up the finance role for Sustainability Hub Norway where she develops financial insights to help drive operational efficiency and build scalable systems. When not deep in spreadsheets, Marianne runs a local farm business in Port Angeles, where they focus on building infrastructure for other small businesses including hosting our very own Top Left Trails Tool Headquarters. Marianne holds an MBA with a specialization in Corporate Sustainability and a bachelor’s degree in International Business.

Secretary

Claire Vander Woude is a Port Angeles transplant, moving from Seattle with her husband, Josh Carruthers, in 2021 to build a home on the Olympic Peninsula. She started mountain biking in 2018 and found many parallels to her childhood spent riding horses in the mountains. Claire currently works for CSAA Insurance Group as an IT Delivery leader specializing in strategic planning and building high-performing teams. She has over 17 years of experience in IT program management and holds degrees in International Communications and Spanish Language from the University of Washington. Claire also has prior experience with nonprofits - she worked as an Administrator for the Alene Moris Women’s Center at the University of Washington and then served as an Advisory Board Member and Fundraising Event Lead for an additional four years. She is thrilled to be lending her experience to help Top Left Trails plan for and expand its regional impact.

Board Member

Josh Carruthers is a Port Angeles / Joyce native, who returned to the Peninsula in 2021 after 10 years in Seattle, where he met his wife and validated his preference for small towns and steep terrain. Josh has been “sending it” since he was a kid - from BMX and dirt bikes to enduro and downhill racing as an adult. He has a passion for designing trails and punishing physical labor, which makes him an ideal candidate to serve a trail building organization. Josh has been in the commercial construction and construction management industry for 23 years and contributed to the build of the Amazon Spheres and the Hyatt hotel in downtown Seattle. More recently, Josh managed the rebuild of the Blakely Elementary school on Bainbridge Island. After moving to Port Angeles and building a home for his family in 2021, Josh now runs a General Contractor business. 

Board Member

Erik Dukes started mountain biking in 1993 and in 1996 became one of the first trail builders working along the I-90 corridor. He’s been digging in Port Angeles since 2006 and credits decades of racing XC, Enduro and DH across the West Coast for influencing his building style. Erik has also partnered with various mountain bike and riding apparel companies on product development and design over the years, bringing a diverse array of experience to Top Left Trails. Erik is a 20-year employee of the WA Department of Natural Resources (DNR). His role for the last 18 years as an Environmental Policy Forester involves developing strong relationships with the private timber industry as well as state, federal, and tribal agencies in order to ensure forestry regulations are adhered to. These relationships also help bridge the gap between trail advocacy and forest management. Erik has a Bachelor's degree in Outdoor Recreation Management from Western Washington University with a minor in Environmental Science. 

Board Member

Scott has lived on the Peninsula for most of his 55 years. He’s spent his whole life on two wheels, from BMX to e-bikes, and got his first mountain bike in 1983—keeping one (or more) ever since. He raced a bit in the early ’90s, discovered freeriding in 1999, and transitioned into downhill shortly after, where he found his passion for trail building in 2002.

Scott currently works seasonally for the WA DNR in recreation, primarily on the Foothills and Sadie Creek trail systems. He has also been building and maintaining trails on Dry Hill for over 20 years. Throughout the year, he organizes mountain bike events (NW Cup, MicroShuttles, Short Circuit) and collaborates on several other mountain bike events (Dirty Downhill Women’s DH race, Cascadia Dirt Cup Enduro, Hot Laps, The Big Hurt) here in Port Angeles and elsewhere. The NW Cup is the most significant as it heads into its 18th year with 7 races across 4 States.