AMC Outdoors, May 2003

By Katharine Wroth

Most people don't give a second thought to what goes down the drain. But Vonnie Reis considers it every day. An environmental engineer with a Boston-area consulting firm, Reis coordinates permitting, funding, and construction of wastewater-treatment facilities. And her interest in liquid issues doesn't end there: Reis also serves on the public education committee of the New England Water Environment Association. In 2002, she helped that group and the AMC plan a series of jointly sponsored events as part of a national celebration of the Clean Water Act's 30th anniversary.

An active Young Members leader for the Boston Chapter since shortly after joining AMC in 1998, the 37-year-old hiker, backpacker, cross-country skier, and snowshoer is a newly minted Hiking/Backpacking committee leader as well. Last year she cochaired the chapter's Leadership Training Workshop, and she is working with AMC staff to put together a series of conservation hikes to be held in Massachusetts and New Hampshire this summer.

Helping people understand the world around them and their impact on it is "one of the reasons I joined AMC," says Reis, who attributes her professional and recreational leanings to her childhood in a Maine town populated by back-to-the-landers. She adds that her own environmental knowledge has expanded since becoming a member, along with her skills. An avid hiker since high school, Reis "was always the person who organized trips with friends," she says. Now she puts that expertise to work for AMC. "I wasn't new to the logistical part, but dealing with the group dynamics of strangers was new," she reflects. "It's fun to meet people and to see what they have to offer. Everyone brings something to a hike."

Now that warmer weather is here, Reis expects to get out at least twice a month, along with her husband and fellow leader, Matt, whom she met on an AMC ski trip three years ago. There's plenty to do at home, too: the couple is renovating their new home in Millis, Mass., and looking forward to planting a garden. No word yet on who will water it.

—Katharine Wroth is Senior Editor of AMC Outdoors.