Board Members and Staff
Ted Wroblewski, President
Ted is a graduate of Suffolk University (MBA) and can be best described as an entrepreneur. He is cofounder of White Mountain Puzzles, a publisher of educational and entertaining resort and historic fact puzzles. Ted was a partner in creating Big Bear’s Place and The Whittier House restaurants in N.H. He is the past owner of the Bernerhof Inn and created The Taste of the Mountains Cooking School. Ted is also past director of the Berlin City Bank, MWV Chamber of Commerce, Ham Arena, and World News Crews.
Ken Lydecker, Treasurer
Ken is a resort consultant/manager with more than 30 years experience. He has operated resorts, restaurants, conference facilities, and ski areas (in Maine, New Hampshire and on Cape Cod). Ken has contributed his talents to many local organizations and served on many boards, including acting as the president of the Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce. He lives with his family in North Conway and enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and playing tennis.
Brian Irwin
A local family physician, Brian has been committed to underserved communities since his early medical training. Working in urban Philadelphia areas early in his training, running an international medical relief project in the Andes during midtraining and working in very underserved, rural parts of Maine while finishing his training at the Maine-Dartmouth Family Practice Residency, Brian was drawn to the Mt. Washington Valley for its sense of community and outdoor opportunities. He is an active member of 2 local techinical search and rescue teams and is a patroller and the medical director of Cranmore Mountain Ski Area. He has volunteered on the Mt. Washington Backcountry Ski Patrol for years and is a frequent author for Couloir, an internationally distributed ski magazine. He writes a weekly health column, is the medical director of a local nursing home and frequently publishes in medical journals. Brian is an active climber having climbed in South America, Europe, Alaska, Canada and extensively in the lower US. His favorite activities are skiing, paddling and biking with his wife, son and dog here in the Mt. Washington Valley.
Sarah Garlick
Sarah Garlick is a freelance writer and editor based in North Conway, New Hampshire. She is a regular contributor to Rock and Ice Magazine. Her articles also appear in Alpinist, Urban Climber, and the Patagonia catalog. Trained as a geologist, Sarah is passionate about sharing science with the general public. She is currently finishing her first book, A Rock Climber's Guide to Geology, with Falcon Guides publishing company. She serves as an editor for Rocky Mountain Geology, a scientific journal based in Laramie, Wyoming. Sarah studied geological sciences, receiving a B.S. from Brown University in 2003 and a M.S. from the University of Wyoming in 2007. Sarah has been an avid rock climber for over ten years.
Richard Katzman
Dr. Richard Katzman, from Waterbury Vermont, has been practicing general and family medicine since 1972, and teaching as a clinical assistant professor at the University of Vermont. Before graduating from Yale Medical School, he began climbing with work boots, swami belt and hemp rope, and has made a little progress over the years in the Northeast, the West, the Andes and Nepal. His love of climbing, teaching and the outdoors has led to his work as a board member of Vermont's Climbers' Resource Access Group, the America Nepal Medical Foundation and Kismet, a passion he shares with his grown children and growing number of grandchildren.
Donna
McCluskey
Donna is an accountant and graduate of Northeastern University (BS in Business Management). She has 20 years of experience in business, accounting, and being a volunteer treasurer. Donna's entire family climbs and she volunteers her skills as a Kismet instructor.
Rand McNally, In Memoriam
Rand is a pilot, currently a 767 airplane Captain, for American Airlines and a Human Factors instructor. Rand spent 10 years in the USMC, graduated from the Naval Academy and graduated with a doctorate from Southwestern Medical School before settling into the flight industry 18 years ago. He and his family moved to the Mount Washington Valley 3 years ago, and he fills his free time here as an avid skier, biker and climber.
Claudine Safar, Esq.
Claudine is an attorney with Melendy & Lee, P.A. in Conway, NH. She is a graduate of Middlebury College and the Maine School of Law (cum laude). Claudine has served on the Maine Law Review and is a past law clerk with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. She is also a coach of the Mt. Washington Valley Ski Team and avid technical climber.
Cheryl Rocheleau
Cheryl is a special education teacher and occupational therapist for NH schools. She is a graduate of Mount Mary College (magna cum laude...B.S. in Occupational Therapy) and a certified special educator. Cheryl is an avid biker, skier, multi-sport racer, and climber.
Staff
Michael Jewell, Founder and Executive Director | Email Mike
Michael, founder and Executive Director of Kismet, is also a full-time technical climbing guide (28 years). He is a graduate of the University of Maine (BS in Wildlife Management) and attended Naropa University, a Buddhist university for the study of the arts. Michael is also a professional pianist performing classic, jazz, rock, and fusion. He has worked clubs and restaurants in New Hampshire, Arizona, and California. He has climbed/guided throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Michael is a certified Wilderness First Responder and member of the Mt. Washington Valley Mountain Rescue Service.
Janet Bergman, Development Coordinator | Email Janet
Janet is a professional fundraiser with ten years of experience working
with a variety of nonprofit organizations from Ohio to New Hampshire.
She is working with Kismet in the areas of individual and foundation
fundraising as well as marketing and public relations. She also
volunteers for Kismet programs in the summer. Janet holds a bachelor's
degree from the University of New Hampshire and has attended courses at
the Foundation Center in Cleveland. She operates a freelance writing and
nonprofit consulting business, JHB Consulting, and works as a technical
climbing guide for the EMS Climbing School. Janet enjoys climbing of all
types and is also working to 'tame' some land and build a cabin with her
boyfriend Freddie in nearby Madison, New Hampshire.
Heidi Lewis, Admininstrative Assistant | Email Heidi
Heidi grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana and has a BA with a concentration in Arts Administration from Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas. She moved to the Mount Washington Valley in 1990 and is currently the Executive Director of the Conway Village Chamber of Commerce. Heidi lives in the village of Jackson with her 9 year old daughter Ariel and is excited about being involved with Kismet.
Alain Comeau, Climbing Instructor
Alain began climbing in New England in 1968 and has guided for
International Mountain Climbing School, Eastern Mountain Climbing School
and is a founder of the Mountain Guides Alliance and New England
Mountain Guides. He has visited climbing areas from New Zealand to
Africa, and extensively in the European Alps. Alain started working with
the A.M.G.A. in the 80’s as an instructor and examiner and has been an
actively involved since. He works year round developing and running
rescue training programs for military special operation teams, and for
the past 25 years has been a team leader and director of New Hampshire’s
Mountain Rescue Service. Alain's love of people and the natural
environment are expressed in his dedication to teaching climbing.
Richard Parker, Climbing Instructor
Richard is married with 2 daughters. His undergraduate degree is from
Middlebury College. He holds a Master's degree from Dartmouth and a
Doctorate from the Univ. of Pennsylvania. Richard has climbed for 34
years and has been a part time guide for 30 years, working both in the
eastern and western United States and in the Alps. He has guided for
Eastern Mt. Sports and the Atlantic Climbing School. Richard has taught
at Proctor Academy, Chestnut Hill Academy, and the Holderness School. He
held the position of assistant headmaster at Chestnut Hill and while at
Holderness he has held positions of headmaster, head of the English
Department and the climbing program. He has taken the AMGA rock
instructor course and has an AMGA TR certification.
Phil Thalheimer, Climbing Instructor
Philip has been adventuring since he was a child when his family took
annual summer vacations backpacking in the White Mountains of New
Hampshire. His love for the outdoors grew from that seed. He added
winter mountaineering to his list of outdoor passions while in
college and started rock climbing in the late 1980s. His adventures
have taken him to Washington's Mt Rainier, Nevada's Red Rock Canyon,
Montana's Tobacco Root Mountains, the Wisconsin Dells, the
Shawangunks in New York and throughout New England. He has been a
professional mountain guide since 1998. Phil’s current certifications and adventure education include AMGA certified Top Rope Site Manager, AMGA certificate of completion Rock Instructor course, American Red Cross Small Craft Safety Canoeing, Wilderness First Responder medical training and American Heart Association CPR.
