staff & Board

ABWF Staff

Joe Josephson, Executive Director

Joe Josephson joined the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Foundation as executive director in 2023 after many years of leadership in both the conservation field and the outdoor industry. Born in Big Timber, Montana, along the Yellowstone River, Joe has long considered “the AB” the backdrop of his personal and professional life. He spent his early years with the US Forest Service in the Big Timber and Gardiner ranger districts before being called away by an opportunity to conduct research on a high-elevation glacier in Canada. Subsequent career high points included founding the non-profit organization Friends of Hyalite, leading campaigns to stop two destructive gold mines on the border of Yellowstone National Park, and writing and publishing more than two dozen outdoor books, guides, and maps. Through his leadership of the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Foundation, Joe strives to build connectivity between people, their communities, and the landscape — all with a vision toward a better future. Joe spends his free time with his partner, Paola Feher, chasing huckleberries, summits, ice climbs, ski runs, and their two amazing kittens.

Jarret Kostrba, Senior Operations Manager

After over a decade as Park Manager for Pictograph Cave State Park and Fishing Access Sites along the Stillwater River, Jarret’s thrilled the road has brought him closer to home in Red Lodge, Montana. “Dedicating my time supporting the stewardship of these vast mountains is something I had only dreamed of,” he shares. Born in Butte and raised in the Gallatin Valley, Jarret attended college at University of Montana-Western and majored in Environmental Interpretation with minors in both Biology and Geology. Jarret spends free time with his family backpacking and fishing the AB Wilderness, trying to knock off a new location every summer.

Finnian Bentler, Crew Leader

Finnian Bentler joins ABWF as our 2025 Crew Leader, where he will lead our hardworking, motivated volunteers out on a variety of trail maintenance and restoration projects across the AB throughout the summer season.

Hailing from Billings, Montana, Finn graduated from the University of Montana with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology, and has continued to invest in a life of both personal and professional experience with the natural world through stints on a Lolo National Forest trail crew out of Seeley Lake, an ABWF internship in 2023, and myriad personal adventures across Montana and New Zealand. 

Finn is an avid mountain biker, skier, and all around outdoorsman who knows how to have a good time. (He once climbed Granite Peak in an elf costume.) To come experience the wilderness with Finn, sign up for one of our Trail Stewardship Adventures, or catch him over on Instagram @finertia.

2025 Trail Interns

Aly Lee

from Greensboro, North Carolina

Yellowstone Ranger District

Andrew Wooldridge

homegrown in Red Lodge, MT

Beartooth Ranger District

Jared Briggs

from Selah, Washington

Gardiner Ranger District

Board Members

  • William Hopkins

    PRESIDENT

  • Peter Aengst

    VICE PRESIDENT

  • Bernie Quetchenbach

    SECRETARY

  • Will Jones

    TREASURER

  • Grace Stephens

    DIRECTOR

  • Carol Endicott

    DIRECTOR

  • Donna Watson

    DIRECTOR

  • Garry Edson

    DIRECTOR

  • Rosanne Lockhart

    DIRECTOR

  • This could be you!

    ABWF is actively recruiting new board members. Contact us for more information.