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.
Lauren Swett, Program Manager
Lauren is joining us in Gardiner, MT, the tiny high desert that grabbed her heart during one of two seasons as a research assistant in Yellowstone. Her introduction to the Beartooth backcountry took place with the Wilderness Institute and later evolved into LAC monitoring as an intern on the Gardiner Ranger District in 2017. A few seasons as an educator in field ecology here, a few seasons as a habitat restoration specialist in her home grounds in Oregon there, and a wonderful summer leading volunteer crews in the Bob eventually led her to us. Lauren believes in community as knowing and caring for place. She looks forward to continuing to learn and grow in this landscape with ABWFs volunteers.
Jarret Kostrba, 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, MT. “Dedicating my time supporting the stewardship of these vast mountains is something I had only dreamed of.” Born in Butte and raised in the Gallatin Valley, he 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.