FRIENDS OF HARRIMAN STATE PARK - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Secretary of the FHSP Board
Heidi Albano was born and raised in Southeast Idaho. She currently resides in Pocatello with her husband and son. They own a residence in Last Chance that they are able to regularly frequent during the summer. Island Park is definitely where their hearts reside.
She attended college at Idaho State University, and received a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in ecology. After graduating, she began working as the stewardship director at a local land trust where she continued to work until having her son. Since that time she has worked as a GIS consultant for the Sagebrush Land Trust and the Wilderness Land Trust. Recently, she was invited to join a Pocatello trails management group where they are working with state and federal agencies to construct a good management plan for the trail system within and surrounding Pocatello.
Heidi has a strong connection to nature, and Harriman State Park is where she enjoys spending much of her time when she is in the caldera. She enjoys fly fishing, hiking, running, and biking in the park and joined FHSP to contribute to its future success.
Job Titles:
- Co - President
- Member of the FHSP Board
- Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Vice President of the FHSP Board
Jim Hardie was born & raised in the foothills of northern California where his family worked in the lumber and forest industry. During those early years, Hardie learned to use his hands and gained a respect for & enjoyment of our lands. He has a degree in International Relations from CSU Sacramento and a Masters of Arts: Organizational Psychology from JFK University in Pleasant Hill, CA. In the early '80s, he lived in and owned 4 small ski shops in Vail/Beaver Creek. He then spent most of his career as a consultant to business leaders beginning with 13 years at a mid-sized management consulting firm headquartered in SoCal, followed by 6 years with Sun Micro-systems, plus UCDavis & UCDavis Med. School as a campus-wide OD consultant. His primary focus was on Leadership & Team Development. Additionally, he took on leadership roles with an HOA, a large No. Cal. car club, and spent many hours working with and maintaining the energy of volunteers. He purchased a lot in Henry's Fork Village, in 2000 and broke ground on his home in May, 2018, which is now his permanent and only residence. He spends 4-5 mos. in No. Cal. or traveling. Hardie visited Harriman in 1996 to celebrate the passing of a friend. He fell in love with the Ranch that week and knew it would be where he retired. The fact that his son, Aaron, enjoys Harriman as much as he does makes it even more special! Jim joined FHSP in 2020 bringing enthusiasm for the team and the mission, effective approaches to decision making, direct communication and a sense of clarity & priority to those teams.
Jon Stiehl was raised in Columbia, Maryland, playing in the wood lots of suburbia. The small ponds around his childhood home developed in Jon an interest in fishing with cheese balls and cane poles. He attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, and there he was able to explore his interest in the wilderness through the Blue Ridge Mountains. During his senior year at W&L, Jon got the opportunity to live at Bean's Bottom, an off-campus house right next to a river where he first started fly fishing by borrowing a friend's rod. That's where he caught the fishing bug for good. After his senior year, he took part in the Knight internship in 1993, spending the summer working for Henry's Fork Foundation. He fell in love with the fishing and rural area, and never left. Jon spent the summers and winters bartending, guiding, and fishing until 1999 when he opened TroutHunter and started his full-time residency in Island Park. He became a Friends of Harriman State Park member through his wife Jodi, who helped create the program. Being the only founder with Quickbooks knowledge, Jon was brought on board to help out with the financial and accounting side of the group. He was excited to see the completion of the Bridge Project since it showed the potential of what FHSP can do and hopes it will garner support for additional projects like restoration of the historical buildings and an enhanced trail system. Jon hopes to see an increase in community participation and support for these projects.
Job Titles:
- Member of the FHSP Board
- Park Representative
Job Titles:
- Member of the FHSP Board
- Retired
Judge Mary Noonan is a retired juvenile court judge. Her interest in joining the FHSP board stems from years spent in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. While in graduate and law school, she camped extensively in Yellowstone, and her master's degree thesis focused on the Endangered Species Act and its effect on the grizzly bear population. Later, she and her husband vacationed regularly in the Island Park area and introduced their kids to cross-country skiing at Harriman. She was appointed to Utah's Fourth District Juvenile Court in May 2003 where she served Juab, Millard, Utah, and Wasatch counties. Judge Noonan received her law degree from the University of Utah College of Law and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Utah. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Noonan served as southern division chief of the Utah Attorney General's Office Child Protection Division from July 1998 through May 2002. From 1994 through 1998, Judge Noonan worked for the Utah Department of Human Services as the director of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services and as the director of the department's Office of Legal Counsel.
Judge Noonan was a long-time member of the Board of Juvenile Court Judges and a founding member of the Wasatch/Summit County Children's Justice Center. Judge Noonan was also a member of the Utah Court Improvement Project and steering committees for the local family drug court, juvenile drug court, and Division of Child and Family Services rocket docket. She additionally served on the Utah Judicial Council and as a member of the Judicial Council's Legislative Liaison Committee. Most recently, she began serving on the Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee in 2017 and was appointed Vice Chair in 2018. Judge Noonan was appointed to the position of State Court Administrator for the Utah State Courts on July 23, 2019.
Judge Noonan retired in 2021. Shortly before retiring, Judge Noonan and her husband moved into a cabin just down the road from the Park. They continue to ski at Harriman all winter and now enjoy summer time fun, including hiking, biking and sitting for hours somewhere along the creek with a good book and binoculars. She feels fortunate to call this area home.
Pat Gaffney first traveled to Henry's Fork country as an 18-year-old kid in 1994, during the summer after his high school graduation. With a map drawn on an A-bar napkin, he discovered Wood Road 16, and a love affair began. As he returned home to Connecticut, he quickly realized that although he caught fish, even more so, the magnificent rainbow trout of the Harriman State Park caught him. Pat made annual trips to the Ranch until finally quitting his job as an attorney in Connecticut and moving to Island Park in 2007. After spending his first summer in Island Park as a fishing bum, Pat began guiding trips for TroutHunter, and has guided well over 150 days per season since. A sought-after guide with a calendar full of repeat clientele, Pat is passionate about all things Henry's Fork, but especially guiding anglers into the life changing trout of Harriman State Park.
Job Titles:
- Co - President
- Member of the FHSP Board
- Secretary