OUR BOARD
Saskatoon Trail Alliance is pleased to introduce our 2024 board members.
Ryan Graf - President
Hi! My name is Ryan Graf and I am the president and founder of the Saskatoon Trail Alliance.
I was born and raised in Humboldt SK. I moved to Saskatoon in 2012 to attend the University of Saskatchewan and recently moved back to Humboldt with my wife and two boys.
My focus is to continue to expend our reach and build a trail community. We are very lucky to have such an amazing trail system in our backyard and I hope to see it thrive for the next generation to enjoy.
Stéphane Kiefer - Vice President
My name is Stéphane Kiefer and I am the Vice President.
My passion for biking started at a young age. My brother got into skateboarding and I guess I wanted to be different so I decided to pursue BMXing instead. Growing up in Humboldt I would spend hours everyday riding my bike around town, but with no trails or skateparks around we had to be creative and build our own stuff. I continued to ride as much as possible all the way through elementary and highschool. After highschool I took a few years off to go travelling, this led to a few more years off with university. I refound my passion when I started exploring the trails in Saskatoon. I enjoy hiking, running, and especially biking these trails.
I heard about the STA through Ryan. I have known Ryan since my elementary school days and when he told me he was starting the trail alliance I was very excited. I spent the last year on the board as a member at large but this year I moved into the Vice President position. I am excited to continue to develop and maintain the great trail network that we have in Saskatoon! I would like to see the trail alliance community continue to grow and represent all the single track trail users.
Craig De Gier - Treasurer
Hi, I am Craig de Gier and I am proud to be the STA Treasurer. I started Mountain Biking in 1998, and I am a Chartered Professional Accountant in Saskatchewan (shhh, I try to keep this secret).
I grew up in Halifax, NS, have lived in a few other places, and in 2017, my family and I moved to Saskatoon where we are now settled for the long haul.
I’ve been involved in the STA since its inception because I really believe in well organized trail associations and sanctioned trails. I have seen trails progress from raked paths to purpose built trails for many different activities, and I am proud to have been involved in developing trails and trail networks like this.
While on the board, I am proud that the STA got a trail maintenance agreement with the City of Saskatoon, and now I hope we can repeat this with other landowners or stakeholders as appropriate. I would also like to work with the city to develop pump tracks and skills parks into various underutilized park spaces in the city. I want to make sure that our Mountain Biking and general trail infrastructure includes an appropriate variety of trails and skill development areas so that users can progress and enjoy the outdoors as they desire.
Carly Graf - Secretary
Hi! My name is Carly Graf and I am excited to represent the Saskatoon Trail Alliance as Secretary this year.
I was born and raised in Saskatoon SK, and now live in Humboldt SK with Ryan, our two young boys, Beckett and Kaycen, and three cats.
Mountain biking has become a big part of my life since meeting Ryan. Before having children, we spent most of our evenings on Saskatoon’s trails. It has become a hobby that I never would have explored if Ryan didn’t introduce me to the amazing trail user community and trail system we have in our city. I am so happy that I get to share in this passion, and pass that along to our boys.
My goal in joining the Saskatoon Trail Alliance is to help support planning and organization of events, learn more about our trail system, meet new people, and improve my biking skills!
Since we have signed a formal agreement with the City of Saskatoon and Meewasin, I would like this year to consist of organization of successful trail maintenance days, promotion of our organization to more trail users and the general public, and make trails more user friendly for families and beginner mountain bikers like myself.
I can’t wait to meet more people this year and help make this the most successful year yet for Saskatoon’s trail users and community.
Hemant Naidu - Member at large
My name is Hemant Naidu and I’m excited to join the Saskatoon Trail Alliance as a Member at Large for 2021. I’ll be handling the social media coordination for the STA, and hope to keep everyone informed of all the great things we have in store for this year.
I was born in Kindersley, SK but grew up in Wilkie, a small farming community about 160 km west of Saskatoon. I received my Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in Computer Science from the University of Saskatchewan in 1999. I immediately moved out to Guelph, ON for about 6 years before returning to Saskatoon in 2005. I’ve been in the tech industry for over 20 years and currently work as an Engineering Manager for a local tech company. I met my wife Michelle shortly after coming back to Saskatoon, and we now have 2 boys (7 and 10 years old) and a curmudgeon of a chihuahua.
I’m fairly new to mountain biking and kind of got into it by accident. I wanted an easy way to explore the river area to take photos and video so I bought a mountain bike. In doing so I stumbled upon the vast trail network and immediately became obsessed. It didn’t take long for me to pass this love along to my family, and we now enjoy shredding the singletrack together. We now also suffer from a storage problem as our 2 car garage is half filled with bikes.
With our family making regular use of the trails I wanted to become more involved with the great community that builds and maintains this network. Being a member of the Saskatoon Trail Alliance seemed like a great way to make that happen. With the traffic on the trails increasing regularly, I hope to help bring awareness to everyone on how we can make this network enjoyable for everyone, regardless of whether you’re riding a mountain bike, running, or hiking.
JAmie Sisson - Member at large
Hello, I’m Jamie Sisson and I rejoined as a member of large with the Saskatoon Trail Alliance for a two-year term.
I enjoy riding the river trails, all the trails around the province, gravel biking, fat biking and the occasional road ride. Saskatoon has a great trail network. With the two bridge replacements in Fall 2023 and the new trail segment on Slytherin, I’m exciting to see what can happen now that we have an agreement with the City of Saskatoon.
See you on the trails!
Théo Dow - Member at large
Hi, my name is Théo Dow. I am a member at large with the board for the Saskatoon Trail Alliance. I have lived in Saskatoon for 13 years, and I’m delighted to call it home. Since moving to Saskatoon I have slowly grown my understanding and appreciation of the single-track trail system to the point where I currently use them almost daily. Trail running is my passion, but I also enjoy biking, hiking, and bird-watching on the trails. I chose to join the board for the STA because I have a great appreciation for the work they do and I wanted to help give back to the trails and the community. Having a well-maintained trail network accessible to all users right in the city is a wonderful way to experience nature close to home. I am very grateful to all members of the STA, and look forward to the continued planning of a great and vibrant network of trails within our city.
James Fehr - Member at large
Hi! I’m James Fehr and I’m happy to be back on the STA Board for a second year as a Member at Large. I’ve lived in Saskatoon and area my whole life. I’ve been mountain biking less than ten years but I’ve been doing more of it each summer as it’s become my favourite kind of cycling. I was able to help build and install a couple of new wooden bridges last year as well as help build a new section of trail, all of which were brand new and fun experiences for me. I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty and doing a lot more trail work this year and really help improve Saskatoon’s singletrack trail network. See you on the trails!
Drew Preston - Member at large
Hello there, I am Drew Preston and have been living in Saskatoon now for 28 years. I am a member at large with the Saskatoon Trail Alliance for 2024.
I started mountain biking single track cross country in my junior high school days and when I moved to Saskatoon, I found one of Saskatoon’s best trails – Chad and Joey’s near the U of S.
I met a friend in university and we started riding the trail in the city ever since.
Due to a health issue approx 6 years ago, I started riding 6 days a week and wouldn’t change a thing now. It’s a great way to keep myself healthy – both physically and mentally. I have a huge passion for Downhill Mountain Biking, that friend from university and myself had made annual trips to Fernie BC to shred their bike park – back in the day – we rode our hardtails. Eventually I got myself a full suspension DH rig and my world changed hahaha. I’ve gone to Mont Sainte-Anne Quebec the last couple years to watch the UCI World Cup DH racing, let me tell ya – what an experience. Anyone who loves DH MTB racing has to go see these professional riders do their thing on unbelievable gnarly tracks.
I love the city trails, going out to ride the trails at Blackstrap, and Buffalo Pound.
I’ve been a volunteer with the Saskatoon Trail Alliance now for the last few years and this year I decided it was the right time to join the board. I wanted to be further involved to better help our trail system progress as well as promote our trail system to others.
I love bikes and looking forward to working with this awesome group to further promote our great network of trails here in Saskatoon.
Ryan Booth - Member at large
Hello there, my name is Ryan Booth and I’m a Member at Large with the STA.
I have lived in Saskatoon for the last 5 years. I have lived all over the province throughout my life. I grew up in Moose Jaw, and have lived in Wakaw, Martensville, Saskatoon & Melfort before making my way back to Saskatoon.
I have been mountain biking for the past 5 years, since moving back. I love being out on the trails on my bike and think that we have an excellent trail network right here in Saskatoon. I enjoy riding the trails in the city and heading out to Blackstrap, Buffalo Pound as well as River Ridge. All excellent areas to ride in Saskatchewan. I also enjoy riding out in the mountains. I have been to Panorama and rode the bike park there as well as have done the local trails around Invermere. An awesome accomplishment from our there is riding up the climb trail on Mount Swansea. It was a grind but also very rewarding. Who doesn’t like a good climb every now and then.
If you don’t see me on my bike then I will more then likely be walking or hiking the trails. I enjoy hiking on the trails within the city and getting out of the city to hike with my family. This past summer we got out to Alberta and did some awesome trails out there. We saw some awesome waterfalls and did lots of climbing. We hiked up to the top of Mount Fernie in Fernie, BC and to the top of Bears Hump in Waterton.
I joined the Trail Alliance this year as a way to give back to the trails that I love. I have been volunteering with the maintenance days the past few seasons and thought maybe it was time to join the Association and give more. With being on the board I feel that this is the best way to give back and help see the trails evolve and be maintained for future generations to come.
If you see me on the trails feel free to stop me and give a hello. See you all out there.
Steve Joorsity - Member at large
Coming Soon
