Pete Perzel
President – TSP Board of Directors
pete.perzel@thesummitproject.org
U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Pete Perzel is one of the founding fathers of The Summit Project, specifically responsible for the installation of the tribute stone honor room at the Portland Maine Military Entrance Processing Station. In 2014, Pete participated in the inaugural “TSP at BSP” event at Baxter State Park. His military service has spanned over 3 decades – from implementing the first ever R&R flights to over 60,000 Soldiers during the first stages of Operations Iraqi Freedom, organizing and leading Operation Sleigh Ride, delivering over 12,000 pounds of mail on Christmas Day 2005 by CH-47 Chinook helicopter to troops at the far reaches of Afghanistan to Commanding and managing the global Defense Attache mission at the Defense Intelligence Agency. His focus has always been set upon Soldiers and their families.
Pete is the recipient of two Bronze Star Medals, and an Eagle Scout. He is originally from Tolland, CT, and a graduate of UCONN. Pete currently resides with his family in Washington D.C., remaining in place after his last duty assignment with the United States Army Special Operations Command. He is married to the former Amanda Ritchie and they have two children together – Z and Charlotte. As life-long “away” Mainers, they all enjoy and relish long seasonal vacations at their camp in Porter, ME.
Barbara Pierce
Vice President – TSP Board of Directors
barbara.pierce@thesummitproject.org
Barbara Pierce is a lifelong Maine resident and has been involved with The Summit Project for the past decade as a hiker and former Board of Directors’ President, Secretary, and member. Coming from a military family, Barbara is committed to supporting Gold Star Families and honoring their fallen loved ones. In her professional life, she works across the nation on criminal and youth justice policy and practice change. From 2022 to 2025, she served as an advisor to the Veterans Justice Commission as it studied veterans’ involvement in the justice system and made recommendations to improve the effectiveness of justice system responses to veterans across the country.
Toni Bailey
Treasurer – TSP Board of Directors
toni.bailey@thesummitproject.org
Toni Bailey is a wife and mother of two. She has worked for Maine Community Bank (formerly known as Gorham Savings Bank) for 25 years. She has also owned a Tax Preparer business for the past 26 years. Several of Toni’s relatives have served our country. When she learned about TSP through her husband Steve Bailey, she immediately wanted to become more involved with the organization. Since 2021, Toni has volunteered at several TSP events. She now looks forward to using her financial knowledge to further support the strategic goals of TSP.
Mike Hernandez
Secretary – TSP Board of Directors
mike.hernandez@thesummitproject.org
Mike Hernandez first became involved with The Summit Project by providing pro bono legal services. Since 2017, Mike has handled various legal matters for TSP, including registering its logo and various other trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, drafting partnership agreements, and providing legal advice on updating and implementing various policies. Such efforts not only deepened Mike’s appreciation for TSP’s mission, but also kindled his desire to do more for TSP. After participating in the BSP substitute honor hike and the ANP hike with his wife in 2020, Mike was honored to join the TSP Board of Directors. Mike is humbled and excited by the opportunity to further pay tribute to our military service members and their families by keeping the memories of our fallen heroes alive. Mike currently lives in Scarborough with his wife and two daughters, and works as an intellectual property attorney at Pierce Atwood specializing in trademark law and technology transactions.
Greg Johnson
Executive Director & Member – TSP Board of Directors
greg@thesummitproject.org
Greg Johnson is a 10-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps who has dedicated his service to The Summit Project since its inaugural event at Baxter State Park over Memorial Day Weekend of 2014. During his military career, Greg deployed on (5) separate occasions – to include (3) deployments to Iraq, (1) to Afghanistan, and (1) to Okinawa during a Unit Deployment Program.
Born and raised in our beloved state, Greg is a University of Southern Maine alumnus where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2016 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology and a minor in Nature-Based Tourism. He is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in the field of Leadership Studies. Greg currently works Pratt & Whitney’s North Berwick Aero Systems as the F135 Industrial Manager, analyzing and driving the strategic improvement plans for the military’s newest fighter jet engine program in direct support of our nation’s warfighters around the world. In 2024, he received the U.S. President’s Gold Volunteer Service Award in recognition of the extraordinary dedication and service he has provided to our nation through the important work of The Summit Project.
As an avid outdoorsmen, his most favorite pastime activities include spending time out on the water with his wife and three kids and embarking upon new wilderness adventures at every possible chance he gets.
Mark LoSacco
Family Liaison & Member – TSP Board of Directors
mark.losacco@thesummitproject.org
Mark LoSacco is a 52 year old husband and father of two who enjoys running, hiking, guitar and card/board games of all kinds. Since earning his graduate degree in Software Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY he has worked as a software engineer at a variety of startup and established technology companies. After years of vacationing in Maine and dreams of making it their home, he and his family took the plunge in 2013, left Connecticut, and never looked back. Shortly after arriving, Mark became active on the leadership team of the Central Maine chapter of Team Red, White & Blue – an organization committed to enriching the lives of America’s veterans. He served as the Chapter Captain for four years before recently passing the torch.
Mark’s wife, Baerbel (a photographer), was the first in the family to hike with The Summit Project. It didn’t take long for her to involve the rest of the family at BSP, ANP and other TSP events over the last several years. Mark recently had the honor of being a hike team leader for recent TSP hike events. Mark considers TSP an extended family and is honored to step into the Family Liaison role on the TSP leadership team where he looks forward to serving our heroes’ families.
Betsy Hutchins
Basecamp Coordinator & Member – TSP Board of Directors
betsy@thesummitproject.org
Betsy Hutchins has been involved with The Summit Project since Memorial Day 2013, when she and her husband Jeff met David Cote at their kitchen table. That was the day her husband presented The Summit Project with her step-son’s, Cpl. Andrew L Hutchins, memorial stone. Born and raised in Maine, Betsy is graduate of Bates College with a BA in Sociology, and has been in the financial services industry for 30 years, for the past 19 years with Merrill Lynch/Bank of America. As a Gold Star family member herself, Betsy has become an important part of The Summit Project’s hosted events at Baxter State Park and Acadia National Park, leading basecamp operations. As many know, Betsy loves to cook and take care of everyone. You will often see her at these events making sure everyone is well fed and comfortable. For this, she earned her nickname Momma Bear. Betsy lives in Greene, with her husband Jeff and son Benjamin.
Pat Skall
Member – TSP Board of Directors
pat.skall@thesummitproject.org
Patrick Skall is a veteran of the Air Force with one deployment in Iraq. His awareness of The Summit Project (TSP) was established through the personal connections he shared with some of our fallen heroes, though his involvement grew further with our program after founding a veteran group at a previous employer. He has participated in various events throughout the years and genuinely appreciates supporting the mission and Gold Star families from the beloved state of Maine.
Kristen Olsen
Executive Assistant
kristen.olsen@thesummitproject.org
Born in Bangor, Kristen Olsen grew up in Brewer, ME, and attended Brewer High School. After graduating, she went on to attend the University of Maine Orono. Here she became a member of the Chi Omega Fraternity and was able to become involved in many intramural sports and philanthropies; her favorite being the Make A Wish Foundation! After graduation, Kristen moved to Chebeague Island where she worked on a lobster boat. After ten years on the island, she moved to North Yarmouth where she began a job at an organic vegetable farm which ignited her passion for farming. During this time, she became more involved in serving the community and eventually decided to join the North Yarmouth Fire Rescue. Soon after, she became a certified interior firefighter and took additional classes at the Fire Academy in Maryland for Wildland Urban Interface. Kristen left the department 2015 to have two beautiful children, but it’s something she strongly feels that she will return to.
In her spare time, you can usually find her out on the trails or roads running with her dog, Maggie, or going on fun hiking adventures with her kids. Kristen started volunteering for The Summit Project in the fall of 2023 after following the organization for a number of years. She lost a good friend in 2008 who is honored within this organization and is the reason she initially became involved. Kristen embraces the opportunity to serve our heroes’ families in any way she can and loves being part of the TSP family.
Joan Neumann-Thain
Convoy Commander
joan.neumann-thain@thesummitproject.org
Joan Neumann-Thain is originally from North Carolina, but loves and presently lives in Maine. She has three kids (more she claims as her own), three granddaughters, and a grandson due April of 2019. She is a Patient Care Technician (PCT) at Maine Medical Center and a foster parent who enjoys wildlife, coaching life skills, and coaching gymnastics. Her family is her life and her passions include motorcycles, books, and The Summit Project. She is a member of multiple riding organizations and has carried TSP tribute stones on 6 motorcycle convoys at both Baxter State Park and Acadia National Park events. She is very proud to support the TSP mission by coordinating these rides and serving as a liaison to our riding community throughout the Northeast.
Phil Thain
Assistant Convoy Commander
phil.thain@thesummitproject.org
Phil Thain, Jr is a proud father of a Coast Guard veteran and step-father to an Army veteran. He’s also a past President and the last remaining founder of Patriot Riders of America Maine Chapter One (PRAMCO). Phil is very proud to say that he has been involved with The Summit Project since the very first signature event at Baxter State Park and has been escorting stones and building relationships ever since. He has met so many amazing people and is honored to be a part of the Core Leadership Team. Phil looks forward to spreading the word of our mission and that MAINE HEROES ARE NOT FORGOTTEN.
Courtney Evans
Public Relations Manager
courtney.evans@thesummitproject.org
Courtney Evans came to TSP in 2018 and has been an active member ever since. She has stepped into roles as Assistant Team Lead for TSP at ANP 2019 and as Team Lead for both TSP at BSP and ANP in 2020. She achieved her Master of Education degree from the University of Maine and is employed as a clinical counselor at Acadia Hospital in Bangor, Maine, where she also calls her home. She is actively involved in Girl Scouts of Maine as a troop leader and as an adult learning facilitator for the organization. She is also the President of the UMaine Band Alumni Association, responsible for coordinating the homecoming events for the alumni band, which is always the largest returning organization each year. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors chasing the 4,000 foot summits of New England and going on amazing adventures with her daughter, Delaney.
John Gold
Website Administrator
john.gold@thesummitproject.org
John Gold has been involved with The Summit Project since 2017 when he redesigned the organization’s website. Since that time he has assisted the organization with various web site and technology-related projects. John grew up in New Hampshire and graduated from the University of New Hampshire where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Zoology and a concentration in Journalism. His professional background is in Journalism and graphic design with more than three decades of experience as a writer, editor print and website designer. He is the author of several non-fiction children’s books. He has lived in Maine for more than 30 years and when he’s not fixing something around the house he enjoys a variety of outdoor activities including hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, swimming and boating. He and his wife live in Saco
Mili Johnson
Store Manager
mili.johnson@thesummitproject.org
Mili Johnson was born and raised on the North Shore of Hawaii. She attended both Kahuku High School in Oahu and Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona. She has been involved with The Summit Project in many different capacities since its inaugural event in 2014. Currently, she works as a Supervisor at JCPenney and looks forward to transferring her extensive knowledge of this industry to her position as TSP Store Manager. Mili is also the mother of (3) beautiful children and married to a wonderful, loving veteran of the United States Marine Corps. In her free time, she likes to travel and explore new places with her family.
U.S. Army Major Jason W. Goodson
Portland, Maine MEPS Commander
U.S. Army Major Jason W. Goodson is the Commander of the Portland, Maine, Military Entrance Processing Station. Originally from El Reno, OK, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1997 and later enlisted in the U.S. Army in January 2004. He earned his commission through the Army “Green to Gold” program in May 2009. Major Goodson’s military career has focused heavily on communications and human resources and includes four combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan (2), and Kuwait. His professional military education includes the Signal Basic Officer Leader Course, Adjutant General Captains Career Course, Command and General Staff College, Airborne, Air Assault, Pathfinder, and the Army Operational Electronic Warfare Course.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Cameron University, Lawton, Oklahoma, a Masters Degree in Human Resources from the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, and a Masters Degree in Military Operational Studies from the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Major Goodson’s military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, four Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, the parachutist Badge, Netherlands Jump Wings, Air Assault Badge, Pathfinder Badge, German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency (Gold), the Combat Action Badge, and various service, unit and personal medals and ribbons.
He and his wife, April, moved to Maine in June of 2024. They have four children, one grandchild, and two dogs. During his free time, Jason enjoys camping and attending sporting events.
TSP Ambassadors
Beth Copp
Anne Sullivan
Joe Sullivan
TSP Photographers
Stephen Crossman
Baerbel LoSacco
Mike Peterson