Elizabeth Simon Elected New Board Chair of Choose Outdoors

Woodstock, CT– The Board of Directors of Choose Outdoors, a nonprofit organization that seeks to engage all Americans in stewardship of public lands through outdoor recreation, has elected former Board vice chair, Elizabeth Simon, as its new Board chair.

Simon brings over 20 years of strategic partnership development and outdoor industry experience to the governing committee of Choose Outdoors. She is the west coast sales engineer with Rogers Corporation, the manufacturer of PORON® Performance Cushioning material, and has held previous positions in sales, marketing and product development with W.L. Gore & Associates, Quabaug Rubber Company and Gargoyles.

“Elizabeth is a mover and a shaker in the outdoor industry and knows how to get things done” said Bruce Ward, founder and senior advisor of Choose Outdoors. “She is passionate about a broad range of outdoor concerns, and shares Choose Outdoors’ all-encompassing view of outdoor recreation.”

“I am eager to support and promote the mission, vision, and goals of Choose Outdoors,” said Simon who is based in Seattle, WA. “Additionally I am very excited about the additions to our board and new partnerships and initiatives. There are many great opportunities for us to take local programs and roll them out nationally, and I’m personally looking forward to the challenge.”

Choose Outdoors Board of Directors recently elected Kenji Haroutunian, Vice President Nielsen Expositions, and Cam Brensinger, President, NEMO Equipment, Inc as board members.

The newly elected Honorary board includes Royal Robbins, Chair; Larry Burke, Founder, Outside Magazine; Skip Yowell, Founder, Jansport; Brook Shinsky, Outdoor Participation & Community Development Manager, The North Face; Dale Robertson former USDA Forest Service Chief; and Philippe Dunoyer former CEO of Total Petroleum North America and Trustee Emeritus Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Jeff Olson, Choose Outdoors President, said of the appointment, “We are excited to have someone of Elizabeth’s stature leading our Board. It is a time of real growth and new leadership.”

Choose Outdoors has recently begun working with the Federal Interagency Council on Recreation and the National Association of Recreation Resource Planners on developing Recreation Co-Ops across the country based on the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Resource Project.

Additionally, it is assisting with the Children’s Forest concept developed by the USDA Forest Service in California and Alaska, tying a variety of stakeholders together through an innovative multi-stakeholder effort to increase the public’s awareness and appreciation of our natural environment.

About Choose Outdoors
Choose Outdoors, is a non-profit dedicated to promoting outdoor recreation and active lifestyles through support for public lands and waters; recreation infrastructure; and programs connecting Americans to the outdoors. Recently, responding to a request by Undersecretary of Agriculture Harris Sherman, Choose Outdoors has begun to develop ways to increase public awareness about the mountain pine beetle epidemic and the impact it has had on forest health as well as to encourage private sector engagement in promoting the use of beetle killed wood and assisting with mitigation efforts. For more information about Choose Outdoors visit www.ChooseOutdoors.org.

About Rogers Corporation
Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG) is a global technology leader in specialty materials and components that enable high performance and reliability of consumer electronics, power electronics, mass transit, clean technology, and telecommunications infrastructure. With more than 178 years of materials science and process engineering knowledge, Rogers provides product designers with solutions to their most demanding challenges. Rogers’ products include advanced circuit materials for wireless infrastructure, power amplifiers, radar systems, high speed digital; power electronics for high-voltage rail traction, hybrid-electric vehicles, wind and solar power conversion; and high performance foams for sealing and energy management in smart phones, aircraft and rail interiors, automobiles and apparel; and other advanced materials for diverse markets including defense and consumer products. Headquartered in Connecticut (USA), Rogers operates manufacturing facilities in the United States, Belgium, China, Germany, and South Korea, with joint ventures and sales offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.rogerscorp.com.

The world runs better with Rogers.®