OVLT BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Scott Murri
Scott MurriChair
Scott Murri grew up in Bountiful, Utah and graduated from Bountiful High School. He spent much of his recreational time snow skiing, water skiing and camping in and around Ogden Valley. Scott began studying Engineering at the University of Utah and ultimately graduated with a B.S. in Accounting from Brigham Young University. After serving a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Florida, Scott married his high school sweetheart, Libby (who is also an outdoors recreational enthusiast). Libby has fond memories of skiing with her father at Snowbasin.
Scott owned and operated a local CPA firm in Salt Lake City for over 30 years. In his practice he focused on small business consulting and Income and Estate tax planning. In the course of his work, he assisted many clients with Conservation Easement transactions preserving open space. As a result of these experiences he became aware of the important role this planning tool has for, not only the community and the surrounding environment, but also the tax incentives this tool can provide to the donor. It truly can be a win win arrangement for all parties.
Scott and his wife moved to the Ogden Valley to enjoy the peaceful valley in 2013 and continue to enjoy the open space and outdoor recreational activities that are available. After selling their accounting firm 2015 and then retiring in 2017, Scott and his wife served another mission for their church in Poland.
Scott serve on the Board of Ogden Valley Land Trust for 1 year prior to leaving for Poland and has now rejoined the Board. Preserving open space in this valley is important to everyone that lives here and “being a part of this preservation is important to me”.
John Henderson
John HendersonVice Chair
John grew up outside of Boston and graduated from Ithaca College with a bachelor of arts in biochemistry. He attended the U.S. Coast Guard Officer Candidate School, followed by the U.S. Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center and became a Dive Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. He was stationed in Hawaii, where he went on to live for 25 years.

After his military service, John fused his leadership know-how as an officer with his background in science. He worked in the pharmaceutical and medical device sales industry and eventually became the Hawaii manager for Olympus Surgical Technologies of America. Later, he started a medical device distributorship, which he ran with his wife until 2021, when they moved to Ogden Valley full time.

Before moving, John did a project in Hawaii that initially started as a personal passion. In an effort to help people connect to what he believes is the healing power of the outdoors, John created a sustainable, off-grid nature center called Holomua Farms.

John first visited Ogden Valley in the early 2000s and fell in love with its beauty and open space. Having always valued community, John’s immediate instinct was to find out how he could serve. This led him to Ogden Valley Adaptive Sports, where he served as president and where he continues to volunteer today as co-chair of the advisory committee.

Ruby Fuller Raccasi
Ruby Fuller RaccasiTreasurer
Ruby Fuller Raccasi, is a fifth-generation Ogden Valley (Eden) resident and has served on the OVLT board since 2010 as Treasurer. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Weber State College [University] in 1974 and then enjoyed 34 years of civilian federal service working in Washington D.C.; Geneva, Switzerland; and Camp Lejeune, N.C. before returning to Utah. For most of her federal career Ruby worked in human resources, and the majority of her time was spent at Hill Air Force, Utah where she served as the Labor Relations Officer prior to her retirement in 2008. Ruby has two children and two grandchildren. She currently serves as the secretary of the Eden Irrigation Company, on the board of the Weber Association of Master Gardeners, and on the board of the Friends of the Weber/Morgan Children’s Justice Center. She was previously a member of the Weber State University (WSU) Alumni Association Board of Directors, serving as President in 2008-2009, and served on the WSU Emeriti Alumni Council 2014-2018.
Gary Jensen
Gary JensenSecretary
Gary joined the OVLT in 2009 and has been Secretary since 2011. He was born in rural Michigan near Grand Rapids and was raised on their family’s dairy farm. After high school, he received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Trade Technical Education from Ferris State University in Michigan with a Mechanical Design major. He worked as and completed Journeyman Tool & Die Maker and Tool & Die Designer requirements. Later he completed a Master’s Degree in Business from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

He served nine years as a commissioned officer in the MI Army National Guard, with the last few years as a Company Commander of the state’s largest Maintenance Company. After working several years as a designer and engineer at a components manufacturing division of General Motors Corporation, he made a career move into technical sales as a manufacturer’s rep and sales engineer. As the owner of his own small business, Jensen Engineered Systems, Inc. for 14 years prior to retirement, his specialty was factory automation and special machines for small part manufacturing.

Gary and his wife Diane retired and moved to Eden in 2006 for the mountains, blue skies, and skiing. They were attracted to a familiar and beautiful rural setting. They have four children and three grandchildren. They still own property on a National Scenic River in Michigan. A few years ago they entered into a conservation easement on this property in an effort to preserve its open space qualities while limiting development. This is where Gary was introduced to, and became interested in, land trust organizations.

Shanna Francis
Shanna FrancisBoard Member
Shanna graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Weber State University, and attended the University of Utah, obtaining two Master’s Degrees, one in Public Administration with an emphasis In Urban Planning, and another in Middle East Studies. She also studied at Tartu University in Estonia, Moscow State University in Moscow, and Bogazici University in Istanbul; and is completing a PhD from the University of Utah in Political Science.

Shanna worked for Ogden City Corp. in their Community Development Dept. in both the community development and current planning offices; and was employed by the Utah Association of Conservation Districts (UACD), working under the auspices of the Utah Dept. of Agriculture, partnering and consulting with the state’s Soil Conservation Districts, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and the U.S. Forest Service, Farm Bureau, and many other local, state, and federal agencies and NGOs involved in natural resource conservation. She served as a Zone Coordinator for UACD, coordinating conservation efforts within five Utah counties.

She has worked as a Technical Writer/Editor, developing and writing water management and conservation plans in conjunction with mandates from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and for both Shipley Group, Inc. and JB Environmental, developing Environmental Assessment (EA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) documents under NEPA guidelines.

She also founded and co-owns SR Communications, publisher of The Ogden Valley News, serving as its managing editor.

Volunteer work includes serving on and chairing the initial Eden Planning Committee which evolved into the community Growth with Excellence Mandate (GEM) committee, and serving on The Ogden Valley Land Trust Board since 1999.

Mike Malmborg
Mike Malmborg Board Member
Mike Malmborg graduated with a B.S. in accounting from Weber State University and attended the J. Rueben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. Following law school, Mike served as a law clerk for the Utah Supreme Court.

Mike is a shareholder of the law firm Dentons Durham Jones Pinegar. His legal practice focuses on estate planning, probate administration, and business and real estate transactions. Mike represents individuals, families, business owners, charitable foundations, and business entities in a variety of legal matters.

Mike lives in the south end of the beautiful Ogden Valley with his wife Victoria and their four children. They enjoy bike rides to the monastery, clear cool nights, and spending time with family and friends throughout the valley.

Kirk Langford
Kirk LangfordBoard Member
Kirk, an Ogden, Utah native, attended Weber State College and graduated with a B.S. in Park Planning and Resource Management from the University of Utah. He competed in athletics and lettered in NCAA Collegiate Ski Racing at both institutions.

His work experience began on his aunt and uncle’s dairy farm in Eden, Utah as a very young boy. During college he worked as a park ranger for Utah State Parks and Recreation and at prominent ski shops in Ogden and Salt Lake City. His career in the outdoor winter sports industry began at Rossignol in marketing. At Salomon, he was involved in competition services and product development design, and as product manager for North America and Japan. Langford worked at Marker for more than 20 years, holding several key management positions before becoming Executive Vice President. Today he is Vice President of Sales at Descente North America, and owner of Pyramids Creative.

Kirk has a passion and love for the earth, environment, land, open spaces and outdoors. He leads an active outdoor lifestyle, farming, skiing, white water rafting, fly-fishing, backpacking, waterskiing, cycling, etc.

He has deep roots in, and a lifetime attachment to Ogden Valley. Kirk and his wife Beje Bohannan live in Eden and actively work their small 40-acre farm.

Langford has served as a past board of director for Marker USA, Ski Utah, and the Ogden Valley Winter Sports Foundation.

John Loomis
John LoomisBoard Member
John grew up in Tacoma, Washington and attended Whitman College where he graduated with a degree in Economics in 1970. Having first gone skiing as a 5-year-old, John decided to take a year off and live the life of a “ski bum,” taking a job as a bartender at the Shallow Shaft in Alta, Utah. One thing led to another and 24 years later, he was the Vice President of Mountain Operations at Snowbird. It was at Snowbird where he met his wife who has been with him for the last 42 years. They have two sons and three grandchildren. After 17 years in Lake Tahoe, John had the opportunity to return to Utah as the General Manager of Snowbasin Resort in 2012. He retired in 2018 and has been enjoying all of the wonderful things to do in Ogden Valley. John joined the OVLT board in 2018. “It was immediately apparent to me what a special place Ogden Valley is, and I hope I can contribute to helping keep it that way through my participation with OVLT.”
Steve Noel
Steve NoelBoard Member
Mr. Noel is partner with the law firm of Smith Knowles in Ogden, Utah, and has practiced there since 1997. He graduated from Utah State University and the University of Idaho College of Law. He has been named several times among Utah’s Legal Elite by Utah Business Magazine. He has taught numerous seminars for the National Business Institute. He is a member of the Utah State and Weber County Bar Associations. He is a “Barrister” in the Rex E. Lee Inn of the American Inns of Court. He taught business and employment law at Weber State University as an adjunct professor for many years. Mr. Noel is the past-president of the Utah State University Alumni Association and just finished his term as a member of USU Board of Trustees. He loves spending time with this family, enjoys the outdoors and is also a car enthusiast. The OVLT board has been a recent but treasured appointment for him, as he believes that the purpose and efforts of the Trust are so important to the future of the Valley.
Johanna Droubay
Johanna DroubayBoard Member
Johanna Droubay was born and raised in the Ogden Valley. She earned a BA in English from Reed College and an MA in creative nonfiction writing from the Johns Hopkins University. One of her essays about her family’s connection to the natural world was honored as a notable essay in The Best American Essays 2020. Johanna has an extensive background in communications and fundraising. As an editor and communications specialist for Eastern Research Group, an environmental consulting firm, she wrote and edited websites, video scripts, reports, and other educational and technical materials for federal clients, primarily the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 2010, she began to focus on education, managing communications materials and fundraising publications for two schools in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. Later at Westminster College, Johanna managed fundraising communications for major donors. Several of her fundraising publications and alumni magazines won awards presented by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Johanna is now a partner and project manager at Heinrich Properties, a family-owned and operated real estate development and investment company. Heinrich Properties believes in maximizing density in urban areas and preserving open space. Johanna lives with her husband and two children in Nordic Valley.
Jon D Bingham
Jon D BinghamBoard Member

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