Roundtable Discussions
Saturday 5/3
LOCATION: IJAMs visitors center
PRICE: FREE
9:30 AM Women Who Send It: Breaking Barriers in the Outdoors
12 PM Knoxville’s climbing History
2 PM knoxville’s urban wilderness, trails, tales and transformation
9:30 AM : Women Who Send It: Breaking Barriers in the Outdoors
-
From scaling cliffs to navigating rapids, crushing trails, and embracing the cold, these powerhouse women redefine what it means to explore Knoxville’s wild spaces. Join us for an inspiring panel featuring (to be announced), as they share their boldest adventures, toughest challenges, and the mindset shifts that keep them pushing forward. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a seasoned explorer, this conversation will fuel your fire to get outside, push limits, and own your space in the wild.
-
Moderator: Kat Bike
Stacy Gunnoe, Kayaking and Kicking Ass
Tina Rosling, Cold Water Plunger
Missy Petty, Regional Specialist | Southeast | Lead Knoxville Play Program, Little Bellas
Indya Kincannon, Knoxville Mayor and lover of the outdoors
Rebekah Lindsay, Cycling
———
Stacy Gunnoe has been a river runner since the age of 16, when she discovered her love of whitewater. She started video kayaking on the Ocoee during summer breaks in high school and soon began kayaking across the U.S. and internationally, seeking out new and challenging rivers. She obtained her B.A. in Ecology from Brevard College while paddling local rivers as much as possible, especially the world-renowned rapids on the Narrows of the Green River where she honed her skills. She started to compete in extreme kayak races throughout the United States. In 2001 she competed on the U.S Freestyle kayaking team in squirt boating and placed 6 th place in Sort, Spain. She came to Knoxville in 2007, to attend the University of Tennessee and became a Family Nurse Practitioner. She married her life partner, Andrew, on the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon on a private rafting trip in 2011. Her love of rivers and the outdoors has evolved into one that includes her 2 girls with multi-day western river trips and paddle rafting around the Southeast. Stacy cherishes every moment she can on the river, whether it is continuing her love of whitewater, or floating down the calmer sections of our local Little River with her friends and family.
Tina Rosling has lived in Knoxville for the past 30 years and feels it is a great training ground for all the diverse activities she loves: biking, hiking, backpacking, swimming and winter time cold water plunges. As she has gotten older Tina has learned to embrace the cold. Jumping into 40 degree water on a cold day is a recurrent challenge and confirmation that we can do hard things and overcome fears on a daily basis. Eventually, it permeates to the rest of your life and makes all other cold weather activities manageable.
Missy Petty hails from Knoxville and lives roughly 3 miles from 70 miles of trails. Guess where you can find me most of the time? If you guessed, at a fisheries trying to save imperiled fish species and the water they live in, you'd be correct! No, not what you guessed? Okay, I am a conservation biologist, and it's awesome, but where can i be found the rest of the time? On the trails or at cycling events, spreading the word, ripping, and riding. A curator of high fives and perma-stoke, i was a mentor for the Little Bellas Chattanooga Program and loved it so much, i went about starting a chapter in Knoxville in 2019. I love seeing the confidence built through the program and want to continue to empower girls in my region and bring rad women together to ride bikes. My passion, love for riding, and sharing that love most definitely makes me not just another fish in the sea. (see what I did there?)
Indya Kincannon Indya Kincannon is the City of Knoxville’s 69th Mayor and only the second female to hold this position.
The Mayor’s administration focuses its efforts on public safety, affordable housing, connecting neighborhoods, a clean & resilient future, and good governance.
Shortly after taking office, Mayor Kincannon started the City’s first $50 Million Affordable Housing Fund, and her administration continues to dedicate more money than any other to affordable housing in our ever-growing city.
Mayor Kincannon is also a huge supporter of the outdoors, professionally and personally.
In her first 5 years in office, she helped establish an Urban Forest Master Plan, completed some major enhancements in the Urban Wilderness, and expanded amenities in our greenspaces all across the city.
One of the Mayor’s favorite pastimes is hitting the trails and greenways in the city, on bike or on foot.
Bekah Lindsay was born and raised in East Tennessee. Growing up in the Smoky Mountains fostered her love for all things outdoors. She especially loves hiking and exploring. As a college student she fell in love with road cycling, eventually becoming a member of the King University cycling team, learning all aspects of the race world. After a traumatic bike accident, she was forced to find another outlet to enjoy being outdoors. She found that outlet in running, specifically trail running. Joining her two loves together she trained and competed for sprint triathlons. In 2023 she was diagnosed with a progressive neuromuscular condition. Day-to-day activities became a struggle, though her life had drastically changed, her desire to be active did not. With the support of her family and friends she has been able to compete in an adaptive sprint triathlon, as well as adaptive kayaking, adaptive hiking and adaptive mountain biking. She enjoys shredding the trails every chance she gets. When not hiking, biking or kayaking she can be found outside training and playing with her dog, Relay.
12 PM : Knoxville’s climbing History
-
Join us for an engaging panel discussion exploring the rich climbing history of East Tennessee! From the early pioneers who first scaled the rugged peaks in this region to the modern climbers shaping its future, this conversation will delve into the region's iconic routes, memorable moments, and the community that has nurtured its climbing culture. Whether you're an experienced climber or just curious about the area’s outdoor legacy, this panel offers a fascinating glimpse into the history that has made East TN a climbing destination.
-
Moderator:
Matthew Kellogg, Appalachian Mountain Bike Club’s Executive DirectorKelly Brown, Avid Outdoorsman, Bowerbird Sculpture
Micah McDaniel
Frank Harvey
Tony Robinson
Mary Alice Ferguson Doub———
Matthew Kellogg, Appalachian Mountain Bike Club’s Executive Director
Kelly Brown, Avid Outdoorsman, Bowerbird Sculpture
Micah McDaniel
Frank Harvey
I first climbed with Outward Bound in 1968 at the tender age of 16. Did not get serious about it until my early 30s when I found a climbing community in East Tennessee. Shortly there after I became the first Southeastern regional coordinator for the Access Fund. I knew I would never be a world-class climber but thought I could be a pretty decent advocate for climbing. I maintain that the climbing communities relationship with the national park service at the Obed is as good as it gets anywhere in the country. A relationship with the Tennessee State parks folks at Black Mountain is equally outstanding. I have always said if you spend all of your money on gear just wait and see how far you have to drive to use it. Relationships with property owners both private and public are essential: the image of climbers has come along way but we are still a vulnerable sport.Tony Robinson
Mary Alice Ferguson Doub
Whether it was from the magic of being surrounded by the forest, the quickie lesson on how to lead climb, or the WAY TOO hard project my friends put me on, after my first time climbing I was hooked. That day I became a lifer. Since then finding my way to the top "the hard way" has been my number one pursuit. I have been fortunate to learn, grow, and work in climbing for the last 10 years. Experiencing everything from route setting, hold cleaning, running comps, putting on events, teaching new climbers, teaching kids climbing, leading adaptive climbs, teaching courses, guiding trips and now managing the first climbing gym in Knoxville, TN has helped me appreciate that climbing is such an amazing way to get to know one another and ourselves. Climbing can really bring people together and that is part of the magic.
2 PM : knoxville’s urban wilderness, trails, tales and transformation
-
Knoxville's Urban Wilderness has become synonymous with great outdoor recreation opportunities. What started as a humble endeavor to carve out and connect some key green spaces has become an iconic part of Knoxville. Learn how the vision and grassroots determination synergized the creation, development, and expansion of this trail system. We will tell the story of how Knoxville's Urban Wilderness began, evolved, and the ripple effects of this initiative.
-
Carol Evans - Legacy Parks Foundation, Executive Director
Brian Hann- Appalachian Mountain Bike Club, President Emeritus
Wes Soward- Moderator, City of Knoxville Urban Wilderness Coordinator
———
• Carol Evans: As executive director of Legacy Parks Foundation, Carol Evans helps East Tennesseans get outside and play by connecting the urban and the wild. The nonprofit has raised over $21 million for parks, trails and open space, helped conserve over 1,000 acres of land and added more than 700 acres of parkland in Knox County.
• Wes Soward is the Urban Wilderness Coordinator for the City of Knoxville, TN. His passion for sharing great outdoor experiences with others guides his work to enhance and further connect the great public spaces that define Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness. Wes volunteered as the board chair of the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club, before his position with the City of Knoxville. When not engaged with stakeholders who help manage and promote the Urban Wilderness, you will likely see Wes on a river or a trail nearby.
• Brian Hann lives in Knoxville Tennessee, and has been an advocate for Mountain Biking and natural surface trails for his entire adult life. Brian is active in his local community and was the President of the Appalachian Mountain Bike club from 2009-2014. Brian has served on the Board of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association in several roles, including President from 2017-2018. Brian genuinely believes that great communities build great trails, great trails build great communities, and riding bicycles can save the world.