About NESFL

Bio coming soon.

Jen started guiding with NESFL in the winter of 2025, excited to discover a group wanting to hike in the snow. She has continued to guide, finding the participants, volunteers, and hiking experiences some of the most rewarding she has ever had. Jen grew up in the mountains of Colorado and loves the outdoors. She manages the archives at Perkins School for the Blind and is passionate about inclusion and accessibility.

Jennifer has been a blind explorer with NESFL for over 10 years. She loves walking, hiking, paddling, Alpine skiing, and snowshoeing, and attributes her positive adjustment to vision loss to experiencing the thrills and challenges of being active outdoors. When not outside, Jennifer serves as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, is a guide dog handler, and a mom to three young adults.

Frederick has been a volunteer driver and hiking guide for NESFL since 2018. He enjoys the outdoors and the ongoing collaboration and community of NESFL.

Shiv has been a blind explorer with NESFL since 2024. He loves hiking, biking, and skiing and is passionate about outdoor accessibility. Professionally, Shiv is a digital accessibility expert and interested in applying AI to solve access issues. He appreciates the rewarding connections and friendships NESFL has provided him with fellow explorers and guides as well as the powerful ways to connect with nature.

As a blind explorer, Jessie has been hooked on Nordic skiing and NESFL since first encountering both at Craftsbury in 2018. She especially appreciates the enriching friendships with her fellow explorers and guides that have grown out of her involvement, and is also an enthusiastic participant in Ski for Light International. She works as an access technology specialist with blind and low-vision children. Outside of NESFL, she enjoys walking, biking, hand-weaving, baking, reading, and singing.

Diane started guiding for NESFL in 2022. She has enthusiastically embraced this role, sharing her love of cross-country skiing and other outdoor activities with visually impaired participants who are just as enthusiastic! She has also guided for Ski for Light International. Besides cross-country skiing, Diane enjoys bicycling, sea kayaking and canoeing, sailing her sunfish on the ocean, hiking, and tennis, as well as planting and growing her tomato and herb garden in the summer months.

Stephen has been an enthusiastic guide since 2023. He enjoys hiking, backpacking, cross-country skiing, telemark skiing, and rowing. He also plays the banjo and guitar. For Stephen, sharing the outdoors with blind or low-vision adults is the most rewarding volunteering imaginable.

Bio coming soon.

Aaron brings over two decades of leadership experience in the financial services industry to the NESFL Finance Committee, ensuring the organization’s continued financial health. Aaron found NESFL as a powerful way to reconnect with nature and rediscover his passion for outdoor activities after his vision loss. He serves on the board to combine his professional expertise in fiscal oversight with his personal commitment to accessibility, independence, and community engagement.

Bonnie Vegiard first discovered Ski For Light International while living in Houston, Texas, and hanging out with other active legally blind and low-vision friends. She attended the international SFL Weeks in 2018 and 2019. After moving to Boston in 2022, Bonnie immediately began attending activities with New England Ski For Light. She then joined the board of directors in 2023. Bonnie has been legally blind from an inherited retina disease since she was an early teenager. She has made a point of staying very active in life, including lots of hiking, kayaking, dancing, as well as raising a family and building her profession as a social worker.

Karen has been a low-vision explorer with NESFL since 2016 and has also served on the board of Ski For Light International since 2018. While she loves many types of outdoor exercise, skiing is her all-time favorite. A retired preschool teacher, Karen enjoys sharing meditation and mindfulness practices and loves helping create experiences that bring joy to so many people.

Susan has been a guide with NESFL since 2020. She has also served on the board of Ski for Light International since 2024. When not cross-country skiing, you can find her alpine ski touring and nordic skating; in the warmer months, she enjoys gravel biking, tennis, running, hiking, and gardening. Susan is a blossoming willow basketmaker and also keeps a few colonies of honey bees.