Emil 'Rusty' Pedersen

A graduate of Springfield College in 1976, Rusty began his career teaching elementary physical education and coaching high school wrestling in Ridgewood, NJ. In the fall of 1984 he left teaching and began Trailmark Outdoor Adventures, a summer teen adventure travel company. Trailmark sponsored two to six week adventure trips to New England, the Adirondacks, Pennsylvania, Colorado, the Northern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest. Rusty and his wife Donna owned and managed Trailmark for twenty two years. After hosting over four thousand campers, they sold it to The Mountain Workshop of West Reading, CT in September of 2006.

Rusty began working for Bridges to Community in August of 2006 in the position of Associate Executive Director. For six months in 2008, he served as Interim Executive Director. Rusty and his wife Donna live in Nyack, NY and have three children.