Meet the Board of Directors of the FTFC
Chuck Keller
Chuck Keller serves as the Chairman of the Board of FTFC. He has served on city, school, state and nation education committees and various community and professional committees. He’s a retired educator who is an accomplished musician who loves to garden and kayak. Chuck has received numerous awards in his career as an educator and has twice been named a Kentucky Colonel in recognition of his noteworthy accomplishments and public service. He believes the hallmark of a great community is how it protects its wilderness and undeveloped lands.
Ginny Gesenhues
Ginny Gesenhues serves as FTFC’s treasurer. She and her husband, Dennis, have lived in Fort Thomas since 1971. She is a CPA and has served on various boards as treasurer, most recently with the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center. She believes that we need to preserve what makes Fort Thomas unique — like the trails, forests, streams, and the plant and animal wildlife — not only for our children but also for generations beyond.
AARON BozSAN
Aaron joined the Board of the Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy in 2023, and is honored to serve as the Vice President. Upon moving to Ft. Thomas in 2008, Aaron and his wife, Jessica, immediately fell in love with the enchanting forests and trails tucked away throughout the city — an unexpected treasure just minutes from their front door. They would often hike in Tower Park 4 or 5 times each week. Now as a father of 3 young children (Blaine, Blythe and Maeve), Aaron enjoys hiking with his whole family (often carrying one or two little ones!). He’s a staunch supporter of sustainability, conservation and preserving the beauty and diversity of the natural world. Aaron is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, with a BS in Mass Communications. He brings a profound experience of sales, real estate development, traditional and digital marketing to his role as VP. Although “free time” is in short supply, Aaron always makes space for music, hiking and walking, keeping up on current events and finding the absolute best deals on everything. Additionally, Aaron serves on the PTO for Moyer Elementary, and co-chairs the Santa House fundraiser.
Nan Genther
I have been walking the woods at Tower Park since I moved to Fort Thomas 20 years ago. I was thrilled to find all the trails, and especially the Landmark Tree Trail, which I fell in love with from the first time I hiked it. Our wooded land is a treasure. FTFC, as a 501C3 Land Trust, has a unique opportunity to create protection for these wooded areas, and I'm very happy to be a part of that effort.
I retired in 2020 from many years in non-profit leadership. I hope to use that background to contribute to the health and growth of FTFC.
Nan serves as the Secretary for the FTFC.
KEN BOWMAN
Ken Bowman is a lifelong resident of Fort Thomas. He owned and operated Bowman’s Framing art and framing gallery from 1988 to 2018. Also, he has been a realtor with Huff since 2005. His volunteer service to the community started in the early nineties in various planning groups creating a blueprint for the revitalization of the central business district, followed by the Midway steering committee. He also served for 9 years on the Fort Thomas Renaissance committee before beginning his service on the Fort Thomas city council for 5 terms starting in 2013 and ending in 2023. Other volunteer services include mentoring, which started through North Key in 2001.
He is a nature lover and feels very fortunate to have the Tower Park trail system literally in his back yard. He enjoys bicycling, motorcycling, photography, and various musical endeavors. Now that he is semi-retired, there is more time available for service in the Conservancy, as well as the Fort Thomas Cultural Arts Center project, and gun violence prevention groups. He is very concerned about recent losses of valuable green space due to residential development and is motivated to do all that he can to prevent this trend from continuing and establish land protection at every opportunity.
Gale B. Beaubien
Gale B. Beaubien was raised in a military family and grew up all over the United States. He joined the Army in 2005, and he spent 7 ½ years as an active-duty Soldier. As a combat medic, he deployed twice to Iraq (2005 and 2007) with 101st Airborne, 1-502d Infantry. After leaving the military, Gale attended Middle Tennessee State University where he received his B.S. in Biology and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biosciences. Gale accepted his current position in research & development with the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2019. His primary research focus is understanding how riparian spider tissues integrate different sediment contaminant signals, and how these spiders can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of sediment remediation (e.g., dredging). Gale, his wife Lindsey, and their two young daughters – Francesca (Frankie) and Charlotte (Charlie), moved to Fort Thomas in 2020. He joined the FTFC board in 2022 and looks forward to supporting local conservation efforts.
Mark Leopold - EMERITUS
Mark Leopold is a native of Fort Thomas and a graduate of St. Thomas High School. While earning his Agronomy degree from UK he became involved with horticulture, forestry, and agricultural engineering projects, later serving as the Agriculture Extension Agent for McCreary and Robertson counties. On his return to the area he joined the Center for Applied Ecology at Northern Kentucky University, serving as its Agriculture and Natural Resource Specialist. He provides leadership and technical oversight for the Center’s stream and forest restoration projects conducted throughout the region. Along with supporting the Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy, Mark serves on the Fort Thomas Tree Commission and Northern Kentucky Urban and Community Forestry Council. He and his wife Emily, a Fort Thomas native, have two daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah.