The Friends of Devil's Lake State Park is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors; each of the nine members serves three-year terms. We are always recruiting! Please let us know if you are interested in serving, we would love to meet you.
The Board is always interested to hear from members with comments, questions and/or proposals. Please reach any of us via our email contact form.
OFFICERS
Taylar Foster
Taylar Foster
President, 2023 - Current
Taylar works for the Wisconsin Dept. of Tourism’s Office of Outdoor Recreation. Growing up in Portage, she was raised with a strong ethic of volunteerism and land stewardship. She is an avid trail runner, a rock climbers, hiker, cross-country skier, and all-around nature lover. In addition to her work on the Friends, she is on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Climbing Association.
Dave Barger
Dave Barger
Vice President, 2021 - Current
I grew up on a farm in Oregon WI, lived most of my adult life in the Madison area, and recently moved back to the family farm. I visited Devils Lake as a kid with my parents, siblings and other relatives, and enjoyed it later as an adult with my own kids. My “hobby” is to go on Volunteer Vacations to work on various projects in UT, CO, AZ, WA, US Virgin Islands, Costa Rica and even Machu Picchu, so being on the Friends board is my “local” focus. I am passionate about DL and wanting others to be able to enjoy it as I have… by picking up trash along the trails, working to improve the trails, and working toward making the new Interpretive Center become a reality. Now retired after 41 years in engineering, I can now spend more time and effort on DL matters.
Pete Schmitz
Pete Schmitz
Secretary , 2023 - Present
I started working at a specialty sporting goods store in Baraboo in the early 90’s. This introduced me to the spiritual magic of Devils Lake State Park. The Lake taught me many things about recreation from climbing, cycling, hiking, paddling, skiing, and scuba. It became a place for me to learn these activities. Over the years I’ve become an advocate for everyone that uses this resource. I’ve become involved with many Master Planning projects in Sauk County. I’ve built trails, assembled volunteers, and fundraised. I eventually opened my own ski/climb/bike specialty store in Baraboo eighteen years ago.
I would like to help with the new Interpretive Center Initiative. My time spent as a small business owner will be valuable for this initiative. My experience with sales, marketing, planning, and accounting will all be very beneficial to the Friends. The advocacy projects, trail projects, and grant writing I’ve done will be beneficial to the team. I’ve spent many years following the Master Planning process for the Sauk Prairie State Recreation Area and the Great Sauk State Trail and feel this is a great time to be on the Friends board.
Doug Stoffels
Doug Stoffels
Treasurer, 2024 - Current
Doug’s career in accounting and finance included 32 years with American Family Insurance, 3 years at
CUNA Mutual Insurance, and 5 years at the public accounting firm SVA, in their consulting division. He
retired in 2021. Prior volunteer activities with non-profit organizations include:
6 years on the board of the Western Wisconsin chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (4 years as treasurer and 2 years as president)
6 years as treasurer of the Madison Advertising Federation Foundation
5 years on the board of Independent Living, Inc. (2 years as treasurer).
Other volunteer activities include:
question-writing for a professional certification exam
officer positions with an investment club (2 years as president, 2 years as vice president, and 7 years
as treasurer)
officer positions with a Toastmasters club (3 years as president, and 20 years as treasurer)
‘Cookie Chair’ for my daughter’s Brownie troop
‘Popcorn Colonel’ for my son’s Boy Scout troop.
From a personal perspective, Doug and his wife, Mary, are snowbirds, living during the cold months of
the year in Rotonda West, Florida, and spending the warm months on Lake Wisconsin. They have four
adult children, two of whom are married, and two grandchildren. They are spread across the country in
Nashville, Glenwood Springs, CO, Minneapolis, and Madison.
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Mike Grams
Mike Grams
2024 - Current
I grew up in Green Lake, WI and was introduced to Devil’s Lake early in scouting and it quickly became a place I loved and desired to visit. As an adult, I later enjoyed camping with my family along with all the things that the park has to offer; including the nature center, hiking trails and the beautiful beaches. Personally, I have degrees from UW-Stevens Point (BS) and from Indiana State University (MS). My degrees allowed me to teach physical education and computers while coaching various sports including being a head coach of basketball and golf. Along with those positions, I also utilized my marketing experience in various levels of collegiate athletics and a sports equipment business. Now being retired affords me the time to contribute and serve. Thus, I want to see Devil’s Lake State Park continue to improve and flourish so future generations can experience it like I was able to.
Kurt Goeckermann
Kurt Goeckermann
2019 - Current
Kurt has a long history with Wisconsin State Parks. Kurt grew up in a log cabin in Copper Falls State Park, where his father, Kent, served as Park Manger for 30+ years. Kurt met his wife, Cheryl, at UW-Madison and he graduated with degrees Journalism and History. He followed Cheryl to medical school in Milwaukee; Kurt earned a degree in social work at UW-Milwaukee. After a couple moves, in 1999 Cheryl took a family practice position at Medical Associates in Baraboo. Since then, Kurt has been a social worker at nursing facilities in Lodi and Baraboo. Kurt and Cheryl have three children, a college sophomore, a high school senior, and a 6th grader. Kurt is secretary of the Baraboo Music Support Group and coaches 6th grade basketball. The whole family loves the outdoors and vacationing, mostly in Florida with grandparents and trying to see as many National Parks as possible. Kurt likes to garden, hunt/fish and attend UW athletic events. For relaxation he enjoys reading, mostly history. He recently began raising chickens and helped his son dig a large Koi pond.
Jennifer Graf
Jennifer Graf
2023 - Current
I was introduced to Devil’s Lake Park as a UW-Madison student and fell in love with the area. Throughout the years I have enjoyed many hikes, swims, paddles, picnics, and camps at the park. I hold a Bachelor of Business Degree from UW-Madison and have been working as a project manager in the insurance industry for more than two decades. Prior to my work in the private sector, I worked as the Property & Liability Manager for the for the Department of Natural Resources. I am on the board of directors for the Friends of Devil’s Lake Park because I am enthusiastic about the Friend’s mission and preserving and improving the park so it can continue to be enjoyed by visitors in the future.
Randy Pfeifer
Randy Pfeifer
2024 - Current
I am a big fan of Devil’s Lake State park. It is a wonderful resource and I’m very fortunate to live in the area and hike there frequently. I have rock climbed there many times with my sons and with members of the Boy Scout troop I used to lead. Professionally, I am retired from a long career in engineering (computer design, telecommunications, storage). My roles in my professional life have largely been leadership/executive positions in large corporations however I did have some excellent start-up experiences. I retired from IBM about 3 years ago and am looking to expand my contributions to the community. I’ve been a board member of the Chicago Voyagers organization (Chicagovoyagers.org) for the past 10+ years. There I apply my executive skills in guiding the evolution of the organization that focuses its energies on providing Adventure Therapy services to kids in need. As part of that role, I was responsible for the acquisition and now operation of a lake cabin resort (4 cabins and a yurt) in northern Minnesota as a source of funding for Chicago Voyagers. I was also the Scoutmaster (4 years) and High Adventure coordinator (10 years) for a Boy Scout troop in Wheaton IL. I’m proud to have coached 25 scouts to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout during my time as Scoutmaster. Devil’s Lake State Park was a go-to site for weekend campouts as we trained for more extensive expeditions. Wilderness Canoeing is my passion and I build wood and composite canoes. I have had a wide variety of experiences throughout my career and look forward to exploring how those experiences and skills can be applied to helping the Friends of Devil’s Lake State Park organization take its next steps as it continues to serve the community.