2025 Board of Directors
Liz A. Petrella - President
Liz is committed to helping the Adams Chapter & Michigan Trout Unlimited grow their outreach, educational, and conservation opportunities. This includes her four grandchildren whom she is determined will have the opportunity to experience all that the watersheds and rivers have to offer. Having been elected as the first female president, she is serving her third term as President of the Adams Chapter and it is her privilege to serve as Vice Chair of Michigan Trout Unlimited. She was also recently honored in Traverse the Magazine as one of seven "North Stars" as The Conservationist. Liz grew up with a strong conservation focus and care for water. She has always been hooked on the local trout in the streams and rivers of Northern Michigan and has a special spot in heart for the Boardman/Ottawa River. Liz has served on several boards and committees that revolve around water conservation efforts. Since becoming a member of TU, Liz has tried to expose as many as she can to cold-water conservation which is at the core of our mission.
Chris Doyal - Vice President
Chris is a retired commercial photographer and has been fly fishing for over 30 years. He and his wife travel around the country in pursuit of trout on the fly. An avid scuba diver and underwater photographer, he is past president of the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve and also sits on the board of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum. He is a past board member of the Great Lakes Council/Fly Fishers International. If he isn't on the water he can usually be found in his woodshop creating fly boxes, nets, humidors, and more. He lives in Williamsburg with his wife, Julie, and their lab, Woody, who is quite possibly the best boat dog ever.
Julie Doyal - Treasurer
Julie grew up in Indiana, right across from a reservoir where she spent countless summer days fishing. Those formative years instilled in her a deep appreciation for nature and the importance of preserving these cherished spaces. She retired from 40 years in education where she taught elementary school, trained new financial planners, and most recently as a program manager at NMC. She enjoyed wading in the water with her husband for years, and after retirement, she fully embraced learning to fly fish. Whether she’s swinging flies for Alaskan rainbows or Michigan steelhead, casting beetles to huge trout in Chile, or stalking bonefish on a saltwater flat, Julie finds her greatest joy in or on the water. She also loves sharing her passion for brook and brown trout fishing with others near her home in Williamsburg. She has a particular interest in helping introduce women to fly fishing at the annual Women on the Water events where she is a very patient instructor.
John Groneck - Secretary
John is a retired projects manager, with degrees in geology, who specialized in remediation, environmental management and regulatory compliance for an energy resources corporation. He and his wife Cathy have lived in various locations throughout the US, including raising their two daughters in SE Michigan, before retiring to the Grand Traverse area. John looks forward to assisting ACTU through its stewardship and conservation efforts of our freshwater fisheries.
Nate Winkler - Director
Nate is a UP born Traverse City resident and grew up fishing the area’s rivers and creeks, particularly those within biking distance from Karlin. Childhood influences were John Voelker and Aldo Leopold, each in their own way inspiring the pursuit of a Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Management (1996) from Lake Superior State University at the Sault. Since graduation, Nate has worked in his home region in the conservation field, primarily in fisheries, and for the last 15 years, as a biologist with Conservation Resource Alliance in Traverse City. He has two grown children, Max and Brook, and lives with his wife Jenna in the Central Neighborhood near his mom and dad’s childhood home waters, Kids (Asylum) Creek. Besides trout fishing, Nate likes to paddle canoes and hunt deer.
Shane Gamrat - Director
Shane grew up in Metro Detroit but spent most of his time in the summer and fall seasons growing up at his family’s cabin in Grayling near the banks of Holy Waters stretch of the AuSable River. It is here where his dad taught him to fly fish and his love for the sport and river grew. Fast forward to post college graduation and Shane relocated to Traverse City for work as a civil engineer where he was introduced to the Boardman River and all it had to offer. Shane’s passion for trout fishing has grown into a passion to protect this areas cold-water streams and the trout that call them their home. He lives in Lake Ann with his wife Maria, their German shorthaired pointer, Cassie, and their miniature long-haired dachshund, Winnie.
Kalvin Quackenbush - Director
Kalvin was born and raised in the Central Michigan area but always loved traveling anywhere north with his dad to go fishing and camping. Fishing has always been near and dear to his heart; however, fly fishing especially caught his eye after he graduated college with a degree in electrical engineering. He currently works as a circuit board layout designer for a large power tools company and live with his wife, Liberty, and loyal friend/dog, Trout. If he's not spending time with the family, you can find him enduring the Pere Marquette in search of chrome, freezing his ankles off in the Boardman chasing wild brookies, or wading the Chippewa fighting hog sized smallies. The reason he wanted to get involved is because these waters have offered so much to him and he wants the next generations to experience it as well.
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Jon Arleth - Director
Jon was born in Traverse City and grew up in Roscommon. His childhood was spent hunting and fishing in and around Roscommon anywhere from the South Branch of the Au Sable to the waters of Higgins Lake. Jon has a Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Management (1998) from Lake Superior State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Surveying Engineering (2007) from Ferris State University. Jon is a Water Resources Engineer and a Professional Surveyor. He has three children and lives with his wife Melanie in Traverse City.