From having never camped to becoming an outdoor skills trainer for Girls Scouts, Sherry Beard turned her love of nature and travel into a career as a professional tourist.Sherry is currently researching and co-authoring a point-by-point visitor experience guidebook for the Oregon and California emigrant trails. The book will record markers, graves, ford sites, and other landmarks along both trails, including a turn-by-turn GPS map app for both routes.In her role as tourism resource specialist and placemaker for Pawpaw Partners, Sherry used her understanding of the sensitive balance between capitalizing on a community’s assets and potential to bring benefits to the community and the people who live there yet maintain the uniqueness of place that they value. A former regional manager and trainer with Girl Scouts, Sherry is an avid outdoorswoman who treasures every opportunity to discover new places and to share them with others. Her desire to share her outdoor experiences led her to become an outdoor skills trainer for Girl Scouts to teach troop leaders the skills they need to nurture a love of the out-of-doors in the girls in their troops. Additionally, Sherry was an advisor for a Venture Crew through Boy Scouts, a co-ed program for young adults with an emphasis on high adventure and leadership development.She has over 25 years as an accountant working for non-profit organizations to real estate developers as well as guiding small start-up businesses to success. Sherry is a founder of the Duck River Watershed Association and has served as an officer and board member of several environmental/conservation groups, including Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association (TSRA). She is a former paddling school director and kayak instructor for TSRA. Currently, she serves as co-coordinator for the Depoe Bay Community Emergency Response Team and enjoys tidepooling, crabbing, clamming, and exploring the Oregon Coast.