EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Laura holds a Bachelor of Science in Management degree and is an MBA candidate for December 2027. She has a professional background in sales, fundraising, marketing, and project management spanning 20 years. She started her non-profit career with The Nature Conservancy of Texas serving as Associate Director of Philanthropy. In this role she began two fundraising boards expanding TNC’s reach and raising $500,000 in new individual gifts. In 2009 she took over her family’s foundation named in honor of her grandmother Dorothy Marcille Wood, a lifelong West Texas rancher who made a big impact on her and her love for the land. In this capacity Laura consulted with numerous public and private agencies as an extension arm for board management, strategic planning, event planning, fundraising and marketing. Through her leadership working with endangered species management, 1 million acres were conserved across West Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Since then, Laura has facilitated over $185 million through grant writing, capital campaigns and endowment growth. 

Laura is a 6th generational Texan currently residing in Fort Worth and serves on the Board of Directors for the Friends of the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge.

Connect with her: Laura@xTexas.org

FOUNDER & BOARD CHAIR

xTx is spearheaded by Charlie Gandy. He’s a veteran trail hiker, bike-riding adventurer, and proud native Texan. After graduating from North Mesquite High School in 1976, Charlie traveled around the world solo and received a political science degree from the University of Texas in 1980. At age 23, he was elected to represent Mesquite and East Dallas in the Texas House of Representatives.

Charlie went on to work for the governor and the Texas Nature Conservancy before founding BikeTexas.org, one of the first state-wide bike advocacy organizations in the United States.

In national biking and walking advocacy, Charlie worked for the Bicycle Federation of America, hosting workshops and walk audits to inspire and seed biking and walking advocacy organizations across the country, and hosted the groundbreaking Thunderhead Retreat.

In 1997 and 1998, he was the Field Director of the successful national political “Bikes Belong” campaign, which helped to save and expand federal funding for biking, walking, transit, trails, and more in the "Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21).

Charlie has climbed all the 14ers in Colorado, hiked over 4,000 miles (mostly in US western states and including the entire state of California), and biked everywhere. He currently splits his time between living in Poulsbo, WA, with his wife Melissa and traveling through Texas planning this legacy trail. In early 2026 he and two friends completed their inaugural thru-hike of the full xTexas Trail route.

Connect with him: Charlie@xTexas.org

CHIEF STORYTELLING OFFICER

Melissa is an artist, writer, and communications coach. Her passion is for elevating the impact of those working to create a healthier, more equitable and sustainable world through storytelling.

She’s also Charlie’s wife, and encouraged him to make sure horses and horse people were included in xTexas. She was an avid equestrian in her childhood and teens, riding both English and Western.

Though no longer riding, Melissa is passionate about horses and mules as part of the active-and-sustainable living conversations.

For the past 14 years Melissa has trained those working for active and safe streets on the local, regional, state, and national level on using storytelling and strategic media outreach.

She’s also placed active + sustainable mobility positive stories in news outlets such as the Associated Press California, Bicycling Magazine, Bloomberg News, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Living on Earth, the Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio affiliates KCRW, KPCC, KQED, and the Texas Standard, Reuters, the San Francisco Chronicle, Sierra Club Magazine, and more.

Connect with her: Melissa@xTexas.org

VOLUNTEER COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST

Sam explored, climbed, and hiked his way through his young adult life before it resembled anything like a career. Following the adventure from the Western United States to Thailand and Mexico, he began to apply his writing skills to the experience, along with his tendency for systems thinking.

He’s worked extensively in the outdoor gear review space, testing everything from bouldering shoes to electric skateboards to Zippo lighters. After spending two years at the helm of a newsroom servicing six outdoor media sites, he pivoted to the marketing world to work with industry disruptors and cause-oriented organizations. 

Sam’s outdoor media experience includes Backpacker, GearJunkie, ExplorersWeb, BikeRumor, IRunFar, and The Inertia. He has contributed to projects for Traverse Productions, Hill Climbers, and Front Pack Sports.

Sam lives in Central Texas, where he enjoys toiling on the steep karst limestone and biking on the punishing hills of the Balcones Escarpment.