Board and Committees

Daniel Jackson Evans was born in 1925 in Seattle and attended the University of Washington, receiving a Bachelors of Science in civil engineering and a graduate degree. After serving in the United States Navy for seven years of active duty, Evans was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives as a Republican before becoming Washington’s sixteenth governor in 1965. Evans spent 12 years leading Washington state as governor. In 1983, Evans replaced Henry M. Jackson in the United States Senate, where he served until 1989. This was the same year when Evans co-founded the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition with Mike Lowry. Throughout his career, Evans has proven his dedication to the great outdoors and the Evergreen State through service and action.

Michael Edward Lowry was born in St. John, Washington in 1939 and graduated from the University of Washington in 1962. Lowry was elected to the King County Council in 1975, becoming the youngest member of the council at age 36 and swinging it to give the body a Democratic majority. In 1978, Lowry was elected to the United States House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket, where he served until 1989. Also in 1989, Lowry co-founded the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition with Dan Evans. After leaving Congress, Lowry became the twentieth governor of Washington state in 1992, serving until 1996. Lowry stayed active in state politics well beyond his term as governor. On May 1, 2017, Washington lost a great champion for conservation with Lowry’s passing. 

Steve Seward is a Partner at Ascent Law Partners.  Steve also works as Senior Vice President at Construction Machinery Industrial, LLC, and previously served as a partner at Van Ness Feldman, LLP.

Steve received his J.D. at Harvard Law School, his LLM at the University of Washington, and a his Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of Texas at Austin.

Besides sitting on the Coalition’s board of directors, Steve is also involved in a number of organizations, including the Student Conservation Association, the Independent Colleges of Washington, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, and the Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Before joining the National Conservation Funding Project, Hannah Clark served as the Regional Director for the American Farmland Trust and prior to that she was the Executive Director of the Washington Association of Land Trusts. Previously she worked with the Coalition for almost three and half years as the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Campaign Director. In 2010 Hannah was a Policy Specialist for the Michigan Land Use Institute where she conducted policy research and organized coalitions of disparate interests to promote a transportation infrastructure in Michigan with diverse choices, including walking, biking, public transit or access to a well-maintained road network. Hannah received her BA in Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development at the University of Michigan, Ford School of Public Policy.

Kundtz is the former Washington State Executive Director for The Trust for Public Land. Prior to that position, Paul spent 28 years at the law firm of Riddell Williams, rising to the level of Principal and specializing in commercial litigation, real estate and product liability litigation.

He is also well known in the conservation community as a founder and former director and president of the Bainbridge Island Land Trust, an elected Commissioner of the Bainbridge Island Park and Recreation District and board member of the Seattle Aquarium Society. He currently serves on the board of the Bloedel Reserve.

David is the Northwest Area Director for the Trust for Public Land leading a team that protects the places people care about in Washington and Oregon and creates parks close-to-home. He has worked in the “for impact” sector for more than 15 years, primarily focused on conservation and public lands protection. Specifically, he worked for the National Parks Conservation Association advocating for the protection and improvement of our national parks both in the northwest and across the nation. He also worked with Forterra, a NW regional land trust, improving the quality of life for communities in both urban and rural areas to ensure a sustainable future. In addition, he has spent the last 3 ½ years working with the YMCA expanding programs and services that address social justice, education, and health equity issues across the Greater Seattle community.

When not at work, David enjoys hiking and camping with his wife, Sarah, and two kids, Jane and Sam. He has a goal to visit every National Park with his family. He also enjoys playing, coaching and advocating for organized sports including coaching his 9-year old daughter’s ice hockey team.

Lincoln Bormann is the Director of the San Juan County Land Bank. Before joining the Land Bank staff in 2005, he previously directed the Southwest Florida Program for the Nature Conservancy and oversaw acquisitions for the Sarasota County Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program. His background includes marine and forest conservation work for the Pew Charitable Trusts and private consulting in forest biodiversity. Lincoln did his post-graduate study at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and the University of Minnesota. He is passionate about the outdoors and enjoys hiking and kayaking, as well as catching spot prawns and crab.

Cathy works with The Nature Conservancy’s Washington Chapter, advancing conservation policy and funding priorities at the federal and state level. She has over 20 years of experience in legislative affairs, environmental policy, and public fundraising for conservation. Before joining TNC in 2005, Cathy worked as a policy analyst with the Washington State Legislature and the Seattle City Council. She is deeply familiar with the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program having worked with the program in several different capacities during her career, including as community activist, legislative staffer, and grant writer. Cathy has served on the board of the Washington Association of Land Trusts and on the Natural Heritage Advisory Council. A former backcountry ranger with the National Park Service, Cathy still enjoys hiking, backpacking, and exploring wild places whenever she gets a chance.

Marc Berejka is REI’s Director of Government Affairs and Community. Berejka guides the co-op’s engagement in federal, state and local issues. This includes advocacy on matters that affect retailers in the outdoor recreation sector, such as main-street business regulation, Internet sales and international trade. And it includes efforts to assure REI’s current and future members can continue enjoy outdoor recreation – whether that be recreating close to home or at the nation’s many outdoor destinations. Berejka also oversees the co-op’s community grants program. The program annually distributes several million dollars to hundreds of local, regional and national organizations that help sustain and promote the country’s inspiring places to recreate. Before joining REI, Berejka served as technology policy advisor to then-Secretary Gary Locke at the US Department of Commerce. Prior to that, he worked for 12 years in various public policy roles at Microsoft, both in Washington D.C. and in Washington State. He spent the first part of his career as a telecommunications attorney. He holds a J.D. from Georgetown University and a B.A. from Princeton University.

Tom Bugert is the Senior Strategic Advisor to Commissioner of Public Lands, Hilary Franz. Tom formerly served as the State Legislative Director for The Nature Conservancy of Washington, where he built coalitions across political and ideological lines with corporate leaders, elected officials, government agencies and community organizations to affect natural resource policy and funding. Prior to his work at the Conservancy, Tom served as the State Policy Director for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition. In addition to the Coalition board, Tom is also a board member for Earth Ministry, the Washington Association of Land Trusts and the Big Tent Outdoor Recreation Coalition. A Wenatchee native and graduate of Whitman College, Tom can be found in the great outdoors enjoying the beauty that Washington State has to offer.

Bill Chapman joined Millennium Bulk Terminals–Longview in June 2014 as President and Chief Executive Officer. For three years prior, he served as Millennium’s legal counsel. Chapman is a former partner with the K&L Gates law firm, where he was recognized by the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers for his work in environmental law. Over the past thirty years Chapman has advised corporations and municipalities in permitting and environmental compliance matters in the energy, technology, manufacturing and real estate development sectors. He has been engaged in brownfield redevelopment, cleanup and capital development projects throughout his career. Taken together, Chapman has contributed more than 100 years of cumulative service to the boards of directors of successful, solution-oriented conservation organizations including The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle and the Northwest Environmental Business Council. For nearly a decade, and under three of Washington’s recent governors, Chapman served on the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board. The Board approves grants to buy conservation lands for habitat, and to build new parks and trails for hiking and biking. Chapman has an A.B. degree from Harvard University where he studied environmental engineering sciences before going on to earn a law degree from the University of Virginia.

Dow Constantine was re-elected King County Executive in 2013. Since his first election as Executive in 2009, Constantine has been working to instill a culture of performance that changes the way King County does business and forging partnerships with residents, cities, employees, and other County leaders to craft real, sustainable reforms.

A Seattle native, Constantine graduated from West Seattle High School and the University of Washington, where he also earned two post-graduate degrees in law (1989) and urban planning (1992). Today, Constantine lives in the same West Seattle neighborhood where he grew up.

A two-term state representative (elected 1996 and 1998) before being elected to the 34th District’s senate seat in 2000, Constantine was co-chair of the House Judiciary Committee and vice-chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

He was appointed to the King County Council in January 2002, and won election to the office four times—in November of 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2007. Constantine served as County Council Chair in 2009 and led the panel that wrote the 2007 King County budget.

In addition to the Coalition, Constantine is also a current board member of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, and was a founding board member of the West Seattle High School Foundation.

Throughout his public service career, Constantine has been an outspoken advocate for environmental protection, public transit, and government reform. As King County Executive, he is working to make King County the best-run government in the nation, and focusing on the great generational challenges of our time: building equity and opportunity, and confronting climate change.

A 14 year politica, Olgy works by day as the Government Affairs Director for Forterra – advocating for land conservation, innovative policies, and sustainable rural and urban development. She is deeply devoted to the Forterra mantra of Land for Good from our Washington farmlands and river canyons to our estuaries and forests and urban settings in between. Outside of work, she spends her spare time building up future leaders through her roles as a board member for the National Women’s Political Caucus of WA and the Institute for a Democratic Future. She is also a gubernatorial appointee to the state’s Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission and knows more than the average bear about pharmacy and pharmacist licensing. She ran for office back before it was hip for young women of color to do so, can tell you the WA legislative or congressional district at any moment on a road trip, and worked in the WA State House and Senate for 5 years in addition to a couple month stint as a Congressional intern back when Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House, the first time.

When she’s not helping electing more women and people of color to public office, you can find Olgy soaking up the sun (for the two months it visits WA) with her Chiweenie Pepita in Tacoma, repotting and propagating houseplants, or hitting a body of water, preferably tropical but with a good sweater a PNW beach or river. Like all Washingtonians, she lives for when the mountain is out.

Mary has over 32 years of experience developing comprehensive park and recreation systems in Pierce County. Her current team manages over 600 acres of park and open space areas, maintain street and roadway infrastructure, develop program opportunities for youth and senior citizens, create special programs or events for up to 40,000 visitors and collaborate with human service agencies to support our most vulnerable populations. Mary believes in the benefits of parks and recreation and how it can create a healthy and vibrant community. She is thankful for the many residents and organizations always willing to share resources, solve problems and work together to improve their communities. She is a graduate of Central Washington University (Go Wildcats) and loves to travel, wander around the northwest and play in her garden!

Mark Doumit is the Executive Director of the Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA), a trade association representing private forest landowners in Washington State. He is a former a state legislator who represented the 19th District (D-Cathlamet) for ten years.

A Washington native, farmer, commercial fisher and a business administration graduate of Washington State University, Doumit served as Wahkiakum County Commissioner for eight years before serving in the Washington State Legislature. Six of those years were spent in the House and four in the Senate where he chaired the House Natural Resources Committee and was Vice Chair of the Senate Natural Resources Committee. He is also a volunteer fire fighter.

Mark Eliasen served as Vice President – Finance and Treasurer of the Alaska Air Group. Previously, Eliasen held the position of vice president of finance at Alaska Air Group subsidiary Horizon Air. Eliasen has more than 25 years of corporate and consulting experience. Before joining Alaska, Eliasen practiced in the Puget Sound area as an independent corporate finance consultant. He previously served as assistant treasurer for WRQ (now Attachmate), a high-ranking connectivity software company with headquarters in Seattle, and as director of finance for Intermec Technologies, a leading manufacturer of barcode systems based in Everett, Wash.

A certified public accountant, Eliasen earned a bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Washington.

Clayton hails from Roseburg, and grew up in Oregon with a family of avid outdoorspeople.  He worked and studied in Spain, Texas, and Washington, D.C. before settling in Seattle with his wife and starting a family that now has four kids as well as many pets.  Clayton is a partner in Davis Wright Tremaine’s Seattle office, where he focuses his practice on land development and real estate.  He has had the good fortune of working on some of the most interesting development projects in the Puget Sound Region, including major infrastructure projects and essential public facilities, as well as private development projects.  Outside of work, he enjoys spending as much time as he can in the outdoors, showing his kids all that our beautiful region has to offer.

Jon leads the Greenway as Executive Director, working with the Board of Directors, staff, and partners to collaboratively conserve the Mountains to Sound Greenway landscape. Jon brings to the Greenway a unique blend of scientific understanding, strategic problem solving and communication skills. Before joining the Greenway Trust, he served as Chief Scientist for the World Wildlife Fund, and led a variety of strategy and conservation initiatives at The Nature Conservancy. While Jon enjoys traveling around the world to explore wild places, he always loves coming back home to Seattle and the Greenway landscape that he and his wife have called home for 20 years.

Andrea Imler is the advocacy director at Washington Trails Association, where she leads WTA’s work to protect trails and public lands through grassroots advocacy, coalition-building and partnerships. She works closely with policymakers, land managers and other organizations to advance hikers’ interests in local, state and federal policy and planning initiatives. Previously, Andrea worked for six years at The Wilderness Society in Seattle. Andrea currently serves on the Teanaway Community Forest Advisory Committee and is on the board of the Big Tent Outdoor Recreation Coalition. A Washington native, Andrea grew up in the Olympia area and is a graduate of the University of Washington.

While she lives in Seattle, Andrea prefers a tent in the backcountry to her home in the city. In addition to trail running, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, she loves backpacking with family, friends, and her partner Todd. She loves to explore Washington, visiting much of the Pasayten wilderness, as well as the Olympic Peninsula and Mount Rainier, which she has climbed twice! Andrea continues to revel in Washington’s wild areas, and eventually, she’d like to hike the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Crest trails.

Martin LeBlanc has been an active voice in the conservation movement for more than two decades. Throughout his career, LeBlanc has successfully used the outdoors as a platform to empower military families and veterans, underscore the importance of science education, and close persistent opportunity gaps for culturally-diverse, at-risk youth. At the heart of his work is a unique skill set that includes organizing and convening, fundraising, advocacy, and strategic planning.
LeBlanc has helped lead advocacy efforts at the federal and state levels in California, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington. Most recently, LeBlanc served as Director of Innovation at Sixkiller Consulting and as the Senior Vice President for External Affairs at IslandWood, a national leader in the effort to strengthen communities through outdoor engagement. In 2014, he created the No Child Left Inside Alliance, a coalition of nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies that successfully advocated to establish a $2 million program focused on outdoor education and recreation programs. With the support of the Obama Administration, LeBlanc brought together diverse stakeholders to launch Fresh Tracks, a shared leadership experience for young adults from Compton, California and Alaska Native Communities. Fresh Tracks culminated in a December 2016 roundtable on Outdoor, Youth, and Diversity convened in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
He is also the former National Youth Director for the Sierra Club, where he successfully built bridges to new audiences, including military families and veterans, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the YMCA, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Martin is the founding board member of the Children & Nature Network and the Cofounder of the Outdoor Alliance for Kids (OAK).

Mamie Marcuss is Director of Programs at Challenge Seattle. She previously served as Chief of Staff to Washington State’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson, overseeing operations, communications, policy, and government affairs. Marcuss also served as chief of staff to Ferguson on the King County Council, where she managed his District Office.

Marcuss launched her career in public service at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, where she was a senior research analyst for the Economic Research Division.  She later served as editor of Communities and Banking, the Boston Fed’s quarterly magazine on regional economic development issues. She holds her Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Dartmouth College and a Master’s in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Marcuss lives with her husband, Aidan, and their son, Luke, in the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle. They enjoy hiking, camping, and snowshoeing in the Cascade and Olympic Mountains and sailing on Lake Union.

John McGlenn is a native of Montana who started fishing and hunting at a very early age and recalls after moving to Washington catching his first steelhead on the Bogachiel in 1963.

He is currently a Principal with Tetra Tech, a consulting engineering and architectural firm. Prior to entering the engineering field, he served as a line officer in the U.S. Navy.

John’s entire family is devoted to fishing, hunting and conservation. He is a founding board member and past president of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition and the Washington Wildlife Federation; a former Vice Chairman of the Intermountain West Joint Venture (North American Waterfowl Plan); and has served on the boards of the Izaak Walton League, the Washington Environmental Council, the Wild Salmon Center and Western Rivers Conservancy. He also served 12 years on Washington’s Fish and Wildlife Commission (four as Chairman). John and his wife Ronni reside in Bellevue, WA.

Joe Mentor, Jr. is a founding partner of the Mentor Law Group, where he concentrates his practice in the areas of water resources, land use, and natural resources development. Joe works with private sector businesses, public agencies, and Indian Tribes to achieve their legislative, policy, business and environmental compliance objectives. Joe also advises private and public sector clients on funding issues and water-related legislation before the Washington State Legislature. Since 2001, Joe has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer” by Washington Law & Politics magazine.

Adrian Miller has worked at Olympic Resource Management, Pope Resources since September 2013; first, as the Manager of Policy and Environment, and now as the Director of Administration and Corporate Affairs. Before that he worked as the Manager of Policy and Sustainability with Longview Timber, LLC for two years, developing and implementing a government and community relations strategy in Washington and Oregon. From April 2007 to February 2011, Adrian worked with the Washington Forest Protection Association as their Director of Forest Management. From 1999 to 2007, Adrian worked as a forester for the Pacific Lumber Company in Northern California. Adrian got his B.S. in Forestry from Humboldt State University and his Masters in Forestry from University of Missouri-Columbia.

Michael Orbino is a Managing Broker with Avenue Properties in Downtown Bellevue. Michael brings over 16 years of real estate sales, marketing and consulting experience, and holds numerous REALTOR designations including Council of Residential Specialists, Accredited Buyers Representative and Graduate Realtor Institute. He was recognized as the 2015 REALTOR of the year by Seattle King County Realtors which is the highest honor they can bestow on only one of over 6,000 members. Real estate specialization
areas include land development, pro-forma analysis, marketing plans, and sales team training.

Industry leadership includes 2017 SKCR Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Young Professionals Network Founding Chairman, and Federal Political Coordinator for the National Association of Realtors. Michael is also passionate about community and philanthropic involvement. He currently serves on the boards of the YMCA of Greater Seattle, Teach for America, and the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition. Individually he works to inspire and encourage young men who may be experiencing temporary challenges through his mentor role in the Bellevue School District’s VIBES program.

Michael’s proudest role is maintaining the rank of Sergeant after serving 6 years in the United States Army Reserve with one year of active duty mobilization to support Operations Noble Eagle and Iraqi Freedom. His mission in the Finance Corps was maintaining solider readiness for overseas wartime deployments. The respect and awe for individuals who give up everything on a moment’s notice to serve our county and the humbling responsibility to make sure they don’t have to worry about their family’s finances while in harm’s way is something that will stay with Michael forever.
On a personal level, Michael enjoys spending his free time with family and friends. Hobbies include skiing, boating, reading, traveling, and intense conversations. Recent trips include India, Italy, Switzerland, French Polynesia, and Nicaragua with plans to visit Japan, Korea, or China soon.

Charlie Raines is the Forest Conservation Director at Forterra and the Cascades Checkerboard Project Director for the Washington State chapter of the Sierra Club. Raines is a life-long resident of the state and is very passionate about protecting our forests and natural spaces.  Raines hold degrees in biology and art and enjoys hiking, birding and international travel.

Chair of The Trust for Public Land’s National Board; past chair of The Trust for Public Land’s Washington State advisory board; past president of the board of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition; past chair of the San Juan Islands National Monument Advisory Committee; former member of the national council of the Land Trust Alliance; 18-year veteran of Microsoft, managing teams focused on consumer software, internal tools, international software versions, the Works business, media production, and the MSN.com portal site; avid traveler and outdoorsman; bachelor’s degree from Harvard University; lives with his family on their Lopez Island farm, which they protected by conservation easements.

Terese (T.C.) Richmond has over 30 years’ experience representing state and local governmental agencies in Washington and Arizona. Her practice focuses on environmental law, land use, water law and climate change. She has broad experience in natural resource policy, laws and regulations, and the governance of large organizations, and public-private partnerships. She provides proactive legal support for organizations so that they are effective and efficient in realizing their missions. She serves as general counsel for Cascade Water Alliance, a municipal corporation composed of Puget Sound cities and special-purpose districts, and as counsel for the University of Washington, and other public and private organizations. T.C. currently serves as a committee member of the Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) on Applied Climate Assessment, supported by the State of New York joined with Columbia University and the America Meteorological Society to prepare recommendations on improvements to the US Sustained National Climate Assessment addressed to federal science agencies, state and municipal governments, and civil society organizations. She served as the Vice-Chair of the National Climate Assessment Development and Advisory Committee where she led the 60-person Federal Advisory Committee that oversaw the development of the Third National Climate Assessment. T.C. also serves on the Board of Advisors of the Dividing the Waters Program of The National Judicial College. Prior to joining Van Ness Feldman, T.C. was Senior Counsel for the Attorney General’s Office-University of Washington Division. There, she represented the University in the areas of environmental law, campus planning, local land use, real estate, environmental health and safety, export control and museum law. As an Assistant Attorney General, T.C. also represented the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Washington Department of Ecology in state and federal trial and appellate courts and served on the Attorney General Formal Opinion Committee. In addition, T.C. served as Chief Counsel to the Arizona Department of Water Resources; Special Assistant to the Governor (WA) regarding federal water resource legislation; and King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Transit and Water Quality Section. T.C. served as a Law Clerk, Justice Robert Brachtenbach. Washington State Supreme Court.

Jon Soine is managing broker at Windermere Real Estate in Bellingham, with over 35 years as a full time real estate broker dealing with residential, development, and commercial real estate. Throughout his career, Jon has been active with the Washington Association of Realtors, serving on its Land Use Committee, Legislative Committee, and Government Affairs Task Force.

Jon’s other civic and community involvement includes the Naval Reserve Officers Association, the Whatcom County Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Business, and is an active member of his church.

Wendy Tyner is the Development/Publicity Director of the Wintergrass Music Festival. She previously worked as the Executive Director of Friends of Farms on Bainbridge Island for over four and a half years, and for five years as the Development Director at the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust. Wendy has a Master’s in Education from California State University-Fullerton.

Tom joined The Mountaineers with more than 20 years of general management, marketing leadership, and capacity building experience with a variety of organizations, including REI, The Clymb, Redfin, and Dell. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Vogl brings extensive experience in the outdoor industry, including six years as senior vice president for marketing at REI from 2006 to 2012. Over the last four years, he’s worked in executive roles in Seattle’s start-up community. His expertise has also impacted several nonprofit organizations. He has served on the board of directors of The REI Foundation, and the Chief Seattle Council of Boy Scouts of America as well as a committee of the National Parks Advisory Board. A passionate climber and outdoor adventurer, he has explored many wilderness areas of the Pacific Northwest since moving to Seattle with his family 10 years ago. Tom enjoys backcountry skiing, mountaineering, rock climbing, backpacking, cycling.

Rachel was a 2018 WWRC Forward honoree for her hundreds of hours each year working to promote and protect Washington’s deer and wildlife habitat and bolster our state’s conservation needs.

Fred Wert is a founding board member of the Coalition and helped in crafting the enacting law. He has served on several of the Recreation and Conservation Office’s evaluation committees and assisted several communities participate in the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program. He is the former Washington Chapter Coordinator for the Rails to Trails Conservancy, is the author of Washington’s Rail Trails and continues to work on rail-trail development throughout the northwest. He is a former board member of the Methow Conservancy, the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, and currently is on the board of the Palouse to Cascades Trail Coalition. An avid cyclist, he served on the Government Affairs Committee of the Cascade Bicycle Club for 25 years.

Before joining the Partnership, she worked for Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. and her own consulting firm for five years. Blackmore also worked as a water quality planner for King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Blackmore has a master’s in environmental management from Duke University and a bachelor’s in geology from Williams College.

Kaleen Cottingham was appointed to lead the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office in 2007. Over her career, she has worked for four Governors and the elected public lands commissioners in a variety of management and advisor positions. She got her start in Olympia serving as legal counsel for several Washington State Senate committees. She also practiced law and provided strategic advice on natural resource and land use issues.

Cottingham received her Bachelor of Science degree in forest resources from the University of Washington and her law degree from the University of Puget Sound, School of Law. Cottingham, who was born and raised in Washington, resides in Olympia.

Hilary Franz is the Commissioner for Public Lands at the Washington Department of Natural Resources. A Northwest native, Hilary Franz has lived for 20 years in Washington State. Hilary was raised by her father and grandparents with close connections to the land. She instilled her family’s passion and commitment to the land in her own children by raising her three boys for the last 15 years on a small historic farm on Bainbridge Island.

Hilary has committed 20 years of her career to working on environmental, local government, and public policy issues and most recently served as Executive Director of Futurewise, the state’s leading voice for smart, sustainable land use and transportation policies. In that position, Hilary represented local governments, non-profit organizations, and citizen groups on a broad range of land use and environmental law issues. From 2008 to 2011, she served as a Bainbridge Island city councilmember and government leader.

Hilary sat on the Puget Sound Regional Council Growth Management Board, the Puget Sound Regional Council Economic Development District Board, the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council, and the Puget Sound Transportation Futures Task Force. She was appointed by Governor Gregoire to Washington State’s Climate Action Team IWG on the State Environmental Policy Act. She has served on numerous boards, including Conservation Northwest, the Washington Environmental Council, the Center for Environmental Law and Policy, and Friends of the Farms.

Hilary has worked across the state on behalf of the farming community protecting farmland and growing the farm economies in Skagit, Pierce, Okanogan, Spokane, Snohomish, Kittitas, Whatcom, King, and Benton counties. She has worked on aquatics lands issues throughout the Puget Sound and in Pacific and Grays Harbor counties – with a focus on protecting the marine economy and environment so communities are stronger and the environment is healthier.

Hilary is a graduate of Smith College and Northeastern University Law School.

Don Hoch was appointed the Director for the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission in 2010.  Prior to his appointment, he served as the Southwest Region Director and earlier as the Puget Sound Region Director for Washington State Parks.

Before coming to Washington, Director Hoch was a county recreation Director in Georgia for 10 years and worked for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for over 20 years.

His park and recreation experience includes stints with several federal agencies, including the National Parks Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management in Georgia, Florida, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.  He holds a degree in Recreation Administration from California State University at Chico.

Drew MacEwen was first elected to the House in 2012, and quickly emerged as a leader on issues including tax reform and education funding reform. Drew is the assistant ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, and also serves on the House Capital Budget and Health Care and Wellness committees.

Drew served in the United States Navy for six years. Serving in the submarine force, Drew graduated from the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program. Drew was stationed at Naval Base Kitsap, where he developed a strong bond with western Washington. He went on to complete undergraduate studies at the State University of New York, earning a Bachelor of Science degree.

Drew is also active in several community organizations, including Rotary, Love, Inc., Mason General Hospital Foundation, Kitsap Medical Society, and is a past president of the Shelton-Mason Chamber of Commerce. Drew is an active member of the St. David’s parish community in Shelton.

Christine is the state senator from the 23^rd Legislative District, including the Kitsap County communities of Hansville, Kingston, Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island, Keyport, Silverdale, and East Bremerton. Before her election to the House, Christine served two terms on the Bainbridge Island City Council.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Virginia and a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Washington, Christine worked for the Kitsap County Department of Community Development as an open space program coordinator and watershed planner.

She later moved to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where she counseled Northwest businesses and organizations on humanitarian assistance and commercial opportunities overseas. Also for USAID, Christine spent time working out of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, managing environmental and economic development projects.

Christine lives on Bainbridge Island with her husband Leonard, and their two school-aged daughters.

Carol was appointed as Executive Director in May 2019. She previously worked for the Washington State Conservation Commission from 1998-2014 managing the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program — Washington’s largest streamside habitat restoration program for salmon — and science-related issues. She returns to the Conservation Commission after spending the last four and a half years at the Washington State Department of Ecology where she managed the Environmental Assessment Program, which is the science-arm of the agency. Smith also has worked for the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Morehouse School of Medicine, and she directed a chemistry laboratory in California. Smith grew up near McCleary, Washington. She worked for Simpson Timber Company for several years while attending college at Saint Martin’s University. She has a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in various biological sciences from the University of Hawaii.

Kelly Susewind joined the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) as director in August 2018, after spending 28 years at the Washington Department of Ecology. A lifelong outdoorsman and longtime resident of Washington, Susewind oversees 1,800 employees throughout the state, tasked with fulfilling WDFW’s mission of conserving fish and wildlife and providing sustainable recreational and commercial opportunities. Susewind grew up in Aberdeen, and graduated from Grays Harbor College with an associate’s degree in engineering before receiving his bachelor’s degree in geological engineering from Washington State University. After spending several years working in the private sector in Alaska and Seattle, Susewind joined the Department of Ecology in 1990. Susewind served in numerous roles during his time at Ecology, including as manager of the Water Quality Program and, most recently, as director of administrative services and environmental policy.

Representative Steve Tharinger was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and serves the 24^th Legislative District, which includes all of Clallam and Jefferson counties and a portion of Grays Harbor County. Steve is a former small business owner and past three term Clallam County Commissioner who lives in Dungeness with his wife, Yvonne.

He is a member of the Sequim Sunrise Rotary and a state-certified, volunteer mediator with the Peninsula Dispute Resolution Center. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Colorado College.

As chair of the House Capital Budget Committee, he helps write the state’s capital investment budget, which builds schools, colleges, parks and other state facilities plus making investments in our natural resources.

His community involvement includes past service on dozens of boards and commissions, including the Clallam County Economic Development Council, the state insurance commissioner’s Health Care Reform Revitalization Committee, the Clallam County Board of Health and the Dungeness River Management Team.

At the state level, Steve served on Salmon Recovery Funding Board from 2002 to 2010 and as chair from 2008-10.

Hans Zeiger served three terms in the Washington State House of Representatives for the 25th District (Puyallup, Fife, South Hill, Summit, Waller, Midland and Parkland) before his recent election to the Senate.

For his work to complete Highway 167 from Puyallup to the Port of Tacoma, the Associated General Contractors named Hans its 2013 Legislator of the Year. A champion for students and an advocate for youth civic engagement, Hans was the 2012 Washington Student Association legislator of the year. And for his work to promote collaboration in the legislative process, Hans was named the co-recipient of the Gabrielle Giffords Award for Civility in State Governance in 2015.

Hans holds appointments to the Puget Sound Regional Council Transportation Policy Board, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy Board, and the Joint Committee on Veterans’ and Military Affairs.

Outside of the Legislature, Hans leads the Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, and he is an officer in the Washington Air National Guard. In addition to the Coalition, Hans’ civic and volunteer activities include the boards of Puyallup Cares, the Boy Scouts of America Pacific Harbors Council, and the William D. Ruckelshaus Center. Hans is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Puyallup. He is also an Eagle Scout.

Hans holds a B.A. from Hillsdale College and a master’s degree in Public Policy from Pepperdine University. He undertook further graduate studies in political science from Claremont Graduate University.

Hans is married to Erin and they have a daughter Clara. Hans also has two stepsons, Cullen and Kannen. Hans and Erin enjoy hiking throughout Washington.