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. On September 20, 2024, Washington lost a great champion for conservation with Evans’ passing.

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. 

Paul Graves served in the Washington State House of Representatives from 2017-19, where he was the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee. He now works as an in-house lawyer for a family-owned trucking company and serves as president of Enterprise Washington, the campaign arm for the state’s business community.
Paul is an engaged community member. He maintains an active pro bono legal practice, representing foster youth in legal proceedings. In 2011 he was named the pro bono attorney of the year by the Court Appointed Special Advocate organization, which represents the interest of foster children in court. He served as a board member of both an innovative college-prep non-profit for low income kids, and on one of Washington’s first public charter schools, a high performing school with a computer science focus on Kent’s east hill. He chaired the board of the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (a bipartisan group doing cost-benefit analysis of government programs) and currently serves on the board of HopeLink (a community action network serving homeless and low-income children, families, seniors, and disabled people in East King County) and as one of four members of the 2021 Washington redistricting commission.

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.

Skippy Shaw is the state government relations director for The Nature Conservancy in Washington, where she galvanizes support in Olympia on issues ranging from wildfire resilience to floodplain restoration. In her career, Skippy has worked on environmental policy at the local, state, federal, and international levels, including in roles at Washington Conservation Action, NOAA’s Alaska Regional Counsel, and the International Environmental Law Project. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she currently lives with her partner, kiddo, and pup in Bellingham. She is a graduate of Western Washington University and Lewis & Clark Law School, as well as a member of the Washington State Bar Association. Skippy’s given name is Danielle but she earned the nickname Skippy at the age of six and it stuck.

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.

Christine is the Executive Director of the Kubota Garden Foundation where she supports, enhances and preserves South Seattle’s Kubota Garden in the spirit and vision of Fujitaro Kubota. She joined the Foundation after almost a decade at the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition, where she advocated for funding for parks and habitat lands throughout Washington—including Kubota Garden!

Originally from Missoula, Montana, she returned to the Northwest after time in the “other” Washington, where she led fundraising and outreach efforts for causes ranging from international affairs to money-in-politics reform. Her 15+ years in nonprofits have had a common thread of relationship management and working with broad ranging coalitions and boards.
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Christine grew up loving the outdoors. As a child, you could usually find her outside. Today, although she loves hiking and hunting trips into the backcountry, she is passionate about ensuring everyone is able to enjoy the wonders of nature close to home.

In her free time, Christine enjoys traveling, vegetable gardening, upland game hunting, reading, cooking & baking, watching soccer (she’s an unapologetic DC United supporter!), and exploring all that the Pacific Northwest has to offer. When not traveling or gardening, weekends usually find her hiking with her partner Sam, their dogs Tahoma and Loowit by their sides.

Christopher grew up in Pasadena, California to a mother whose family were the first Sri Lankans to come to the United States and a father from an avid sporting family from Pennsylvania. Much of his childhood was spent at the family’s cabin in the Tehachapi mountains, where when the chores were done the door opened to head outside to bike, hike, fish, track game and explore the woods. Exposed to whitewater kayaking at age 14, he picked the sport back up on the rivers around Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania while attending the University of Maryland. After college, Christopher moved to Southern Spain to teach English before landing in Seattle to produce commercials and continue his immersion into the local recreation scene through kayaking, climbing, skiing, hunting, and fishing. During this time, his interest in introducing more people to the activities he loves grew and he started volunteering and fundraising for organizations such as First Descents, a kayaking camp for young adults with cancer, and Educate A Child Trust, which rebuilt a village that was wiped out by the 2004 Tsunami in Sri Lanka.
After a two-year stint in New York working in Fintech as Director of Partnerships, Christopher moved back to the PNW and joined, Zulily, where he created and manages their retail media network and partnerships. Christopher continues to fundraise and volunteer with local and national non-profits and state representatives that embody and promote his values relating to inclusivity, conservation, recreation, and access.

Tom Bugert leads State and Local Public Affairs for Helion Energy, a fusion energy company based in Everett. Prior to Helion, Tom served as State Government Affairs Manager for REI Co-op, as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and as State Government Affairs Director for The Nature Conservancy of Washington. Tom began his work in natural resources at Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition, first as an intern and then as State Policy Director before he joined the Coalition’s board.

Tom has also served on several outdoor recreation and public land nonprofit boards and foundations. He currently serves as Vice President of the Henry M Jackson Foundation and on the board of the Clean Tech Alliance. A Wenatchee native and graduate of Whitman College, Tom can be found in great outdoors with his two young children, enjoying all the beauty that Washington State has to offer.

Bill Chapman is a founding board member of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition and the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, and served in leadership roles including Treasurer and President of each. For nearly a decade, and under three of Washington’s recent governors, Bill served on the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board, including 5 years as Chairman. The Board approves grants to buy conservation lands for habitat, and to build new parks and trails for hiking and biking, through the WWRP program. In his day job Chapman was a partner with Preston Gates and Ellis and then the K&L Gates law firm for more than 20 years, where he was recognized by Chambers and the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers for his work in environmental law. He advised corporations and municipalities in permitting and environmental compliance matters in the energy, technology, manufacturing and real estate development sectors. He guided clients through brownfield redevelopment, cleanup and capital development projects throughout his career. Bill also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Bulk Terminals–Longview from 2014-18, a working port in Longview, WA. Taken together, Chapman has contributed more than 100 years of cumulative service to the boards of directors of solution-oriented conservation organizations including the WWRC, the WTA, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS) and the Northwest Environmental Business Council. Chapman has an A.B. degree from Harvard University where he studied environmental engineering sciences before earning a law degree from the University of Virginia. I love the outdoors and have climbed peaks on all 7 continents with good friends and family.

Hannah has been supporting community driven conservation initiatives in Washington, the West and nationally for the past decade. Growing up in rural northern Michigan, Hannah started her involvement in advocacy to protect public lands, farms, and forests at an early age. She got her start in Washington State conservation advocacy at the WWRC as the Federal Campaign Director, and has been involved ever since – first as a board member and now as chair of the board. In her current role at the Western Conservation Foundation, Hannah supports nonprofits in lifting up nontraditional voices for land protection in the West. Previously, she served as the Regional Director for the American Farmland Trust and as the first Executive Director at the Washington Association of Land Trusts. Hannah received her BA in Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development at the University of Michigan, Ford School of Public Policy. In her free time, she enjoys foraging, swimming in Puget Sound, and gardening.

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.

From Seattle, 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.

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.

Born in the Philippines, Eddie Espinosa grew up in Puyallup and has spent his life exploring the trails and mountains of the Pacific Northwest. His outdoor programming experience began at Pacific Lutheran University where he helped start a mountain biking club and breathed new life into their Outdoor Recreation Program. Through his work at the YMCA and the American Alpine Club, Eddie has a strong background in policy and advocacy, risk management, working with volunteers, program design, and education. He enjoys long, backcountry rides as much as our lift served parks, and spends his days trying to keep up with his two school age sons.

Eddie stepped into his role as Executive Director of Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance in July 2024; and has been an active member of Evergreen’s DEI Committee since 2021, working to enhance and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the community.

Ephraim Froehlich was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. He holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Dartmouth College and a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. Froehlich worked for United States Senator Lisa Murkowski in Washington, D.C. as lead policy advisor on fisheries, wildlife, maritime transportation, ports and harbors, environmental change, and the Arctic. Froehlich also worked for Alaska Governor Bill Walker’s administration as senior advisor on fish and game and as the deputy director of federal relations. Froehlich served on the board of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute in 2018. In 2019, Froehlich moved to Seattle with his family and founded AKWA-DC LLC, a policy consulting firm focused on fisheries, maritime, and the environment. He enjoys getting outside whenever possible with his sons, partner, and dog to camp, hike, and fish. He is an avid soccer and basketball player.

Troy is deeply passionate about conservation and the outdoors. Having grown up on a farm, worked on a ranch, and spent weekends escaping city life, he has a rich connection to nature. Throughout his life, Troy has lived in New Mexico, Texas, and Idaho before settling in Washington, and in his travels, he has gained firsthand insight into the challenges facing conservationists, hunters, fishermen, farmers, and outdoor enthusiasts from various political and social perspectives.

As an attorney overseeing complex projects, Troy excels at working with diverse, driven teams to achieve shared goals—an approach he hopes to bring to his work with WWRC.

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.

Michele is a leader and advocate in the Real Estate community.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Washington REALTORS, is 2023 VP of Government & Public Affairs for Seattle King County REALTORS, 2023 State President of Women’s Council of REALTORS WA, 2023-24 VP Asian Real Estate Association of America Greater Seattle Chapter, 2024 DEI Chair Washington REALTORS.  She volunteers at the ARCS community farm and loves to participate in community events.  She’s a residential REALTOR specialized in the senior community, first time home buyers and helping veterans.

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.

Mitsu joins TPL after having served as Chief Executive Officer at the American Alpine Club, where he elevated the Club’s work in conservation policy and grassroots organizing while convening and amplifying a national equity and inclusion conversation in American climbing. Mitsu also spent a decade in Portland, OR leading the Northwest Outward Bound School and the Mazmas as Executive Director. Mitsu serves on the boards of Big City Mountaineers and Conservation Colorado, and the Yosemite Conservancy’s advisory board.
Born in Japan, Mitsu’s family immigrated to Seattle, WA soon after he turned 6 years old. Growing up in the relative comfort of the suburbs, his parents felt it would be best to ‘build his character’ by sending him to work on a commercial fishing boat throughout his teenage summers in Chignik, Alaska. Those experiences sparked an enduring love for wild places, inspiring a life-long journey of adventure and exploration of both natural landscapes and his capacity as a person.
Mitsu is an effective communicator and relationship builder with a solid track record of developing strong internal culture, donor, and external engagement. He is a passionate advocate for equity and inclusion, climate, and justice. When not behind a desk, he can be found running, climbing, and skiing across the American West on our public and private lands.

Vanessa Kritzer is Executive Director of the Washington Association of Land Trusts (WALT), which serves as the central hub and advocacy voice for 35 land trusts that work to protect natural and working lands all across Washington. Vanessa is a lifelong conservation advocate who has dedicated her career to working at the federal, state, and local levels for environmental progress. Early in her career, she spent years working for nonprofits in Washington, DC, including on international land rights and human rights issues at the Latin America Working Group and on national environmental policy at the League of Conservation Voters. She also brings private-sector knowledge, having worked at Microsoft on smart city and healthcare technology.
In addition to being WALT’s Executive Director, Vanessa is an elected member of the Redmond City Council, where she has served for nearly six years and is the current Council President. During her time on City Council, she has lead on local and regional conservation policy, including as current Chair of the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council (Lake Washington/Lake Sammamish/Cedar River Watersheds), past Chair of the King Conservation District Advisory Committee, and a member of the Lake Sammamish Kokanee ILA Management Committee. She also has deep experience working on other growth management issues including housing, transportation, economic development, and more.

Vanessa holds MBA and MPA degrees from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business and Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. During graduate school, she was appointed to serve as the sole student member of the University of Washington Board of Regents. Vanessa is a devoted mom of two kids and loves spending her free time taking her family out to play in parks and hike the trails near her home in Redmond and beyond.

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).

Jill is from Snohomish County where she grew up enjoying the outdoors, riding her pony, hiking, and enjoying the beauty of the Northwest. Jill has over 10 years’ public service working in land use and park planning. She holds a bachelor’s in business and is a certified project manager and certified park and recreation professional. She currently works to develop long range planning, acquisition, sustainability and capital projects for Lake Stevens Parks and Recreation. Her passions at work include providing public access for recreation, barrier free use and conservation of natural resources. She served on the Snohomish County Sports Commission and RCO WWRP Grant Advisory Committee. When she is not at work she enjoys spending time with family, traveling and riding her horse on the same trails she grew up riding on.

Alyssa is currently a partner at K&L Gates, where she focuses on water law, renewable energy, carbon management and climate change. She works with a wide variety of clients, including forestland owners, agricultural holdings, traditional and renewable energy sources, and industrial and municipal clients.
Originally from Minnesota where she paddled, hiked, camped and portaged, and after a collegiate rowing career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a year of working for Outward Bound in East Africa, Alyssa moved to Washington State in 2001 to teach outdoor environmental education and lead wilderness trips. After teaching and directing youth-centered programs for two years, Alyssa attended law school at the University of Washington, while also working for Landesa (formerly the Rural Development Institute).

Adrian Miller is the Senior Director of Environmental Affairs at Weyerhaeuser after working at Olympic Resource Management, Pope Resources since September 2013; first, as the Manager of Policy and Environment and then 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.

Born and raised on Guam, Clara spent most of her early life indoors avoiding the heat and humidity. She first found a connection to nature while living in Hawaii after law school, and she has continued to grow her love of nature here in Washington. As a late bloomer to the outdoor world, she is especially passionate about making the outdoors more inclusive, accessible, and welcoming to all. Clara is a partner at Van Ness Feldman LLP, where her practice focuses on land use, real estate, and environmental law. Her work includes advising public and private clients through permitting, environmental review, project impact mitigation, and land conservation, including conservation easements funded by the WWRP. In her free time, Clara enjoys all outdoor activities, whether it’s hiking, paddleboarding, gardening, walking her dog, or trying out something new.

Charlie Raines is the Cascades Checkerboard Project Director for the Washington State chapter of the Sierra Club. He was a leader in establishing the Mount St Helens National Monument and wildlife crossing structures on I-90. He retired as Forest Conservation Director at Forterra. He also sits on the board of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust. Raines is a life-long resident of the state and is very passionate about protecting our forests, natural spaces and wildlife. Raines holds degrees in biology and art and enjoys hiking, birding and international travel.

Jordan is a senior project manager for transit-oriented development at Sound Transit, leading some the agency’s innovative commercial real estate development work in the Puget Sound region. Outside of his role with Sound Transit, he serves on the Tacoma Planning Commission, leads salmon recovery efforts in the Puyallup and Chambers watersheds as the vice chair for the local Citizen Advisory Committee for Salmon Recovery, and represents the Class of 2006 on the Willamette University Alumni Board. Aside from these volunteer efforts, Jordan is an avid outdoorsman, freelance outdoor writer, and occasional podcaster on conservation issues who enjoys spending time with his family and friends afield and in the kitchen cooking wild game.

Past 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.

Jason Spadaro is the Executive Director of WFPA. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Forest Resources Management from the University of Washington and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Oregon. He has over 30 years of forest industry experience, nearly all with family owned and vertically integrated SDS Lumber Company located on the Columbia River in the City of Bingen in Klickitat County, Washington. He began his career with SDS in 1990 as a Forester and became President in 1998. He has held numerous business and philanthropic leadership roles throughout his career, including president of the Board of Trustees at WFPA. With the 2021 sale of SDS, he founded and became president of Noble Forest Company, a forest industry consulting firm. He is a private forest and agricultural landowner/investor and President of several additional partnerships and business ventures in forestry and agriculture. He and his family live in White Salmon, Washington. In addition to family and career, his interests include hunting, fishing, rodeo, and ski racing. He is passionate about forestry and promoting the values of well managed forests.

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.

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.

Duffy, of Olympia, has more than 20 years of experience working in natural resources in Washington. She has served as the department supervisor for the Washington Department of Natural Resources, where she oversaw the daily operations of the agency and its 1,500 employees. Duffy also was the executive coordinator of the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office, which is housed in RCO and charged with implementing the state’s salmon recovery strategy. She started her career with Ross Strategic, where she helped local, state and federal agencies develop policies and programs related to a diverse set of environmental issues. She currently is the deputy director of the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board.

Diana Dupuis is the director of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. The director manages Washington’s vast 120,000-acre system of 124 parks and properties, numerous heritage sites and statewide programs including Winter Recreation, Boating Safety and long-distance trails.

Diana is a dedicated parks professional and has served the agency as a region manager, park ranger, LEAN practitioner, area manager and operations manager. Prior to joining Parks, she worked as an adjunct faculty member at Green River Community College in the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Criminal Justice. Diana also served on the special operations response team with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner office. 

Diana holds a master’s degree in Anthropology from California State University, Los Angeles and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University. She grew up in Indiana and Michigan and spent her childhood immersed in the outdoors. Diana enjoys snowshoeing, hiking, running, bird watching and camping with her family.

Dave Upthegrove has been elected as the state’s next Commissioner of Public Lands.
Dave began his public service career in 2001 when he was appointed to the Washington State House of Representatives.
He served five terms in the Legislature, where as Chair of the House Environment Committee, he promoted environmental stewardship and equitable transportation policies—leading successful efforts to create the Puget Sound Partnership and shut down our state’s last polluting coal plant.
In 2013, he was elected to the King County Council.
A long-time environmentalist, Dave led the charge to ban new fossil fuel facilities in King County. He has championed an aggressive Climate Action Plan informed by the voices of marginalized communities. As Chair of the King County Flood Control District, he has prioritized (doubled funding for) habitat restoration for our iconic Chinook salmon and Puget Sound Orca while ensuring people remain safe.
Dave received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Conservation with a minor in Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Graduate Certificate in Energy Policy Planning from the University of Idaho.

Ron Muzzall is a fourth generation resident of Whidbey Island – a husband, father, grandfather and farmer After graduating from Washington State University (the third generation to do so) he returned to the 10th legislative district with his wife Shelly to farm with his parents. Being involved in industry associations as well as county boards and committees, he has a passion for service. Working with the North Whidbey Fire and Rescue for twenty years, he served as firefighter, officer and for 11 years as fire commissioner.

He has served on committees for the Darigold and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. He served 15 years on the board of Skagit Farmers Supply, 5 years as chairman. He served 8 years on the corporate board of Land O’Lakes cooperative where he put his expertise to work on governance, board performance, audit and political action committees. He is the managing partner at 3 Sisters Family Farm.

Ron, his wife Shelly and two daughters, Jennifer and Roshel own and operate their family’s grass-fed beef and lamb, barley-fed hogs, and free range eggs and fryers for 3 Sisters Market and other grocery stores on Whidbey Island. A lifelong member of Oak Harbor Lutheran Church he currently serves as council president.

Sworn into office in 2017, Mike Steele represents the 12th District, which includes all of Chelan and Douglas counties and parts of Grant and Okanogan counties. Mike’s passion for economic vitality, sustainable job growth, and career and technical education is the foundation of his legislative work.
A lifelong resident of Lake Chelan Valley, Mike graduated from Manson High School and went on to receive degrees in Business Administration and Political Science from Pacific Lutheran University. After graduating from college, he served in the White House Office of Political Affairs for the Northwest region of the United States under President George Bush.
After returning to his home state to work for the House Republican Caucus for Leadership during the 2006 legislative session and interim, Mike was hired as the executive director of the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce. Mike has led the Lake Chelan Valley business community for more than 12 years, expanding economic and job opportunities throughout the region.
In addition to his work at the Chamber, Mike is deeply committed to his community. A former member of the Chelan City Council, Mike is the youngest president ever elected to the Lake Chelan Rotary Club and is an active member of the Lake Chelan Community Hospital Foundation. Additionally, he serves as a trustee for both the Association of Washington Business and the North Central Washington Community Foundation.
Mike lives in Chelan. In his free time, he enjoys downhill skiing, boating, and spending time with his family and English springer spaniel, Bentley, at his family’s cabin in Lucerne.

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 24th 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 Port Townsend.

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.

Hailing from Castle Rock in Cowlitz County, Thompson brings a wealth of experience, having grown up in his family’s community newspaper businesses and later working as a contract logger on high-lead timber harvest operations. This hands-on experience has provided him with a profound understanding of skills and strategies in natural resource management, allowing him to navigate specific regional settings, evolving forest conditions, markets, and ownership of timber resources.
Thompson shared, “I am eager to start contributing to the support of our conservation districts and the overall well-being of Washington’s natural resources and farmland. Drawing from my experiences in local government and various state agencies, I hope to equip districts with the tools they need to conserve our environmental resources and ensure the continued agricultural vitality statewide.”
Thompson’s academic background includes studies in history and political science at Whitman College, and his diverse career path features roles in personnel management within various state government agencies. Additionally, he has demonstrated leadership in global trade, tax, customs, and logistics through positions such as Director of International Trade and Logistics for the Terex Corporation, North American Transportation Manager for Starbucks Coffee Company, and Operations Manager for International Paper.
Returning to public policy work, Thompson spent nearly a decade with the Washington Public Ports Association, where he engaged with local elected leaders and governments, eventually serving three years as executive director.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Thompson, an avid sea kayaker and active Mountaineers member, resides with his family in Olympia.

Sen. Yasmin Trudeau represents Washington’s 27th Legislative District, which includes Tacoma, Ruston, Browns Point, Dash Point, and Fife. She currently serves as vice chair of the Law & Justice Committee, Environment, Energy & Technology Committee, Housing Committee and as one of the two Senate Democrats negotiating the Capital Budget. This year, she was also elected by her peers to be Chair of the Senate Members of Color Caucus.

Yasmin was appointed to the Senate in 2021 and won election to a full term in 2022. She is also the first woman of color to serve as senator for the 27th Legislative District. Her motivation for inclusive, equitable public policy comes from her professional and lived experiences.

Prior to her role as State Senator, she was the Legislative and Tribal Affairs Director for the WA Attorney General’s Office and worked with agencies, legislators, and community partners to pass legislation addressing student loan supports, prohibiting youth solitary confinement, strengthening Medicaid fraud enforcement, among many others. She has also served as Senate Democratic Caucus staff and Legislative Assistant to then State Senator and now Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

Yasmin was born into poverty and violence, spent time in the foster care system and faced housing insecurity throughout her youth and early adulthood. This has given her a deep perspective on the challenges that face many of our most vulnerable community members face every day and has knowledge about the state system responses. This is why she centers equity and works to ensure that people are always prioritized over politics and profit.

When Yasmin is not performing Senate duties, she serves as the Manager of the WA Attorney General’s Race Equity Unit and spends time with her husband, two young children, their cat Jinx and her robust plant collection.