About Us
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Our Board of Directors
Nick Boyle - President
Nick Boyle is currently a Product Manager with TriForza, focusing on front end software development, and data analytics. A proud AmeriCorps alum, Nick first served with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Conservation Corps, then the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and finally the Washington Conservation Corps, where he fell in love with the northwest.
Previously at Cause Strategy Partners, Nick spent several years connecting talented professionals to nonprofit board service opportunities and in this role, focused on all things nonprofit board governance. In his free time, Nick enjoys backpacking, playing guitar badly, and spending time with friends.
Paul Schlenger - Treasurer
Paul Schlenger is a fisheries biologist with 20 years of experience on salmon habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest. He has a Master’s degree in Fisheries from the University of Washington where he worked on juvenile sockeye salmon ecology in Alaska. As a consultant based in Seattle, Paul works on restoration and resource management projects in freshwater, estuarine, and marine nearshore settings. He enjoys assessing site conditions and developing sustainable solutions to benefit the resources while working within existing constraints. Given the many benefits of beavers to water resources and juvenile salmon rearing, Paul is interested in finding creative solutions for landowners and beavers to co-exist in our watersheds.
Michael Bailey - Secretary
Michael Bailey joined Beavers Northwest in Spring of 2020. Graduating from the University of Georgia in 2015 with a B.S. in Plant Biology and the University of Washington’s Wetland Science & Management Certificate Program in 2018, his fascination with natural systems and passion for ecological restoration found him a home in outreach, education, and hands-on field work. In the past, Michael has worked with Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources, Randall’s Island Urban Farm, King County’s WCC, the Snoqualmie Tribe, and many plant nurseries on the east and west coast. Leveraging teachings from academic, government, and non-profit agencies, Michael loves to apply his life experiences to efficiently help ecosystems get back to self-sufficiency. When not in the field, he can be found playing music in solo and group projects, generally enjoying the outdoors, and hopefully laughing with friends.
Jo Bruskotter - Board Director
Jo has lived and traveled throughout the world, but her heart has always been in the Northwest. Her appreciation of the mountains and wildlife in her home state of Montana spurred her passion for the environment. A degree in history and political science led to a career in research and the legal field and eventually a job in the Environmental Protection section of the Seattle City Attorney’s Office. For over ten years Jo has worked on Superfund cleanups for the City of Seattle, focusing her interest in environmental sustainability on the effort to preserve and protect Seattle’s waterways. Most of Jo’s free time is spent enjoying family and friends, traveling and exploring, or walking the family dog, but she also loves to sneak away to read a good book.
Catie Bass - Board Director
Catie is a Senior Product Manager at Adobe and a 2021 MBA and 2013 BA (Japanese) graduate of the University of Washington. Her appreciation for the environment was sparked by both the influence of her great aunt who took her into the woods to dissect oak galls and by many years spent on the waterways of the Pacific Northwest as a coxswain on her high school and university rowing teams. Catie enjoys spending time in her garden observing the urban ecosystem and refining her macro photography skills at local botanical gardens, parks, and tidepooling spots.
Kendall Ferree - Board Director
Kendall is currently a Senior Consultant with EY-Parthenon, working in the firm’s Transaction Strategy and Execution practice. During her MBA studies at the University of Washington, she specialized in Environmental Social Governance. Her time in Costa Rica, studying investment and coffee supply chain sustainability furthered her interest in the intersection of environmentalism, social impact and business.
Maintaining an interest in ecology throughout her life, Kendall especially loved teaching Natural Sciences and caring for the school bees and garden with her students in her previous career as an Educator. With a strong appreciation for the biodiversity of the Pacific Northwest, she spends her free time tidepooling, hiking and trail running, and revisiting her favorite parks to photograph seasonal changes.
Lars Nelson - Board Director
Lars has dedicated his career to wildlife conservation and facilitating coexistence between people and our wild neighbors. He has worked as a wildlife biologist on a variety of projects throughout the U.S. After receiving his master's in Conservation Planning and Strategic Communications from UC Santa Barbara, he focuses on using storytelling and visual media to connect the public to issues in wildlife coexistence. His love for beavers took off after working as a summer field technician for Beavers Northwest while he was studying Wildlife Conservation at the University of Washington. He is captivated by how beavers' influence on their ecosystem adds complexity to its biodiversity and how beavers provide countless ecosystem services to humans and wildlife. He is thrilled to return to Beavers Northwest to serve on their board of directors and support their mission for coexistence with these incredible ecosystem engineers.
Thank you to our founding board members!
Abby Hook
Jake Jacobson
Jen Vanderhoof
Learn More:
Our Mission
Our Staff and Volunteers
Learn about our guiding principle.
Our Staff and Volunteers
Our Staff and Volunteers
Learn about the people of Beavers Northwest.
Our Friends and Partners
Our Friends and Partners
Learn about the organizations who work with us.