Washington Council Executive Committee

I firmly believe we have an obligation, as leaders, to welcome new conservationists and anglers into the organization, in whatever way they want to participate. To that end, I am working with youth organizations, women’s organizations, and really, anyone who is interested in having fun, doing some good, and making a difference.

I was elected to the state council chair position in September of 2025. Following in the footsteps of excellent chairs before me, my goals are to keep the Washington Council, including all our chapters across the state, vibrant, productive, and welcoming. Our conservation and advocacy work is unparalleled and I will do all that I can to ensure we continue to be a united and strong voice for Washington’s critical coldwater habitat and fisheries in our state.

As we are the grassroots side of Trout Unlimited, I will work to make sure we partner with TU’s professional staff and other conservation partners, lending our energy and boots-on-the-ground support to critical conservation work across our great state.

I hope you’ll join me in this important work and enjoy the same comradery, fun, and feelings of satisfaction that I get every time I wield a shovel, plant a tree, and pick up streamside litter. Together, we can all be guardians of our rivers.

I followed my career to Minnesota in 2006 where I discovered TU and became an active volunteer. After retiring in 2021 I returned to Washington and connected with the Washington Council.

I’ve always been an ardent conservationist: I am grateful to TU for giving me the ability to take concrete action and make a difference for our shared future.

I first joined the Bellevue/Issaquah Chapter (now the Three Rivers Chapter) to see what TU was doing to aid the Kokanee in the Lake Sammamish watershed because my wife had heard about their efforts through her job at King County.  I became very interested in the Kokanee Fry Trapping/Counting project and volunteered to help on Lewis Creek in 2012. In 2021, I was informed about the Barrier Assessment project at the Council level and signed up for training.  On one of the following assessments Brad Throssell, past Chair of the Council, invited me to participate in a few meetings to see if I was interested in taking on a more involved role.  Something about the Treasurer role appealed to me so I volunteered to assist Pat Prichard in his last year and was then elected to the role. 

I’ve loved fishing from an early age, having caught my first fish, a “scup” or porgy, by handline on Cape Cod.  After we moved to Seattle when I was in high school, I would strap my fly rod to my bike and trek down to the Cedar River for a day’s fishing.  Since then, I’ve fished in some marvelous trout waters throughout the western U.S. and abroad. 

As I was winding down my career as an environmental lawyer, I knew I wanted to spend more time on trout and salmon conservation.  I was a lifetime TU member and saw a notice for Barrier Assessment Team training and signed up.  After a cold afternoon holding a stadia rod in a stream, that did it. 

Inspired by the council’s leadership, I joined the Advocacy Committee as its chair.  I love the combination of science, policy, and law, and the opportunity to influence tangible change in Washington State’s fisheries policy.  Upon retiring, I pursued my master’s degree from the University of Washington to focus on several environmental issues of great concern to me—one being the need to conserve and protect trout and salmon.  I got my degree in 2023.

As WCTU’s representative to the National Leadership Council, I am working hard to increase the role and relevance of the NLC’s National Conservation Agenda in setting the overall direction of TU’s mission to “Protect, Reconnect, Restore, and Sustain” coldwater resources for trout and salmon.  

There are 22 ‘Trustees-at-Large’ whose primary responsibility is fundraising. The remaining 10 Trustees are ‘Conservation Trustees’ and I fall into this category. The Chair of the National Leadership Council (NLC) is automatically this type of Trustee and also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board. The Secretary of the NLC is also automatically a Conservation Trustee. This leaves 8 of us who are voted on to the Board by the NLC. Collectively we’re tasked with the responsibility for making sure T.U. follows our Vision and Mission and stays true to our values regardless of what may be happening in the world. This is a task I take very seriously and I’m currently working on 3 different BOT committees to make sure T.U. is always true to our heritage and values.

I have been a long standing member of TU dating back to the early 1990s. In 2017, after retiring, I volunteered with my local chapter Yakima River Headwaters which eventually led to the chapter conservation chair position. In January 2018, I joined forces with Steve Miller to co-chair the first state Advocacy Committee. After 3.5 yrs of leading advocacy, I was elected to the state council chair position in September 2021 and served until September 2025. My current focus is leading my local Headwaters Chapter, and continuing to work for the Council through fundraising, grants committee and the White Salmon Project. I absolutely love the mission of TU!!

Other Volunteer Leaders