Board and Staff

Meet Our Board of Directors AND sTAFF!

 

Chair

Chris FarraR

Retired, United States Geological Survey Retired from U.S. Geological Survey with over 35 years’ service, Chris worked as a hydrogeologist specializing in ground water, water quality, geothermal systems, and volcanic hazard monitoring.

Vice Chair

Mark Garrigues

Mark graduated from South Dakota State University with a B.S. in Geography & Geographic Information Systems, and Mississippi State University with an MS in Forestry. He’s enjoyed the outdoors his entire life, he and his family frequently hike and surf up and down the coast.

Treasurer

Tessa James SchelleR

Tessa is a retired nurse anesthetist (CRNA) and lifelong community activist.  Her family arrived in Seaside in 1979 and has invested deeply in the fabric of the coastal rainforest and rural community since then. She and her family are active bicyclists, kayakers and sailors.

secretary

Jason SmitH

Jason grew up in Seaside, Oregon and obtained his bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University in Fisheries & Wildlife with a specialization in Habitat Restoration. Jason currently works as a Habitat Restoration Project Manager for the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce. Jason and his wife Briana own a small children’s boutique, Bebe Lew, in downtown Astoria.

Melissa Reich

Melissa grew up on Shelter Island, New York, the site of The Nature Conservancy’s Mashomack Preserve, where she volunteered during high school and college. She earned a BS in Biology from Lewis & Clark College. She served three years of AmeriCorps service with the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center and The Nature Conservancy. Melissa moved to Astoria in February 2013. Melissa currently works as Stewardship Director, North Coast Land Conservancy.

Brad Catton

Brad has more than 30 years of practical field experience in natural resource management, with a primary emphasis on reforestation and silviculture. Based in the Pacific Northwest all his life, he’s spent the last decade with the Oregon Department of Forestry in Astoria working as a Reforestation Forester

Carla Cole

Carla is a native Oregonian who has been living in Clatsop County since 2008, where she works as a restoration ecologist at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park and liaison to the NCWA. Carla is passionate about protecting and restoring Oregon’s environment and is particularly interested in mycelium and other hidden ecological connections.

Executive Director

Graham Klag

Born in Oregon, Graham holds a Master of Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College and a BS in Biology from the University of Puget Sound. His graduate research focused on restoration and enhancement of the early blue violet for caterpillar development of the Oregon silverspot butterfly. He brings a wealth of conservation experience to NCWA having worked in native plant nurseries, agricultural farms, and on a myriad of watershed restoration projects, from Olympic National Park to the Cascade Head Biosphere Region and Salmon River. Through his artwork Graham aims to better communicate how we can fit into our ecosystems and conserve diversity. 

Project ManageR

Kelli DaffroN

Kelli grew up in North Carolina, receiving a BA in Psychology and Anthropology from UNC Chapel Hill in 2010. She has worked on farms from Mexico to Canada, learning how to identify and utilize native flora with locals along the way. Teaching has taken her around the world as well, reaching students in Thailand, Mexico, Malawi, and New Orleans. Since moving to Astoria in November 2016 she has volunteered and interned with Lewis & Clark National Historical Park’s Natural Resources department, working to help keep invasive plant species at bay, monitor resident elk herds, and to restore native forests. Kelli first started working with the NCWA as a contractor planting trees at Blackberry Bog Farm in Svenson. She enjoys exploring the outdoors, teaching yoga, and playing the banjo.

Administration & Outreach Coordinator

Erica Clark

Erica grew up in a commercial fishing family on Kodiak Island, Alaska. She holds a BS in Communications from Southern Oregon University and an Masters of Education from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Erica moved to Astoria in 2018 and is an active participant in the annual Fisherpoets Gathering. She owns a small hand-dyed textile business and teaches workshops on harvesting wild mushrooms for natural dyes, planting permaculture gardens for pollinators, and raises chickens and ducks. She has worked for and volunteered with environmental stewardship groups for over 20 years.