Our conservation, development, and support staff represent nearly a century of experience working for you and Northwest forests and wildlife.

Paul Bannick, development director

206.675.9747 ext. 202
Paul Bannick heads up our Seattle office as well as our major gifts program. Before his recent positions obtaining major gifts for American Rivers and Islandwood, he worked for 15 years in the high tech field, helping grow Aldus into the top force in desktop publishing, then later working with Adobe and Microsoft. An accomplished naturalist and wildlife photographer, Paul has a passion for nature. The Owl and The Woodpecker, his first book, will be published by The Mountaineers Books in October 2008.

Hanne Beener, outreach associate

509.775.3454
The newest addition to our staff, Hanne Beener graduated from the University of Idaho in 2006 with degrees in International Studies, Spanish, and Wilderness Conservation. Originally from Curlew, Washington, Hanne has lived as far afield as Guatemala and Nicaragua, but says she is most excited to work to protect the landscape in northeast Washington where she spent the first 18 years of her life. Hanne enjoys unhindered nature and likes to telemark ski, sail, row, climb, run, and bike.

Jodi Broughton, business and membership director

360.671.9950, ext. 15
Jodi Broughton fell in love with the Northwest's wild places when her family moved here from Texas in 1979. After completing her environmental policy degree in 1997, she spent a few summers telling people about the beautiful alpine landscape around Mount Baker, then joined Conservation Northwest as newsletter editor. She enjoys most anything that takes her away from a computer: hiking, skiing, gardening, and cooking.

Barbara Christensen, membership associate

360.671.9950, ext 12
Barbara Christensen also acts as systems administrator for all of our offices and is the resident bat-lover. Barbara has worked in the non-profit world on both coasts for more than a decade, focusing on technology access, conservation, and development. She has an MS from the University of Washington and spends time gardening, reading voraciously, and volunteering.

Derek Churchill, forester

206.675.9747, ext. 204
Derek Churchill recently graduated from UW with an MS in Silviculture and a certificate in Conservation Biology. He is also a new father. His wealth of experience includes being a founding director of Wilderness Volunteer Corps, an Outward Bound instructor for 10 years, and a field organizer for Brian Baird’s Congressional campaign. Derek splits his time between Conservation Northwest and the Vashon Forest Stewards, a community forestry group working with small landowners on thinning and forest health projects.

Tim Coleman, wilderness campaign director

509.775.2667
Tim Coleman has been an environmental activist since 1971, including service as Kettle Range Conservation Group executive director from 1993 to June 2004. He is currently a steering committee and executive committee member of the Wild Washington Campaign. Tim was named an Environmental Hero by the Washington Environmental Council in 1998 for his work on the Colville National Forest. Tim enjoys mountain climbing, white water rafting, telemark skiing and gardening. He is a Vietnam-era veteran, honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1976. Tim and wife Susan have lived for over 20 years in their handmade solar-powered log home on 80 forested acres in northern Ferry County.

Faye Conte, development associate

206.675.9747 x 207
Since graduating from Clark University in Massachusetts with a BS in International Development and Social Change and Spanish, Faye Conte relocated to Seattle after falling in love with the Pacific Northwest on vacation. She grew up in the Green Mountains of Vermont, where she developed a love for deep forests and quiet lakes. She enjoys live music, gardening, practicing yoga, baking, reading, and anything that gets her out of city limits and into the woods.

Seth Cool, conservation associate

360.671.9950, ext. 16
Seth Cool graduated from Western Washington University's Huxley College with a degree in environmental science. A true Renaissance man, Seth works as Conservation Northwest's representative with the Washington Invasive Species Coalition, but also covers grazing, wildlife, and local Whatcom County issues. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, backpacking, sailing, windsurfing, bicycling, and snowboarding.

Mitch Friedman, executive director

360.671.9950, ext. 13
Mitch Friedman never held the same job for longer than a few months prior to founding Conservation Northwest. He has served as executive director since 1989. He has a degree in zoology from the UW and is the father of two. His biography makes for good reading!

Crystal Gartner, wilderness campaign assistant

509.747.1663
Crystal Gartner joined Kettle Range Conservation Group in 2003 as their wilderness campaign assistant, and is now development associate with Conservation Northwest. She manages events and operations in the Spokane office. She also conducts outreach in Spokane and key rural communities, raising awareness for the need to protect roadless areas and wilderness in the region. She enjoys all winter sports, particularly snowshoeing, around the Spokane area and likes to relax by cooking good food with friends.

David Heflick, conservation associate

509.684.8287
David Heflick graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 1977 with a degree in education. Before becoming actively involved in the environmental movement in 2000, David was a self-employed musician. He is also the author of two books, the latest being a road cycling guidebook for eastern Washington. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, backpacking, bicycling, and wildlife photography. David lives in a log cabin on 20 wooded acres near the Canadian border.

Ali Illyn, membership associate

360.671.9950, ext. 18
A native Northwestern, Ali Illyn spent most of her childhood outdoors and grew to deeply appreciate the wild areas around her. After recently receiving her bachelor's degree in Political Science at Western Washington University, Ali joined the Conservation Northwest staff as our membership associate. She's excited to help do her part in keeping the Northwest wild! In her spare time, Ali loves nothing more than spending time outdoors, whether it is kayaking, hiking, or camping, always with her camera by her side.

Derrick Knowles, wilderness outreach coordinator

509.747.1663
Since graduating from Eastern Washington University with an MA in technical writing three years ago, Derrick Knowles worked for Kettle Range Conservation Group out of the Spokane office, organizing grassroots support for protecting eastern Washington’s remaining wild areas and wildlife in the Kettle River Range and Selkirk Mountains. A life-long resident of the Spokane area, Derrick still enjoys the same outdoor activities he grew up on: hiking, camping, hunting, fishing and river rafting. He has a deep, personal connection with the Inland Northwest’s unique landscapes and is excited to team up with Conservation Northwest as outreach coordinator to make wilderness protection for the wild home of caribou, grizzly bears, and lynx in northeastern Washington’s Colville National Forest a major issue for people throughout the Northwest.

Joel Litwin, web contractor

Joel Litwin came to us after years of working in marketing and sales for the Oceanic Society in San Francisco and Northern Lights Expeditions in Bellingham. He now works for Airporter Shuttle. A former mountain climber, Joel was attracted to the heavily glaciated North Cascades, though now he prefers less life-threatening pursuits.

Jasmine Minbashian, communications director

360.671.9950, ext. 29
Jasmine Minbashian is involved in strategic communications and outreach, splitting her time between our offices in Bellingham and Republic. An experienced and passionate old-growth activist and accomplished photographer, her number-one favorite pastime is looking for salamanders. "Give me a cold clear creek, shady ferns, and rocks to turn over, and I'm the happiest person in the world."

Erin Moore, publications coordinator

360.671.9950, ext. 24
Erin Moore has long worked in communications and publishing, including a stint at the Northwest Passage (an underground newspaper circa 1969-1986) and well remembers laying out publications by hand using waxers and exacto knives. She holds degrees in scientific and technical communication as well as forestry and loves hunting for mushrooms, skiing in the backcountry, and summertime swimming in cold mountain lakes.

Marlo Mytty, auction coordinator and Fremont office manager

206.675.9747 ext. 201
Marlo Mytty started at Conservation Northwest as a national forest intern and holds degrees in Business and Forest Resources with a wildlife emphasis. Her passion for wildlife began as a volunteer at PAWS wildlife hospital. Although she has a background in wetlands and restoration work, her true callings are forest ecology and wildlife and roads. "I'm excited to work at this organization with fabulous people whose mission is to protect the forests, wildlands, and wildlife that I hold dear and to be a direct part of this effort," says Marlo. She comes truly alive in old-growth forests and often hikes and camps throughout the US and Canada with a goal of exploring all of the national parks in North America.

Rose Oliver, office manager/events coordinator

360.671.9950, ext. 10
Rose Oliver was born in the mountain town of Marblemount, Washington, where she spent her days hiking up among the alpine flowers of Sauk Mountain and jumping into the frigid waters of the upper Skagit River. She and her mother moved to the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii when she was eight and she will never forget having to spell humuhumunukunukuapua'a on a spelling test in second grade! Despite the beautiful beaches and unique ecosystems of Hawaii, she returned to the Washington mainland for high school and college. Rose graduated from Western with a degree in environmental education out of Huxley College. She is also an actor and often plays parts on stage locally at Bellingham's iDiOM Theater.

Pat Roberts, accountant

360.671.9950, ext. 19
Pat Roberts grew up surrounded by the scenic wildness of northeast Minnesota. Lured by a photo of Bellingham Bay/Mt. Baker featured on the catalog cover, she enrolled at WWU in 1970. According to Pat, you can take the girl out of MN, but you can't take MN out of the girl, but that doesn't mean she misses swatting mosquitoes or enduring below zero temperatures! An accountant with 25 years experience, she served as fiscal manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters before coming to work for Conservation Northwest in February 2002. Free weekends will find her relaxing at her Lake Samish home or out in the woods with her husband, Mike.

Joe Scott, international conservation director

360.671.9950, ext. 11
Joe Scott got in lots of trouble growing up in Joisey City, but was saved from a life of crime by a strict, blue-collar dad and a genetic predisposition as a jock. He attended Boston College on an athletic scholarship where he didn't excel at playing football but did manage a degree in finance, and a couple of really cool sons. Joe works to protect large animals, from grizzly bear to mountain caribou, and wildlife habitat, particularly the Inland Temperate Rainforest of British Columbia, with a focus on collaborating with our Canadian neighbors to the north.

Jen Watkins, conservation associate/I-90 Wildlife Bridges Campaign coordinator

206.675.9747, ext. 203
Jen Watkins began working with Conservation Northwest over four years ago as part of the outreach team for The Cascades Conservation Partnership. She continues to work on connectivity issues in the Central Cascades with the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition and our National Forests program on the Wenatchee National Forest. Jen graduated from the University of Washington’s College of Forest Resources, and has a strong interest in community collaborations and wildlife connectivity.

Dave Werntz, science and conservation director

360.671.9950, ext. 14
Dave Werntz is a forest ecologist long involved in Pacific Northwest conservation efforts. Originally introduced to wilderness in the northern Great Lakes region, Dave quickly recognized the global importance of large wild landscapes and their remnant populations of lynx, grizzly, and wolf in Washington's Cascade Mountains. He is also an expert at calling spotted owls.

George Wooten, conservation associate

509.997.6010
George Wooten came to Twisp, Washington, to discover wild nature, only to find it being systematically dismantled by resource extraction. With a background in botany, computers and chemistry, George worked for 10 years with the Okanogan National Forest on grizzly bear habitat evaluation, research natural areas protection, and timber sale evaluations for wildlife habitat. After fighting in the 1994 fires, George left the agency to work as a consultant on a variety of projects including roadless mapping, wetlands delineation, surveys for legal challenges to unsound developments, K-12 teacher education, and wildfire behavior mapping. He also teaches local community college courses in computer applications and botany.

Abbey, hospitality coordinator

Abbey has been helping out in the Bellingham office since she was eight weeks old. The staff rely on Abbey for relaxation, fun, and her warm, affectionate greetings. Abbey especially enjoys Conservation Northwest field trips and hikes, and is an expert at tracking, wilderness exploration, edible grass identification, and sniffing for voles and other small rodents.