Keeping the Northwest wild Spring-summer 2014 15
Jasmine minbashian Communications
director, jasmine@conservationnw.org
Changing of the guard
Who we are
Conservation Northwest has thrived over the years
thanks to a tight knit team of dedicated people working to pro-
tect and connect wildlife habitat. e passion we share, and the
great work environment, has kept staff turnover very low. But
even the most dedicated people change course in life eventually.
Aer over ten years of service, three of our long-time staff-
ers are leaving. Erin Moore, our publications manager, is tran-
sitioning from a staff role to a contractor at the end of May.
Erin has been invaluable; her eagle eye as an editor coupled
with her creativity has consistently produced a quality web
presence and series of stunning publications, including the
Conservation Quarterly.
Barbara Christensen, who many of you recognize from
our social media channels, started her work with us through
e Cascades Conservation Partnership. She le us this April
to pursue her "dream job" with Percolator Consulting. Her
dedication and diversity of talents, not to mention her sharing
of cute cat videos, will be greatly missed.
Lastly, Derrick Knowles has been the keystone of our
Columbia Highlands Initiative. He le this May to pursue a
lifelong dream of owning and editing his own outdoor maga-
zine, the Outere Monthly. Derrick will be hard to replace: his
passion for the wild, talents as a grassroots organizer, intimate
knowledge of the landscape, and very creative brain are hard
to match.
ese transitions together make for a watershed event at
Conservation Northwest. But the show must go on. As they
say, when one door closes, another opens. And we're very ex-
cited to introduce you to three new faces to the organization
this spring.
Rob Peterka joined us in March to take on our increasingly
complex technolog y infrastructure. Based in Bellingham, Rob
is a dad, a mountain biker, musician, and a skier, so he's already
fitting right in. He has great technical acumen, a strong back-
ground in GIS, and a cool, calm demeanor in the face of a tech-
nical crisis. He's already proven himself to be a valuable asset to
the organization.
Paula Sweeden joined us as a part-time contractor in
April to represent us on wildlife policy issues including wolf
conservation, but also Canada lynx, grizzly, fisher, wolverine,
cougars, and other forest carnivores. Based in Olympia, Paula
has worked on habitat conservation issues around the Pacific
Northwest for 24 years and even served on our board in the
early '90s. She worked for 12 years as a wildlife biologist and
endangered species policy analyst with WDFW and DNR,
and now serves on Washington's Forest Practices Board. We are
thrilled to have her back on the team!
Finally, this May, we brought on
Chase Gunnell as our communications
manager, a new position for us. He'll be
filling big shoes (part of Barb's and part
of Erin's), but he's the guy for the job!
Chase cut his teeth in communications
as a student leader at Washington State
University. Aer college, he coordinated
media and outreach events for a state-
wide political campaign, worked on cor-
porate accounts for Starbucks, and spent
several years as a public affairs consultant
at Cocker Fennessy in Seattle, where he
worked with many Northwest tribes and
as a lobbyist in Olympia. Chase grew up
hiking, climbing, and hunting in Wash-
ington's wild places, and can oen be
found fly fishing on a Northwest river
with his puppy, Gillian.
Derrick Knowles
Erin Moore
Barbara Christensen
Paula Sweeden
Chase Gunnell
Rob Peterka
25th anniversary
