Staff & Board

President

Dave is a retired Washington attorney, having spent most of his professional career in Washington, working for State and local agencies on water, natural resource, and environmental issues. He was formerly staff to the Washington State Senate, the Washington Department of Health Office of Drinking Water, and the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. He and his wife live in Olympia.

Vice President

Keith has nearly three decades of resource management, watershed assessments, and subsequent habitat and cultural restorations. Keith is a graduate of The Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington. He has worked for the Point No Point Treaty Council as a habitat biologist and watershed coordinator, natural resources director for the Skokomish Indian Tribe for 14 years, and science coordinator for the Governors Salmon Recovery Office (GSRO) within the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) supporting the Salmon Recovery Funding Board since 2011. Keith has administered state and federal funds for a variety of habitat monitoring efforts in freshwater and estuarine landscapes specific to ESA-listed salmon life histories. While with the GSRO, Keith facilitated an “expert monitoring science panel” to objectively review monitoring proposals from Washington state agencies, American Indian tribes, tribal consortia, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

Secretary

Ray is a third generation Washington native who graduated from University of Washington and has spent his life exploring and playing in the mountains and waters of the Pacific Northwest. He and wife Leanne are longtime residents of the South Capitol Neighborhood in Olympia with three grown children currently living in other parts of the country. In professional practice Ray is one of the principal landscape architects for the Washington State Department of Transportation where he oversees the maintenance of roadsides throughout the state highway system and teaches crews to practice sustainable landscape management. He currently also serves on the Washington Invasive Species Council, the National Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Roadside Maintenance Operations, and the Board of Directors for the Washington Vegetation Management Association.

Treasurer

Katrina got her BS in Geosciences from University of Montana and her Masters in Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College. She loves environmental data! In undergrad, she researched air and soil-surface temperature variability of Northern Alaska permafrost, and in grad school she analyzed drivers of riparian microclimates across the Olympic Peninsula. She currently works as the Fish Passage Data Steward for WSDOT. Katrina enjoys making sourdough bread, foraging for food, gardening, and backpacking.

Founder & Member

Sue has been working to restore the Deschutes Estuary for over 15 years. She is a co-founder of DERT and a strong advocate for a healthy Puget Sound and Salish Sea. Sue’s career has been focused on protecting and restoring the environment recently through work with DERT and in the past with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Ecology and positions in local and regional government. She lives on a small farm in the Upper Chehalis Watershed with her husband Tom Hyde and works on environmental policy consulting through her own business from home.

Founder & Member

Dave was born and raised in Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Zoology and a B.A. in English Literature.  He later studied environmental policy and science at The Evergreen State College (MES program).   Dave worked for the WA Dept. of Ecology for 33 years in the areas of water resources, water quality, shorelines management and Puget Sound restoration, holding many positions including Water Quality Program Manager and Special Assistant to the Director.  His work included water quality standards, water quality monitoring, waste discharge permits, nonpoint source control programs, grants and loans for water pollution prevention and control, water pollution control plans (TMDLs) and water resources plans, water rights, and shoreline management permits, among others.

Subsequent to retiring from Ecology in 2008, Dave has held various positions: independent consultant; Director of Policy at the non-profit People for Puget Sound; and part-time staff at the Puget Sound Partnership assisting the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSESMP).  He fully retired in 2015.  Dave is the former President of the DERT Board.

Member

Growing up with the dream of working with salmonids, Cole received a degree in coldwater fisheries biology from SUNY Environmental Science & Forestry in Syracuse, NY. He’s worked throughout the east coast restoring eastern brook trout habitat. After a lifetime of chasing wild steelhead, Cole has made his way to WA to restore salmon populations as a project manager for the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group. His passion for implementing large wood structures and removing barriers to fish passage fits with the organization mission and team. Cole is currently the project manager in WRIA 13, which the Deschutes River is within. His real life experience in the watershed brings an expertise to DERT centered around salmon recovery and restoration. When not working towards recovering salmon and trout, Cole is chasing them with his fly rod. Along with angling, Cole is an avid rock climber, mountaineer, hunter, and gardener.

Member

Casey grew up in the greater Olympia area, going on to receive AAs for both firefighting and EMT-Paramedic and serving multiple regions of the Willamette Valley for more than 7 years. Subsequently, he went on to receive a BS in Biology from Portland State University, and taught and coordinated outdoor education programs for 10 years. While working on his Masters in Environmental Studies at the Evergreen State College (expected graduation 6/25) Casey served as the Operations Manager for the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team, and currently works as a Project Manager for the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group in the Kennedy/Goldsborough Watershed (WRIA 14). In his free time, Casey enjoys spending time with his wife Marena, as well as biking, kayaking, bushcraft, camping, and generally spending time exploring and building relationships with our natural spaces.

Member

Grant has dedicated his career to the intersection of science and engineering since 1996. He spent significant time working in the nonprofit sector focusing on environmental policies and workforce development. Later shifting to environmental consulting for a civil engineering firm where he undertook various responsibilities, including field investigations, data collection, analysis, and reporting to ensure compliance with environmental permitting requirements at the federal, state, and local levels. Currently serving as a Water Resource Specialist for the City of Tumwater’s Water Resources and Sustainability Department g, Grant is now focused within the WRIA 13 Deschutes River Watershed, in the public sector, concentrating on water resource management. He serves as a regional representative for the City within the South Puget Sound, as an advisor for the Washington Stormwater Center, and representing the City with various environmental initiatives, including the WRIA 13 Lead Entity, the Regional Environmental Education Program (REEP), and Stream Team. In addition, he serves as an instructor at the University of Washington in the Wetland Science and Management Certificate Program.

Community Development Assistant

Bio TBD

Communication Coordinator

Jesika grew up in Olympia and has worked in the local political and non-profit scene practically since they could walk. They received their BFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2018. They had the great honor and pleasure of working for Lt. Governor Denny Heck from 2021 until September of 2025. They now live in Vancouver with their partner and step-daughter, and are a working musician in the live theater scene - but you will frequently find them traveling the I-5 corridor to come home to Olympia. Beyond DERT, they work with their mother and local legend Danielle Westbrook for her firm Westbrook Music & Consulting, supporting non-profits and getting progressive candidate elected in Thurston County and beyond.