WASHINGTON WATER TRUST - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Vice President
- Title / Vice President
Amanda Cronin joined the Washington Water Trust as a member of the Board in 2021. Amanda was born in Forks, Washington, a town that averages ten feet of rainfall per year. After graduating from Whitman College with a BA in Biology - Environmental Studies in Walla Walla, Washington, Amanda spent two years as the Watershed Program Coordinator for a conservation group in Idaho. She then made her way to Arizona for a Masters in Environmental Science and Policy from Northern Arizona University. Returning to the Pacific Northwest, she spent eleven years with the Washington Water Trust developing innovative solutions to seemingly intractable water management problems. Over the last decade, Amanda has helped lead the development of water banks across Washington and in Arizona. Amanda works across the West providing strategic guidance for water resource planning, environmental flow restoration and groundwater mitigation. Amanda lives in Seattle, WA.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Title / Board Member
- Wealth Advisor
Ben Eickhoff is a Wealth Advisor located in Seattle's Wells Fargo Private Bank
office. Mr. Eickhoff is responsible for working with high-net-worth clients to
Job Titles:
- Development Director
- Title / Development Director
Chris Czarnecki joined the Washington Water Trust in 2019 with a desire to protect Washington's freshwater resources and the fish that he loves to pursue with a fly rod during his free time. He graduated in 2007 with a B.A. in English Literature from Wake Forest University in his hometown of Winston-Salem, NC. Since then he has worked for conservation non-profits in Alaska, Nepal, Washington DC and Seattle including eight years of experience with organizations focused on biodiversity conservation and sustainable community development in the mountains of central and south Asia. Most recently, he worked for the Snow Leopard Trust where he served as Government Grants Manager and Project Manager on a Global Environment Facility and United Nations funded project focused on transboundary snow leopard conservation in central Asia. In addition to fly-fishing in his free time, he enjoys trail running, skiing, paddle-boarding and various hobbies he passionately dives into with middling results.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- King County Executive
- Title / Board Member
Christie True joined the Washington Water Trust in July of 2021. Christie was appointed by King County Executive Dow to lead King County's Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) in July 2010. The Department of Natural Resources and Parks has four major divisions - Parks and Recreation, Solid Waste, Wastewater Treatment and Water and Land Resources - that perform tasks ranging from improving water quality, to conserving land, to enhancing parks and trails, to protecting residents and businesses from climate impacts like flooding and severe weather, to restoring crucial fish and wildlife habitat, to recycling and reusing wastewater and solid waste byproducts. Before becoming the department director Christie worked in King County's Wastewater Treatment Division for 25 years as a water quality specialist, regulator, planner, manager of large capital projects in design and construction and eventually director of the division.
Christie has proven to be a leader in positive community engagement, managing change and being dedicated to continuous improvement and growth of our natural resources. Christie is known for her experience in establishing processes to better manage and deliver complex projects and budgets, and for her technical expertise and strategic, practical approach to addressing challenges impacting our quality of life.
Born here in Washington state, Christie received her bachelor's degree in environmental studies from Western Washington University's Huxley College. Upon graduation, she began her career at the Bellingham Public Works Department, where she was one of the few women in the wastewater industry that was also a state certified treatment plant operator. In 2018, Christie was recognized as Distinguished Alumna, Huxley College of the Environment.
Christie met her husband, Larry James while attending Western. They have lived on Vashon/Maury Island where they designed and built their home nearly 30 years ago. They live with two border collies, Shep and Nan, and a small flock of sheep that Christie uses to train her dogs to compete in sheep herding competitions around the Pacific Northwest. Christie also enjoys traveling, gardening and cooking.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Title / Board Member
Dani Madrone joined the board of Washington Water Trust in 2023. She has over a decade of experience in protecting and restoring food systems of both land and sea. Dani is currently serving as the Pacific Northwest policy manager for American Farmland Trust, leading their policy agenda for Oregon and Washington. In this role, she works on building bridges between agricultural and environmental interests. Previously, Dani served the tribes of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission by supporting the implementation of their priority projects for Puget Sound recovery. Dani has lived in Olympia for two decades, where she serves as a member of the Olympia City Council, focusing her efforts on land use policy, environmental issues, climate change, equitable transportation, affordable housing, community food systems, and tribal relations. Dani holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Public Administration from the Evergreen State College.
Job Titles:
- Senior Project Manager
- Title / Senior Project Manager
Ethan Lockwood joined the Washington Water Trust in 2019 with a passion for supporting thriving communities, thriving nature, and thriving recreational experiences throughout Washington. Ethan grew up in Laramie, WY where a strong land ethic and concern for social justice was instilled in him during long alpine hikes and drives through the Wyoming steppe by his father, an entomologist, and mother, a social worker. He has a Masters in Community and Regional Planning and has spent the past years working with forest and recreation collaboratives and land management agencies to accelerate the pace and scale of restoration. He has helped pilot the use of innovative tools including Human Ecology Mapping, Good Neighbor Authority, Stewardship Timber Sales, and Conservation Financing for cross-boundary collaborative recreation and restoration planning and projects. When not at work, he can be found drinking black coffee and skiing, running, backpacking, and climbing across WA as long as the caffeine lasts.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Member of the Board
Lorri Bodi is an attorney with an extensive background in natural resources law and policy, partnership and communication, and negotiation and resolution of complex issues. She previously served as Executive President for Environment at the Bonneville Power Administration, where she oversaw land and water acquisitions, river and estuary habitat restoration, storm water management, and other environmental programs. Before that, she served as Co-Director of the Northwest Office of American Rivers and as an attorney for both NOAA and EPA.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Title / Project Manager
Gabriela "Gabi" Dunn joined the Washington Water Trust as a Project Manager in January 2024. Gabi brings 8+ years of interdisciplinary experience ranging from work in ecotourism, high school science education, environmental consulting, and public service.
After earning a B.A. in Biological Sciences from UC Santa Barbara in 2013, Gabi pursued opportunities where she could advocate for the needs of both people and the planet-on fishing, diving, and whale watching boats; in classrooms; and on construction sites. Her 5-year career at the National Park Service (NPS) began in 2016, as a Mosaics in Science Intern in Yosemite, restoring lakes and streams. For the next 4 years at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Gabi held a dual role as Operations Manager and Aquatic Ecologist for the Cultural & Natural Resource Divisions-supporting western pond turtle reintroduction, coho salmon jumpstart, and creek restoration programs. As a member of the American Fisheries Society's Climate Ambassador Program and NPS' Allies for Inclusion, Gabi collaboratively developed public and internal workshops centered on equitable climate solutions and organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Title / Program Director
Greg McLaughlin came to the Washington Water Trust in 2006, continuing a career that has emphasized the development of collaborative, locally-driven conservation projects. At the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Fort Collins, CO, Greg worked alongside agricultural producers to help improve irrigation systems and farm operations via cooperative conservation projects protecting soil, water, and wildlife. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Thailand, he pioneered projects in community forestry, ecotourism, and village handicrafts that promoted resources conservation while also rebuilding local economies. Greg also initiated sustainable land use management pilot projects in Colorado, worked as an environmental planner in rural Missouri, and published research on public participation processes and local solutions to large carnivore conflicts in the Greater Yellowstone region. He has a degree in biology from The Colorado College and an M.S. in Environmental Management with an emphasis on Social Ecology and Community Development from the Yale School of Forestry and Natural Resources.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Title / Project Manager
Hannah McDonough joined Washington Water Trust in July 2022 as a Project Manager. She brings five years of experience in environmental consulting and four years in public education.
After studying marine biology in high school, Hannah felt pulled to protect our valuable water resources. She dipped her toes into hydrogeology during field camp in Lander, WY by conducting dye tracer tests on the Popo Agie River. She went on to earn her M.S. in hydrogeology from Utah State University where she studied metals loading from an abandoned mine into the Bayhorse Creek in Idaho.
As a licensed geologist, she worked on state and federal cleanup sites across Washington. She discovered an interest in community outreach while educating homeowners on the health impacts of arsenic and lead in their soil for the Department of Ecology Tacoma Yard Cleanup Program. Most recently, Hannah completed an AmeriCorps VISTA service year at Great Peninsula Conservancy, where she partnered with schools, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and landowners to restore salmon and forest habitats in Kitsap County. She looks forward to supporting Washington communities by restoring river flows instream.
Hannah grew up in a log home in Vermont where she tapped maple trees and cross country skied out the back door. She moved to Washington in 2012 and enjoys exploring the unique landscapes and diversity throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Title / Executive Director
James Kraft, Executive Director, joined the Washington Water Trust in 2020. James is a native of Seattle, WA, and attended Harvard College where he majored in East Asian Studies. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1982, James worked for Milbank Tweed in New York City, and then returned to Seattle in 1984 to work for Burlington Northern Inc. For 27 years, James was general counsel for Plum Creek Timber Company, a Burlington spinoff that went public in 1989. In that role, he helped lead the company's efforts to be a leader in environmental forestry and helped negotiate numerous habitat conservation agreements and major conservation easements across the country. James led the efforts to conclude pioneering habitat conservation plans for the spotted owl and 285 other species in the central Cascades and bull trout in Montana, and a unique collaborative agreement with the USFWS, the USFS, the state DNR, and Plum Creek under Section 7 of the ESA that protected threatened grizzly bears in the Swan Valley of Montana. He also negotiated the second-largest conservation easement in the United States covering 363,000 acres in Maine.
James has been a long-time advocate for the environment and the arts and currently serves on the board of Long Live the Kings, Seattle Theatre Group, and previously on the board of Pacific Northwest Ballet. James also previously served as Executive Director of Cultural Access Washington, a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to cultural opportunities in King County for underserved schools and citizens generally.
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Title / Program Director
Jason M Hatch Jason began working for the Washington Water Trust in 2013. He oversees the western Washington WWT program to restore flow and develop sustainable water management strategies in basins including the Dungeness, Nooksack, Chehalis, Sammamish and others. He is leading efforts to develop new instream flow tools including recycled water source substitution, natural system storage restoration, watershed services and low water use crops.
He received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara and an M.S. in Water Resource Policy and Management from Oregon State University. He brings to WWT more than 25 years of public interest experience, including work with the Trout Unlimited-Washington Water Project, California League of California Voters, Friends of the River, and a graduate project studying the social impacts of small dam removal on the Sprague River in Klamath County, Oregon. He was raised in the Six Rivers region of Northern California and enjoys snow-shoeing, trail running, fly-fishing, sea-kayaking and adventuring with his family.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Staff Attorney at the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law & Equality at Seattle University School of Law
- Title / Board Member
Jessica Levin is a staff attorney at the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law & Equality at Seattle University School of Law. Jessica began her career as a law clerk to the Honorable Marlin J. Appelwick in the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division One. She then worked at Gordon Tilden Thomas & Cordell, LLP, where she practiced in a wide range of civil matters. She returned to Division One to clerk for the Honorable James R. Verellen after traveling around the world. She has volunteered for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project as a pro bono attorney in the Immigrant Families Advocacy Project. She enjoys spending time with her family floating and fly-fishing the Yakima River, cycling, gardening and traveling. She holds the rank of third degree black belt in Aikido, a Japanese martial art whose philosophy centers on nonviolent conflict resolution.
LaTrisha Suggs joined the Washington Water Trust as a board member in 2021. She is an enrolled Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal member, from the Cook-Kardonsky family. LaTrisha has been involved with natural resource issues throughout her career in Indian Country. Her work focus has been in environmental policy and planning since 2001. Her college intern project focused on on-site septic system and the fecal coliform outbreaks that resulted in annual shellfish closures near the mouth of the Dungeness River, which impacts Tribal Treaty rights. LaTrisha graduated from Western Washington University/Huxley Program with a bachelor's in Environmental Policy and Planning and has over 300 hours of federal acquisition regulation training and holds a certificate in municipal leadership.
LaTrisha worked for Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe for 16 years on the largest hydroelectric dam removal project on the Elwha River. Now, she works with Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, since 2017 in the habitat program, as the restoration planner. She is the first Native American to serve as a council member on the City of Port Angeles Council, since January 2020. She serves on the Economic Development Authority, Health committee, and the Cannabis board for her Tribe, Jamestown S'Klallam. In addition she serve on three committees for the City of Port Angeles. Her work in Indian Country includes advocating for natural resources at the federal and state levels.
LaTrisha has lived on the Olympic Peninsula, in Port Angeles, almost her entire life. Her ancestors have lived there since time immemorial. LaTrisha is passionate about protection of natural resources and proud of the work Indian Country to carryout restoration, conservation, and protection of natural resources for the next 7 generations. We need to be bold in preservation of ecosystem services and move towards a "net gain impact." It is vital to plan for and work towards solutions that provide water for communities while providing 100% of the needs of watersheds.
Job Titles:
- Development and Communications Associate
- Title / Development and Communications Associate
Matt has visited 48 states and can't wait to finish his journey in Michigan and Alaska.
Matt Coomer joined Washington Water Trust in 2023. He moved to Seattle in 2017 and fell in love with Washington's landscape and rivers. He earned B.A.'s in Journalism and Environmental Studies from The University of Montana and an M.A. in International Environmental Policy from The Middlebury Institute of International Studies. He's worked in communications and fundraising for conservation, community development, and animal welfare-focused non-profits for more than five years. He served as an environmental Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo from 2012 to 2014. He enjoys hiking with his partner, reading, tasting local ciders, and spending time with their beloved tuxedo cat, Neo. He's thrilled to join WWT in protecting and restoring our freshwater heritage.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- Controller of Delta Western Inc. in Seattle
- Title / Treasurer
Mitch Bateman is the Controller of Delta Western Inc. in Seattle. He participates in overseeing the day to day accounting functions, as well as ensuring timely and accurate financial reporting. Prior to joining Delta Western Inc., Mitch worked seven years as an auditor at the public accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP in Bellevue, WA. He studied Accounting at Central Washington University, earning both a Bachelors and Masters degree. In his free time, he enjoys camping, hiking, snowboarding, and doing yard work at his home.
Job Titles:
- Administrative and Financial Director
- Title / Administrative and Financial Director
Raquel Espinosa joined the Washington Water Trust in 2016 to blend her passion for sustainable water management and organizational development. She finished her studies at the Evans School analyzing the impact of the Growth Management Act on King County DOT Transportation Concurrency options while also leading an inclusive Vision/Mission process at a small non-profit. Raquel has over 10 years practice in facilitating consensus-decision making, personnel empowerment, and integrated education. Professional highlights include managing the WWT Dungeness Water Exchange, administrative support to the SR530 Landslide Commission, creek walker for the Longfellow Creek Salmon study, and EarthCorps steward at Edmond's Brackett's Landing. Raquel holds an M.P.A. from the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance focused on environmental policy and management and a B.S. in Biology from Bates College, Maine.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Title / Board Member
Rob Lothrop joined the Washington Water Trust as a member of the Board in 2021. Rob manages the Policy Development and Litigation Support Department at the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, where he has worked since 1981.
Job Titles:
- Senior Project Manager
- Title / Senior Project Manager
Sarah Dymecki joined Washington Water Trust in 2020. Inspired by water, communities, and impact, Sarah aims to create a positive change for people, wildlife, and the environment through water conservation and community engagement. She earned a B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Maryland, as well as a minor in Geographic Information Systems, concentrating her degree on land use and sustainable development. After three years' experience in the civil engineering and land surveying fields, she pursued a master's degree in International Relations and Environmental Policy from Boston University. More recently, Sarah was the Dolphin & Marine Conservation Project Manager for a voluntourism organization in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Here she forged partnerships between local dolphin tour boat drivers, the ecotourism industry, other local organizations, and government to provide sustainable economic opportunities and environmental education for the community.
Job Titles:
- Project Associate
- Title / Project Associate
Solvei joined Washington Water Trust in 2023. Solvei was born in Seattle, raised in Poulsbo, and graduated from Western Washington University in 2017 with a B.A. in Urban Planning & Sustainable Development and a minor in Disaster Risk Reduction. Following graduation, Solvei interned for the Whatcom Land Trust, a non-profit dedicated to protecting natural places in Whatcom County. She continued to work at the WLT as staff following her internship, first as the Conservation Assistant and then the Conservation Easement Coordinator, for six more years. In November 2023, she transitioned from land to water protection. Solvei is passionate about protecting salmon, building resilient communities, and stewarding the land for future inhabitants.
Sono Hashisaki joined Washington Water Trust as a Board member in 2022. Founder of Springwood Associates, Inc., she has decades of experience working in ecological restoration planning, permitting, and mitigation monitoring, natural resource assessment, and ecosystem recovery. Since 2000 she has worked extensively with Tribes in western Washington providing community-based strategic planning and retreat facilitation services as well as project development, policy support, and intergovernmental coordination for salmon and ecosystem recovery. Most recently, Sono has been working to bring digital technologies to knowledge sharing and scenario development for environmental decision making across multiple jurisdictions and sectors under climate change and population growth.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Title / Board Member
Susan O'Neil joined the Washington Water Trust as a board member in 2023. She is a Senior Conservation Planner at Environmental Science Associates. With over 20 years of natural resource management experience in various sectors from non-profits to federal agencies, she currently focuses her practice in collaborative planning and strategic funding focused on open space protection, species recovery, and ecosystem restoration. Susan enjoys building actionable plans with clients and moving them to implementation by identifying and accessing funding and financing mechanisms. Susan has assisted in the development of market-based credit exchanges in Puget Sound, developed traditional grant proposals for clients accessing public and private funding, and overseen the retooling of funding programs managed by local and state agencies.
Susan is a certified Conservation Coach and keeps up on best practices as a member of the international Conservation Coaches Network. She is a Kinship Conservation Finance Fellow (2008) and former lecturer (2015-2020). Susan loves connecting dots across systems, plans, and networks of people. She is keen to connect water availability to the resource planning conversations she participates in, particularly in west-side salmon recovery plans. She is personally committed to maintaining and improving the hydrologic function of watersheds in our gorgeous state as someone who enjoys fishing, skiing, and drinking water.
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Title / Secretary
Suzanne Skinner, an attorney for over 25 years, is currently in private practice and a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at Seattle University Law School's Korematsu Center, and its Homeless Rights Advocacy Project. She is the former Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Law and Policy where she advocated to preserve instream flows in the courts, the legislature and with administrative agencies. From 2001 to 2010, she served as the Director of the Civil Division of the Seattle City Attorney's Office, representing the City and elected officials in a broad spectrum of political and legal issues. She is co-founder of Civic Exchange: a public policy think tank focused on improving environmental policy and democratic dialog in Hong Kong. Suzanne also served as an Administrative Appeals Judge for the Washington State Environmental Hearings Office from 1995-1999, and participated in decisions on water rights and hydraulic continuity. She also litigated hydro power and salmon issues for American Rivers out of its Seattle office from 1993-1995. Before moving home to Seattle, she was an Assistant US Attorney in Brooklyn, NY and clerked for the US District Court Judge Malcolm Muir.
Suzanne is a volunteer attorney for Kids in Need of Defense and the ACLU, and on the board of the Seattle Shakespeare Company. When not working, she loves to play outside, travel and make bad ceramics.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Title / Project Manager
Tessa Reeder joined the Washington Water Trust in 2022 and brings several years of education and experience in water resource management. Most recently, Tessa spent four years working for an environmental consulting firm in Santa Barbara, California where she conducted stormwater compliance monitoring and reporting for municipalities, contractors, and industrial facilities. In 2018, Tessa earned a Master of Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at the University of California, Santa Barbara. For her master's group project, she and her team worked with NGOs and irrigators in Teton Valley, Idaho to evaluate the feasibility of developing an incidental groundwater recharge program. Tessa also has experience conducting redd surveys, water quality monitoring, and ecological restoration for various public agencies and has spent time volunteering on organic farms in Italy and New Zealand. In her free time, Tessa loves experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen as well as spending as much time as she can outdoors, whether that's backpacking, biking, skiing, or just taking in the views.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Title / Board Member
Tom Ring is a hydrogeologist with the Water Resources Program of the Yakama Nation. He has held this position since 1990 and, in that role, has worked on a variety of projects involving groundwater and surface water quantity and quality, water rights, irrigation and fisheries issues and planning for future water needs. Previously he worked for the Water Resources Program at the Washington Department of Ecology. Tom has Bachelors and Masters of Science degrees in geology from Central Washington University and Northern Arizona University respectively. He has taught geology and hydrogeology classes at Central Washington University and is a licensed geologist and hydrogeologist in Washington State. When not working, he enjoys hiking, climbing, and skiing in the mountains of the west.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- President
- Title / President
William Stelle joined the Washington Water Trust as a member of the Board and as senior advisor to the Executive Director in 2018. Will has been involved with natural resource issues throughout his career. He specialized in marine resource law at the University of Washington, University of Maine and Dalhousie University, and then spent more than a decade in Washington D.C. in a variety of legislative and executive branch roles. He served with the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and then as general counsel for the House Fish and Wildlife Subcommittee and chief counsel for the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee. Will later moved to the Executive branch as special assistant to then Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to develop the Northwest Forest Plan, and then shifted to the the White House to referee interdepartmental issues and priorities for natural resources policy and budgets.
Will moved to the Puget Sound Region in 1993 and served two tours of duty as Regional Administrator of NOAA Fisheries from 1993-2000 and later from 2009-2017, where he oversaw the listings of salmon populations under the ESA and the creation and implementation of a comprehensive ESA salmon recovery program coastwide encompassing reforms in the four "Hs" of habitat, harvest, hatcheries and hydropower - involving multiple other federal agencies, tribal governments, state and local governments and a variety of private sector entities. In these capacities, Will has been deeply involved with a wide array of water, flow and aquatic resource issues in California and the PNW. Will and his wife Claudia Stelle have four grown sons