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Speaker Bios for Earth Day Expo 2024
Bill Barron
Mountain West Regional Director, Citizens' Climate Lobby
An Alta ski patroller of 24 years, Bill has blended his passion for the outdoors with advocating for meaningful bi-partisan action on climate change. Bill is a three time single-issue federal climate candidate, founded the first Utah Citizens’ Climate Lobby Chapter in Salt Lake City 2010, and has been the Mountain West Regional Director for CCL since 2013 covering MT, WY, UT, CO, NM, AZ and NV.
Mayre Flowers
Co-chair, Citizens for a Better Flathead
Mayre has been a driving force in CBF since its inception in 1992. She retired as CBF’s Executive Director in 2017 and is excited to have an opportunity to serve on CBF’s board now as the organization renews its focus on advocacy for land use planning and community organizing around these issues. Her knowledge of community planning tools and advocacy for the legal principles that support sound planning and meaningful public participation have made CBF a respected leadership voice on these issues in the Flathead.
Mike Koopal
Executive Director and Founder, Whitefish Lake Institute
Mike's career began in the fisheries division of Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks working in the Clark Fork and Blackfoot River drainages. Mike then traveled to Nevada to study Lahontan Cutthroat trout for the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe, and in Alaska, he worked for the Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation. Upon his return to Montana, Mike was a partner at Watershed Consulting for eight years where he specialized in fisheries issues in Montana, Idaho and Nevada.
Ashley South
Communications Director, Yaak Valley Forest Council
Ashley grew up in the greater Troy area at the foothills of the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, spending much of her time in the outdoors adventuring and camping with her family. Being rooted in the community and local outdoor culture has allowed Ashley to wear many hats for the organization. Advocating for a wild Yaak, Ashley has participated in many committees and advocacy groups throughout the years to bring landscape level awareness to communities and establish safeguards for the Yaak Valley.
Dawn LaFleur
Vegetation Program Manager/Biologist, Glacier National Park
Dawn has been working for the National Park Service for 32 years, with most of them in Glacier National Park. She is Glacier’s Vegetation Management Biologist, managing the native plant propagation, restoration and monitoring programs as well as the integrated weed, pest, and forest health programs. Dawn has a Master of Science degree in Land Resources with an emphasis on Restoration Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Chad Sokol
Public Relations Manager, Whitefish Mountain Resort
Chad Sokol is the public relations manager at Whitefish Mountain Resort and a former journalist for daily newspapers in Montana and Washington state. In 2023, he worked with the Missoula-based Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation to recertify the resort as a Whitebark Pine Friendly Ski Area, which recognizes the resort’s efforts to protect a keystone tree species threatened by climate change. Chad's interests include promoting environmental sustainability in the tourism-driven economy of the Flathead Valley.
Josh Arrants
Owner, Arrants Outdoors
Josh has been a naturalist for well over 20 years. Having worked directly in managing endangered species, wildlife, and ecosystems, as well as air and water quality, for federal and state government agencies, Josh started his own environmental consulting company, Arrants Outdoors, ten years ago. Currently, Josh conducts biodiversity surveys, bioacoustic monitoring, and consults major corporations across the country in sustainability and properly managing sensitive species on industrial properties. Josh currently serves on the board of directors of The Glacier Institute, the official educational partner of Glacier National Park and Flathead National Forest."
Robin Kelson
Executive Director, AERO
Trained as an attorney, biochemist and facilitator, Robin has worked with both start-up and Fortune 500 companies, and held executive positions in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Her passion and curiosity focuses on human vitality and the resiliency principles built into evolution and ecosystems, and this has led her career choices in the sustainable energy, stewardship agriculture, and nutritional health fields for over 25 years. Her role at AERO has her working at the intersection of renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and community food systems.
Gretchen Boyer
Executive Director, Land to Hand
Gretchen has been with Land to Hand MT since 2004 and was the first paid employee. She is passionate about growing local food, eating good food, and making sure everyone in our community has access to it. Gretchen is a staple in the Whitefish community and loves skiing, rafting, and hiking.
Denny Olson (Doc Wild)
Flathead Audubon
Denny has been teaching nature for 46 years in the north woods and mountain west. From scientific beginnings studying Common Loons, he forged an unlikely union between science, humor, and drama, and established a reputation as an innovative performer and educator. Denny has trained thousands of naturalists, teachers and students in storytelling techniques. He has performed his humorous alter-egos (Doc Wild’s Unhuggables, Dancing with Wolves, The Grizz, Dr. Death, Prof. Avian Guano, Dr. Loonacy, The Lost Voyageur, The Mad Herbalist, et.al.) over 3500 times, in 49 states, for over 2 million people – including about 30 birding festivals and many national education conferences. He did an NBC Montana “News from the Woods” program for five years as Doc Wild. He’s become more of a semi-retired home-body recently, working as the Flathead Audubon Conservation Educator and teaching about 60 hiking/natural history/birding classes in Glacier National Park each year. And, he can whistle/call over 150 bird songs!
Winona Bateman
Executive Director, Families for a Livable Climate
Winona is the founder and executive director of Families for a Livable Climate. In her work, Ms. Bateman is interested in bridging the yawning gap between the urgent need for bold climate policies and the pervasive silence surrounding climate change. She sees storytelling as a key way to make connections across differences, create meaning in our lives, and envision an equitable and thriving future. From 2021 to 2022, Winona served as the U.S. representative for the International Climate Parent Fellowship through Parents for Future Global and Our Kids' Climate, training with eleven other climate mothers from around the globe. Ms. Bateman has a Bachelors of Arts in Biology from Carleton College, and Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Montana. She lives with her husband and daughter. She is passionate about growing and preserving food, observing animals and insects, and otherwise learning from our living world.Michael West
Division Supervisor, Flathead National Forest
Michael has worked as a wildland firefighter for 23 years traveling all over the United States, Canada, and Alaska. As an example, in the summer of 2004, he worked on wildfires in 9 different states and British Columbia. He is currently the Fire Prevention and Mitigation Officer for the Flathead National Forest and chair of our local FireSafe Flathead group. He is also one of our local Type 3 Incident Commanders and member of a Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Teams as a Division Supervisor.
Mike Durglo
Tribal Preservation Department Head, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
Michael is Department Head of the CSKT’s Tribal Historic Department and has been a leader in climate change adaptation work for nearly a decade. He facilitated the development of a Flathead Reservation Climate Change Strategic Plan for CSKT, the third Tribe to do so in the United States. After completing the plan, he continued to build on the work by diving deep into the perspectives of the elders and integrating traditional knowledge into the plan. Particularly unique has been Michael’s all - inclusive and open approach towards climate planning. He has established monthly meetings of a Climate Change Advisory Committee and welcomes all stakeholders, both tribal and non - tribal. This has opened conversations among multiple jurisdictions, connecting people and adding value to solving the problems that will be faced by the impacts of climate change into the future. In 2016, Michael received the White House Champion of Change award and in 2017, Michael received the Climate Leadership Award for Natural Resources. Michael has also brought climate education and action to the youth of the CSKT by establishing the Environment Advocates for Global and Local Ecological Sustainability otherwise known as the “EAGLES”. These youth are learning about, taking responsibility for their environment, and starting young to integrate environmental considerations into their lives. Michael served in the Montana Army National Guard from 1981 to 1987 and is currently a member of the Mission Valley Honor Guard.
Fritz Wollett
Retired Environmental Attorney, CCL Volunteer
Undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and Law degree from the University of Texas. Trial attorney for 16 years for U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, San Francisco office; Law professor McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento; Assistant City Attorney, City of Seattle for 18 years representing City in labor and employment matters. Former board member Washington Wild, current member Earthjustice council. My interests include protecting wild lands, the welfare of wild animals, biodiversity, mitigating climate change and supporting environmental justice for tribes and marginalized communities.
Constanza van der Pahlen
Critical Lands Program Director, Flathead Lakers
Constanza von der Pahlen holds a master's degree in environmental studies from Yale University. She has been working for the Flathead Lakers, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting water quality and healthy ecosystems in the Flathead area, for the past 23 years. She coordinates the Flathead River to Lake partnership, a collaborative group that assists landowners in preserving lands and water along the river and the north shore of Flathead Lake. Together with 26 partners, she helped create the Living in Flathead Guide, an easy-to-navigate resource for newcomers and landowners containing information and resources for responsible living in the Flathead landscape. She loves all that nature offers throughout the seasons and the sense of connection and joy that people derive from nature. She hopes that this connection will continue to bring people together and that we can learn to live more reciprocally with the land.
Dr. Doug Nelson
Former Chief Medical Officer, Logan Health
After graduation from Stanford University and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine , Doug Nelson has practiced internal medicine and pediatrics in Kalispell for the past 32 years. He served for five years as the chief medical officer at Logan Health Medical Center, a term which included the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with his spouse and two adult children (and first grandchild!), he loves living in Montana, and cares deeply about conservation of our amazing natural landscape in the midst of population and climate changes.
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