UERC 2021 Presenters

Presenters

Amy Baur | Environmental Scientist, Stillwater Sciences

Amy Baur is an ecologist with Stillwater Sciences with over 15 years working in the Pacific Northwest, mainly in the Portland metropolitan area. She primarily works on projects within urban settings where she assists natural resource agencies and land managers to gain an understanding of how physical and biological processes affect efforts to conserve and restore native habitat. Key to these efforts, she works to develop and implement meaningful and cost-effective monitoring programs and directed studies that provide a deep understanding of how a site functions (terrestrially and aquatically) and help prioritize management and conservation measures based on measurable objectives. She has conducted a variety of biological and physical studies including avian surveys on the east and west coasts, vegetation and beaver surveys, water quality and hydrological monitoring (streamflow and groundwater), and other bio-physical studies in the region.

Kylee Church | Senior of Environmental Science and Management, Portland State University

Kylee is a senior at Portland State University studying Environmental Science and Management with a focus in human-impacted environments. She was a 2020 Pollution Prevention Intern and is a current Sustainability Fellow with Oregon Sea Grant’s Oregon Applied Sustainability Experience (OASE) Program. Her work through OASE has reduced climate and waste pollution for a large regional healthcare system resulting in sustainable waste management, improved environmental quality, and reduced operating costs. After she graduates, Kylee hopes to start her career in pollution prevention and climate change mitigation in the Portland-metro area.

Christopher Desiderati | PSM Graduate Candidate, Portland State University

Earning my undergraduate B.S. degree in Chemistry (WWU '10), I worked in analytical laboratories and chemical production for ~10 years before being hired for industrial source control and pollution prevention at Clackamas Water Environment Services in Oregon City. During this period, I developed a deeper scientific understanding and appreciation for environmental issues in our urban areas. This, along with my passion for protecting and enjoying our outdoor spaces, motivated me to return to graduate school. In my second year as a graduate Candidate at PSU, I'm studying a constructed wetland in Clackamas County while learning new skills and techniques to monitor, assess, and manage the natural resources of our area.

Serina Fast Horse | Community Watershed Stewardship Program Coordinator, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland State University

Serina Fast Horse (Sicangu Lakota & Blackfeet) is a PSU post-baccalaureate student who is working on obtaining a certificate in Forest Ecology & Management to accompany her BS in Indigenous Nations Studies and Community Development. She is currently the program coordinator for the Institute for Tribal Government at PSU, and co-chair of the Native American Community Advisory Council. She has also served as a Indigenous community liaison for the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, focused on an innovative project that is integrating Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge into restoration plans through meaningful, community-led collaboration.

Katie Holzer | Watershed Scientist, City of Gresham

Katie conducts research on the interactions of humans, wildlife and water quality. She has a Ph.D. in Ecology and has been studying urban ecosystems for 13 years.

Jane Kleiner | Landscape Architect, Ecologist and Environmental Educator

Jane Tesner Kleiner, Landscape Architect, Ecologist and Environmental Educator - Jane has been working in environmental restoration and education for over 20 years. Her current work is supporting local school districts implement Greening of Schoolyard built projects as well as support national efforts to advance policies and guidelines to support and encourage Greening of Schoolyard efforts, including the Green Schoolyards American COVID19 Design Response.

Mary Logalbo | Urban Conservationist, West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District

Mary earned her Executive Master’s in Public Administration at Portland State University’s Hatfield School of Government and her B.S. in Environmental Science from Plattsburgh State University of New York. Mary has held positions as an Executive Director with the Au Sable River Association and a Resource Conservationist with Marion Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD).  She’s also had the great pleasure of serving with AmeriCorps in Portland, OR.  For over a decade, Mary has been an Urban Conservationist with West Multnomah SWCD (WMSWCD).  At WMSWCD, Mary has managed a wide array of programs and has served as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Co-Chair, Interim Co-District Manager, and manager of the creation of the district’s new 5-year strategic plan.

James Mitchell | Master of Environmental Management, Portland State University

A recent recipient of a Master of Environmental Management degree from Portland State University, James has spent most of the last two decades building and maintaining trails in National Parks and other natural areas. His trade and love of nature led to an interest in recreation ecology, which examines ecological impacts of wildland recreation in response to user, management, and environmental factors. He recently partnered with Portland Parks & Recreation to conduct an objective trail impact assessment in Forest Park based on existing literature and professional experience. James hopes to promote and develop recreation ecology research methods as cost effective tools to minimize natural area impacts while allowing sustainable recreation.

Julian Roth | Junior, Portland State University

Julian is an undergraduate in the Environmental Science & Management department at Portland State University, focusing on aquatic systems and their ecology. She is a student leader in Portland State’s Student Sustainability Center’s Green Council, supporting Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion peer-to-peer education and goal setting as the student STARS representative. She is currently conducting research on how Covid-19 has impacted reusables in the food and beverage context through an internship at Portland State’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions.

Adrienne St. Clair | Associate Scientist, Parks and Nature, Metro

Adrienne began her career path on a youth field crew with the City of Portland where she realized that ecological restoration was science she enjoyed with purpose she desired. After studying botany at The Evergreen State College (Go, Geoducks, go) she managed a native plant nursery in Olympia, Washington. Time and again, she wondered about the effects of propagation on native plant genetics. The planets aligned to help investigate this question through her Master’s in Plant Biology and Conservation from Northwestern University and Chicago Botanic Garden. She now works on plant conservation efforts within Metro’s natural areas.

Alexandra Vargas | PSM in Environmental Science & Management, Portland State University

Environmental engineer working on her master's degree in the Professional Science Master in Environmental Science and Management program. Alexandra has eight years of experience working on sustainability, carbon emissions, and waste management. She has also driven the environmental awareness program in a woman-led cosmetic corporation whose primary focus is on women empowerment. As part of her master's studies, she is working on a project on Urban Stormwater Management with Climate change uncertainties.

Evan Suemori | PSM in Environmental Science & Management, Portland State University

Evan is a graduate student in the Professional Science Masters (PSM) program. Evan's PSM project is a team project working with Alexandra Vargas to examine current green stormwater infrastructure practices on PSU's campus and robust strategies for managing future stormwater given the uncertainty of climate change. In collaboration with their community partner, PSU’s Campus Sustainability Office, Evan and Alexandra are hoping to create a comprehensive evaluation of the implementation, costs, benefits, and function of current and future stormwater management at PSU. Evan received a B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Sustainability from the University of Portland in 2019.

Lea Wilson | Environmental Technician, Bureau of Environmental Services, City of Portland

Lea works with the Environmental Services Tree Program, where she helps to steward trees and people through the annual planting cycle – from outreach to monitoring visits. Lea holds a master’s in Sustainability from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s in Environmental Science from Oregon State University. She is an ISA Certified Arborist.

Valance Brenneis | Environmental Studies and Biology Instructor, Portland Community College

Valance has a background in science education (M.Ed George Washington University) and ecology (PhD from UC Davis) and has taught science in many places and at many levels from 6th grade through university. While her own research focused on the impacts of an invasive snail on aquatic food webs, she enjoys being a generalist teaching everything from forest and freshwater biology to environmental law and policy at the community college level.

Eric Butler | Steering Committee Member, Friends of Tualatin Hills Nature Park

Eric Butler received his M.S. in Environmental Science and Management from PSU in 2019. He currently works as a freelance ecologist and GIS user between field seasons with the Bureau of Land Management, and volunteers with several organizations including the Friends of Tualatin Hills Nature Park.

Matt Cook | M.S. Graduate Student, Portland State University

Matt is a 2nd year master’s student studying in the Environmental Science and Management Department at Portland State University. His main research interests involve the nexus of forest ecology and management—understanding how landscape patterns affect forest processes, as well as understanding the changes that forest disturbances (fire, insects, climate change, urbanization) exert to long-term forest structure and composition. Matt completed his undergraduate degree in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability at Colorado State University in 2016. He has been involved in forest restoration monitoring in different forest types throughout Colorado and has worked with multiple forest health collaborative groups in the state.

Marissa Eckman | Forest Education and Outreach Specialist, City of Gresham

Marissa Eckman (she,her/they,them) is currently an AmeriCorps member serving the City of Gresham’s Natural Resources Department as the Forest Education and Outreach Specialist. Marissa is particularly interested in community science efforts and helping connect people to nature in our cities. She is passionate about environmental and social justice and working towards a more equitable future for both human and non-human life.

Olivia Helback | Biology Undergraduate, Portland State University

Olivia Helback is an undergraduate biology student at Portland State University. Her focus is on animal sciences specifically animal behavior and ecology. She spent a year volunteering at the Portland State University Museum of Natural History cataloging the ornithology collection. She also assisted a graduate student researching native bees of Oregon. Currently she is a member of the Home Ecology Research Lab at Portland State writing her senior thesis on the benefits of feeding feral cat colonies. Her future goals include attending veterinary school and becoming a wildlife vet. She credits her love for animals to her many pets over the years including cats, dogs, three guinea pigs, two cockatiels, a flock of chickens, a turtle, and a tarantula.  Olivia Helback | Biology Undergraduate, Portland State University

James Holley | Wild Life Observer, Biosurveys, LLC

Jim enjoys lawn sports and good food. He has performed extensive surveys for salmonids, amphibians, and turtles since 2009 gaining unique insights into the subtle and stark habitat factors impacting native wildlife. He will complete his Masters of Environmental Management degree from Portland State University in March 2021.

Rodé Krige | Student, Portland Community College

Rodé is a current student at Portland Community College and will transfer to Portland State University in the Fall as an environmental science major. In addition to volunteering with the Portland Audubon in her free time and her general love of the outdoors, Rodé has had a professional ballet career dancing with BalletMet Columbus, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Ballet Tucson, Trivial Motion Dance in San Francisco, and PDX Contemporary Ballet.

Tom Liptan | Author, Urban Infrastructure Designer, Inventor, Researcher, and Green Infrastructure Ambassador, LIVE Center

Tom Liptan is an author, urban infrastructure designer, inventor, researcher, and green infrastructure ambassador of the LIVE Center. Tom was with the city of Portland, Bureau of Environmental Service from 1987-2012 and was the catalyst of the city’s green stormwater movement. He has contributed to several books, received numerous awards and has co-authored his own book, “Sustainable Stormwater Management” a landscape-driven approach to urban planning and design. He is on the board of the Urban Greenspaces Institute, is a member of the Greenroof Think Tank and is a 2009 American Society of Landscape Architects fellow. He also currently serves on the Portland Utility Board.

Erin McElroy | Environmental Management Graduate Research Assistant, Portland State University

Erin has a broad technical background working on environmental analysis and research projects at Pacific Northwest National Lab before moving to Northern New Mexico where she began her passion for the ecological restoration of treasured natural areas. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Environmental Management at Portland State University where she is serving as a graduate research assistant on the Understory Species Increase Project. Her current research focuses on the importance of a healthy native herbaceous layer to forest health and its function in supporting successful restoration.

Matt Paroulek | Natural Resource Ecologist and Professional Wetland Scientist, Port of Portland

Matt is a Natural Resource Ecologist and Professional Wetland Scientist at the Port of Portland. His work involves permitting, monitoring and compliance with habitat restoration, wetlands, wildlife, trees, and invasive species issues. He works with operations and project support on all the Port’s properties including our three airports, marine terminals, and Government Island. He earned his first bachelors at Southern Oregon University in Sociology and a second bachelors at PSU in biology followed up with a MEM in 2014. Matt has been working with wildlife and natural resources for 20 years in both the private and public sectors.

Dr. Juniper Simonis | Owner & Lead Scientist, DAPPER Stats; Founding Member, Chemical Weapons Research Consortium

Dr. Juniper Simonis (they/them/theirs) is a quantitative ecologist whose work primarily focuses on modeling and forecasting species of conservation concern. After obtaining their PhD from Cornell University in 2013, they post-doced in the Conservation and Science Department at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Nearly six years ago, Dr. Simonis moved to Portland and began their consulting career, including starting DAPPER Stats. However, during the 2020 BLM protests, Dr. Simonis reinvigorated their work on urban aquatic ecology and biogeochemistry of toxic compounds in response to the use of chemical weapons by law enforcement. Dr. Simonis is keenly interested in understanding how such compounds impact the entire urban ecosystem from the land to the water to the air.

Stefanie Steele | M.S. Biology Student, Portland State University

Stefanie K. Steele is a M.S. Biology student (graduating Spring 2021) in the Masta Lab at Portland State University. Steele works closely with the PSU Invertebrate Museum and community members studying the solitary bees of Portland, OR. Steele led a three-year bee survey to learn what bee species are found within the urban core of Portland, the floral resources they use, and their seasonality. Thesis work investigated solitary, cavity-nesting bee species of the area to determine what bee (and wasp) species would use artificial nest blocks, what their cavity diameter and nest height preferences are, and descriptions of their nest structure and associated parasitoids.

Nick Wagner | Founder and Analyst, ForeSight Drone Services, LLC.

Nick is on a mission to bring the aerial perspective to every conservation organization in the Pacific Northwest. With 5 years of experience surveying, mapping, and 3D modeling using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Nick works with conservation champions on a wide range of applications from forest inventory to invasive species mapping to endangered species protections. Trained as an engineer, Nick leverages his experience in photography, robotics, and mapping to bring new aerial data and insights to address the heartbreaking problem of biodiversity loss.

Sarah Wilson | Conservation Ecologist, Port of Portland

Sarah is a Conservation Ecologist with the Port of Portland where she has worked for the past seven years managing their mitigation and enhancement sites. She works to identify maintenance needs, coordinate with regulators and communicate natural resources goals both internally and externally. Before working for the port she worked as a government contractor on a military base studying Western Pond Turtles and taught in outdoor classrooms and science museums. She has her BS in Environmental Science from CSUC.