The Mt. Adams Resource Stewards staff and Board of Directors bring years of experience that reflects stewardship of our natural resources and passion for community causes.
Staff
Jay McLaughlin, Executive Director
jay@mtadamsstewards.org
Jay has been working with communities and natural resource issues since 1995, including stints as a forester with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, forestry consultant, the Peace Corps in Panama and as a high school teacher in Glenwood. Jay has a master degree in forestry from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, a bachelor degree from Whitman College, and is the founding director of MARS.
Dave Ryan, Monitoring and Outreach Coordinator
dave@mtadamsstewards.org
Dave leads efforts to measure and monitor the impacts of forest restoration, stewardship and management associated with community-based forestry activities at MARS. He is also responsible for communicating those efforts to the local community and other stakeholders. Dave has worked for the US Forest Service in Montana and Idaho. He spent several years as a forester with WA DNR in the Klickitat region, followed by a stint managing the Ellsworth Creek Preserve for the Nature Conservancy near Willapa Bay in SW WA. He most recently worked for the Quinault Indian Nation as the Special Projects Forester. Dave has a B.A. in Classics from the University of AZ, a B.S. in Forestry from the University of MT, and an M.N.R.S. (Ecological Restoration) from Colorado State University. Dave enjoys photography, travel, camping, and spending time with his trusty sidekick, Hektor. He is very excited by his return to the area to support MARS and this community.
Lucas King, Stewardship Crew Project Lead
lucas@mtadamsstewards.org
Lucas oversees our stewardship crew program that involves leading a seasonal field crew in implementing a variety of projects that he works with MARS staff and partners to develop. He joined MARS after several years with Washington DNR as a wildland fire and forest health specialist, as well as a firefighter. Lucas grew up in Trout Lake with Mt. Adams and the surrounding forests as a playground. He is also an artisan cheesemaker!
Sarah Allaben, Fire Adapted Communities Coordinator, Grants & Agreements Manager
Sarah joined MARS in 2022 after a stint as a RARE intern in the Willamette Valley working on wildfire recovery, among other projects, in the wake of the devastating 2020 fire season. Sarah has a bachelors in biology from Carleton College and brings her love for the natural world and incredible organizational skills. When not helping to grow MARS, she can often be found scaling a rock face or running trails with her dog, Jack.
Board of Directors
Mt. Adams Resource Stewards Board is fortunate to count on a diverse group of individuals, representing different ideas, values and communities in the Mt. Adams region, while generously volunteering their time to better our organization. They include:
Chair: Jim White – Retired Silviculturist, USFS, and former manager, Underwood Conservation District
Jeanette Burkhardt – Biologist, Yakama Nation Fisheries
Bengt Coffin – retired hydrologist, US Forest Service
Doug Comstock – Financial Advisor, Edward Jones
Jim Dean – Owner, James Dean Construction
Emily Jane Davis – Assistant Professor, College of Forestry, Oregon State University
Karen Black Jenkins – Professional Arborist
Tom Reynolds – Retired Klickitat County Judge/Attorney
Nina Vinyard – Glenwood community member