Mackenzie Kleiva
Program Director
Mackenzie (Mack) is a current Master of Environmental Studies student studying water quality & policy at The Evergreen State College. After graduating with a dual BA/BS in Environmental Chemistry and Science Communication in 2019, she went on to found a grassroots organization working to increase the accessibility of biological solutions for treating pollution. She is passionate about finding natural synergy across disciplines toward more meaningful & sustainable solutions for protecting our natural waters.
David Monthie
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.
Sue Patnude
Board Treasurer
Sue Patnude 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.
Dave Peeler
Board Past President
Dave Peeler has degrees in both Zoology and English Literature from the University of Washington and studied environmental policy and sciences at The Evergreen State College (MEP program). Dave had a 33 year career with the WA Dept. of Ecology in water resources, water quality, shorelines management and Puget Sound restoration as Water Quality Program Manager and Special Assistant to the Director. Subsequent to retiring from Ecology, he has worked as an independent consultant, as the Director of Policy at People for Puget Sound, and on the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSESMP) for the Puget Sound Partnership. Dave now volunteers with Thurston Environmental Voters, Kiwanis Club of Olympia, Scott Lake Maintenance Co. (homeowners association), Griffin Neighborhood Association, Thurston County Democrats, and the Deschutes Advisory Committee. Dave and his wife of 43 years currently reside in the Scott Lake area. Dave enjoys boating, gardening, bicycling, sports, loud rock music and family time with his grandson.
Katrina Keleher
Board Secretary
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, home-brewing beer, gardening, and backpacking.
Ray Willard
Board Vice President
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.
Cole Baldino
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.
Grant Gilmore
Board Member
Grant has dedicated his career to the intersection of science and engineering since 1996, with a particular emphasis on the interplay between the built and natural environments. Currently serving as a Water Resource Specialist for the City of Tumwater's Water Resources and Sustainability Department. Previously, Grant worked in the non profit sector focusing on environmental policies and workforce development. Later shifting to environmental consulting for a civil engineering firm, specializing in environmental permitting and documentation for transportation, utility, and wastewater infrastructure projects. In his role, 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. Grant's current focus lies within the WIRA 13 Deschutes River Watershed, now serving the public sector, concentrating on water resource management (drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and habitat restoration). He serves as a regional representative for the City within the South Puget Sound, serving as an advisor for the Washington Stormwater Center, and representing the City with various environmental initiatives, including the WIRA 13 Lead Entity, the Regional Environmental Education Program (REEP), and Stream Team. In addition to his commitments to the City of Tumwater, Grant is an integral part of the University of Washington faculty, serving as an Instructor in the Wetland Science and Management Program. This professional certificate program trains future wetland scientists for roles in the environmental science field, with a particular focus on watershed functions, wetlands, streams, estuaries, and the wide range of regulatory policies that govern them.
Joel Carlson
Board Member
Joel's focus is on saving our democracy, providing a better future for Americans and restoring Puget Sound back to health. Joel is on the board of Sierra Club South Sound, DERT and member of League of Women Voters Thurston County.
Keith Dublanica
Board Member
Keith Dublanica 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)
Bob Jensen (In Memorium)
In 2023, we also lost our Board Vice President, Bob Jensen. As such, we would like to take a moment to remember Bob and give our heartfelt thank you to him and his family for a lifetime of support for this incredible place we call home. Bob served as Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Ecology from 1971 to 1981. During his career, Bob devoted his service to promoting and defending the Shoreline Management Act of 1971. From 1992-2004, he served as a member of the Shorelines and Pollution Control Hearings Board of the State. In addition, Bob devoted considerable effort over his career working to return the Nisqually Delta to its natural condition. Bob was dedicated to his passions, and he made a lasting impact on the environment and those around him.
