WICD Staff

​Overview

The Whidbey Island Conservation District has a modest staff of 4 full-time and 3 part-time employees. For information or assistance with farm & ag assistance, beginning & transitioning farm resources, forest stewardship, Firewise, water resource management, backyard & habitat conservation, native plants, or other questions related to natural resource conservation on your land, please call or stop by our office located in the historic Williams House at 1 NE 4th St., Coupeville. Our office hours are Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Be sure to check out the linked resource pages above to help get you started, or check out our WICD Guide to Services brochure.

​All staff can be reached by calling (360) 678-4708 or toll-free (888)-678-4922.
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​Have a general question or comment, but not sure who to direct it to? Please email wicd[at]whidbeycd.org.                                             

From left to right: Kelsi Mottet, Sandy Welch, Erin Borden, Shannon Bly, Matt Zupich, Gwendolyn Hannam.

Profiles

Matt Zupich
DISTRICT MANAGER
Matt joined the District team in fall 2016 as Natural Resource Planner and has since moved into the position of District Manager in winter 2019. Matt has over ten years of experience working in the natural resource field, including five years with conservation districts in WA and OR. Matt comes to the District from Island County government where he worked as a Water Quality Specialist and served as Coordinator for the Water Resource Advisory Committee. He is also active in the local community as a volunteer for WSU Extension's Waste Wise program and Central Whidbey Hearts and Hammers. Matt has a degree in Safety and Environmental Management from Slippery Rock University of PA and studied natural resources at Spokane Community College and the University of Idaho.

Matt is available Monday - Friday.​

Email Matt

Erin Borden
FARM CONSERVATION PLANNER
Erin joined the District team in fall of 2018 and has over 30 years of biology and chemistry teaching experience at four-year and two-year colleges and at high school level. She is an avid outdoors woman and animal lover. She and her husband have owned and ran a variety of farms throughout their time together and presently farm on Whidbey Island. She enjoys raising goats and various equestrian pursuits. Having been a Conservation District supervisor in the late 2000s, her desire to give back and preserve the beauty of Whidbey Island and the opportunity it serves its people has brought her to work as Farm Natural Resource Specialist for the District. 

Erin is available typically on Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays.

Email Erin

Tom Slocum
DISTRICT ENGINEER
Tom is the Washington conservation districts’ Northwest Region engineer, providing licensed professional engineering services to San Juan Conservation District and its counterpart districts in Skagit, Whatcom, and Island counties. Tom’s background includes over twenty years of experience in the environmental field working with public agencies and consulting firms at the local, national, and international level. Tom is particularly interested in natural habitat restoration projects and has assisted individual landowners, non-profit organizations and public agencies in obtaining funding for, permitting, designing and managing construction of scores of such projects. He has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree in civil engineering from Northeastern University, and a law degree from Seattle University.

Kelsi Mottet
NATURAL RESOURCE PLANNER
Kelsi joined the District team in fall 2016 and served as the Marketing, Education & Outreach Coordinator for three years. In 2019, she transitioned into the role of Natural Resource Planner, offering technical planning assistance with an emphasis on forests and farms, and coordinates the Whidbey Island Firewise Program and Whidbey Island Growers Association monthly potluck group. A fifth-generation Whidbey Island native, Kelsi has over ten of years experience working in the fields of environmental education and natural resources. Her professional experiences are broad and diverse, having worked for four Whidbey Island farms, as a education consultant for Triangle Associates, a program coordinator for University of Alaska Fairbanks, a 2nd grade teacher, and a naturalist educator for Pacific Science Center and North Cascades Institute. She is a graduate of Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University, and holds a Masters of Education with a Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership & Administration.
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Kelsi is available Monday - Thursday.

Email Kelsi

Gwendolyn Hannam
NATURAL RESOURCE PLANNER
Gwendolyn joined the District in Spring of 2019 and has over 10 years’ experience as an environmental biologist, including 5 years as a Lead Biologist Scientist in the Water Management Section for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Utilizing her BSc. Oceanography (U. Washington, USA) and MSc Taxonomy and Biodiversity of Plants (U. Edinburgh, Scotland), most of her career has been based around water quality, land use & development, endangered species, water resource management, and environmental critical areas. Gwendolyn’s desire to serve her community in a non-regulatory role has brought her an opportunity to contribute her expertise and knowledge to the District as a Natural Resource Planner.

Gwendolyn is available Mondays - Fridays.

Email GWENDOLYN

Ken, Karen & Bruce 

Thank You for Your 

​Many Years of ​

Service!

Ken Drecksel, our Farm and Forest Planner (left) retired as of December 2018. Karen Bishop, our District Manager (middle) has returned to her family farm business - Ebey Road Farm - as of March 2019. Bruce Gordon, our Farm Planner (right) retired as of April 2019. Both Ken and Karen have worked for the District since 2007, and Bruce since 2010. We thank them all for their many years of service to Whidbey Island conservation efforts and wish them well. We will miss them!

Sandy Welch
OFFICE & FISCAL ADMINISTRATOR /
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Sandy joined the District team in summer 2006. She is a graduate of San Diego State University with a degree in Applied Art. She has a diverse background including woodworking, interior design, home design and construction, television cartoon animation, magazine layout and publication, church administration, and light bookkeeping. She spent many years as a freelance Graphic Designer, and brings that experience to a variety of publication projects at the District. 
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Sandy is available Monday - Thursday.

Email Sandy

Shannon Bly
OUTREACH COORDINATOR
Shannon joined the district team in Spring of 2019. She came from the Oak Harbor Country Store, where she spent the past four years working with the public on their farm, yard, and livestock questions and projects. She is a WSU Extension Master Composter/Recycler and Master Livestock Advisor, and has been involved in a range of outreach and education activities, including school garden building, school garden education classes, and backyard chicken classes. She is a graduate of Fairhaven College at Western Washington University with a degree in Natural Resource Economics.
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Shannon is available Mondays - Fridays.

Email SHANNON

Meet Our Newest

​Team Members

Matt Zupich (center), who has served as the Natural Resource Planner for WICD for nearly 3 years, was hired as the new District Manager after a lengthy selection process. Gwendolyn Hannam (left) is the new District Natural Resource Planner, replacing Matt. Shannon Bly (right) is the District's new Conservation Program Support Specialist.