Meet Our Staff
Heather McCoy EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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Heather joined the District in June of 2021 as the new Executive Director. She moved to the Pacific Northwest from northern California, where she was the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. Prior to her work in Santa Cruz, she led the education and exhibits departments of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and its marine science-focused sister institution, the Sea Center.
Heather has a Bachelor’s in Geology from Smith College and two Masters of Science focused in paleontology and geology from the University of Southern California and the University of Rochester. For more than 20 years, her career has focused on connecting people with the natural world and inspiring stewardship of it. She is thrilled to lead the District in its mission to provide natural resource expertise and support to all of Whidbey. |
Michelle Maynard FINANCE & OPERATIONS MANAGER
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Michelle joined the District in May of 2021 as the Finance & Operations Manager and brings over 15 years of experience in the Finance and Operations world. Michelle moved to the Pacific Northwest from the San Francisco Bay Area in 2012 where she worked as a Finance Director and Consultant to Professional Services Firms and Non-Profits.
Most recently she worked with Sound Salmon Solutions, a Washington State Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group and is currently their Board Treasurer. Michelle has thoroughly enjoyed the Pacific Northwest’s nature and has taken advantage of the beautiful hiking areas on Whidbey Island, where she now lives. Michelle is also an avid gardener and is learning to enjoy the Pacific Northwest weather by cooking, knitting, gardening (sometimes in the rain), and putting on rain gear to enjoy the outdoors with her dog Issie. |
Kelsi Mottet SENIOR NATURAL RESOURCE PLANNER
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Kelsi joined the District team in fall 2016 and served as the Marketing, Education & Outreach Coordinator for three years. In fall of 2019, she transitioned into the role of Natural Resource Planner serving residents with planning assistance in agriculture, forestry, backyard habitat stewardship, and wildfire preparedness for nearly three years. In winter of 2022, she transitioned into the role of Senior Natural Resource Planner and is certified as a Level III Conservation Planner with the United States Department of Agriculture.
A sixth-generation Whidbey Islander from Coupeville with a family history in agriculture, forestry, and the trades, Kelsi has over fifteen years of experience in the fields of natural resources and education. She is a graduate of Western Washington University's College of the Environment and holds a Masters of Education with a Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership & Administration from North Cascades Institute. She loves her island home and community. |
James Watson NATURAL RESOURCE PLANNER
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James joined the District team in May 2022. He was raised in Everett and has spent his career working towards habitat restoration and invasive species management in Island, Snohomish, Skagit, and King counties. James started his general contracting business, Nature’s Realm, LLC, in Clinton in 2020, providing a breadth of services surrounding landscaping, land management, and ecological restoration.
James earned his BA in Environmental Studies and MA in Policy Studies at the University of Washington Bothell, where he focused his research on the invasive spread of English holly in Western Washington. He joined the Board of Directors for the Adopt-a-Stream Foundation in Mukilteo in November 2021 and has over 6 years of experience working in the field of restoration ecology. James has a deep love of the environment that has been stoked through his passions for fishing, foraging, and rockhounding. |
Allison Rinard COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER
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Allison joined the District in October of 2021. She a is a former environmental non-profit leader with over a decade of experience in sustainable farming, ecological restoration, and public education. Allison has a long history of gardening and love of food dating back to her childhood, on through volunteerism and professional pursuits. She has been improving non-profit systems since managing Books to Prisoners Olympia while pursuing her Bachelor of Arts at The Evergreen State College.
After two years traveling with the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms program, she dedicated herself to creating more just, effective urban farms in Seattle as a Children's Garden Educator, Master Gardener, Farm Manager and Executive with Alleycat Acres, and Executive Director of The Common Acre. She is thrilled to be embarking on her own family farming journey here on Whidbey. |
Chuck Gerdes CLUSTER ENGINEER
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Chuck joined the District as our Cluster Engineer for Skagit, Whidbey, San Jaun, and Whatcom in October of 2022. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. He moved to Florida in 2005 where he finished his education (B.S. At Florida Tech). He moved to Washington on Halloween of 2010 and loves it here. He started working professionally in 2011 with a soil testing firm (InSitu Engineering). There he traveled the world and worked on a lot of really big projects. He left InSitu Engineering in 2014 and started working in private land development for a firm called MAC Engineering. His work was focused in King, Snohomish, Skagit, and Island counties. He did some work in Whatcom and San Juan Island, but mostly Snohomish and Skagit. He made the moved to the conservation world in later 2020, joining the Snohomish Conservation District. We are so happy to have Chuck’s expertise and collaborative spirit on our team!
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Meet our Board
A board of five Supervisors, three elected and two appointed, directs the programs and policies of the Whidbey Island Conservation District. The board meets once a month to discuss district business, oversee district finances and provide guidance on district activities. The meetings are open to the public. Check the footer at the bottom the page for current board meeting information and archives.
Appointed and elected positions are for 3-year terms and are served without compensation. District elections and appointments are held each spring. For more information about the Conservation District election process, view our election fact sheet.
Appointed and elected positions are for 3-year terms and are served without compensation. District elections and appointments are held each spring. For more information about the Conservation District election process, view our election fact sheet.
David Edwards CHAIR
APPOINTED, TERM THROUGH 2024 |
David Edwards holds a bachelor's degree in forest management from Oregon State University and has field experience in coastal forest lands similar to those found on Whidbey Island. He led the fixed-wing aerial firefighting division of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, where he performed state-level budgeting and built interagency partnerships. In the mid-2000s, he qualified as an airtanker pilot and flew wildfire suppression missions in Washington State and Alaska. He is a retired Air Force officer and pilot, and is currently a commercial pilot. David and his wife, Jill, live near Langley.
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Dr. Mark Sytsma VICE CHAIR
APPOINTED, TERM THROUGH 2023 |
Mark grew up on corn, soybean and hog farm in Iowa where he learned to basics of agriculture, soil conservation and natural resource management. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Iowa State University then headed to the great Pacific Northwest where he received a M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at UW. After a brief sojourn to the University of California in Davis he received a PhD in Ecology then came back north and spent 24 years as a professor of Environmental Science and Management and research administrator at Portland State University. He retired in 2018 and is currently an Emeritus Professor at PSU. His work at PSU was in water resource management, focused on lakes and invasive species. While in Oregon he served as an Associate Director on the Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation where he learned about the valuable work done by conservation districts. In 2016 he moved to 15 acres of pasture and forest land on South Whidbey that he intends to manage for wildlife habitat and grazing.
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Gary Ketcheson AUDITOR
ELECTED, TERM THROUGH 2023 |
Gary grew up a “city” boy in Wyoming. Cheyenne was just barely a city then and was surrounded by miles of open spaces: farms, forest and rangeland. Summers were spent camping and fishing while winters were spent shoveling snow, ice skating and tobogganing. An interest in forestry landed Gary at the University of Montana School of Forestry where he earned a degree in Resource Conservation with an emphasis in Watershed Management. An MS in Forest Hydrology, with a minor in soil science, followed at Oregon State University. Gary’s 32 year professional career spanned summer jobs with the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming and Forest Service assignments in Arizona, Idaho and Washington State. All assignments involved the conservation of soil and water resources.
Since retiring in 2009 and moving to Whidbey Island in 2011, Gary has joined the Master Gardeners and volunteered with the Organic Farm School, Meerkerk Gardens, Habitat for Humanity and the WICD. He looks forward to working with the talented and dedicated staff at WICD. Whidbey Island is a magical place. |
Jennifer Abermanis MEMBER
ELECTED, TERM THROUGH 2024 |
Jennifer has been a landowner in Freeland since June 2003 and has been ordering native bare root plants from the district for many years. She is currently building a small organic pumpkin seed business with her husband and meets the public at their booth at the Bayview Farmers Market. Jennifer is originally from Lake Charles, a small town in Louisiana, where she was raised on a riverbank with a well and septic tank. In Louisiana, she saw the devastation weather can present. Her background is in healthcare, where she has served as an executive, a director, an external consultant, an internal consultant, a board member, and a clinical laboratory inspector. Her work was been focused on both business & science. She had a deep interest in environmental issues and is committed to learning from colleagues and neighbors, listen deeply, and partner with the community to assure continued service and improvement of our Conservation District.
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Jessica Aws MEMBER
ELECTED, TERM THROUGH 2025 |
Jessica Aws is a resident of Coupeville and the owner of Bramblewood Farm, an equine boarding, training, and breeding farm. She began working with the Whidbey Island Conservation District in 2019 to create a farm plan and implement successful strategies to protect the fragile ecosystem of her farm.
Jessica is not only a farmer, but runs the Oak Harbor Youth Coalition and serves as the Vice President of the Oak Harbor School District Board of Directors. She earned her bachelor's degree in anthropology and a minor in history from the University of Washington in 2009. She pursued her master’s degree in medieval archaeology from the University of York a year later and received another master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Syracuse University in 2014. |
