Amanda Ward
Amanda came to UCSRB from Foster Creek Conservation District where she served as District Manager. She is originally from New Zealand and has decades of experience in management and planning. She holds her Bachelor of Environmental Science from Charles Sturt University in and her Advanced Diploma of Land Management from the University of Sydney in Australia. In her free time she likes photography, hiking and traveling.
Sarah Walker
Sarah’s natural resource work in the Upper Columbia region began in 1999. Her experience in the public and private sector has involved data collection and analysis, as well as facilitating, coordinating, and reporting on watershed and salmon habitat restoration initiatives. Her emphasis on collaborative solutions to complex environmental issues stems from her time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana, where she worked on conflicts between wildlife and rural communities. She received her Master of Science in Environmental Science from Washington State University, with a focus on resource management and conflict resolution, and a Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College. She is also a certified volunteer mediator for the Wenatchee Valley Dispute Resolution and is in the process of national certification by the Udall Foundation as an Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution (ECCR) practitioner. In her leisure time, Sarah enjoys fishing, paddling, camping, and hiking around the Pacific Northwest with her two sons and husband.
Dave Hecker
Dave was raised in Idaho where he developed a love for the outdoors at a young age. He has worked in the conservation field over the past 8 years with public, private and nonprofit organizations. His experience includes work in fisheries, wildlife, youth education and conservation corps program administration. At the University of Montana he completed a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Conservation with an emphasis in Ecological Restoration. Dave currently lives in Wenatchee and his favorite days are those spent floating scenic rivers throughout the West.
Ryan Niemeyer
Ryan is a seventh generation Washingtonian and grew up on an alfalfa farm in Okanogan County where his parents still live. He completed his Masters in Natural Resources and PhD in Water Resources both at University of Idaho. He subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at University of Washington and University of California Santa Barbara. He has worked on various natural resource issues including the impact of dams on river temperatures in the Eastern US, forest thinning impacts on water resources the interior Pacific Northwest, and riparian buffers in Nicaragua. He currently lives with his wife and two kids and enjoys hiking, hunting, and fishing.
Elaine Sivey
Elaine grew up in eastern Washington and spent an early part of her career in the Wenatchee Valley, later moving to the Tri-Cities and the Seattle area where she worked in a variety of challenging financial roles including government, government contracting and professional services. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a graduate of the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. She appreciates the variety of ecosystems and outdoor opportunities Washington provides. Now, living in Plain with her husband, she is learning about ways to be a good steward of the land and is sharing that knowledge with her family. She enjoys camping, hiking, and skiing.
