Collette Streight, Executive Director, joined the Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in June 2022. She has over 25 years of experience in environmental program design and management, community engagement, and environmental education. Her career focus has been on connecting people to the wonder and value of the more than human world as well as providing folks practical ways of living more sustainable and regenerative lives at home, work, and school. Since 2011, she has practiced and taught the Deep Nature Connection principles and practices as shown to her by her mentor, Jon Young of the 8 Shields Institute. Collette earned a B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Psychology at CSU Chico, CA. Email address: collette@cascadesiskiyou.org

Zaynab Brown, Program Coordinator, joined the Friends in March 2023. She was born in Ashland, Oregon into a family with a deep appreciation for the region’s wild places. After graduating from Whitman College with a degree in Biology – Environmental Studies, she returned to the Rogue Valley where she has continued to develop a passion for community sufficiency while gaining extensive experience in event planning and program management. In her free time, she enjoys social dancing and spending time in the outdoors through gardening and horseback riding. Her email address is: zaynab@cascadesiskiyou.org

Daniel Collay, Board Chair, grew up in Eugene, Oregon and moved to Ashland in 2012 to attend Southern Oregon University. He graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and a Minor in Outdoor Adventure Leadership. He has spent his life working in the outdoors and has a passion for plants, wildlife, and conservation. He is the Program Coordinator for The Crest at Willow-Witt, an educational non profit based at Willow-Witt Ranch located in the expanded monument near Grizzly Peak.

Stasie Maxwell, Secretary, has served on the Board of the Friends of CSNM for several years. She grew up in Ashland and has a deep love for this area. Studying Tai Chi in Eugene,OR has deepened her respect and affection for the biodiversity and interconnectedness of this land and its inhabitants. An SOU alumna, she hopes to unite her passion with action by bridging connections between education, health and wellness, herbal medicine, and the wisdom of the indigenous people in relation to the monument.

Mel Gedde, Treasurer, grew up in Sandy, Oregon. His love of wild-places began as his father and grandfather took him around the state to hunt, fish and enjoy the great outdoors. After attending college in Ashland, where he earned his bachelor's degree in business administration, he spent 10 years in Portland before moving back to the area to enjoy our rich natural resources and scenic beauty. He has over 30 years of experience in finance, and is currently the Finance Manager at the Ashland Food Co-op.

Scot Loring, Board Member, has been working as a botanist / mycologist throughout Oregon since 1994, conducting various research, inventory, rare species survey, and monitoring projects. He is a consultant for various entities including the BLM Medford. He led a botanical survey in CSNM that resulted in the discovery of many species new to science, including two new genera. He is a Pacific Northwest native, and graduated from The Evergreen State College.

Terry Dickey, Board Member, served as Board chair (2015-2021) and led a re-set of the Friends non-profit in grassroots, membership, programs such as BioBlitz and financial stability to advocate for public support of biodiversity and the Monument. From his career at University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks, he worked with teams of Alaska Native elders, scientists and educators to develop life-long learning initiatives in museums and communities. He was a VISTA Volunteer in the Alaska villages of Kasigluk and Nikolai. His outdoor hobbies includes hiking, biking, snowshoeing, and downhill skiing.

Amanda Rose, Board Member, feels most at home being outdoors. She has traveled the US with her family, living in the Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest, and has been a resident of this unique area of the Northwest with her husband and four children for nearly a decade. Amanda is a senior at Southern Oregon University, majoring in Environmental Science and Policy, with a certificate in Native American Studies and a minor in Outdoor Leadership. She is also a Ford Foundation Scholar and a McNair Scholar with plans to pursue a PhD in Environmental Studies. Amanda believes our sustainable future depends on renewing our place-based connections, restoring an eco cultural place for humans within nature, not separate from the rest of the natural world, and ensuring environmental justice and equity through supporting world views and lifeways that protect biodiversity.

Teresa Coker, Board Member, is a Southern Oregon University environmental education faculty member with a deep appreciation for the biodiversity of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. She is passionate about exploring new places, putting down deep community roots, and connecting diverse people with the natural world.

Isabel Jalamov, student Board Member, grew up in Pataskala, Ohio, where she gained a profound appreciation for nature, natural processes, and behavioral biology. In 2021, Isabel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Kent State University. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in Environmental Education at Southern Oregon University. When she is not in school, Isabel enjoys hiking with her dog Indie, kayaking, camping, cooking, and crafting.

Nicholas Pflug, Student Board Member, was born in Montana and is now a student in SOU’s Environmental Science & Policy Department. He is inspired by his family’s agricultural background to seek holistic solutions to the growing problem of feeding humanity. Nic holds deep reverence for community service and synergistic stewardship, and believes that our greatest strength in democracy and in the world is what we can do for each other. Nic graduated South Medford High School before serving four years in the US Army, during which time he was grateful both to see much of the world, and to find that there was no sight greater than his home, The Rogue Valley. 

Howard Hunter, Advisor, was a long-time Board member of the Friends as well as the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (CSNM) Assistant Monument Manager. He spent a career in forestry, recreation, and natural resource management. Howard is familiar with all aspects of CSNM management.