San Juan Islands Conservation District
San Juan County, Washington
Conservation District Staff
Paul Andersson, Executive Director, Public Records Officer
Pronouns: He/Him, Email: paul@sjicd.org
Paul joined the Conservation District in 2021 and is responsible for the successful coordination of all programs and staff under the Board of Supervisors. He has over 15 years of experience managing small businesses, government agencies and non profit programs throughout the Puget Sound. Paul is a resident of Orcas Island, where he is immersed in the work of the Conservation District and its strategic partners while raising his family and a small crop of oysters. Prior to joining the CD, Paul served as the District Manager for the Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District and as a climate and energy program specialist for City of Bellevue, WA. Paul has a BA in English Literature from Iowa State University and a MBA in Sustainable Business from Presidio University.
Mike Rosekrans, Program Coordinator - Youth Conservation Corps
Pronouns: He/Him, Email: mike@sjicd.org
Mike joined the District in the Spring of 2023 as the Youth Conservation Corps Program Co-Coordinator. Mike has spent his career engaging youth in environmental education programs, developing curriculum for educational institutions, and mentoring aspiring outdoor leaders and educators. Mike earned his M.Ed from Western Washington University in partnership with North Cascades Institute in 2016 with a focus on nonprofit administration and environmental education. After a season in Denali, five years in Yellowstone, and a thru hike of the Pacific Crest Trail with his wife, Mike returned to Western Washington and began working with the islands’ youth through the Lopez Island School District and the Lopez Island Family Resource Center, and is excited to be working with the YCC. Mike loves to hike and explore the verdant forests and glaciated peaks of the Pacific Northwest while advocating for endangered and threatened species that make their homes in the waters of the Salish Sea and the mountains and forests of the Olympics and Cascades.
Julie Curtis, Communications Coordinator
Pronouns: She/Her, Email: julie@sjicd.org
Julie joined the District in the Spring of 2023 as the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) Program Co-Coordinator. In early 2024, she transitioned to the Communications Coordinator role, but remains heavily involved with YCC programming. Julie has a diverse professional background in program management, with an emphasis on community and relationship building. After receiving her B.A. in Environmental Studies at the University of San Diego, Julie served as a Food Security Advisor with the Peace Corps in Benin, West Africa. Since then, Julie has worked as an auditor, expedition guide, and operations manager. After falling in love with Washington’s rugged beauty while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2019, Julie has been thrilled to call San Juan Island her home since 2021. She is an advocate for protecting wild spaces while building a more equitable and diverse future of environmentalism. In her spare time, you’ll find her hiking with her dog, kayak camping, road biking, or participating in the many wonderful community events the islands have to offer.
Tony Fyrqvist, Finance Manager
Pronouns: He/Him, Email: tony@sjicd.org
Tony joined the San Juan Islands Conservation District as the Financial Manager in 2020 after more than thirty years in community banking. Tony brings a wealth of finance experience to the district as well as ties to the San Juan Island community. Originally from a small island in Finland, Tony and his wife, Lisa, raised their five children in Friday Harbor, where he has been an active participant in local society. Tony has coached youth sports for the region, including baseball, roller hockey, and soccer. At home, Tony and Lisa actively compost household organic matter, and he rides his bike to work, regardless of the weather. Tony obtained his undergraduate degree from California State University, went on to complete his Master’s degree in International Management at Arizona State University, and attained his MBA from Seattle University.
Pauline Chiquet, Agriculture Program Manager & VSP Coordinator
Pronouns: She/Her, Email: pauline@sjicd.org
Pauline joined the San Juan Islands Conservation District in 2022 after earning her NRCS certificate as a Natural Resource Planner and working with the Whatcom Conservation District. Despite her BA in Art History from Yale University, Pauline decided to pursue a career in food and agriculture. She received a certification in farm management on small-scale vegetable and livestock operations from the Organic Farm School on Whidbey Island in 2018. In 2019, she opened her own farm in the Skagit Valley and served as a consultant for farmers and gardeners, with a particular focus on fertility management and soil best practices for regenerative systems. She is a certified Soil Food Web Lab Technician, specializing in soil microbiological testing for biological soil balancing. Pauline lives on Orcas Island and enjoys immersing herself in the waters of the Salish Sea, swimming, diving, and paddle boarding.
Bruce Gregory, Agriculture Natural Resource Planner
Pronouns: He/Him, Email: bruce@sjicd.org
Bruce is a long-time resident of San Juan Island. He and his wife, Colleen Howe-Gregory, own and operate Mitchell Bay Farm. Their farm has agricultural production in grass raised lamb, Kiwifruit, Asian pears, Cane berries, figs, vegetable production, bee keeping and small round bale haylage. Bruce is a past member of the SJC Noxious Weed Control Board, and served as a member of the USDA Farm Service Agency County Committee for six years. He was a founding member of Island Grown Farmer’s Cooperative that operates the first USDA inspected mobile slaughter unit established in the U.S. He also served as a board member of the Northwest Agricultural Business Center in Mt. Vernon, WA. Bruce has a bachelor’s degree from Boise State University, and Post-Bac from WWU and was a participant in the two-year WSU/Kellogg Foundation/Holistic Management statewide program. Bruce has helped other farmers and forest landowners with resource planning through his work with the San Juan Islands Conservation District as a certified USDA-NRCS Resource Planner since 2007 and works part-time now.
Kai Hoffman-Krull, Forest Health Manager, Islands Conservation Corps Program Manager
Pronouns: He/Him, Email: kai@sjicd.org
Kai is a certified NRCS Natural Resource Planner after studying forestry and literature at Yale University, where he also received a certificate in Business Plan Development from the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member at the Western Washington University College of the Environment, and has coordinated research projects in agriculture and forestry with the University of Washington, University of Montana, and Oregon State University in the San Juan Islands since 2014. He has co-authored peer-reviewed articles in Biogeochemistry and Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment, and has written extensively for publications such as Growing for Market, Civil Eats, New Society Publishing, The Sound Consumer, Rodale Institute, and Stone Pier Press. Kai is also a certified US Forest Service C-Level Sawyer and a certified US Forest Service C-Level Sawyer Instructor/ Evaluator in chainsaw bucking and ground processing. He lives on Waldron Island, where he enjoys trail running, growing food, and managing his forest for biodiversity, plant resilience, and carbon sequestration
Laura Pitts, Riparian Natural Resource Project Manager, Cost Share Manager
Pronouns: She/Her, Email: laura@sjicd.org
Laura became an Orcas Island resident in 2018 after joining the Camp Orkila staff as an Outdoor Environmental Educator. Her passion for conservation soon led her to serve an AmeriCorps term at Moran State Park, where she built a trail and led hundreds of volunteers through other stewardship projects. Before joining the district, Laura was a regulatory specialist and biologist for shoreline development in San Juan County, where she assisted property owners in implementing sustainable practices and mitigating environmental impacts. Laura grew up deep in the heart of Texas and obtained a BS in Environmental Science from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. In her down time she enjoys hiking, foraging, gardening, or just relaxing in the sun with a good book.
Cathi Winings, Forestry Natural Resource Planner
Pronouns: She/Her, Email: cathi@sjicd.org
Cathi has worked for the District as a natural resource planner since 2019, providing forestry technical assistance, coordinating the Voluntary Stewardship Program, and coordinating GIS projects. Originally from Wisconsin, she moved to Washington in 1998 to work at North Cascades National Park. After 15 years of work with the NPS, she moved to Johns Island to join her husband and start a family, and eventually moved to San Juan Island in 2014. Cathi holds a B.S. and M.S. in Geography from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and Western Washington University, respectively. She has many years of planning and environmental compliance experience as a natural resource manager with the NPS, where she also performed hazard tree surveys, soundscape monitoring, invasive plant management, and fire incident GIS. Cathi enjoys hiking, gardening, knitting, and sewing, and hopes someday soon to backpack with her family in the mountains. She and the kids spend the summer traveling between San Juan and Johns islands to visit their dad where he works at Camp Nor’wester.
Walt Andrews, Island Marble Butterfly Natural Resource Project Manager
Pronouns: He/Him, Email: walt@sjicd.org
Walt joined the District is 2023 and manages SJICD's Island Marble Butterfly recovery efforts. He is an ecologist with broad interests in conservation, biodiversity, agriculture, and the social nature of how we conserve the communities and ecosystems of the San Juan Islands. Walt has a background in ecology, conservation, and land management. He has a B.S. in Ecology from the Evergreen State College and has worked in the biological sciences in ecology and agriculture. Walt also coordinates the IMB Volunteer Program and does research at WSU San Juan County Extension. Walt lives on Lopez Island. He enjoys finding ways to improve habitat, good science, raising chickens, and live music.
Mitch McCloskey, Eelgrass Natural Resource Project Manager
Pronouns: He/Him, Email: mitch@sjicd.org
Mitch joined the team in the Summer of 2023 in the role of Eelgrass Project Manager, responsible for coordinating and implementing eelgrass restoration projects throughout the San Juan Islands. Mitch holds a bachelor's degree in biology and is nearing completion of a master's degree in environmental science from Alaska Pacific University. His professional experiences include working on Alaskan fishing vessels and managing university aquarium operations and he has contributed academically to the design of life support systems for the Giant Pacific Octopus, sleep studies in octopuses, and as a certified SCUBA research diver. These experiences have shaped his heartfelt commitment to marine ecosystems. Mitch’s blend of field and laboratory skills, coupled with his SCUBA expertise, allows him to contribute meaningfully to the mission of native eelgrass restoration. Mitch resides on San Juan Island, where he is always excited to continue exploring and advocating for the marine environment.
Andrew Jansen, Islands Conservation Corps Field Supervisor
Pronouns: He/Him, Email: andrew@sjicd.org
Andrew joined the Conservation District in 2023 as the ICC Program Supervisor. Previously he worked with the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank as a field assistant and was also an ICC crew member in the 2021 cohort. His other previous experience includes working in forestry and arboriculture in California and on Orcas with Rainshadow Consulting, native ecosystem protection and management on Kaua’i with the State of Hawai’i Division of Forestry and Wildlife, and an internship with the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. Andrew grew up in the Skagit Valley and migrated across the water to Orcas Island in 2019. He is passionate about land stewardship, cultural ecology, and indigenous ecosystem management practices, and is grateful for the opportunity to apply these passions towards stewarding the islands.
Doug McCutchen, Islands Conservation Corps Program Advisor
Pronouns: He/Him, Email: doug@sjicd.org
Doug joined Conservation District part-time in February 2024, bringing with him 25 years of stewardship and conservation experience in the San Juan Islands. Still working with the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank (where he has been for 20 years), Doug focuses on restoring and protecting special places in the islands, facilitating stewardship of agricultural lands, and designing public access to unique natural areas. He uses trails as a vehicle to tell stories and connect people with their landscapes. To this end, Doug helped establish the San Juan Islands Youth Conservation Corps and the Island Climate Resilience advocacy group. Doug’s interest in natural history and insatiable curiosity cultivated a passion for historical ecology and ethnoecology. These inquiries have led to a deep appreciation for Coast Salish peoples and their place-based reciprocal relationship with the lands and waters of the Salish Sea. He currently co-chairs a Co-Stewardship subcommittee associated with Stewardship Network of the San Juans Tribal Engagement effort. He lives on San Juan Island in a driftwood cabin with his partner, Kari Koski, and brown hound, George.