Meet our Staff, Board, and Interns
Staff
Josh Laughlin (he/him), Executive Director
Josh was born and raised on sandy Cape Cod. He graduated from the University of Oregon with degrees in Journalism and Environmental Studies in 1998 and worked as an editor of the Earth First! Journal until 2001. Thereafter, he teamed back up with Cascadia Wildlands where he has worn a number of hats for the organization. In 2015 he was hired as Executive Director. When not working to protect and restore the watersheds and species of Cascadia, he enjoys floating down the bioregion’s spectacular rivers, digging in the garden, playing ultimate frisbee, and raising his kiddos.
Email Josh: jlaughlin(at)cascwild(dot)org
Noah Angell, (he/him) Communications Fellow
Noah grew up catching turtles and fish in his local Texas river. This love for critters led him to move to Colorado to study fish and wildlife conservation. He then moved to Humboldt county to pursue his Masters researching Marine Protected Areas while working as a program assistant with the National Park Service. He is passionate about conservation and using science communication to engage communities, especially those of historically marginalized backgrounds. In his free time he enjoys traveling, surfing, playing soccer, backpacking, gardening, thrifting, hiking, gardening, and exploring wildlands.
Email Noah: noah(at)cascwild(dot)org
Favorite Cascadia Critter: Wolverine
Favorite memory outside: Getting absolutely drenched on a hike to see New Zealand’s tallest Mountain, Aoraki Mt Cook.
Grace Brahler (she/her), Wildlands Director
Grace grew up in eastern Kansas and studied environmental science in the Piedmont region of North Carolina and the Gulf Coast of Texas. She traveled west for law school at the University of Oregon, where she focused on natural resources law and policy and water justice. When she’s not working to protect Cascadia’s wildlands, you can find Grace throwing a frisbee to her beautiful mutt Sylas, playing golf, or searching for a good swimming hole.
Email Grace: grace(at)cascwild(dot)org
Favorite Cascadia Critter: Marbled murrelet (aka flying tree potato!)
Favorite memory outside: Watching a grey whale breach in Whale Cove
Martha Brinson, Membership & Operations Director
Martha (she/her) spent most of her childhood in Wisconsin. She eventually landed in Florida where she enjoyed going to the beaches and riding her motorcycle before moving to Oregon. When she’s not working, you can find her walking, playing with her dog, gardening and birdwatching.
Email Martha: martha(at)cascwild(dot)org
Favorite Cascadia Critter: Northern Spotted Owl
Favorite memory outside: Kayaking near whales in Alaska
Nick Cady (he/him), Legal Director
Nick grew up in St. Louis, playing in the rivers of the Missouri Ozarks. He traveled west to attend law school at the University of Oregon. When he is not litigating over irresponsible land management and protections for imperiled species, he can be found paddling, skiing, or playing soccer.
Email Nick: nick(at)cascwild(dot)org
Favorite Cascadia Critter: Red Tree Vole
Favorite memory outside: Skiing Crater Lake
Bethany Cotton (she/her), Conservation Director
Bethany’s environmental ethic was born and raised in the wilds of Southern Oregon: she grew up inside what is now the expanded Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. A graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School, Bethany holds certificates in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Animal Law. In the hours she is not advocating for wildlife and wild places, Bethany can be found growing, cooking and preserving organic food, wildcrafting mushrooms and berries, working on her bird and wildflower ID skills, and exploring wildlands and waterways— usually with her rescue mutts Gus and Jalapeño in tow.
Email Bethany: bethany(at)cascwild(dot)org
Favorite Cascadia Critter: Canada lynx
Favorite memory outside: Watching the Junction Butte wolf pack and a mama grizzly and her triplets interact over a bison carcass in Yellowstone
Madeline Cowen (she/they), Grassroots Organizer
Madeline hails from the foggy isle of Vashon in the Salish Sea, landing in Eugene to complete their higher education in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon. Since the founding of WildCAT (Cascadia Action Team), they have worked tirelessly to build our field-checking capacity and grow the forest, climate and environmental justice movements in our region. When not working, you’ll find Madeline wandering through Cascadia, fishing, foraging, surfing, or kayaking with their dogs Finn and Desmond along the way.
Email Madeline: madeline(at)cascwild(dot)org
Favorite Cascadia Critter: Pacific Marten
Favorite memory outside: Backpacking in the Wallowas and foraging choice king boletes
Spencer McIntyre (they/them), Development and Events Manager
Spencer was raised in the woods and lakes of southeast Michigan and they later lived in the jungle of Kedah, Malaysia, where they studied Indigenous sustainable farming. Their experiences with small family farmers abroad continue to inform their activism within community-led, grassroots movements. Outside of work, they enjoy playing banjo in their band, singing to trees, camping near water, and romping through the woods.
Email Spencer: spencer(at)cascwild(dot)org
Favorite Cascadia Critter: Rough-skinned newt (or banana slug!!!)
Favorite memory outside: Bushwhacking through the jungle in Malaysia to find and harvest bat guano with nothing but a backpack and a machete.
Peter Jensen (he/him), Staff Attorney
Peter grew up exploring and playing in the Wasatch and Uinta mountains near his childhood home in Millcreek, Utah. He studied Environmental Science at the University of Utah and led Patagonia’s environmental grants and activism program in Utah before moving to Eugene to pursue his law degree. Peter is an attorney, dad, and lover of trees, trails, mountains, and fish. He is passionate about the intersections of law and science, litigation and policy, and learning from nature. In his free time, Peter can usually be found running through the woods, exploring the rivers of the West, or cooking and playing with his little family.
Email Peter: peter(at)cascwild(dot)org
Favorite Cascadia Critter: Rough-skin Newt; Sifaka Lemur
Favorite memory outside: Fastpacking in the Cascades; surfing on the Oregon Coast
Board of Directors
Gary Henderson (he/him) — Board Treasurer, Thermofisher
Gary has been part of the Cascadia Bioregion since 1989 and his three children are all Oregonians. Gary has always had a love for wild forest lands. “Our forests are such a treasure and I want to continue to defend our wild spaces and to be part of the change in cultural attitude about where the true value lies in the forests that are part of every one of us.”
Kim Hyland (she/her) — Board Secretary, Windermere Real Estate
Kim has been in Eugene since 1995, finding her way here from Cape Cod and the Boston area. Kim has been a local Realtor since 2004 and spends as much down time as possible exploring Oregon’s mountainous and coastal beauty. While hiking and biking are high on her list, her true passion is swimming. There is nothing like appreciating the splendor of Waldo Lake while crossing it in a wetsuit. Kim joined the Board in January of 2020 after many years of volunteering with and supporting Cascadia Wildlands.
Sristi Kamal (she/her) — Deputy Director, Western Environmental Law Center
Sristi Kamal is a wildlife conservationist with a special focus on the human dimensions of conservation. She works for Western Environmental Law Center as their Deputy Director and is based out of Gresham, OR. Sristi was born and raised in Assam, India – home to tigers, rhinos, elephants, leopards and other megafauna which fueled her love for wildlife and wild places. She has a Ph.D. in Ecology and has spent time working on complex conservation issues during her academic and professional career in India, Poland, Haiti, Timor Leste, Ethiopia, and the US. In the Pacific Northwest, she works with state fish and wildlife agencies, their commissions and the state legislature, advocating for stronger policies on wildlife and habitat conservation. Sristi loves to spend time outdoors hiking, backpacking, photographing and kayaking with her husband and two dogs.
Daniel Kruse (he/him) — Board President, Law Offices of Daniel R. Kruse
Dan Kruse is an attorney in Eugene, Oregon specializing in environmental law and criminal law. Originally from New York, Dan studied music at Temple University in Philadelphia before moving to Eugene in 2003 to attend law school at the University of Oregon. Dan worked for Cascadia Wildlands as a law clerk from 2004 to 2006, and then as Legal Director from 2006 to 2011. Now in private practice, Dan continues to represent Cascadia Wildlands in several cases, including cases to protect wolves, marbled murrelets, and the Elliott State Forest. Dan lives in Eugene with his wife and two rascally children. Their favorite family camping spot is at Twin Lakes in the Umpqua National Forest.
Jonathan Leong (he/him) — Aumakua Capital Management
Jonathan is an Oregon native, born and raised in the beautiful Willamette Valley. He is a Charter Financial Analyst and has earned his Masters in Finance at Claremont McKenna College, and received his B.S. from Harvey Mudd College, where he double majored in molecular biology and economics. He has spent his career building asset management firms in Hawaii, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. He finally returned to Oregon, where he spends most of his time operating his own firm, Aumakua Capital Management. When he is not working with his team, he spends his time teaching the next generation at Oregon State University, getting tossed off his surfboard somewhere in the ocean, or enjoying the amazing outdoors.
Dan Snyder (he/him) — Public Justice
Dan graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2010 and has been practicing public interest environmental law ever since. He enforces our nation’s environmental laws against polluters, representing the interests of individuals, local grassroots organizations, and national non-profits. His practice involves actions under the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Comprehensive Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Dan is also an experienced public records attorney, litigating Freedom of Information Act lawsuits across the country. When not in the office, Dan enjoys a round of disc golf, a trip to the river, or watching his beloved Ducks. He and his wife, Kirsten, are the proud parents of three kids.
Summer Interns
With the generous backing of the Evergreen Hill Education Fund of Oregon Community Foundation, we welcome our summer law clerks and summer Field and Events Coordinator. We are so are excited about helping build the next generation of public interest environmental attorneys and advocates.
Danny Billick, Summer Legal Intern
Danny was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he developed his love for nature, exploring the shores of Lake Michigan Danny attended Western Washington University, where he doubled majored in Spanish and Environmental Studies/Economics. Before attending Oregon Law, Danny worked on a state legislature campaign and for two environmental non-profits. Last summer, Danny externed for U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson in Portland. As a 2L, Danny conducted research as a fellow in Oregon Law’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Fellowship program, worked as a tutor in the Legal Research and Writing program, and served as a staff editor on the Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation. When not studying, Danny spends his time with his partner of ten years, working in the garden or playing with their dog, Zelda.
Dara Evans, Summer Legal Intern
Dara grew up moving around the country before her family settled in Southern California. While living there, she loved playing beach volleyball and taking her dogs to the local dog beach. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University in 2021 and is now a rising 3L at the University of Oregon.She’s excited to continue working in the PNW after graduation on environmental advocacy efforts. Since moving to Oregon, Dara’s had to adjust to the rain and trees, but she has found a love in hiking and chasing waterfalls.
Nicole Morshead, Summer Legal Intern
Nicole is from Fort Mill, South Carolina, but found her calling to outdoor spaces during her time as an undergraduate at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. She dual majored in Environmental Systems Science and Environment and Natural Resources and is fiercely passionate about protecting wild spaces and advocating for more sustainable interactions between people and the environment. As a current law student at the University of Oregon School of Law, Nicole has become especially interested in environmental law as it relates to subjects like food law, environmental policy, and environmental justice. Nicole is deeply involved in her law school community. She has taken leadership roles in the Land Air Water student organization as a Public Interest Environmental Law Conference Co-Director, where she is honored to be a part of such an important part of the PIEL community, and co-captain of the Disc-trict Court Ultimate Frisbee team. During her free time (when she gets it), Nicole enjoys hiking, climbing, skiing, ultimate frisbee, running, and just about any activity that gets her outside.
Flora Booker, Summer Field and Events Coordinator
Flora grew up swimming through bull kelp and picking up Dungeness crabs in the icy waters of Bellingham Bay. Now entering her senior year in the Honors College at the University of Oregon, she is pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Studies with a minor in Biology. With a background in restoration and plant surveys, she is passionate about integrating fieldwork with environmental justice advocacy and community-based research. She is excited to bring her knowledge of Pacific Northwest plants, love for local ecosystems, and enthusiasm for community engagement to the Cascadia Wildlands crew this summer!
