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Melanie Parker is co-founder and Executive Director of Northwest Connections. Melanie graduated with honors from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science. She attained a Masters of Science degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana in 1997. Melanie has taught field-based ecology courses for twenty years, and has worked in a wide diversity of outdoor jobs including backcountry ranger, wilderness guide and field ecologist.
Melanie is an active spokesperson for place-based collaborative conservation. She has a strong reputation as someone who can bring people with diverse interests together and craft a solution that benefits both people and land. Melanie facilitates the Swan Valley Coordinating Committee, a group that includes state and federal agencies, local government, as well as local and regional non-profits to coordinate conservation and restoration work. She is also the current chair of the Swan Valley Elementary School Board of Trustees.
Melanie grew up in Arizona and has always been an avid outdoors person. She and her husband Tom Parker now have two small children, Kyra and John, whom she hopes to instill with a similar love for nature.
melanie@northwestconnections.org
Maureen 'Mo' Bookwalter is currently a contractor for Northwest Connections. She received her M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana in 2004. Her graduate work focused on the divestment of corporate timberlands and the conservation strategies being utilized to maintain working forests. She spent many years in the Greater Yellowstone and Crown of the Continent ecosystems working at a diverse array of jobs including park ranger, seasonal biologist and field technician. Her passion in the conservation field lies with protecting rural places – working towards balanced solutions that sustain the natural resources while simultaneously sustaining local economies and protecting rural culture. Maureen grew up in a small community in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, a place that grew her desire to protect the beauty and culture of rural landscapes while building rural economies. She has lived and worked in Montana for 12 years. Although happy doing any outdoor activity, she can most often be found on long trail runs with her dog Lewis.
Grace Burgess is the Office Manager for Northwest Connections.She has lived in Virginia most of her life and moved to Condon in 2005. She enjoys serving Christ at Condon Community Church. She and her husband enjoy exploring the beautiful valley by horseback. She also loves to garden and can vegetables for the winter.
grace@northwestconnections.org
Tiger Hulett is a third generation logger from the Swan Valley who has an intimate understanding of wildlife and habitat linkages. Tiger, and his wife Deb Hulett, both work with Northwest Connections in the Winter and Spring, tracking carnivores and setting up remote camera sets for grizzly bears. When they're not working, they enjoy spending time with their three boys, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling and horse packing in the mountains.
Luke Lamar was born and raised in the Swan Valley. He received a B.S. in wildlife biology from the University of Montana, and is an alumnus of Winter Field Studies. Luke has worked as a wilderness ranger in the Mission Mountains Wilderness since 2003. He helps out NwC part-time with the grizzly bear DNA project and winter carnivore track surveys. When not working, he can be found hunting, fly-fishing, or exploring wild country.
Steve Lamar is a Northwest Connections' Program Associate and has worked as an instructor and field assistant on grizzly bear DNA, invasive plants, carnivore, forest fuels, and whitebark pine research projects. He has a B.S. in Outdoor Recreation from Murray State University. Steve has worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a forestry technician and backcountry ranger for 17 seasons. He has also worked as an outdoor instructor and guide for 12 seasons. Steve is a rustic furniture craftsman and local history buff, completing a book on Swan Valley place names. He serves as the president of the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society.
steve@northwestconnections.org
Adam Lieberg has spent the last 6 years sharing his time between the Swan Valley, Blackfoot Valley, and Missoula. While completing his undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana, Adam was also busy taking courses, interning, and eventually instructing for Northwest Connection. Both a Winter Field Studies and Landscape and Livelihood alumni, he is now Project Coordinator for Northwest Connections. Adam also spends a good deal of time working for the University of Montana’s Division of Biological Studies as the lead field technician on a long-term predator, small mammal, and vegetation research project in the Blackfoot Valley. Adam has a passion for studying the natural world and enjoys teaching natural history to people of all ages.
adam@northwestconnections.org
Susan Novosel traded in her fast-paced advertising career for an idyllic life in the Swan. She is Northwest Connections' Marketing Coordinator. In her spare time, you'll find her outdoors reveling in the splendor of nature.
susan@northwestconnections.org
Tom Parker has been an outfitter and guide based in the Swan Valley and surrounding wilderness areas for over 30 years (visit www.buckcreekguideservice.com). His intimate knowledge of the Swan Valley landscape and its ecology has garnered a wide array of respect from citizens, scientists and activists in the region, the state and the country. Whether he is guiding hunters, teaching students or leading natural history outings, Tom's respect and appreciation for natural systems is apparent and contagious. Tom is Northwest Connections' Conservation Specialist.
tom@northwestconnections.org
Vicki Sellner was born and raised in the Swan Valley. She is the mother of four children, two grown and two still at home. Vicki has been an avid gardener all of her adult life and enjoys canning and preserving what she grows. She has a special interest in wild medicinal plants that grow here and elsewhere as well as wild edible plants. Vicki is Northwest Connections' Farm Coordinator.
Andrea Stephens has devoted more than twenty years to teaching field ecology and natural history, particularly of aquatic systems. She has spent many seasons leading volunteer crews on watershed monitoring and trail work projects around western Montana. Andrea earned a Master's degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and a Bachelor's degree in Natural Science and Geology from the University of Puget Sound. She has worked for Northwest Connections for ten years and currently serves as the Watershed Stewardship Specialist, in addition to teaching the Watershed Dynamics course for Landscape and Livelihood Field Semester. Andrea and her husband are busy raising two daughters a stone's throw from Rattlesnake Creek.
andrea@northwestconnections.org
Mike Stevenson, a native Montanan and long time trapper in the Swan Valley and Bob Marshall Wilderness, also has a firm grasp of the site specific ecology of several of our threatened and endangered species. Mike works as a master woodworker and building contractor, and contributes to Northwest Connections' monitoring and education programs part time. Mike enjoys journeying across the mountains to the Blackfoot Indian Reservation where both he spends time with family and old friends.
Laura Arvidson is an intern for the Wildlife in the West and the Landscape and Livelihood programs. She is a 4th generation resident of the Flathead Valley, and earned a degree in Resource Conservation from the University of Montana. Laura is an alumnus of Northwest Connection’s Winter Field Studies and Landscape and Livelihood programs. She is interested in natural history as well as conservation. Laura enjoys exploring the natural world and farming.
Fiona Brown is the Education Intern for Landscape and Livelihood. She grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Fiona was an L&L student in 2008 and graduated from Whitman College in 2011 with a B.A. in Environmental Humanities. She spends her summers leading backpacking trip for teens, and enjoys writing and whitewater kayaking.
Sean Donovan grew up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He is a senior at the University of Vermont, studying Natural Resources and Ecology with a minor in Geography and Plant Biology. Sean enjoys travelling and meeting new people. When he is not in the field, Sean can be found skiing, swimming, floating down the river, and spending time with good friends. Sean is a Landscape and Livelihood alumnus from 2010.
Krista Kaarre grew up splitting her time between the Tobacco and Flathead Valleys of Northwest Montana. Much of that time was spent adventuring around the woods—or at least dreaming of adventuring. Krista is a Landscape and Livelihood alumna from last fall and is excited to be back in the Swan Valley before she completes her degree in Resource Conservation at the University of Montana.
Robin Keisic is a graduate student in the Environmental Studies program at the University of Montana. He runs a sustainable screen printing business and is interested in environmental justice and place-based approaches to education and conservation. Robin currently serves on the board as co-president with CAJA, Community Action for Justice in the Americas. In his free time, you’ll find Robin playing chess, climbing trees, writing poetry and climbing rocks.
Cassie March grew up in the Bitterroot Valley, a landscape with fewer trees and more people compared to the Swan. She first arrived at Northwest Connections last fall where she was a student in Landscape and Livelihood. She is excited to be back in the Swan Valley and have an opportunity to learn more about this place and meet new people. Cassie is on track to graduate this fall from the University of Montana with a degree in Resource Conservation.
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