Mary Silvernale Shook, President.
Mary Silvernale Shook came to the Palouse in the Fall of 1998 after
four years with Earth Share of Washington as their campaign coordinator.
Earth Share is a statewide federation of 67 environmental organization
focused on charitable workplace giving for their membership. Mary
was responsible for raising funds, marketing the program, and producing
newsletters and their web presence. Mary holds an MPA from
the University of Washington, School of Public Affairs. Mary's husband,
Steve Shook, is a professor of Forest Products Marketing at the University
of Idaho. Their daughter Grace was born in October 1998. silvernale@moscow.com
Theo Mbabliye, Vice President.
Originally Rwandan, I am now a US Citizen. Throughout my high school, I worked for agricultural development projects in my then home country. This experience triggered my choice of profession and field of interest. As a result, I pursued my education in natural resource management, earning my first diploma in agriculture and forestry in Rwanda (1980-82); my second diploma in forestry from the Kenyan Forestry College in Londiani (1983-85); my B.Sc. (Honors) degree in agroforestry from the University of Wales in Bangor, UK (1989-92); and my MS degree in Range Sciences from the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho (1994-96). Currently, I am a doctoral candidate in Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University, Pullman.
As I pursue my doctoral education at WSU, I am also involved in environmental work. I coordinate an Environmental Action Program of the WSU Community Service Learning Center. That provides me with an opportunity to work with the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute (PCEI) as we collaborate to set up field projects for students to serve and learn. I like working with PCEI because it is a resource-conservation minded organization. For students and others interested in conserving and restoring the Palouse environment, PCEI has a variety of projects that people could use to make a positive impact on our local environment. PCEI is a valuable resource for everyone in our local community of Moscow-Pullman, including K-12 and college students. theo@wsunix.wsu.edu
Shelly Gilmore, Treasurer.
Shelly is the owner and principle researcher of Resource Planning Unlimited, a natural resource consulting firm. Shelly works with many landowners throughout the Palouse region on questions regarding soil and water conservation. She was a pivotal member of the committee that drafted Moscow's erosion control ordinance five years ago. She and her husband Randy have been members of PCEI since 1991. sgilmore@turbonet.com
Rosemary
Streatfeild, Secretary.
Rosemary Streatfeild first came to the Palouse in 1980, making her home in Moscow. She works as a science librarian at Washington State University Libraries. For her M.S. degree from Oregon State University (1995) she carried out research on plant distributions in a wetland prairie, which reflected her interest in nature conservation and restoration. She has served on the PCEI board since May 2001, and also served on the Fundraising Committee in the mid-'90s for a short period. streatfe@mail.wsu.edu
Ivar Nelson, Director.
Ivar Nelson came to Moscow in 1973 and founded Bookpeople of Moscow. He and his wife Pat Hart started publishing books and magazines in the late seventies, and published Palouse Journal from 1981 to 1995. He sold Bookpeople to Bob Green in 1981. Their daughter Katrina was born in 1983 and is now a freshman at Scripps College in Claremont, CA. Believing deeply that a person is part of the community, and needs to give to it to strengthen it, Ivar volunteers for a number of community organizations, including Rendezvous in the Park and the Moscow/Latah Economic Development Council. He is currently President of the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre. His day job is the Director of the University of Idaho Press. ivar@moscow.com
Nick Gier, Director.
Nick Gier has taught philosophy at the University of Idaho for 30 years and has been active in campus and community activities throughout that period. He is one of the founding members of the faculty union at the UI and is currently president of the Idaho Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. He and his partner Gail Adele do river rafting and backpacking during their summers and are very much committed to the defense of the environment. Nick looks forward to retirement next year, but will remain active in his department's new M.A. program in environmental philosophy. He has been on the board since 2001. ngier@uidaho.edu
Renee McNally, Director.
Renee is a second grade school teacher at Lena Whitmore elementary in Moscow where she is working extensively with PCEI's education program staff. Renee has had a long history with PCEI. In 1993 Renee received an Ag Options mini-grant for the Shop Smart Tours conducted in area. She was hired in 1994 as PCEI's Wellhead Protection Volunteer Coordinator to help educate people about groundwater protection on the Palouse. mcnallyrl@yahoo.com
John Larkin, Director.
John, an avid road and mountain bicyclist, designs recreational equipment including a full line of bike helmets. His work has been presented in many trade shows. You may remember seeing his pieces at the Pritchard Art Gallery. John and his equally creative wife, Melissa Rockwood, have been members of PCEI since 1990. john@machine-language.com
Pat Vaughn, Director.
I was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. My Dad worked for Governors Andrus and Evans and President Carter. My Mom worked as a school nurse for twenty years in the Boise public schools. I graduated from West Point in 1977 and served over twenty years in the U.S. Army. I am married to Cece Connors. She graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Social Work and is currently employed in the College of Agriculture at the University of Idaho. We have two children: Katie,15 and Henry, 7.
Cece and I have enjoyed gardening for years. We gradually learned about organic growing. I volunteered and worked for a woman who delivered organic produce to family subscribers on Bainbridge Island, Washington. When we moved to Moscow I apprenticed at Paradise Farm, Mary Jane Butters' organic farm. There I met and worked with Mary, Nick Ogle, Lahde Fesler, Kelly Kingsland, Russell Poe, Mike Forbes and others. They have become good friends. I learned, and continue to learn from all of them about country living and sustainable farming. We live on a 6 acre organic farm, Moscow Mountain Farm. I was on the Moscow Food Co-op board of directors for four years, and served as President for three years. I am now a volunteer writer for the Co-op Community Newsletter, on the citizen advisory board for the Moscow-Pullman Daily News and a member of Rural Roots. pckh@moscow.com
Michelle Hazen, Director.
Michelle moved to Moscow in the summer of 2001 as part of the AmeriCorps NCCC team who worked with PCEI for six weeks. After that summer, she was hired as our Trio AmeriCorps member for the 2001-2002 school year (where she worked with Renee McNally's class to build a bat cave for the Renaissance Fair, among other things). After completing her AmeriCorps service, Michelle stayed in Moscow to attend the University of Idaho and soon ran for the ASUI senate. Michelle is currently volunteering with a lot with PCEI. greenmeesh@wildmail.com
