MFWWC Staff

Pronouns: He/Him

Born and raised in Eugene, Dov Weinman brings a deep connection to the Willamette watershed in his role as Executive Director of the Middle Fork Willamette Watershed Council. He holds a M.S in Environmental Justice from the University of Montana and a graduate certificate in natural resources conflict resolution from the Center for Natural Resources & Environmental Policy. After three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines, Dov worked in the Sierra Nevada coordinating and facilitating natural resource collaboratives with a focus on forest and watershed health and increasing the resilience of disadvantaged rural communities. When he’s not working with the Middle Fork Willamette Watershed community, Dov enjoys creative writing, photography and trail running.

Pronouns: They, Them/She, Her

Emma Garner was born and raised in the Willamette Valley. Growing up, they could be found raising tadpoles from a neighborhood stream, monitoring bird nests in their backyard, and creating field journals. Following that passion for exploring the outdoors, Emma attended Oregon State University and graduated with a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife. Emma’s early career was spent traveling across the Pacific Northwest monitoring fish populations and freshwater habitats. In 2018, Emma changed career paths and began working in education and outreach. Supporting and creating programs where kids connect with, ask questions about, and explore local plants and animals is what Emma loves most about their work. They are excited to join the council team and continue to connect people through place-based education. Outside of work, Emma enjoys trail running, hiking, gardening, and spending relaxing afternoons with their pets.

Pronouns: She/Her

After living in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and other Bay Area towns, Karen finally decided to leave the concrete behind and head for green. She and her husband Theo moved to Oregon in 2008 and have never looked back. They enjoy living in downtown Springfield. Karen believes that we need to protect and preserve our natural resources, with water being the most important. To that end, don’t be surprised to find buckets in her shower used to collect the cold water while waiting for the water to warm up!  She loves working for the MFWWC and helping to build and educate community about restoration needs and opportunities in the basin. After serving almost 12 years, Karen has now retired from Lane County Sheriff’s Ground Search and Rescue team. When she is not crunching numbers, Karen enjoys walks in the woods, inhaling the negative ions at the beach, gardening, biking, and traveling.

Pronouns: She/ Her

Growing up in Eugene and Cottage Grove, Dala developed a love for local rivers and nature while hiking and camping with family and friends. After graduating from the University of Oregon where she competed in both track and cross country, she raised her son in La Grande, Oregon working for a local engineering firm and then at Eastern Oregon University in administration. Her career in higher education included positions at the University of Oregon, the University of Montana, and Appalachian State University focusing on financial aid and scholarship administration. She’s an active member of Coast Fork Birders and is an officer for the Lane County Butterfly Club. When she’s not working for the Middle Fork Willamette Watershed Council, Dala enjoys reading, knitting, hiking and spending time with her husband in Sunriver.

Pronouns: She/Her

Growing up in Eugene, Virginia Pritchard developed a love for the surrounding lakes, rivers, and forests. After graduating from Oregon State University in 2016 with a dual B.S. in Environmental Science and Microbiology she was eager to pursue work combining her passions for science and the outdoors. She began her career working in aquatic and riparian ecosystems evaluating stream health, conducting hydrologic research, and performing natural resource management assessments for Forest Service Ranger Districts and Research Stations on the Willamette and Mendocino National Forests. Looking to transition into ecosystem restoration, she worked as a Hydrology Project Specialist in the northern Sierra Nevada where she developed and conducted watershed infrastructure assessments to prioritize upgrades of road-stream crossings to reduce sedimentation in anadromous watersheds. She also collaboratively planned and implemented fuels reduction and meadow restoration projects across Plumas, Lassen, and Modoc National Forests. When she’s not working to restore ecosystems, Virginia enjoys backpacking, creative writing, gardening, and learning to cook new recipes.

Pronouns: She/Her

Growing up in Maryland right outside of DC, Dassy always found opportunities to adventure in the nearby Appalachian mountains. Through exploring the rivers, creeks and hardwood forests of this ancient landscape, she built a strong connection to the natural world. Dassy spent her high school summers as a camp counselor, kayaking, backpacking, and enjoying connecting with others in the great outdoors. After graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Studies focusing in management and policy from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Dassy moved cross-country to Oregon to pursue a career in outdoor education and environmental non-profit work. Through roles as a teen leadership program instructor, environmental educator, and outdoor school team lead, she has felt honored to help youth connect with nature. In her spare time, Dassy enjoys exploring the beautiful PNW, crafting, as well as visiting farmers markets, trinket stores, and coffee shops.

Haley is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and a descendant of the Klamath Tribes, Yurok Tribe, and the Sakaogan Band of Chippewa Indians. Haley graduated from the University of Oregon in 2018, and is an experienced climate change and environmental justice leader. Prior to her position with the Upper Willamette Stewardship Network and partners, she served as a Policy Assistant with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in their Climate and Environment division. Haley also served as a Climate Justice Grassroots Organizer with Beyond Toxics and the NAACP and as an intern with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Project. Haley enjoys spending time outdoors and with her family whenever possible.

Pronouns: She/Her

Olivia Daly began her passion for the outdoors while growing up in Alabama where she spent her entire childhood covered in mud and splashing around creeks. She received a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and moved across the country to Oregon to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree. Upon arriving here, she fell in love with the unique climates of the Pacific Northwest. Olivia joined the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps program because of her love for rural communities like the one she grew up in. Her favorite phrase is “knowledge is power” which is the foundation for her wish to teach the generation about the world they live in. When not at work, she can be found doing the exact same thing, splashing around the Willamette in her waders looking for rocks and critters to examine.

Pronouns: She/Her

Spending her youth near Seattle, Washington Anya remembers fly fishing, skiing, and hiking in the North Cascades. Anya moved to Eugene, Oregon in 2013 to build stronger connections with extended family and pursue a B.S. in Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon. A deep connection to the outdoors has inspired Anya to work with the land in different capacities such as small scale organic agriculture in the Willamette Valley, collecting and growing native wildflower seeds with the Institute for Applied Ecology, and teaching inquiry based science. A growing passion for environmental stewardship and community engagement inspired Anya to move to McCall, Idaho in 2021 to pursue a Masters of Environmental Science and a Certificate of Environmental Education and Science Communications from the University of Idaho. Prior to starting her Community Engagement Coordinator position at the MFWWC, Anya developed grant-funded curriculum for undergraduate GIS students at U of I to explore changes in vegetation pre- and post fire, and was most recently teaching at ROOTS, an outdoor Preschool in McCall. In addition to her work with the MFWWC, Anya will be working to support projects in the Upper Willamette Stewardship Network. In her free time, Anya is usually out of service and hard to find— climbing vast peaks or enjoying the river from her kayak!