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RIVER EXCHANGE TEAM: Staff and Board of Directors

STAFF

Daniel Olstein, Executive Director:

Daniel OlsteinDan’s background prior to joining the River Exchange staff in October 2011 includes ten years with The Nature Conservancy in Florida, North Carolina and most recently California, where he served as Project Director of the Conservancy’s 1.5 million acre Mount Hamilton Project in the Central Coast. Dan also served as the chair of the steering committee for the Central Coast Rangeland Coalition, which fosters communication and education among diverse stakeholders. He has a Master’s degree in Environmental Management.

Dan lives in Dunsmuir with his wife Megan and their dog Sitka, and enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, skiing and travelling throughout the region and beyond.



Robin Singler, Administrative Director:
Robin Singler

Robin brings her passion for resource conservation and sustainable systems of living to her work at the River Exchange, where she helps to keep the organization running smoothly. Prior to joining the River Exchange, Robin has been involved with numerous community organizations, including the McCloud Watershed Council, Shasta Disabled Sports USA, the Ford Family Foundation's Community Leadership Program, and the McCloud Local First Network, where she served as the steering committee’s vice-chair and co-founder. She also holds a Permaculture Design certification from the Midwest Permaculture Institute.

Robin lives in McCloud and can be found cross country skiing, hiking near the McCloud River Falls or enjoying live music when not hard at work in her garden.

Phyllis Skalko, Finance Director:

Phyllis is the River Exchange's bookkeeper and numbers guru. Having spent over 30 years in the accounting field, she is an invaluable addition to the REX staff. Prior to her "retirement" to Dunsmuir, Phyllis was the Controller for The James Irvine Foundation in San Francisco.

When not keeping us on our toes at the River Exchange, she loves to read, dance, collect unusual fabrics, and help out with the Dunsmuir Railroad Depot Historical Society and Dunsmuir Railroad Days.

 

RIVER EXCHANGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chris Stromsness, Founding Member and Board President:

Chris StromsnessChris is a Cal anthropology graduate and a Hastings law graduate. He had a law office in Dunsmuir from 1968 until 1992 and retired as a Superior Court Judge in 2004. Chris has been fishing since 1947; he's spent time on the Klamath River since 1952, and on the Sacramento River since 1950. In 1997 he became a flyfisher, and he is also an avid birder.

Chris is a charter member of the River Exchange Board and is active in Mt. Shasta Audubon Society and many other conservation and community groups. With wife, Sharon, Chris continues to live in Dunsmuir.

 

Nora Silber, Board Vice President:

Nora SilberNora was born and raised in Dunsmuir and has been involved with the River Exchange for years. Nora received her Bachelors of Science from UC Santa Cruz in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and since then has been working to gain experience in her field. She is currently working seasonally for the Forest Service in Wildlife and Botany and has excelled as the lead on our Castle Crags Wilderness Stewardship Challenge grant project in 2010.

Nora currently resides in Dunsmuir and is an outdoor enthusiast and animal fanatic.

 

 

Gene O'Rourke, Board Secretary and Treasurer:

Gene O'RourkeGene, a life-long fly fisherman, was introduced to the Upper Sacramento River by Ted Fay when Gene was 16. He and his family live in San Francisco and have been fishing, camping, climbing and hiking the rivers and mountains of Siskiyou County for 50 years. Gene is a CPA and banking consultant and has sat on the board of publicly held companies.

He jumped at the opportunity to join the River Exchange as a board member to help protect for future generations the watershed he has come to love.

 

 

Phil Detrich:

Phil Detrich

Phil Detrich joined the River Exchange Board of Directors in June 2011, after retiring from his 25-year career as a wildlife biologist. Early in his career, he didresearch on birds of prey on Shasta Lake and in the forests of the Mt. Shasta region. From 2001 until 2010, he supervised the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) office in Yreka, CA, and represented the USFWS in the Klamath River settlement negotiations on hydroelectric dam relicensing, irrigation deliveries, and river management.

Phil has lived in Mt. Shasta for 15 years, and enjoys birding, rafting, and fly-fishing.

 

 

  • Carol Winston
  • Richard "Rico" Tinsman
  • Mike Dean
  • Mellen Colberg

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