Staff & Board

Paul has lived by water all his life, and in 1954 began his service with the U.S. Coast Guard. He worked in Search and Rescue, served as Quartermaster-2nd Class in the South Pacific, and served in the Artic. After graduating from college with honors, he worked as an industrial designer, sales manager, and marketing director until his retirement in 1997. He became involved with Puget Soundkeeper Alliance’s (PSA) Pollution Prevention programs under Pat Pearson in 1998. Paul has helped PSA with nearly every fundraising event and every clean-up, and has worked PSA booths at countless festivals and shows. His contributions to our outreach in the community are immeasurable. After nearly five years of volunteer work with PSA, he was asked to join the staff as program assistant.

Erica grew up in the Midwest near Madison, Wisconsin in a rural setting.  She  developed a life-long love of the outdoors and nature.  Lakes, boating, and the Mississippi River all played a part in shaping her love of the water.  After moving to Seattle in 1998, she met her husband Doug.  They have two amazing children and currently live in Ballard.  Erica’s career with Puget Soundkeeper Alliance began six years ago as a Soundkeeper volunteer, helping to clean up the Duwamish River waterway as well as helping with various other cleanups and events.  The beauty of Puget Sound inspired Erica to want to be a part of protecting its waters for her children and future generations.  In 2008, she began working part-time for PSA as an administrative assistant.  Erica attended the University of Wisconsin’s School of Education and also has a certificate in Environmental Regulatory Law from the University of Washington.  Her work background includes almost 8 years of preschool and Kindergarten teaching, as well as Retail and Events Manager for the W-Club at the UW-Madison.  Erica enjoys travel, snorkeling, is a certified SCUBA diver, loves camping and hiking and spending time with her wonderful family and friends.

Growing up in Preston, “outside” became a familiar playground for Barbara.  As a life-long native of the Puget Sound region, she has come to know well the plants, animals and diverse ecosystems of the area.  Later in life her curiosity focused on marine environments and intertidal critters.  Barbara never misses an opportunity to be out on the water boating; two of her favorite boats are the R/V Thomas G. Thompson (which she spent a weekend on while working as a teaching assistant) and the historic schooner Zodiac (which she has had the fortune to sail on three times).  For the past ten years Barbara has been involved with environmental education and outreach with an emphasis on marine and nearshore areas.  Barbara completed a BS in Zoology, and later a Master of Marine Affairs with a focus on marine biology, both at the University of Washington.  Her graduate thesis focused on marine recreational boaters and fishers and the opportunity to focus Puget Sound outreach and education programs on this important group of constituents.  The summer between her years of grad school she was awarded the Magnuson Puget Sound Legacy Fund Internship at People For Puget Sound where she worked with the Habitat Restoration team.  She also received several scholarships including one from the Northwest Marine Trade Association.  The Seattle Aquarium has employed Barbara as a “captain” for their Beach Naturalist Program for eight years and she is a volunteer for the Cedar River Salmon Journey Program.  Most recently, Barbara worked part-time for the Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines.  Barbara lives in West Seattle with her husband with whom she enjoys sea kayaking, walking the beach, rollerblading and sipping their homemade wine.

Julie grew up on the Sound. She sailed with her family to local ports and spent summers swimming and sailing small boats on Lake Washington with her cousins. Clamming local beaches, walking the shorelines of local parks, hiking and camping in the Cascades all worked together to imprint in her a love of the outdoors and a desire to protect our natural spaces at a young age. In high school, Julie was the youngest member of her Student Conservation Association team and spent part of a summer in the North Cascades on a trail building crew. But it’s her love of being “out on the boat”, sailing with her family and friends on the Sound that ignited in her a passion to switch things up and change gears recently in her professional life, leading her to volunteer with Puget Soundkeeper Alliance in 2011. Julie joined PSA as Office Manager in 2012 and brings her experience in Office Management and her Human Resources background to the team. Outside of the office, Julie is often training for her next personal challenge, be that riding the STP, her next triathlon or a future summit of Rainier. But she treasures every moment spent aboard the C&C 38 she and her partner David sail out of Shilshole Bay Marina.

Laura is a person with seemingly boundless energy and a deep, abiding passion for our natural environment. For more than 20 years Laura has been actively promoting the beauty and importance of the Puget Sound while working with local educational programs, organizing dozens of education and outreach programs. As a Seattle resident she has become a tireless advocate for the health of Puget Sound. Laura brings unique insight to the problems facing our waterways. As a diver she knows firsthand the consequences of human carelessness. As a citizen scientist she holds the knowledge to support sustainable conservation programs. As a videographer she maintains the tools needed to support public awareness. And as an environmental activist she has the passion needed to shape public opinion. Laura’s passion and diverse talents make her uniquely qualified to promote the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance’s message. Laura’s education reflects her evolving career path: University of Washington (Pre-Medical), Seattle Central Community College (Surgical Technology), University of Washington (Social Media, Marketing & Communications). Whether she is working with Pacific Marine Research or inspiring public action with her videography in “Beneath the Looking Glass”, Laura is constantly looking for ways to support the health of the Puget Sound. She is equally at home entertaining residents of a retirement facility (bringing the tide pools to them) or while sharing the wonders of a muddy tide flat with a troop of kindergarteners. Laura’s recent 2012 Cox Conservation Hero award is but one of many ways she continues to expand public awareness and help foreground the plight of our threatened ecosystems. By combining the sophistication of multimedia with the hands-on approach of public events, Laura is helping invigorate local conservation initiatives and establishing a very clear sense that we can all make a real difference in our world.