Meet the Stream Team staff who behind the scenes organize all the activities and events, and educational outreach, and publish the quarterly newsletter.
Erin
Keith
Erin has worked for the City of Lacey since 2009. Erin enjoys educating residents about “all things water,” so in addition to Stream Team, she helps residents learn about water conservation, water quality issues, stormwater pollution prevention, and wastewater. She and her husband live together in McCleary with their cat, turtle and four dogs. But don’t worry … they always make sure to scoop the poop, bag it and place it in the trash.
Chris has worked for Thurston County since 2006, but prior to that he founded the Nisqually River Education Project in 1990, and fostered this still successful watershed-based environmental science program for teachers and students throughout the entire Nisqually River Watershed. Previously, Chris was fortunate to be an interpretive naturalist at Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and Mt. Rainier National Park. Chris’ wife is a fifth grade Science teacher who involves her students in water quality monitoring and his teenage son also does watershed studies and water quality monitoring at Komachin Middle School.
Ann Marie first volunteered for Stream Team in 1998 watering trees at Pioneer Park while working on her Masters of Environmental Studies degree at The Evergreen State College. This led to an internship at the City of Tumwater and later a permanent position. After leaving Stream Team for a few years to work for the Nisqually Tribe on salmon habitat restoration issues, she returned to Stream Team in 2006. She has worked happily at Thurston County ever since then, and is glad to work closer to home now that she has two young sons and a wonderful husband. Her family enjoys planting trees and learning about salmon, marine creatures and most any other family-friendly activity that Stream Team sponsors!
Patricia
PylePatricia began working for the City of Olympia in 2003 after years of experience doing community outreach and educational programs on bicycling, youth and urban gardening, and urban and community forestry in Washington DC and Baltimore City. She lived in Northern Ireland, where she met and married a fisherman! They have two children, both of whom have been quite active in Stream Team events along with their father.
Debbie joined the ranks of Stream Team Coordinators in 2001. As the Water Resources Educator for the City of Tumwater, Debbie educates the public on all things water-related. Debbie is a volunteer herself, and has devoted many years of service to organizations including Girl Scouts, Natural Resources Youth Camp and Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators. She enjoys spending time with her family and is looking forward to teaching her two new grandsons all about nature.
Michelle came to work for the City of Olympia in 2009 after working for over 20 years as a biologist involved with forest, stream and salmon related habitat restoration issues. Michelle is excited to bring additional Citizen Monitoring opportunities to Stream Team.