Columbia Riverkeeper’s volunteer Board of Directors oversees our conservation goals and policies, finances, and public relations.
Columbia Riverkeeper Board of Directors:
Emily Washines
(Board President)
MPA, scholar, enrolled Yakama Nation tribal member, and Columbia Riverkeeper board member since 2018. Emily is the founder and CEO of Native Friends, a Native lifestyle empowerment business focused on language, history, and culture. Formerly a public relations professional with Yakama Nation Fisheries, Emily is a graduate—and a former Trustee—of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, and earned an MPA from The Evergreen State College. Emily also serves on the boards of the CWU’s Museum of Culture and Environment and Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. A life-long resident of the mid-Columbia devoted to women’s rights, traditional language, and historical research, Emily lives in Toppenish with her husband Jon and three children. Of her bond to the Columbia River, she says simply: “Nch’i-wana is close to my heart.”
Carlos Marroquin
has been an activist for varied causes for most of his life. From his native El Salvador, to the PNW. He is a founding member of Comunidades, a Columbia River Gorge-based group that engages Latinos of all walks of life in environmental and social justice issues. He is also a member of the board of Comunidades. Carlos raised his family (Jazmin and Selva) in the Gorge and worked in the public school systems at the elementary level on both sides of the Columbia River. Currently, Carlos works as an audio engineer for an educational software developer. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon.
Alanna Nanegos
is the Tribal Business Development Director for Cayuse Native Solutions. She lives outside of Pendleton, Oregon, and is an enrolled member of Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation. She has served on a number of local water quality boards and is volunteering on Columbia Riverkeeper’s board in her personal capacity.
Rudy Salakory
(Board Vice President)
is the Conservation Director at Friends of the Columbia Gorge. Since 2008, he has worked to restore wetland, floodplain, and riparian habitat throughout the lower Columbia River and its tributaries. A lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, Rudy went to school at Washington State University, played (outside, rain or shine), and raised a family (Jacob and Carmen) within ten miles of the Columbia River. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon, with his darling, Geraldene.
David Spurr
is a financial advisor and shares a private wealth management practice with his wife Amy in Portland, Oregon. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia School of Law, David practiced law and investment banking in New York before moving to Oregon with his family in 2015. He was drawn to Columbia Riverkeeper by its strategic use of the legal system, policy work, and community action to protect and restore the environment. David is an avid cyclist and runner who devotes his free time to exploring the Pacific Northwest with Amy and his children, Penelope and Max.
Ted Wolf
is a writer whose books include Salmon Nation (Ecotrust, 2003) and Klamath Heartlands (Ecotrust, 2005). Ted’s work centers on regional natural history and natural hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis. He and his wife, Karen, live in Bellingham, Washington above the Salish Sea. Ted’s favorite river places include Astoria, Skamokawa, and the bluffs above Catherine Creek.
Sue Vosburg
(Board Treasurer)
is a longtime Columbia Riverkeeper member who lives on a farm in Gales Creek, Oregon. She became an active volunteer and activist throughout Columbia Riverkeeper’s efforts to protect communities and our climate from two proposals to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the Columbia River Estuary and associated fracked-gas pipelines. Sue recently retired after a lengthy career as a tax preparer.
