Kit Ellis grew up on the Gig Harbor Peninsula and recently moved back to the forestland where she was raised. The Conservation Easement on her family’s land was signed in 1990 with Hood Canal Land Trust, one of the land trusts that joined together in 2000 to form Great Peninsula Conservancy. The Gig Harbor area lacked a local land trust at that time and it was very fortunate that the volunteers of Hood Canal Land Trust agreed that the integrity of this 180-acre forestland was worth protecting. Kit spent her professional career at a community college teaching chemistry and helping colleagues throughout the state learn to use computers in their teaching. She has been involved with Girl Scout Camp St. Albans, located between Allyn and Belfair, for many years. Kit coordinates the camp’s instructional native plant garden and was recently appointed a camp trustee. She is an active participant in Pierce County ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) and hopes that all the training will never be needed for a major disaster. Tennis, bird watching, and travel are her other passions.
Russell Hartman has lived in Bremerton since 1976. He is a retired attorney and superior court judge. Russ was born and raised in Renton, Washington, and is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Oregon Law School. Over his decades in Kitsap County, Russ has served on a variety of nonprofit boards including Kitsap Volunteer Attorney Services, Leadership Kitsap Foundation, and Bremerton Schools and Alumni Foundation. He also is a past member of the Bremerton School Board. Russ looks forward to his work on the GPC board to help preserve the Great Peninsula’s amazing outdoor environment. His outdoor passions include bicycle riding, hiking, backpacking, and Mariner’s baseball.
Mark Walsh has called the Puget Sound area his home for the past 26 years. He was born in the Boston area and grew up near San Francisco. Mark earned an MBA in Finance from the University of Southern California and a BA in Economics from UCLA. Currently, Mark is Vice President of Real Estate Investments with Olympic Property Group, a Pope Resources company, located in Poulsbo. He has been involved in the development and management of over $2 billion of real estate over his career including Seattle’s first LEED Silver condominium project, Mosler Lofts, and Seattle’s first Green Globes certified project-Joseph Arnold Lofts.Mark previously served on the State Board of Washington Conservation Voters as its Treasurer and currently is a board member with the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance. Mark and his wife have been married for 30 years and raised their two children here.
Mark Mauren and his wife, Belinda, live on a small farm in the Puyallup Valley where they raise goats, chickens and pigs and maintain an extensive garden. Mark was born and raised in the Seattle area, the eldest of eight children, and grew up active in sports, hiking and canoeing.Mark earned a B.S. degree in Forest Management from the University of Washington in 1981. After college, he worked for the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) managing State land in Kitsap, Pierce, Mason and Thurston counties. At DNR he also managed statewide programs including, recreation, land transactions, and aquatics. Currently,
Mark manages Ueland Tree Farm – a FSC certified tree farm west of Kitsap Lake.
Mark served on a number of statewide trail/grant committees, and on committees that created the Key Peninsula, Gig Harbor and Islands (KGI) Watershed Plan and Gig Harbor Community Plan. In 2004, he was elected as the first President of the Peninsula Metropolitan Park District for three years. Throughout his career, Mark has been active in legislative issues at state, county and city levels. Mark looks forward to bringing his broad natural resource background to help GPC achieve its mission.
Evan Bauder was born and raised in Mason County, and recently purchased a property on Hood Canal permanently protected by a conservation easement held by GPC. He earned a B.S. in Environmental Science from Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment. After graduating he moved back to his hometown to pursue a career in natural resources. He was first hired by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to conduct habitat surveys and fish passage barrier evaluations. After spending about one year with WDFW he was hired by the Mason Conservation District. Evan has been with the District for more than six years. He is currently managing multiple habitat restoration projects and programs as the District’s Habitat Program Lead. Throughout his time with the District he has been responsible for many different types of work including land surveying, GIS analysis, landowner outreach, project management, grant writing, and long range watershed planning. He also represents the District on two regional Technical Advisory Groups for the state’s Salmon Recovery Funding Program. Evan’s lifelong passion for the outdoors fuels his excitement to work with natural resources throughout the local ecosystems he was raised in.
Originally from Minnesota, Erin Ewald developed an appreciation for natural resources in the Boundary Waters. She and her husband moved to Washington where Erin earned her B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Washington. After graduation, she worked with the Pierce Conservation District for 10 years as the Key Peninsula, Gig Harbor and Islands (KGI) Watershed program manager. While there, Erin worked with local farms to implement best management practices (BMPs) and improve water quality. She also has served on the KGI Watershed Council, Harbor WildWatch, Greater Gig Harbor Foundation, Pierce County Open Space Task Force and Pierce County Conservation Futures citizen advisory board. She currently is the Environmental Compliance Manager at Taylor Shellfish Farms where she continues to work with farmers as they implement BMPs. Erin lives with her husband, young daughter, dogs and horses in Gig Harbor and enjoys planting trees, gardening and exploring Washington’s many parks and open spaces.
Bryan was born in Reno, NV. He spent his early childhood in the mountains of northern California. At age ten he moved to South Puget Sound and that remains his home today. He graduated from North Mason High School and went on to earn a B.S. in Environmental Science from The Evergreen State College. After graduating, Bryan worked for the Department of Natural Resources in the Surface Mine Reclamation Program as the Lead for Field Operations and Mine Inspections and spent his time traveling the state of Washington. Currently he owns and operates two local businesses focusing on real estate and construction. Bryan spends as much time as possible with his wife, daughter and dogs in the outdoors. His hobbies include boating, fishing, hiking, snowboarding and hunting.
Katrina Knutson grew up in unincorporated Pierce County, then moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Community and Environmental Planning with an emphasis in regional planning, and a minor in Urban Design. Katrina began working for the City of Gig Harbor in early 2016, as the City’s first Parks Project Administrator. She previously worked for Kitsap County as a Senior Long Range Planner for ten years. During her tenure at Kitsap County, Katrina managed many projects, two of which received Washington State Governor’s Awards.
In 2013, Katrina became a Certified Planner through the American Planning Association. She plans to complete her Masters of Public Administration in late 2018. Her primary areas of expertise include project management, facilitation, public outreach, zoning, land use, long range planning, demographics, capital facilities, critical areas, urban design and GIS. Katrina moved to Gig Harbor in 2005, and lives with her husband Lars and son. She enjoys gardening, camping, photography, kayaking, hiking and cooking.
Born and raised in Silverdale, Wes Larson is president of Sound West Group and an attorney with over 25 years of experience in international banking, asset management, and real estate acquisition and development. Wes has lived and worked in Seattle, New York City, Tokyo and Vienna. He has taught environmental law as an adjunct professor at Seattle University and has been published in the Washington State Bar News on the subject of securitized real estate investments.
Wes and his wife, Daphne, now live next to GPC’s 10-acre Big Beef Creek Salmon Sanctuary near Seabeck. Wes is an avid hiker with a great passion for the preservation of natural lands. He’s been known to hike from his property down Big Beef Creek to Hood Canal.
David Morris is a graduate of Peninsula High School and University of Washington in business administration. After serving in the Army as an officer, he entered the real estate business in Gig Harbor. Dave has been a real estate broker for over 40 years, and has vast experience in land sales, land development, and associated permitting processes. He currently manages 80 acres of forestland in northern Pierce County, and manages a variety of raw land and income producing properties. Dave is excited to put his real estate experience to work helping Great Peninsula Conservancy.
Dave’s community involvement includes service on the Gig Harbor School Board, Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce, Harbor History Museum, and Gig Harbor Rotary. An active real estate investor and counselor, Dave is a former manager and current stockholder of Keller Williams Realty in Gig Harbor and Silverdale. One of Dave’s activities involves his role as manager of The Morris Foundation, which makes real estate loans and investments, and uses the proceeds to make charitable contributions to many local non-profit organizations. Dave and his wife Mame have a son, daughter, and young granddaughter. He enjoys tennis, golf, boating, snow skiing, and travel.
Steve Sego is a Kitsap native and attended South and Central Kitsap schools. After graduating from the University of Washington with degrees in International Relations/Foreign Languages he worked in Washington, DC for the then Senate Majority Leader and subsequently managed a presidential campaign in the 13 western states. He co-founded a statewide public policy think tank and then established a regional public affairs firm engaged in NW politics, land use and municipal projects. In 2002 he partnered with a colleague to create a wetland and habitat mitigation firm, and supported the permitting of the first mitigation bank in Washington. Subsequently he facilitated the permitting of multiple wetland and habitat mitigation projects in the NW, working closely with land trusts to partner on long-term conservation easements.
In 2010 Steve returned to Kitsap County and founded Waterman Mitigation Partners, a wetland/habitat mitigation company working in Alaska and Washington. He has been involved in a multitude of community projects, including serving as co-chair of Friends of the Fast Ferry, local chambers and business associations, and on the Roxy Theater board of directors. He and his partners own a restaurant in Port Orchard, The Dock Bar & Eatery, and he currently is working on a number of redevelopment projects in Kitsap County as part of Sound West Group.
Patricia Weagant grew up in Port Orchard, and attended junior college and worked in Seattle while her husband attended the University of Washington. They moved to Poulsbo in 1979 where she began volunteering at her children’s elementary school. Patricia worked as a para-educator with small groups of students, was active in the PTSA at the elementary and high school level, and was vice president and president of her local public school employees union. She also was an officer and coach in the North Kitsap Soccer Club. Over the years she has enjoyed hiking and biking in the North Cascades and Olympics, fly fishing and spending time at their cabin in Stehekin.