Keynote Speaker: Pooja Sarin Tandon

Associate professor at UW’s School of Medicine and Director of Health at the Trust for Public Land, Pooja Sarin Tandon, MD, MPH, FAAP, works as a pediatrician and researcher at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. She has published widely on the importance of physical activity, outdoor time, and nature contact for health.

Traditional Story: Barbara Lawrence

As a Suquamish Tribal Elder and traditional storyteller, Barbara Anne Lawrence serves her community through education and leadership. With a BA from Evergreen State College and MBA from Bainbridge Graduate Institute, Barbara uses traditional storytelling to teach Suquamish culture and history across generations.

Celia & Gary Parrott

Gary Allen Cunningham Conservation Award Winner

Cofounders of Hood Canal Land Trust in 1985, conservation pioneers Celia & Gary Parrott established the Klingel-Bryan-Beard Wildlife Refuge on the Union River near Belfair and helped preserve 650+ acres and 5.5 miles of shoreline around the estuary. Gary passed away in 2021 and Celia continues to support GPC from her home in Nebraska.

Patricia Lantz

Gary Allen Cunningham Conservation Award Winner

A six-term state representative and decade-long Parks Commissioner with law degrees from UPS and Stanford, Pat Lantz championed land-use planning since the 1970s, co-founding Peninsula Heritage Land Trust in Gig Harbor and creating frameworks that still protect essential ecological areas today.

Lane Daniel

Volunteer of the Year

As a former mental health counselor seeking meaningful retirement activities, Lane discovered his passion for volunteerism and stewardship while tree planting at Hansville Highlands.

He has completed WSU’s naturalist program and is a GPC Volunteer Land Steward and a Land Labs volunteer educator.