He worked for various organizations including the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (Cordova and Kodiak) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and participated in research on the Exxon Valdez disaster for two years.

Ken served in the US Coast Guard before college; he was stationed aboard a polar icebreaker for three deployments including two to the South Pole and one to the North. He is convinced of climate change because of the rapid, dramatic changes to the Arctic since his service there. Ken now enjoys boating in the Salish Sea and is a proponent of electric transportation technology, both for cars on land and to provide propulsion for boats on the water.

In 2010 she found her island home on San Juan Island where she got serious about gardening. She is glad to be a board member for the Friends of San Juans because she firmly believes in the notion “You have to be more careful with an island.”

Bruce provides crucial expert insight into the decision process as it pertains to the financial and organizational health of Friends.  His dedication to financial forecasts and logical decisions based upon process design and operations analysis, provide the board with valuable guidance in planning and prioritization.

Bruce’s highly intelligent and analytical professional skills help Friends tackle difficult business challenges and forecast change initiatives to retain strong financial organizational stability.

Bruce is especially motivated by his firm belief in the importance of the FSJ’s mission and in the strength of the staff and board to ensure the organization’s ability to deliver on that mission. Bruce holds a high degree of respect and awe, for the continued capacity of Friends, through staff and members, to be passionately engaged.

Bruce holds a BA in English, MBA in Finance and operations and a Masters Certificate in Program Management.  He has served as a business consulting Director with Teradata, Executive Director, Business Analysis at T-Mobile and Principal at Peak Consulting.

Bruce has lived full time on Orcas Island since 2013 with two, highly energetic rat Terriers, Dexter and Bandit. They make him laugh every day.

“I am engaged with the Friends, because I love the work of the organization. The mission itself is so important to preserving the beauty, character, and the health of the San Juan Islands and all its inhabitants.”

Kas holds a PhD in Forest Resources and Social Science from Oregon State University’s College of Forestry and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from The Evergreen State College. She has worked at numerous nonprofits over the course of her career, and will leverage that experience in her role as board member. Kas currently works as a Watershed Program Senior Director at the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, where she helps lead a public-private partnership called “Floodplains by Design” which supports diverse partners in advancing integrated floodplain management throughout Washington. She also supports projects relating to climate adaptation, native plants, and coastal resilience/blue carbon.

Kas and her husband have nearly finished building their home on Orcas Island and look forward to exploring the islands and deepening connections to people, lands, and waters here in the years to come.

As an attorney, he practiced environmental and contracts law, serving for 15 years as General Counsel for two hazardous and nuclear waste cleanup organizations at the Hanford Superfund site. There, he helped ensure environmental restoration of more than 200 square miles of the Columbia River Corridor to its pre-toxic, natural habitat, helping to achieve millions of safe work hours.

Bob and his wife, Jeanne, have lived part time on Orcas Island for 9 years, moving here full time in early 2020. They chose the islands for their pristine beauty and quality of life, the reasons Bob strongly supports Friends of the San Juans. Bob, Jeanne, and their three grown sons enjoy kayaking, bicycling, and hiking around the islands.

Chris holds a master’s degree in Ecology/Evolution from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, as well as bachelor degrees in both Biology and Business Administration from the University of Washington. Her professional career has included working at a natural history museum at a major public university, with a large environmental non-profit organization, and in the private sector where she consulted in a variety of environmental areas.

Chris lives on Orcas Island with her husband and dogs. She is an avid sailor, loves to watch wildlife, and spends many hours wandering with her dogs and looking for mushrooms on her wooded property.

“The mission of Friends—protecting and restoring the San Juan Islands and the Salish Sea for people and nature—is what inspires and motivates me to support and work with Friends. The work includes on-the-ground science, as well as the nuances of policy, to help ensure the Salish Sea remains intact for future generations,” says Chris.