Larry Ehl is the Federal Liaison for the Washington State Department of Transportation.  He is responsible for helping to secure federal funding for WSDOT projects and programs, and for shaping federal legislative and regulatory proposals to benefit Washington State.  Prior to joining WSDOT Larry worked local, state and federal issues for Fisher Companies, a media, agriculture and commercial real estate company. He also worked for U.S. Senator Slade Gorton for six years, serving as Chief of Staff for nearly two years and assisting Senator Gorton’s 1994 successful reelection. Prior to his U.S. Senate experience Larry was a Co-Director of a University-based continuing education program, and an executive in corporate finance and advertising.  He is a graduate of the University of Washington and Seattle University. Larry also has a very direct experience with our poltical system, having been elected and re-elected to serve on his local school board. He and his family live in Edmonds.

Kris Kauffman has lived in Lakewood, Pierce County, by choice for over 35 years and raised three kids here.  He, his wife Sylvia, and 20 + family members graduated from UW. He was a charter member of the Tahoma Land Conservancy prior to the merger of the Pierce County group with our friends to the North and East.  Kris’ local ancestry goes back to Territorial times (Clallam County).  He chairs the Pierce County CLC Trustees and the County Conservation Futures CAB, plus he enjoys hiking, fishing, kayaking, badminton and cribbage, among other pursuits.  He works as a Water Resource Consulting Engineer with his firm of Water Rights, Inc. located in Lakewood.

Michael McGinn, the founder of the Seattle Great City Initiative, has experience as a lawyer, an environmental advocate, and as a neighborhood leader. He has been frequently selected to represent neighborhood and environmental concerns on City of Seattle advisory boards and commissions.

Recent Presentations
Speaker at ULI Seattle - Higher Density Development: Myth and Fact, May 12, 2005. Presentation focused on obstacles to high quality urban growth.

Speaker at Urban Vitality Forum of the Urban Land Institute, July 2005. The panel featured leaders of local groups working to preserve green space and the environment by directing growth in urban areas. Speakers: Aaron Ostrom, Futurewise, Gene Duvernoy, Cascade Land Conservancy, Michael McGinn, Sierra Club.

Moderator Creating Great Places, a neighborhood forum featuring Ron Sher, Milenko Matanovic, Diane Sugimara and Jim Diers.

Seattle City Council Forum -- Neighborhood Parking Regulations, March 11, 2006 [See video]

John Olson hails from Eastern Washington. After Navy experience in Viet Nam, John completed a BS in Marine Biology at WWU in Bellingham and later an MS at Evergreen in environmental science. This lead him to adventures in diving biological research in north Alaska, diving education in Puget Sound, and seaweed farming activities in western Canada, Maine, and South Korea. John has been involved in real estate sales & property management in Tacoma since 1990. John has served CLC since 1996 on the merger committee, as a Pierce Trustee, Pierce Land Group, Pierce Land Steward, Board member, Chair of the Conservation Committee, and Strategic Planning Committee. John serves on a number of local boards for open space acquisition and management

Floyd Rogers was born in Wenatchee, and has spent his entire life in Washington State.  He attended WSU, earning B.Sc. Degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.  After graduating, Floyd worked for Boeing in their Defense and Space divisions. After 7 ½ years, he left Boeing, going to work for Software AG, designing and debugging a database system on DEC mini-computers. Floyd was hired by Microsoft in July 1982, working for them for 14 years until July of 1996, when he left to rest and reflect.  Floyd is currently ‘retired’, is a househusband, and is working on diversifying their investment holdings into real estate.  He volunteers in schools and is the south-end chair for Volunteers In Schools (VIS) to help pass bonds and levies in the Issaquah School District.  Floyd serves on the Steering Committee for The Cascades Conservation Partnership (TCCP) and also serves on the Washington State University (WSU) EECS Advisory Board.  He works full-time as a ski and snowboard instructor during the winter.  He has raised two sons, Jason and Patrick, with his wife Judy.

Stephen Reilly has worked for the past decade on community building efforts in Southwest Seattle and the White Center community.  Prior to coming to work as the Urban Conservation Project Manager at the Cascade Land Conservancy he worked at the Salvation Army Community Center in White Center developing programs and raising funds to support community programs.  Stephen recently graduated from the Daniels Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.  He enjoys fishing, canoeing and spending time with his family.

Dan Stonington joined Cascade Land Conservancy in November 2006 after working as a field organizer for the NO on Initiative 933 Campaign. Prior to the campaign, Dan worked for three years as an environmental consultant for Ross & Associates in Seattle. He has a bachelor’s degree from University of Washington and a master’s from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Dan is a member of the High Country News board of directors.

Alison VanGorp is a Project Manager with the Cascade Land Conservancy.  She works on The Cascade Agenda, a vision and action plan to conserve 1.26 million acres in the Central Cascades region over the next 100 years.  Alison coordinates implementation of the smart growth aspects of The Agenda, developing the tools and good planning necessary to allow our region to grow gracefully.  Alison joined CLC in January 2005 as a volunteer, and has since worked with both the stewardship and Cascade Agenda teams.  Alison’s research and work experience is in innovative approaches to land conservation, land use planning and growth management, focusing on community involvement and a long-term, regional perspective.  Prior to joining CLC, Alison completed a Masters in Environmental Management at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.  As a part of her graduate education, she interned with the Montana Smart Growth Coalition and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition researching innovative planning and development practices in Western Montana.  The product of this research is Tools for Smart Growth in Montana, an online collection of success stories on how communities and counties in Montana and the intermountain West are making smart growth a reality. Alison grew up in Minnesota and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado – Boulder in 2000.  She enjoys backpacking, cross country skiing, sewing and knitting in her spare time.