Staff and Board

Josh Laughlin, Executive Director

Josh was born and raised on sandy Cape Cod. He graduated from the University of Oregon with degrees in Journalism and Environmental Studies in 1998 and worked as an editor of the Earth First! Journal until 2001. Thereafter, he teamed back up with Cascadia Wildlands where he has worn a number of hats for the organization. In 2015 he was hired as Executive Director. When not working to protect and restore the watersheds and species of Cascadia, he enjoys floating down the bioregion’s spectacular rivers, digging in the garden, playing ultimate frisbee, and raising his kiddos. Email Josh

Grace Brahler, Wildlands Director

Grace was born and raised in lovely Lawrence, Kansas. She first traveled east to play golf and start studying environmental issues in the Piedmont region of North Carolina before earning her environmental science degree along the Gulf Coast of Texas. To complete her nationwide tour, Grace headed west to earn her law degree with a concentration in environmental and natural resources from the University of Oregon and is now grateful to call Eugene home. She previously worked with the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center, Western Environmental Law Center, and most recently, has been working on forestry and climate justice issues with Beyond Toxics. When she’s not working on forest and climate defense, you can find Grace at the farmer’s market, searching for the nearest water source, or taking her rescue pup Sylas to explore a new trail. Email Grace

Martha Brinson, Membership & Operations Manager

Martha spent most of her childhood in Wisconsin ice skating in the winter and swimming in Lake Michigan in the summer. She eventually landed in Florida where she enjoyed going to the beaches and riding her motorcycle. Her soul was hungry for wild places and cooler weather, so she headed west to Oregon and became a volunteer with Cascadia Wildlands and a Master Gardener. When she’s not being an office nerd running reports and researching, you can find her hiking in the forest, bird watching and stomping around in the garden talking to plants! Email Martha

Nick Cady, Legal Director

Nick grew up in St. Louis, playing in the rivers of the Missouri Ozarks. He attended Truman State University where he received degrees in political and environmental science. Nick then traveled west to attend law school at the University of Oregon. When he is not litigating over irresponsible land management and protections for imperiled species, he can be found paddling, howling at the moon, or playing soccer. Email Nick

Kaley CoslowSauer, Design & Events Director

Kaley is a native West coaster, born in California but grew up in Rhode Island. While spending her summers in California and rural Oregon, it was in La Pine at her grandparents’ RV park, fishing in Oregon lakes, and weeks spent at camp where she developed her love for Oregon. This carried her to the University of Oregon where first she received a B.A. before continuing her studies in Multimedia Management, Museum Studies, and Non-Profits to earn a M.S. in Arts Management. Kaley loves using good design and thoughtful marketing in order to create effective communications that educate the community and help build connections. When not enjoying the outdoors, you can find her sewing and creating art, dancing, and juggling. She loves telling jokes and is always up to hear a new one. Email Kaley

Bethany Cotton, Conservation Director

Bethany’s environmental ethic was born and raised in the wilds of Southern Oregon: she grew up inside what is now the expanded Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. A graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School, Bethany also holds certificates in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Animal Law. After several years of working in conservation in Colorado, Montana, and Washington D.C., she is happy to be home in Cascadia. In the hours she is not advocating for wildlife and wild places, Bethany can be found growing, cooking and preserving organic food, wildcrafting mushrooms and berries, working on her bird and wildflower ID skills, and exploring wildlands — often with her rescue mutt Gus in tow. Email Bethany

Madeline Cowen, Grassroots & Digital Organizer

Madeline hails from the foggy isle of Vashon in the Salish Sea, landing in Eugene to complete their higher education in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon. Since the founding of WildCAT (Cascadia Action Team), they have worked tirelessly to build our field-checking capacity, and to bring our fieldwork into the 21st century — integrating the use of GPS applications on smartphones to record important data in the field. They formerly worked with the regional non-profit Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology and has been a life-long activist, working extensively with community-led organizations centered on Environmental Justice. When not working, you’ll find Madeline wandering through Cascadia, fishing, rafting, surfing, or kayaking with their dog Finn along the way. Email Madeline

Board of Directors

Gary Henderson (Secretary), Thermofisher

Gary has been part of the Cascadia Bioregion since 1989 and his three children are all Oregonians. Gary has always had a love for wild forest lands. “Our forests are such a treasure and I want to continue to defend our wild spaces and to be part of the change in cultural attitude about where the true value lies in the forests that are part of every one of us.”

Kim Hyland, Windermere Real Estate

Kim has been in Eugene since 1995, finding her way here from Cape Cod and the Boston area. Kim has been a local Realtor since 2004 and spends as much down time as possible exploring Oregon’s mountainous and coastal beauty. While hiking and biking are high on her list, her true passion is swimming. There is nothing like appreciating the splendor of Waldo Lake while crossing it in a wetsuit. Kim joined the Board in January of 2020 after many years of volunteering with and supporting Cascadia Wildlands.

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Daniel Kruse (President), Law Offices of Daniel R. Kruse

Dan Kruse is an attorney in Eugene, Oregon specializing in environmental law and criminal law. Originally from New York, Dan studied music at Temple University in Philadelphia before moving to Eugene in 2003 to attend law school at the University of Oregon. Dan worked for Cascadia Wildlands as a law clerk from 2004 to 2006, and then as Legal Director from 2006 to 2011. Now in private practice, Dan continues to represent Cascadia Wildlands in several cases, including cases to protect wolves, marbled murrelets, and the Elliott State Forest. Dan lives in Eugene with his wife and two rascally children. Their favorite family camping spot is at Twin Lakes in the Umpqua National Forest.  

Nadene LeCheminant, Communications Specialist

Nadene grew up hiking the mountains and deserts of Utah, but knew she was home the moment she first saw the Willamette Valley. She has degrees in history and art from Utah State University. Nadene helped lead campaigns in northern Utah to protect a canyon from bulldozers and a bird refuge from a dam, directed several nonprofit organizations, and worked as a communications specialist with universities. Now retired, she spends her time wandering among big trees, luring bees and butterflies to her flower gardens, tutoring refugee children, and enjoying her husband and friends.

Jonathan Leong, Aumakua Capital Management

Jonathan is an Oregon native, born and raised in the beautiful Willamette Valley. He is a Charter Financial Analyst and has earned his Masters in Finance at Claremont McKenna College, and received his B.S. from Harvey Mudd College, where he double majored in molecular biology and economics. He has spent his career building asset management firms in Hawaii, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. He finally returned to Oregon, where he spends most of his time operating his own firm, Aumakua Capital Management. When he is not working with his team, he spends his time teaching the next generation at Oregon State University, getting tossed off his surfboard somewhere in the ocean, or enjoying the amazing outdoors.  

Dan Snyder, Law Offices of Charlie Tebbutt

Dan graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2010 and has been practicing public interest environmental law ever since. He enforces our nation’s environmental laws against polluters, representing the interests of individuals, local grassroots organizations, and national non-profits. His practice involves actions under the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Comprehensive Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Dan is also an experienced public records attorney, litigating Freedom of Information Act lawsuits across the country. When not in the office, Dan enjoys a round of disc golf, a trip to the river, or watching his beloved Ducks. He and his wife, Kirsten, are the proud parents of three kids.

Interns/Fellows

2022 Summer Legal Interns

Natalie was born in northern California where she grew up backpacking and hiking in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.A. in Physical Geography and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She then earned a M.S. in Watershed Science from Utah State University. Natalie then worked for the U.S. Geological Survey at the Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, where her focus was groundwater sustainability. She started at the University of Oregon School of Law in Fall 2021. When Natalie isn’t working, she enjoys running, backpacking, rafting, and just being outside. 

Kara grew up in Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Biology. She also received a Graduate Certificate in Sustainability from Portland State University. Kara spent time working as a ski instructor and rock climbing guide in Oregon and Colorado. She is now pursuing her J.D. at Lewis & Clark Law School while still finding time to adventure in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. 

Maddie was born and raised in northern California and graduated with a degree in English from the University of Washington in Seattle. She first pursued a career as a journalist before realizing she needed to pursue her passion for environmental conservation. Before moving to Eugene to pursue her J.D. at the University of Oregon School of Law, she lived in Southern Nevada, where she worked as a newspaper reporter. In her free time when she’s not outside hiking or running, you can find her listening to music with her husband and cuddling with her cats, Mesa and Cinna.

Victoria was born and raised as a Georgia peach but has family ties in Upstate New York. She attended Marymount Manhattan College in New York City where she graduated with a double BA in Biology & Urban and Environmental Sustainability. She also received a minor in law and ethics. Before attending law school at the University of Oregon in the fall of 2021, she worked with two climate justice organizations in New York and is now the Social Media Intern with Action for the Climate Emergency. When she isn’t busy you can find Victoria playing with her new puppy, going to the movies, and exploring what the PNW has to offer.