Press Release: Josh Laughlin Hired as Executive Director of Cascadia Wildlands

For immediate release
September 10, 2015

Josh Laughlin, Cascadia Wildlands Executive Director, 541.434.1463

Eugene, OR — The Cascadia Wildlands Board of Directors is excited to announce that Josh Laughlin has been hired as Executive Director of Eugene-based Cascadia Wildlands in a permanent capacity. Josh has been leading the organization as Interim Executive Director since January 2015.

Josh started his career at Cascadia Wildlands in 2001 and has been a tireless advocate for the wild places and wildlife of the region ever since. He has worn a number of hats with the organization over the years, most recently as Campaign Director, where he oversaw gray wolf recovery in the region, a halt of old-growth clearcutting on the Elliott State Forest, passage of legislation to reform harmful suction dredge mining in wild salmon waterways, and much more.

“The Board of Directors is so pleased that Josh has embraced the role of permanent Executive Director, which will provide the organization with a strong and stable foundation for the years to come,” says Cascadia Wildlands Board President Sarah Peters. “His nearly 15 years with the organization gives him unique insight into what it takes to successfully run an organization of this caliber and will greatly assist in Cascadia Wildlands’ efforts to safeguard the species, waters and wildlands of the region.”

Josh hails from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and moved to Eugene in 1993 to attend the University of Oregon where he received degrees in Journalism and Environmental Studies. While in college, he spent considerable time advocating for protection of the remaining old-growth forests in the region. His forest advocacy on campus played a key role in the genesis of Cascadia Wildlands. He currently lives in Eugene with his wife and two children.

Cascadia Wildlands was officially founded in 1998 by students, forest workers, scientists, concerned community members, and business owners in response to the rampant clearcutting of old-growth forests on public lands in Western Oregon. Today, the organization has five staff, eight board members and a wide array of volunteers and interns that propel its conservation campaigns, including restoring wolves and other imperiled species in the Pacific West, designating Devil’s Staircase and the Wild Rogue as Wilderness, halting reckless logging on public lands, stopping the Pacific Connector gas pipeline in southwest Oregon, and much more. The organization is sustained by individual donors, local businesses, grant making foundations and fundraising events. More information about Cascadia Wildlands can be found on its website, www.CascWild.org.

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