Staff

Ryan Houston, Executive Director

Ryan has been leading the Watershed Council since 2001.  During this time, Ryan has carried the organization through a five-fold expansion of its programs, developed more than $7 million in community-based restoration and managed over 20 habitat restoration projects.  Before joining the UDWC, Ryan was a Senior Associate with Sycamore Associates LLC, focused on restoration and management of wetlands and endangered species in Northern California.  Ryan has also worked as a Field Ecologist for The Nature Conservancy, and as a Research Assistant at the Smithsonian Institution of Natural History in Washington, D.C.  Ryan holds a M.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona and a B.S. in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from the University of California, Berkeley.


Kolleen Yake, Education Director

Kolleen has taught environmental education courses throughout Alaska, Washington, and Oregon, and worked as the program manager for the Alaska Center for the Environment prior to joining the UDWC in 2002. Kolleen has trained and managed staff and volunteers within the context of watershed education, and has coordinated riparian restoration projects, water quality monitoring studies, and collaborative conservation education programs. She was the editor for UDWC’s Upper Deschutes Subbasin Assessment (2003) and The Place We Cross the Water: Whychus Creek (2007). Kolleen holds a B.A in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a M.A. degree in English Studies with an emphasis in Ecocritical Analysis from Western Washington University. As the Education Director for UDWC, Kolleen develops and directs the environmental education programs for the Watershed Council in addition to providing leadership for many community-based watershed education projects in Central Oregon.  


Lauren Mork, Monitoring Coordinator

Lauren joined the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council in September 2010. Lauren came to UDWC from Flagstaff, AZ, where she collaborated with the Grand Canyon Trust and Kaibab National Forest to study the effects of post-fire livestock grazing and management in southwestern forests. Lauren previously worked extensively in outdoor and environmental science education, including seven years with Outward Bound as a course director and instructor, where she facilitated staff and participant groups to develop and achieve common goals and objectives in wilderness, workplace, and family settings. She also worked as a field technician for the Institute for Bird Populations. Lauren holds a M.S. in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Northern Arizona University and a B.A. in French Language and Literature from Earlham College.

Mathias has a diverse background in project management in environmental and water resource consulting. Before joining the UDWC in 2008, Mathias worked with Newton Consultants, Inc. concentrating on forming strong ties with Deschutes Basin stakeholders and implementing projects in water resources, conservation and groundwater. Mathias holds an M.S. in Hydrologic Sciences and an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering both from the University of California, Davis and a B.S. in Geology from the University of Delaware.


Mike Logan, Water Quality Technician

A native central Oregonian, Mike has grown up exploring the banks of the Deschutes River and many of its tributaries. Mike started at the Watershed Council as the OSU Undergraduate Water Quality Monitoring Intern 2007 and has progressed to his current position. His studies at OSU-Cascades reinforced his passionate connection to local watersheds and ecology and provided an avenue for him to become associated with these subjects professionally. Mike earned his B.S. in Natural Resources Policy, with a Minor in Fisheries and Wildlife Science, in June 2008. He is currently enrolled as an M.S. student in Water Resources Science at OSU, where he intends to focus on regional watershed processes and the ecological influence of anthropogenic alterations. His additional interests include exploration, hiking, backpacking, angling, and local history.