Chris Elder grew up on the Blanco River of Central Texas and now lives on the South Fork of the Nooksack River in NW Washington, just outside of Bellingham. He works as a watershed management planner for a County trying to balance the high flows and low flows of the Nooksack in an agricultural and developing landscape. Floodwatch makes him giddy and rafting in the middle of winter when no one else is out there is where he finds peace. He went through guide training on the Nooksack about 10 years ago, bought a raft and started taking family and friends out as much as possible. He also runs a conservation planning company called Rivershed SPC and is currently working on a conservation project on the White Salmon River. He is dedicated to letting rivers run and trying to balance human and environmental demands in an increasingly challenging climate. Chris is always working to improve access to and understanding of rivers and river ecosystems. He has grand ambitions of restoring riversheds and restoring the human connection to river systems. He has brought tons of experience and enthusiasm to the NW Chapter and we appreciate him for doing so.

Marina Metes is a physical scientist at the US Geological Survey Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Her work focuses on using GIS and remote sensing to understand stream health conditions and change over time, especially within the realm of fluvial geomorphology. She earned a B.S. in Earth Science from Michigan State University, a GIS certificate from Elmhurst University, and an M.S. in Geography and Environmental Systems from University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her career began over ten years ago as an AmeriCorps VISTA, working as a community development coordinator for the Harpeth River Conservancy in Nashville Tennessee. Then is where she was first introduced to the River Management Society and helped with the initial development and launch of the RMS National River Recreation Database.

Lucy Nentwick is currently a Program Analyst Fellow for the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System and the National Trails System with the National Park Service. She has been with the National Park Service since January 2024, where she started as a GIS Fellow for the update of the Nationwide Rivers Inventory (NRI). In this role, Lucy helped lead the GIS update of the NRI, which was last completed in 1993. This is where she also received her Public Land Corps Hiring Authority. Since then, she has had other GIS-related fellowships within the National Park Service before coming back to Wild and Scenic Rivers in June 2025. Lucy is passionate about science communication, data visualization, and community engagement, and envisions a career dedicated to bridging the gap between complex environmental data and public understanding. Lucy graduated from Colgate University in 2023, where she received a BA in Environmental Geology and Geography.

David Rutter is responsible for the management of OKI’s water quality program including coordinating the Groundwater Committee and maintenance of the “Water Quality Management Plan for Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties in Ohio”. David holds a Master’s degree in Adult Education/Environmental Education from the Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with teaching certification from Ohio Wesleyan University.