Officers
Co – Chair – Aldaron Laird
Greenway Partners
Aldaron has been an environmental planning consultant for 30 years, specializing in sea level rise adaptation planning on Humboldt Bay. Recently, he authored a portion of the 4th California Climate Change Assessment that described sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation opportunities on Humboldt Bay, completed diked shoreline sea level rise adaptation feasibility study of Humboldt Bay, vulnerability assessments for Humboldt County, City of Eureka and Arcata, adaptation plans for Communities at Risk on Humboldt, and a regional consolidation of sea level rise vulnerability findings for Humboldt Bay.
Co-Chair – Dr. Laurie Richmond
Professor, Humboldt State University
Dr. Richmond’s research focuses on developing collaborative relationships with natural resource-dependent communities to examine how they navigate both political and ecological changes in their resource systems.
Secretary – Dr. Yvonne Everett
Professor, Humboldt State University
Dr. Everett has been educating at HSU since 1998. Her research interests include forest ecology and watershed management, community forestry, public and cross-jurisdictional land use planning and management, and participatory research and planning processes.
Co-Webmaster – Dr. Jim Graham
Professor, Humboldt State University
Dr. Graham has been with HSU for 5 years teaching GIS and researching habitat suitability. Before HSU, Jim was a post-doc at Oregon State University and a researcher with Colorado State University. His research includes marine habitat modeling and using UAVs (a.k.a. drones) for data collection.
Co-Webmaster – Dr. Jason “Jay” Patton
Adjunct Professor, Humboldt State University
Dr. Patton has been studying the tectonics and how tectonics contribute to sea level in coastal northern California for over 2 decades.
Members
Adam Canter
Natural Resources Specialist, Wiyot Natural Resources Department
Adam has been working as a biologist and botanist on the North Coast for 15 years, focusing on ecological restoration, rare species conservation, sensitive natural communities, geographic information systems, and ethnobotany. Adam has been with the Wiyot NRD since 2014, where he hopes to prepare and preserve tribal cultural resources in the face of SLR and climate change.
Dr. Eileen Cashman
Professor, Humboldt State University
Dr. Cashman’s research includes: Water Resource Engineering, Watershed Modeling for Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Sediment Transport Modeling (Physical and Numerical), Engineering Education Curriculum Development and Assessment
Dr. Joice Chang
Associate Professor, Humboldt State University
Dr. Chang is an associate professor in the Department of Politics at Humboldt State University. Her research focuses on intersections of public policy and law.
Dr. Kevin Fingerman
Associate Professor, Humboldt State University
Dr. Fingerman is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science & Management at Humboldt State University. His research employs life cycle assessment, geospatial analysis, and simulation modeling tools to evaluate the climate and broader environmental impacts of renewable energy systems.
Jennifer Kalt
Director, Humboldt Baykeeper
Jennifer has worked for Humboldt Baykeeper since 2005. She launched the Humboldt Bay King Tides Photo Initiative in 2011 and tracks Sea Level Rise issues in local plans and policies. She is also a Lecturer in HSU’s Department of Environmental Science & Management.
Kristina Kunkel
Program Director, Norcal PTAC
Kristina has been working to help people at the Procurement Technical Assistance Center at HSU since 2016.
Jen Marlow
Associate Professor, Humboldt State University
Jen Marlow is an Assistant Professor in the Science and Environmental Management Department. She is licensed to practice law in Washington and Alaska, and her special research interests are in climate law, climate justice, and climate–induced displacement.
Kristen Orth-Gordinier
Graduate Student, HSU Environmental Science & Management Program.
Kristen’s master’s project focuses on regional coordination of SLR planning and adaptation. She also works at Greenway Partners as an Associate Project Manager focusing on project planning and permitting. She has lived in Humboldt County since 2009.
Brian Tissot
Professor, Humboldt State University
Dr. Tissot’s research is focused on the ecology and conservation of marine invertebrates and fishes in tropical and temperate ecosystems.
Joe Tyburczy Extension Specialist, California Sea Grant
Joe is focused on conducting collaborative, applied research to fill gaps in knowledge that will promote sustainable use of marine resources, environmental conservation, and long-term security and prosperity of coastal communities – especially those along the North Coast.
