Board

I have had the honor and pleasure of working almost my entire career in conservation. My interest in the outdoors from an early age back east in New Jersey led me to gain both a BS and MS in wildlife biology at Rutgers University, and later a law degree and focus on Environmental Law at the Northwest School of Law at Lewis and Clark College here in Portland. I began my wildlife career in 1975 routing educational wood signs and writing press releases for the NJ Division of Fish, Wildlife, and Shellfisheries, and later became a Fisheries Biologist, until I left the East Coast for law school. After practicing law for almost a decade, including stints at the National Wildlife Federation and the Trust for Public Land, I found my way back to state government in 1993 via the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, where I worked for the next 20+ years, ultimately becoming the Director from about 2007 through 2014. My final employment, prior to retirement in 2020, was as the lead fisheries management position for the US Fish and Wildlife Service here in the Pacific NW. I was also honored to represent Oregon on the international Pacific Salmon Treaty with Canada for several years. 

Since moving to Portland in 1979, I lived primarily in one of Portland’s great neighborhoods in NE Portland, and counted myself very fortunate to move out here to Sauvie Island in 2022, living on the Columbia River, the site of so much of my work in fisheries throughout my career. I consider myself firmly grounded here on Sauvie Island, being that it was my great local outdoor escape hatch for all of the years I have lived in Portland, and contains one of the Portland area’s finest examples of public recreation in ODFW’s Sauvie Island Wildlife Area. And among my other Sauvie Island credentials, I was one of the many ODFW staff to show up and fill sandbags to help protect key Island infrastructure during the great ’96 flood.

I am pleased and honored to be appointed an Associate Board member of the WMSWCD. I also sit on the Oregon Wildlife Foundation Board, an organization dedicated to assisting in funding wildlife habitat and access projects throughout the state, and ODFW’s NW Committee for Access and Habitat Projects.

Josh is a community organizer, technologist and farmer with roots in the Tryon Creek Watershed, where he has lived most of his life within Zone 5 of the West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District.

His work focuses on developing regenerative, community-centered solutions that foster equitable resource distribution and knowledge exchange. Josh brings a balanced perspective to conservation efforts, drawing from his background in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon.

While his education included technical training in spatial technologies, Josh’s approach to conservation is primarily grounded in practical fieldwork and community engagement. His experience with farming has deepened his understanding of regenerative practices and direct land stewardship.

Josh is interested in collaborative governance, permaculture, and the development of resilient local systems. As a member of Gen Z, he contributes fresh perspectives on sustainability that consider long-term outcomes for future residents of our watersheds.

Kevin is a lifelong Oregonian who resides with his wife Laura on an 18-acre property in rural northwest Multnomah County. He is a retired geotechnical engineer and engineering geologist, focussing on slope stability and erosion control, groundwater resources, drainage and stormwater control, and reservoir/pond design and construction. He and his wife have teamed with WMSWCD on several land stewardship projects at their property, including the development of a forest conservation plan, erosion control mitigation, invasive species management, and native pollinator plantings.

Since retiring, Kevin has participated in Metro’s amphibian egg mass monitoring program, and has assisted neighbors and private and government entities in landslide mitigation projects and the establishment and maintenance of rural ponds. For the past several years, he has worked with other volunteers and Portland Parks in investigating the feasibility of constructing ponds in Forest Park to enhance amphibian habitat. He helped develop a preliminary design for a pond in the northern sector of the park, for which Portland Parks is seeking construction funding, as of early 2025.

Kevin is an avid gardener who enjoys observing the evolving landscape and wildlife scene at the half-acre pond he constructed in the early 1990s. 

Michael was born in San Francisco, raised in Palo Alto, California. After frequent family visits throughout his childhood, he moved permanently to Oregon in the early 1970s. He is a University of Oregon alumnus, where he studied psychology with a minor in accounting and quantitative methods.

Michael held several executive-level positions in both the non- and for-profit human services field and provided related consultation to boards of directors/staff, government agencies and law firms during his career. He has a long history of volunteering on the boards of local social service agencies, homeowner associations, statewide professional associations as well as regional and national advocacy organizations. 

Since retiring, Michael has continued to volunteer with local groups involved with conservation-related activities, particularly those involving reintroduction of native plants/trees and restoration of local waterways. He enjoys hiking, camping/backpacking, gardening, birding, fly fishing and spending time with and riding his and his wife’s horses. He and his wife live in SW Portland in the Tryon Creek watershed and obtained Backyard Habitat Program’s Platinum Certification on their property several years ago. Prior to becoming a Director, Michael served on WMSWCD’s budget committee during 2024. 

Kat Topaz moved from NYC to the Pacific Northwest after a road trip in 1992. She had never seen so many birds of prey in one place, nor had she lived in a city that was so accessible to nature. After moving here, she lived on a Chinese Junk on the Columbia River until the flood of 1996 destroyed the marina. An avid kayaker, Kat spent much of her free time exploring the Oregon rivers when she wasn’t working as a graphic and then digital designer. Kat and her husband, Jim Abeles, moved back to the water and lived on a floating home on the Multnomah Channel before deciding to “retire” from their careers and purchase a farm on Sauvie Island, where they farm regeneratively.

Topaz is a board member of the Sauvie Island Community Association, is active at the Sauvie Island Grange, and has opened her farm to multiple nonprofits that share the space, including the Portland All Nationals Canoe Family, the Sauvie Island Center, and the Bird Alliance of Oregon.

Jan has spent 50 years in the electrical field, specifically in designing, engineering, and developing high voltage electrical system upgrades in factories, commercial buildings, system power plants, city and utility electrical systems, including all construction and marine applications.

Twenty-five of those year were spent in industrial manufacturing processes, product (chemical and spectrographic) analysis, air-water chemical solid/hazardous waste management, regulatory compliance, project design and implementation. His business experience also encompasses employee supervision, labor/union relations, skills and sales training, environmental health/industrial hygiene, workers compensation insurance and fiscal management. On the business marketing side, Jan has handled media production and direct service sales and marketing of various product lines. In addition, Jan has nine years’ experience rebuilding boat and residential houseboat marinas.

He is an avid wetland and wildlands conservationist exemplified by the development and management of a 35 acre wildlife habitat and hazardous waste clean-up involving factories and water systems.

Jan served as associate director from 2015-2024, when he was appointed to fill the Zone 1 vacancy for the end of a term.

Associate Director since 2008, Bob manages a Sauvie Island Farm owned by his family since 1955. Angus cattle, various hay crops and a duck lake keep him busy. Bob retired after a 25 year career in the oil business. He brings to the board excellent business and farming experience. He has implemented a conservation plan for his land that includes several water and wildlife habit projects.

Shawn Looney was born and raised in Portland. She received BS and MS degrees from Portland State University, and retired in 2010 after working for 23 years as a Portland Public Schools Speech-Language Pathologist. Shawn and her husband David live in the Linnton area, where Shawn has been actively involved in the Linnton Neighborhood Association, the board of Roosevelt High School’s Alumni Association, and volunteer projects in Linnton to remove invasives and replant with northwest natives.

Before becoming a Director, Shawn served as a Board Associate Director from 2012 to 2014.

Terri Preeg Riggsby was born in Virginia but also spent part of her childhood in Lima, Peru and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Terri recieved her BA in Mass Communication at James Madison University and her Masters in Natural Resource Management at PSU. She also obtained the Watershed Management Professional Program Certification. Most recently, Terri worked as a senior Performance Auditor for the Oregon Secretary of State’s office, and now owns Babbling Brook Designs, producing and selling functional and environmentally friendly pottery.

Terri joined WMSWCD in 2006 because of her passion for improving and protecting our natural environment within an urban setting. She has spent over 10 years performing and advocating for on-the-ground restoration in and around the City of Portland and knows that getting the right partners working together will yield great results. These partners are already seeing great and positive impact on our watersheds by reducing non-point source and storm water pollution and Terri looks forward to continued success.

Terri and her husband Ben Riggsby have fun with their son Caleb. She also likes to hike, garden, and travel.

George Sowder was born in San Francisco and grew up in Bend, Oregon and St Paul, Minnesota. He attended Lewis and Clark College in Portland graduating with a bachelor’s degree in science in 1968. His primary career was as an auto mechanic, although he has tried his hand at many endeavors.

George joined the WMSWCD Board in 1999. He and his wife Judy Friedman have owned 20 acres of forest land in unincorporated Multnomah County since 1985, where they currently reside.

George has been active in the rural Northwest Skyline neighborhood since moving from Portland in 1971. He and another long time neighbor started what became the Skyline Ridge Neighbors (SRN) organization in response to development pressure during the early days of land use planning in Multnomah County. He remains active in the community as chair of SRN land use committee and is a member of the Skyline Grange.

Jane is passionate about native plants, habitat restoration, birds, frogs, and turtles. After a 29-year career as Marketing Manager of the Oregon Zoo, she retired and founded the Sauvie Island Habitat Partnership. Through this role she co-authored the Sauvie Island & Multnomah Channel Bottomlands Conservation Opportunities, a book published by the West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District that inspires and informs the future management and appreciation of natural resources, habitat and wildlife on Sauvie Island.

Jane also leads a crew of volunteer Weed Warriors, and organizes volunteers for the Harborton Frog Shuttle, which transports frogs from Forest Park, across Highway 30 to their breeding grounds, and back. She lives on Sauvie Island where she operates Sauvie Island Natives Nursery and delights in helping people pick plants that benefit wildlife. She is also on the board of the Oregon Conservation Recreation Fund, and is active with the Lower Willamette Native Turtle Conservation Group.

Jane served as a Board Member at West Multnomah SWCD for 18 years, until December 2024. She joined as an Associate Director in January 2025.