Staff & Board
CPRW Staff
Hally Strevey, Executive Director
Hally is a Colorado native, with a great love of the West. Her family has a cabin on the Poudre River, and she spent much of her childhood fishing, hiking, and cross country skiing in the watershed. These experiences helped to fuel her passion for a career path in restoration ecology and watershed management.
Hally has a diverse background in both wildlife and ecology. She has a Bachelor’s of Science in wildlife biology from Colorado State University and a Master’s of Science in restoration ecology from Montana State University.
Hally has also worked for the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, the Restoration Ecology lab at Colorado State University, and an ecological consulting firm.
When she’s not working, Hally enjoys spending time in wild and beautiful places with her husband and dogs, practicing and teaching yoga, identifying plants, and hanging out in downtown Fort Collins.
Contact Hally: hallys@poudrewatershed.org
Daniel Bowker, Forests Program Manager
A born-and-raised Kentuckian, Daniel came of age thinking deeply about the changes he saw as his home state transformed from small family farms to the urban-rural hybrid it is today. After finishing degrees in philosophy, he followed his calling out of doors, returning to the University of Kentucky to complete a Bachelor of Science in forestry.
Following graduation, UK hired Daniel as a forester on the university’s 15,000 acre Robinson Forest, in the rugged Cumberland Plateau region of eastern Kentucky. While there, Daniel spearheaded research into local commercial logging practices, testing the effects of the state’s streamside management zone regulations on water quality and riparian biota, and received his Master of Science in forestry along the way.
Daniel moved to Fort Collins in 2010, and worked with the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station on the mountain pine beetle outbreak in northern Colorado. He then spent several years with the Natural Resource Ecology Lab at Colorado State University, managing a long-term research program in the Loch Vale watershed of Rocky Mountain National Park. Most recently, Daniel served as a forester with the conservation districts in Boulder County, delivering Farm Bill assistance to private landowners working to thin and restore their forests for wildfire resilience and forest health.
Daniel strives to integrate work and play, but when he’s off the clock, he spends his time rediscovering nature and society through the eyes of his daughter, and exploring the mountains and deserts of the captivating American Southwest.
Contact Daniel: daniel@poudrewatershed.org
Cory Dick, Watershed Project Manager
Hailing from the great north, Cory was born and raised in Minnesota where a fascination of the outdoors led him to a bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. Following graduation, Cory immediately moved to Florida as a marine biologist studying sharks, rays, and sea turtles. While there, he obtained his US Coast Guard captain’s license and began operating scientific research vessels. After three years of bouncing between technician jobs in Florida, Alaska, and Yellowstone National Park, he finally landed in Humboldt County where he received his master's degree in Natural Resources and Fisheries from Cal-Poly Humboldt. His primary focus throughout the last 7 years has been on habitat degradation and how human influence affects native and non-native species.
Cory recently moved to Fort Collins with his fiancé and border collie puppy to follow his passion for the outdoors. Specifically, he is interested in how aquatic processes shape surrounding landscapes and ecosystems, and how human influences can alter these processes. Joining CPRW as Watershed Project Manager, Cory aims to provide insight into local restoration and rehabilitation efforts within the Poudre watershed with the goal of maintaining a healthy and balanced ecosystem.
Outside of work, Cory finds himself in the woods or on top of mountains, working on his photography, fly fishing, or snowboarding. You can view his photography work at corydphotography.com.
Contact Cory: cory@poudrewatershed.org
Taryn Contento, Post-Fire & Rivers Project Manager
Born and raised in the Sonoran Desert, Taryn grew up playing in ephemeral stream beds (arroyos) and gawking at massive Saguaro cactus. She began her more formal training in the natural world from field studies classes in High School which transitioned into her degree in Sustainable Plant Systems from the University of Arizona. Her passion for natural resources followed her after her bachelor’s and allowed her to spend many field seasons collecting data across multiple ecosystems including vegetation surveys in the Great Basin, forest inventories in the Sierra and Black Hills, and rare plant surveys throughout Colorado.
Complementing her robust monitoring career Taryn pursued her master’s, assessing the contributing factors of willow declines in the Kawuneeche Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park and assisted in a project looking at the impacts of raising water tables using simulated beaver structures. Following this work, she became the River Project Manager for Wildlands Restoration Volunteers. Coordinating and implementing restoration projects specifically related to Low Tech Process Based Restoration brought together her deep knowledge of ecosystem function, love for applied work, and community.
Inside and outside of work Taryn is driven by her connection to people and place: specifically, her dog Zigadenus, husband, and Front Range native plants and veggie garden.
Contact Taryn: taryn@poudrewatershed.org
Megan Maiolo-Heath, Communications, Outreach & Marketing Manager
Megan grew up on the Front Range of Colorado where her fascination with the outdoors was fostered during backpacking, skiing, camping, and fly fishing outings with her family. At the age of 18, she became a whitewater rafting guide, kick starting her obsession with running rivers and, ultimately, her drive to conserve them. She received her Masters of Public Administration with certificates in Non-Profit Management and Environmental Policy, Management & Law from University of Colorado Denver’s School of Public Affairs. Megan's love for the environment has guided her career in the nonprofit sector, where she’s worked in marketing, community outreach and fundraising for local and international nonprofit organizations for 15 years.
As Communications, Outreach & Marketing Manager, Megan works to further CPRW’s mission of improving and maintaining the ecological health of the Poudre River and sharing CPRW’s critical work with the wider public.
In her free time, you can find her exploring the Poudre River Watershed by foot, in a raft or on skis, usually accompanied by her husband, son and dog.
Contact Megan: megan@poudrewatershed.org
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is responsible for the general supervision of the affairs of the Corporation and has fiduciary responsibility for the assets of the Corporation. The Directors are comprised of both reserved seat and at-large members.
Any member of the public or representative of any public or private corporation may be introduced as candidates to be elected by and serve on the Board of Directors as at-large members. Two seats on the Board of Directors are reserved for representatives from the City of Fort Collins Utilities and City of Greeley Water and Sewer.
BOARD MEMBERS
Carmen Farmer, Colorado Open Lands
Richard Thorp, Reserved Seat Board Member, Watershed Program Manager, City of Fort Collins Utilities
Ricardo Perez, Larimer County Office of Emergency Management
Henry Mclaughlin, Unaffiliated
Warren Jones, Unaffiliated, private landowner
David Cawrse, Unaffiliated, US Forest Service (retired)
Annie Christianson, Unaffiliated
Claire Bouchard, Northern Colorado Community Foundation
BOARD OFFICERS
Jordana Barrack, Chair, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation
Kelen Dowdy, Vice Chair & Reserved Seat Board Member, Water Resources Planning Manager, City of Greeley
Colin Glover, Secretary, Rocky Mountain Flycasters - Trout Unlimited
John Dinges, Treasurer, O-I
CPRW staff clean up pretty well, eh?
CPRW board members on a field tour to Upper Elkhorn Creek, a post-fire restoration project.