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

Born and raised in central Kentucky, Daniel graduated from Western Hills High School in Frankfort. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, then completed a Master of Arts in Philosophy at the University of Kentucky. But during another summer road trip out West, the call of the mountains and forests proved too strong to resist, so Daniel returned to the University of Kentucky to study forest management, receiving 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 led research into local commercial logging systems, testing the effects of the state’s timber harvest best management practices and streamside management zone regulations on water quality and riparian biota, and received his Master of Science in Forestry from UK.

Daniel relocated to Fort Collins, and worked with the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station on the hydrological and biogeochemical effects of logging practices in the wake of the mountain pine beetle outbreak in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. He then joined the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University, managing a long-term atmospheric deposition research program in the Loch Vale watershed of Rocky Mountain National Park. Following that, Daniel served as a forester with the conservation districts in Boulder County, delivering Farm Bill assistance to private landowners working to restore their forest structure for wildfire resilience and forest health. Since 2018, Daniel has been a forester with the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed in Fort Collins, a local nonprofit whose mission is to improve and maintain the ecological health of the Cache la Poudre River Watershed through community collaboration. At CPRW, Daniel manages forestry projects on private lands in the watershed, collaborates with partners on long-term, landscape-scale planning and strategy, and participates in several capacities with the Northern Colorado Fireshed Collaborative.

Daniel strives to play at work and work at play, but when he’s off the clock, he spends his time rediscovering nature and society through the eyes of his adventurous, imperturbable daughter and their faithful old dog, 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 OFFICERS

Kelen Dowdy, 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