Contact a Grants Manager

Ashly Arambul

Compliance Grants Manager

360-867-8779

ashly.arambul@rco.wa.gov

Ashly is the Land and Water Conservation Fund post-completion/compliance grants manager in the Grant Services Section. She joined RCO in 2018 as a compliance specialist. She has spent most of her professional career managing and maintaining recreation sites for the Washington Department of Natural Resources. Ashly graduated from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, where she received her bachelor of science degree in natural resource management and biology. She is an avid outdoor recreationist who loves to hike, camp, hunt, and fish. When she is not outside, she can be found inside preserving summer for the winter in the form of jams, jellies, fruit butters, pickles, dried fruits, and canned vegetable, soups, and stews, basically anything that can be put in a mason jar.

Beth Auerbach

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-280-6103

beth.auerbach@rco.wa.gov

Beth is the statewide grants manager for the No Child Left Inside and Outdoor Learning Grants programs. She has a bachelor's degree in conservation biology and a minor in environmental education from Prescott College in Arizona and a master's degree in land planning and design from the Conway School in Massachusetts. Some of her past professional experience has included running a small business, environmental consulting, landscape design, volunteer coordination, wildlife rehabilitation, farming, horse training and riding instructor, preschool teacher, and director of a kindergarten through twelfth-grade rock climbing program. Beth has served on several boards that focus on youth, farming, stewardship, and restoration. She enjoys exploring the Pacific Northwest and spending time outside with friends and family.

Marguerite Austin

Recreation and Conservation Grants Section Manager

360-867-8140

marguerite.austin@rco.wa.gov

Marguerite is the Recreation and Conservation Grants Section manager. She moved to Washington in 1988 and has spent most of her career working at RCO as an outdoor grants manager, an assistant section manager, and now manager of the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board’s grants section. She has extensive experience working with organizations interested in funding for outdoor recreation and conservation purposes. Originally from the Midwest where she worked at Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources, Marguerite has spent the past few years exploring the Pacific Northwest. She enjoys reading, engaging in various community service projects, traveling, and finding unique views of Mount Rainier.

Amee Bahr

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8585

amee.bahr@rco.wa.gov

Amee joined RCO in 2014 and now is salmon grants manager for the upper and lower Columbia River regions. Amee’s experience includes nearly twenty-three years working in the environmental field conducting wetland delineations and restoration work, identifying Washington native plants, and managing a native plant nursery. She earned her bachelor of arts degree from The Evergreen State College in Olympia. Amee has lived in Washington most of her life and enjoys hiking, dancing, and time with family.

DeAnn Beck

Senior Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8145

deann.beck@rco.wa.gov

DeAnn joined RCO in 2018 as an outdoor grants manager for the Recreation and Conservation Section. She has more than twenty-seven years of land acquisition and grants management experience gained from two natural resources agencies: the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Washington Department of Natural Resources. A native Washingtonian, DeAnn loves photography, live music, and is an enthusiastic animal lover. DeAnn enjoys the great outdoors, particularly Washington’s deep forests and coastline as well as the Columbia River Gorge and the San Juan Islands.

Elizabeth Butler

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8650

elizabeth.butler@rco.wa.gov

Elizabeth is an outdoor grants manager for the Salmon Section working in Puget Sound Region and Middle Columbia River Salmon Recovery Region.

Kay Caromile

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8532

kay.caromile@rco.wa.gov

Kay is an outdoor grants manager for the Salmon Section and manages grants for the Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program, Salmon Recovery Funding Board, and Brian Abbot Fish Passage Barrier Removal Board. Before joining RCO, Kay worked as an environmental engineer for Battelle, King Conservation District, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. After returning to school to earn a degree in restoration ecology from the University of Washington, Kay worked as a plant health diagnostician for Washington State University and as a landscaper before joining RCO in 2007. Although a New Englander at heart, Kay has made her home in Washington since 1994. Kay pursues every opportunity to be outside playing in the dirt, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, camping, fishing, and venturing on roads less traveled.

Brian Carpenter

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8523

brian.carpenter@rco.wa.gov

Brian joined RCO in 2018 as an outdoor grants manager for the Recreation and Conservation Grants Section. A Washington native, Brian has lived and adventured throughout the state. With his background in trails and park development, he serves Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan, and Ferry Counties; and the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Before joining the RCO team, he worked in camp management, government contract administration, and as an Adopt-A-Trail coordinator. Brian completed his bachelor’s degree in recreation and associate’s degree in computer programming. Eagerly pursuing new opportunities for learning and exploration, Brian often can be found in museums or on other adventures.

Hayley Dalgetty

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-472-5542

Hayley.dalgetty@rco.wa.gov

Hayley joined RCO in October 2022 as an outdoor grants manager. She has worked in the parks and conservation field for a decade in roles as a park ranger and program/project manager at a variety of federal, state, regional, and nonprofit land management organizations. She holds a bachelor of arts in law, societies, and justice and a master of public administration, both from the University of Washington. She lives in Seattle with her husband and dog and enjoys hiking, camping, running, baking, theater, and board games.

Allison Dellwo

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8626

allison.dellwo@rco.wa.gov

Allison joined RCO in 2018 as an outdoor grants manager for the Recreation and Conservation Grants Section. Allison was born and raised in Washington and considers both Spokane and Olympia her hometowns. She is a graduate of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, and has her master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado. Before joining the RCO team, Allison spent ten years in Colorado working at various nonprofit organizations, most recently at the Colorado Rural Health Center running a grant program through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In her spare time, she loves traveling, volunteering, concert-going, and spending time with friends and family.

Sandy Dotts

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-628-9487

sandra.dotts@rco.wa.gov

Sandy joined in RCO in November 2021. Previously, she worked for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, where she spent twenty-one years as both a habitat biologist and watershed steward in northeast Washington. She was active in the Kalispel Tribe-Pend Oreille Lead Entity for salmon grants for more than twenty years and had provided technical assistance on many Salmon Recovery Funding Board and Family Forest Fish Passage Program grants. Sandy received her bachelor of science degree in natural resource management from Washington State University. She and her husband live in Colville with their two horses.

Alissa Ferrell

Senior Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8618

alissa.ferrell@rco.wa.gov

Alissa is a senior outdoor grants manager for the Salmon Section. Before joining RCO in 2018, she managed the state’s nonpoint source water quality grants program, where she worked on policy issues, grant database implementation, federal reporting, and grant administration and coordination. Alissa also worked in the solid waste program managing public participation outreach grants and the recycling hotline, among other duties, during her eleven-year tenure at the Washington State Department of Ecology. She studied environmental science at Washington State University and received a bachelor of science degree with an emphasis in biology. Alissa grew up moving around the country as a military dependent but spent her formative years in Hawaii where she developed a love of the ocean. She landed in Washington and made it her home. She continues to play outside surfing, paddle boarding, snowboarding, camping, and hiking. Alissa enjoys a good laugh and travels as much as possible.

John Foltz

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8573

john.foltz@rco.wa.gov

John joined RCO in June 2023 as a salmon grants manager. Before that, he was the executive director and lead entity coordinator for the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board and, before that, the lead entity and project coordinator for Klickitat County. He holds a bachelor of science degree in fish science from the Ohio State University and a master's degree in engineering science from Washington State University. John enjoys camping and being outdoors with his family, as well as snowboarding, photography, and reading science fiction.

Dan Haws

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-280-7079

dan.haws@rco.wa.gov

Dan joined RCO in 2004 as an outdoor grants manager in the Recreation and Conservation Grant Section. He works with the Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Forest Service, and Snohomish County, focusing mainly on trail grants. Dan’s experience includes seven years with the states of Utah and Idaho as a park ranger. He earned a bachelor of science degree and a master’s degree from Utah State University as well as a master’s degree from the University of Idaho. He was raised in eastern Washington and enjoys the outdoors.

Andrea Hood

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-472-5545

andrea.hood@rco.wa.gov

Andrea joined RCO in September 2022. Previously, she was an environmental planner with the Department of Fish and Wildlife where she managed contracts for the Habitat Strategic Initiative Lead team. She holds a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in environmental management from Yale University. She is an enthusiastic outdoor recreationist who loves water sports like kayaking and sailing, and also enjoys hiking and spending time in the great outdoors with her family.

Bridget Kaminski

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-472-5546

bridget.kaminski@rco.wa.gov

Bridget joined RCO in November 2021. She worked previously at the Washington Department of Natural Resources, where she spent fourteen years as an aquatic land manager and natural resource technician in Jefferson and Clallam Counties. There, she provided technical assistance on a wide variety of projects and reviewed many Salmon Recovery Funding Board projects on the Olympic Peninsula. She grew up on the Olympic Peninsula, fished for salmon along Whidbey Island and for steelhead in the Dungeness River, and now fly fishes in local streams and lakes. She also is a beekeeper. Bridget earned her bachelor of science degree in wildlife biology from Washington State University. She and her family live in Port Ludlow.

Kendall Kohler

Salmon Grants Manager

360-764-9086

kendall.kohler@rco.wa.gov

Kendall joined RCO in 2019 as the administrative assistant in the Salmon Section and became a salmon grants manager in 2023. She holds a bachelor of science degree in fisheries and wildlife sciences through Oregon State University. A wildlife enthusiast, Kendall enjoys hunting and fishing. Outside of her work, you can find her with her two kids, two dogs, and two budgies.

Josh Lambert

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8781

josh.lambert@rco.wa.gov

Josh joined RCO in 2015 as an outdoor grants manager in the Salmon Section. Josh came to RCO with more than twelve years of experience in natural resource assessment, conservation, and management, working throughout a wide range of western U.S. ecosystems from high desert to temperate rain forest. Josh earned his bachelor of environmental science degree from the Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University, and a master’s degree in plant systematics at Oregon State University. When not focused on work, Olympia area music projects, or backcountry pursuits, he and his wife are driven to complete wonderment and joyful exhaustion by their daughter and son.

Rachelle Lim

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-649-2036

rachelle.lim@rco.wa.gov

Rachelle (pronounced Rachel) joined RCO in 2024 as an outdoor grants manager for the parks team with the Recreation and Conservation Grants Section. She has a wide range of experience in the biotech and nonprofit sectors and most recently worked as a project manager for a nonprofit urban forest carbon registry, where she supported land trusts, local governments, and nonprofits to leverage carbon crediting to fund tree planting and preservation in urban and peri-urban areas across the country. She holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in oceanography from the University of Washington. Rachelle loves exploring the outdoors and enjoys kayaking with her wife and performing volunteer forest restoration work on the weekends.

Butch Lovelace

Outdoor Grants Manager

(360) 472-6795

butch.lovelace@rco.wa.gov

Butch joined RCO in 2024 as an outdoor grants manager for the parks team with the Recreation and Conservation Grants Section. He spent the past twenty-five years working for King County Parks as a project and program manager and managed the youth sports grant program for the agency. He has a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology from the University of Washington. In his free time, in addition to enjoying the many outdoor benefits of living in the Pacific Northwest, he enjoys attending music and cultural events with friends.

Russell Malburg

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-340-1282

russell.malburg@rco.wa.gov

Russell joined RCO in September 2023 as an outdoor grants manager with the Recreation and Conservation Grants Section. A Michigan native, he most recently worked as the recreation operations manager for Southfield, a suburb of Detroit. Before entering the parks and recreation profession, he worked for more than eight years in intercollegiate athletics at Indiana University, Fresno State University, and Michigan State University. He has a bachelor's degree in public affairs from Indiana University, is a certified park and recreation professional with the National Recreation and Parks Association, and in 2022 received a professional certificate in geographic information systems. Russell likes sports of all kinds and enjoys live music, bar trivia, playing cards, watching Jeopardy, occasionally screenwriting, canning veggies, quilting, and seeing new places.

Kate joined RCO in June 2023 as a salmon grants manager. Prior to that, she spent five years at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife working on the Fish Passage Diversion & Screening Inventory database and evaluating fish passage barriers around the state. Kate came to Washington from southern California where she monitored endangered southern California steelhead and their habitats and served as a technical reviewer for the state’s salmon restoration grant program. Kate has also studied fish populations and their habitat in Montana, Massachusetts, and New York. She earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Boston University and a master degree in natural resources (fisheries) from Humboldt State University. Kate spends her free time with her family and enjoying the rain.

Sasha Medlen

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-819-3374

sasha.medlen@rco.wa.gov

Sasha joined RCO in July 2022 as a salmon grants manager. She has a bachelor’s degree in science and technology from the University of California-Berkley and more than eighteen years of experience working on environmental issues, with the past three as a property and acquisition specialist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. There she managed forty grants worth $50 million. She enjoys spending time with her family and dog, surfing, gardening, fishing, and painting. She also is known for her homemade Claussen dill pickles!

Teresa joined RCO in 2024 as an outdoor grants manager for the office programs team with the Salmon Section. She has spent her career working in the natural resources field, and most recently, worked for the Department of Natural Resources as a grants manager with the Habitat Strategic Initiative Lead, managing EPA funds for projects focused on Puget Sound recovery. She has a bachelor of science degree in environmental science from The Evergreen State College. When she’s not shuttling kids around, she enjoys paddle boarding, biking, hiking, camping, fishing, kayaking, or pretty much anything else outdoors.

Kat Moore

Assistant Section Manager

360-867-8426

kathryn.moore@rco.wa.gov

Kat joined RCO in 2010 as an outdoor grants manager with the salmon recovery program. Kat is now an assistant section manager for the salmon section and oversees salmon recovery funding board-related projects and manages grants in the San Juan Island lead entities. Before joining RCO, Kat worked in private land conservation. Kat studied natural resources at The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee and has a law degree and master’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Oregon. Kat’s love of the outdoors comes from spending summers as a kid hiking and camping in the Wallowa Mountains and Eagle Cap Wilderness of eastern Oregon.

Christy Rains

Assistant Section Manager

360-865-7221

christy.rains@rco.wa.gov

Christy started at RCO in February 2024 as an assistant section manager for the Salmon Section. She oversees the office programs, which include the Brian Abbott Fish Barrier Removal Board, Family Forest Fish Passage Program, Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program, and the Washington Coast Restoration and Resiliency Initiative. She spent the previous nine years doing fish passage work at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife where she started as a technician on the fish passage barrier inventory and assessment crew and most recently filled the fish passage section manager roles for both the Inventory and Assessment and Project Scoping sections. She earned a bachelor of science degree in environmental science from Drexel University in Philadelphia and a master’s degree in stream ecology from Virginia Tech. In her free time, she enjoys kayaking, hiking, clamming, and gardening.

Alice Rubin

Senior Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8584

alice.rubin@rco.wa.gov

Alice joined RCO as a outdoor grants manager in the Salmon Section in 2013. She has dedicated her career to natural resources conservation, restoration, and protection. Alice manages projects in the Snake River Salmon Recovery Region, is RCO's Washington Coast Restoration and Resiliency program manager, and provides assistance to other programs in the Salmon Section.

Kim Sellers

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-280-6466

kim.sellers@rco.wa.gov

Kim is an outdoor grants manager in the Recreation and Conservation Grants Section specializing in programs related to conservation and farmland and forestland preservation. Before joining RCO in 2007, she worked at the Washington Department of Natural Resources in forest practices, habitat conservation planning, and timber sales. She came to Washington State after more than a dozen years working seasonal wildlife and conservation jobs with state and federal agencies across the United States. She studied wildlife biology at Colorado State University and has a master’s degree from The Evergreen State College.

Jesse Sims

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8438

jesse.sims@rco.wa.gov

Jesse started with RCO in 2018 as an outdoor grants manager in the Recreation and Conservation Grants Section. He assists RCO’s partners and grant recipients with proposal development and project management. Jesse came to RCO with eighteen years of natural resources management experience from two different agencies: Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service. Jesse holds a bachelor of science degree in outdoor recreation management from Central Washington University. In his spare time, Jesse enjoys spending time with his family hiking, fishing, camping, and playing some acoustic guitar!

Henry Smith

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-867-8328

henry.smith@rco.wa.gov

Henry joined RCO in January 2022 as an outdoor grants manager for the Recreation and Conservation Grants Section. Previously, he coordinated environmental and educational AmeriCorps programs with the Washington Service Corps in the Employment Security Department. He also has worked for the Nisqually Land Trust and Pacific Education Institute, and even spent time as an AmeriCorps member on a backcountry chainsaw crew in Eugene, Oregon. Henry graduated from Pacific Lutheran University’s International Honors Program in 2016 with a degree in environmental studies and communications. He holds a master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis in public policy from The Evergreen State College. When he’s not working, Henry enjoys kayaking, visiting museums, playing basketball, and hiking.

Edison Velez

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-340-1280

edison.velez@rco.wa.gov

Edison joined RCO in September 2023 as an outdoor grants manager in the Grant Services Section. Edison has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Florida. Edison has spent most of his youth and young adult summers working and recreating in the outdoors, often traveling far from Florida to explore beyond swamps and pine forests. Since his time in Florida, Edison spent more than ten years with conservation corps programs in California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington, working with students and young adults on a variety of projects in natural resources in both urban and wilderness settings. When he is not enjoying the outdoors professionally, he can be found cycling to coffee shops and trying to organize a sea of photos from the past several years of work and travel.

Bob Warinner

Outdoor Grants Manager

360-543-3485

bob.warinner@rco.wa.gov

Bob joined RCO in August 2022 as a salmon grants manager. He has spent the past twenty-three years at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife rising through the ranks from scientific technician to area habitat biologist to assistant regional habitat program manager, all in the La Conner office. He has provided technical assistance to salmon habitat restoration practitioners, primarily to the Skagit Watershed Council lead entity, and represented the department in local forums on regulations, habitat recovery, and related political issues. Bob received his bachelor’s degree in environmental science and chemistry from Western Washington University. In his spare time, he likes to hunt, fish, hike, and hang out with his daughter in Portland.