Janice Reid

President

Janice is a wildlife biologist, specializing in spotted owl biology and population dynamics for the past 3+ decades. Since moving to Douglas County in 1985, she was captivated by the beauty of the Umpqua River and aspires to make the environment as healthy as possible through participation in community organizations, including Umpqua Watersheds. Supportive of the need for strong environmental protection laws, Janice is an advocate of educational programs that bring science and scientific integrity discussions to the public and introduces young people to the wonders and fragility of the natural world. She joined the board in 2019.

Ken Carloni

Vice-President, Restoration Committee Chair

In 1995, Ken Carloni joined Penny Lind, Jim Ince and Jim Kauppila to sign the original Articles of Incorporation for Umpqua Watersheds, and served as its second president from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2009 to 2013. He obtained his doctorate in Forest Ecology from the College of Forestry at Oregon State University (2005) where he modeled and documented the aboriginal fire management patterns in the Little River watershed in the southwestern Oregon Cascades. He has taught Principles of Biology, Microbiology, Genetics and Field Botany at Umpqua Community College since 1987. Along with historical ecology, his current interests focus on conservation biology, restoration ecology, and outdoor education. Now retired, he lives with his wife, Jenny, on the North Umpqua River where he continues to be dazzled and humbled by the majesty and diversity of the 100 Valleys.

Diana Pace

Secretary, Crater Lake Wilderness Proposal Coordinator

Diana came to Oregon from Ohio in 1970. She fell in love with Oregon’s forests, ocean, mountains and people. She learned to kayak, cross-country ski and backpack and her sons were raised enjoying these activities. She thrives on spending time in the wilderness and has been a member of Umpqua Watersheds from the beginning and now that she’s retired she is excited to become more involved in the organization. She is impressed by and grateful for the work UW does for all of our benefit and wishes to support the powerhouse board members and be of service.

Mark Eason

Treasurer

Mark was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest living off the grid since 1978 and working in our beautiful Umpqua Basin for over 40 years. He holds personal interests in gardening, fishing, sailing and just about any outdoor activity.

From 1970-76, Mark attended college at Southwestern Oregon Community College in Coos Bay Oregon, College of the Redwoods in Eureka and Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA before attending Atlanta Law School in Atlanta, Georgia. He studied Business, Economics, Law, and Liberal Arts. In 1977 he created a small business called Happy Trails performing trail maintenance on National Forest lands and later expanding to include a working cooperative known as Oregon Happy Trails performing silvacultural pactices contracted with multiple government agencies, private timber companies and small woodland owners. In 1990 he formed Tioga Resources Inc. which contracted with multiple government agencies performing projects including studies of the Northern Spotted Owl, Marbled Murrelet, and the Coho Salmon.

Mark has been a supporter of Umpqua Watersheds since its inception and he believes in his personal visions of healing, and in helping our delicate forest ecosystems survive in these very trying times is in full alliance with the vision of Umpqua Watersheds.

Robert Taylor

Robert Taylor serves his community primarily as a lawyer, having joined the Oregon bar in 2018 after graduating from the University of Oregon College of Law. While in law school, Robert clerked with the Public Defender Services of Lane County and interned with the Umpqua Valley Public Defender’s office in Roseburg. After law school, Robert thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, passed the bar, and began work as an attorney specializing in criminal law. He has experience both as a defense attorney and prosecutor. Robert has also hiked over 2,100 miles of the Continental Divide Trail, from Mexico to Montana.

Robert is an avid backpacker, skier, and is working on his critter identification skills. He prizes biodiversity, habitat preservation, and promoting community awareness and education of the wonderful and fragile nature surrounding us.

John Dyer V

John is originally from Atlanta, Georgia, where he attended Marist School and Dekalb College, and he later studied Drama at the Catholic University of America and Media Studies at Glendale Community College. Having lived in Los Angeles, he and his husband Jim moved to Winston, OR in 2022 to be near Jim’s kids and grandkids. John enjoyed an early career in the Service Industry and then moved into Executive Administration and Commercial Real Estate, while maintaining an active interest in writing and performing. He is a current member of the SAG-AFTRA performers union. Since 2005, he has produced segments for one of the longest continually running LGBTQ+ radio programs, This Way Out, where he also co-anchors the news. He has since become a Board Member and Treasurer for the show’s production entity, Overnight Productions and is thrilled that the program is now being broadcast on KQUA! John’s work with this non-profit group, his passionate interest in social justice for all, and his lifelong love of natural habitats and their preservation make him a perfect ally for his present work. Since arriving in Oregon, he has been led to Umpqua Watersheds and KQUA, and he is thrilled to be their newest board member and Radio Committee chairman, looking greatly forward to helping, learning and growing with this special group of incredibly talented and dedicated citizen activists.

Chris Lowe

Born and raised in western Pennsylvania, Chris Lowe and his wife Julie were inspired by their life-long love of Oregon to move from Maryland to Roseburg in May of 2023. Chris is currently a Senior Director with Syneos Health, a clinical research organization, and avid gardener and aspiring naturalist. Before joining Syneos in 2021, he worked for 11 years in the Senior Executive Service for the US Department of Agriculture, as an Associate Chief Information Officer and Security Officer directing cyber security for all 36 USDA agencies and offices. Prior to that, he worked for over a decade in overseas disaster relief, and several years as a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton.

Inspired by the beauty of the Umpqua and its environs, and impressed by the decades of work by UW members to protect and restore it, Chris brings to UW a fusion of his passions for the environment, his background in IT and Information management, and his years of federal experience, to support and grow the UW mission and its care for his family’s home in the watershed.