Kasey Hovik

Executive Director

Kasey moved to Roseburg in 2011 from Minnesota and has been involved in volunteering for several causes and organizations including; Umpqua Watersheds, Douglas County Museum, US Forest Service, Nature Conservancy, Glide Elementary SMART program, and Umpqua Community College. He served on the Board of Directors for Umpqua Watersheds from 2012 to March of 2017 when he stepped off the board to become Executive Director of UW. He is President of the Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers Board of Directors.

He has a passion for education, critical thinking, and working collaboratively to find solutions to community and environmental issues. He has over twenty years of experience history working for large, medium, and small companies in business management and operations and has worked for nonprofit organizations over the last ten years. He has worked full-time at Umpqua Community College since 2013 in Financial Aid and is also the volunteer Natural Resources Program Coordinator. He has a master of business administration degree from the University of St. Thomas and a master of environmental law and policy degree from the Vermont Law School.

He enjoys hiking, biking, and exploring the great Pacific Northwest with his wife and 2 dogs, Lincoln and Tad.

Melanie MacKinnon

Office Manager

Melanie grew up in Juneau, Alaska and moved to Roseburg in 2008. Even then, she was no stranger to Roseburg, as she visited her grandparents here when she was young. She received her B. A. from Western Washington University and has a passion for solar energy, energy efficiency, and our local community.

MacKinnon Energy Solutions is Melanie’s own consulting business where she is an energy consultant and grant writer. She is a certified Solar Photovoltaic Technician and is a Board Member of the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition. Melanie has been significantly involved in several volunteer groups and events including the DC Smart Energy Group, Green and Solar Tour, and Earth Day and Energy Fair.

Her office hours are 1-5 Mon-Wed and 9-1 Thurs-Fri.

Stop in and say hi!

Ryan Kincaid

Former AmeriCorps Member

Now: Director of Education!

Ryan (she/her) is a native of the Finger Lakes region of New York, and ever since she was a child she loved exploring local woods and waters. Ryan earned a BA in Environmental Studies and a Master of Arts in Teaching. She has a passion for coordinating after-school programs which focus on environmentalism, community service, and the creative arts. Ryan served as our Environmental Education & Outreach Leader via AmeriCorps during the 2020-2021 term, and as of August 1st, 2021 will be our new Director of Education! She is excited to continue working with our organization in this new capacity.

In her “free” time, she enjoys gardening, hiking, singing, painting, volunteering at animal shelters, and in general making the world a better place!

Jessica Saxton

Environmental Education & Outreach AmeriCorps

Hello, Umpqua Watersheds community. My name is Jessica Saxton, and I am the new Environmental Education and Outreach Leader for Umpqua Watersheds via the United Communities AmeriCorps program. I am dual enrolled at Umpqua Community College, where I will receive my Associate of Science, and Oregon State University, where I will receive my Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Fish and Wildlife. I have lived in Roseburg, Oregon my entire life and love the amazing community here. I attended Glide School District for most of my K-12 years but transferred to Roseburg High for my last two years of high school. I participated in 4-H, FFA, choir, and the National Honor Society. In my “free” time, I enjoy gardening, hiking, painting, swimming, volunteering, and spending time with my dogs. I am excited to begin making new connections and hearing great new perspectives. I have always loved the outdoors and believe the natural environment plays a vital role in sustaining us both mentally and physically. Plus, there are many incredible things to explore and learn in nature.

I have gotten to know several colleagues, all of whom have been marvelous, helpful, and welcoming. I will soon be running the “Living Downstream” podcast for KQUA 99.7, and I look forward to interviewing great scientific and eco-friendly minds! Cindy Haws has been an incredible mentor and has inspired me to volunteer my time surveying wetlands and restoring them. It is vital to protect the environment and do our part to reduce any further damage and restore what can be saved. We have a responsibility to protect our planet and the species that live here. I have always been captivated by the beauty of the Umpqua River and I aspire to make the environment as healthy as possible through participation in community organizations, such as Umpqua Watersheds and Umpqua Natural Leadership Science Hub (UNLSH).

I am glad to be serving with Umpqua Watersheds, working alongside like-minded people and I hope that through our efforts, we can bring more people to engage with nature in a positive way.

Robbin Schindele

Wilderness Committee Chair, Crater Lake Wilderness Coordinator

Our current campaign coordinator is Robbin Schindele. He has over thirty years experience in marketing and communications. He began as a photojournalist, has written for nearly every medium, been a video and film producer and director and ended his full time communications career as Vice President of New media for a Minneapolis, MN advertising agency that was the largest web developer in Minnesota in the early 2000s.

In 2003 he left that behind, moved to Idaho, and became a rancherand immediately became involved with the non-profit Back Country Horsemen of Idaho, Shortly thereafter he was elected to the State Board of Directors. From there he was elected to the National Board of Back Country Horsemen of America (BCHA) serving 14,000 members in 27 states. During his tenure on these two Boards he worked closely with the US Forest Service on local projects and national policy issues. IN 2006 he served on board’s leadership team creating the videotape portion of an Indiegogo.com crowdsourcing campaign that raised $125,000 for BCHA.

He has now brought his knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to Umqua Watersheds and is an invaluable asset in moving the CLWC forward.

Patrick Schneider

Programming Director

Patrick joined Umpqua Watersheds in the Fall of 2017 when the low power radio station was launched. Patrick has been invaluable in keeping the radio station running, making sure the appropriate permits, licenses, and fees are filed. A radio station requires a lot of work and Patrick has stepped up to the challenge.

Patrick was recently featured in the Umpqua Community College catalog. See page 13.