George Slaats
Tacoma, WA

George is a student at the University of Puget Sound studying Natural Science Biology and Environmental Policy and Decision Making. Having spent time leading canoe trips in Minnesota, he has gained an appreciation for the importance of clean water and healthy ecosystems. Through classes, and the Next Gen Internship, he has learned about the importance of salmon for the people and environment of the Pacific Northwest, and is excited to continue to help advocate on their behalf!

John Conlan
Pullman, WA

John is a senior undergraduate at Washington State University studying Environmental Science with minors in GIS and Forestry. He grew up in San Diego, California and moved to Washington in 2022, and has since fell in love with the outdoors of the state and all of its beautiful mountain ranges and waterways. Due to the importance of salmon in the Pacific Northwest, along with growing up always concerned about water health in his area, NextGen was the perfect way for him to advocate for salmon and help restore our rivers! He has in the past worked for public advocacy, public education in the environment, and now is currently doing research along with public salmon advocacy. At NextGen, he is hoping to help the greater waterways in the Pacific Northwest through advocating for salmon!

Kaia Olson 
Bellingham, WA

Kaia is an environmental science student at Western Washington University. Passionate about the planet since childhood, she’s interested in the intersections of environmental communication, youth mentorship, and salmon recovery. For the past few years Kaia has organized activism around dam breaching on the Snake River. When not in class or working as an editor for an environmental magazine, you can find her exploring the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

Katelyn Ervin 
Puyallup, WA

Katelyn is a sophomore at Washington State University studying Environmental & Ecosystem Sciences with an emphasis in water science and a minor in statistics. While she grew up moving states, the PNW calls to her and with that, she hopes to do some good for the PNW back, starting with advocacy for the salmon and the removal of dams in the lower Snake River. Katelyn is really excited to get involved with environmental activism and justice and is so excited to be a part of NextGen!

Owen Begley-Collier
Seattle, WA

Owen is a student at Western Washington University advocating for salmon recovery and environmental justice. For Owen, a lifelong love of orcas has been a gateway into environmental activism. Owen has spent years advocating for Snake River dam breaching, organizing rallies, letter writing events, banner deployments and more. This past summer, he was one of the naturalists at Camp Nor’Wester, teaching campers about the ecosystem and species of the Pacific Northwest. Owen is currently one of the club presidents for Students for Climate Action WWU, where he advocates for salmon recovery, better bus service, food security and fossil fuel divestment. When Owen’s not doing activism, he’s climbing, playing drums, running or looking for orcas.

Reggie Westgate
Tacoma, WA

Reggie is a sophomore at the University of Puget Sound. He is studying Biology and Environmental Policy and Decision Making with an emphasis in Ecosystem Ecology. He grew up in Minnesota surrounded by lakes and intrigued by freshwater ecosystems. He learned that the lakes and their water sustain all life. Throughout his childhood, various threats arose to those life giving water. Reggie stood with Stop Line 3 and Save the Boundary Waters to protect that water. While not in Minnesota, he still understands the importance of protecting and sustaining the entities that give life. That is why he advocates for the Salmon.

Troy Flores
Pasco, WA

Troy is a Sophomore at Washington State University in Pullman Washington, he is majoring in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Science and minoring in Geospatial Analysis and Zoology. He enjoys fishing, hunting, camping, sports and working on cars. He is from the Tri-City’s area so the river was always part of his life while growing up. He is also very passionate about the wild salmon in the area, which is what inspired him to join the team. He hopes to help advocate for the conservation of our wild salmon and to put his skills to the test and to continue to learn and gain experience as he goes forward.

Virginia Owens
Spokane, WA

Virginia is a Seattleite, who is currently pursuing a double major undergraduate degree in Sociology and Environmental Studies at Gonzaga University. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest has instilled a deep appreciation of the environment around her as well as a love for the animals and all organisms that share the space with us. She enjoys being active and outside between hiking, tide pooling, and swimming.

Virginia is excited to be a part of the program and is interested in pursuing a path in sustainability (potentially within the aquaculture sphere). She feels very passionately about protecting and saving the environment while ensuring that environmental justice is upheld for everyone.

Abby Pearce
Tacoma, WA

Abby is a senior at University of Puget Sound studying biology and environmental policy. She has spent several years advocating for endangered species and pushing for conservation efforts for marine life. Volunteering with local non-profit organizations and rallying for climate action has been her most recent hobby all while building a connection with local communities and the outdoors. Abby grew up in the PNW which has fueled her passion for wildlife. Working to educate and raise awareness about salmon restoration is important to Abby in hopes that it will drive others to take action. 

Ani Hopp
Portland, OR

Ani Hopp is a junior at Ida B. Wells High School. She loves to take hikes, and go sailing around the Puget Sound area. She knows that the ecosystem around her is very dependent on salmon, and would like to preserve that ecosystem for others to enjoy in the future. Ani hopes to one day see a world where salmon runs and those who depend on them are thriving, and a future in which we can coexist with nature.

Bo Warner 
Bellingham, WA

Bo Emerson Warner is a student at Western Washington University. Ever since he can remember, fish have fascinated him. Salmon, in particular, have one of the most interesting and unique life cycles/histories. Learning about their rapid decline from the industrialization of our rivers, and how vital these creatures are to the communities of the PNW drew him to activism.

Emily Hajek 
Spokane, WA

Emily is a senior at Gonzaga University as a sociology major and a double minor in health equity and social justice. She also used to be a pre-med student but is now switching to nursing. She has always had a love for the creatures inhabiting the Pacific Northwest, especially the orcas. Throughout her college career, she has sought out various opportunities to help them. Salmon restoration is one of the key factors in helping not only the orcas, but other endangered species too. She wants to continue to learn and dedicate my time to advocating for people and our planet!

Eva Hauksdottir-Neill 
Walla Walla, WA

Eva Hauksdottir-Neill is a senior at Whitman College studying Environmental Studies and Art. She is really passionate about animals and environmental protection/conservation, and what drew her to this program is its emphasis on environmental protection, connecting people together from differing educational backgrounds to work as a team. 

Isabella Williams
Richland, Washington

Isabella is a senior at WSU studying Earth and Environmental science with a minor in Forestry. Advocating for healthy and abundant salmon populations is important to Isabella because her family loves to fish on the Snake and Columbia River. Understanding that farmland, forests, and this whole PNW area thrives on maintaining the rich sediment and salmon greatly impacts that nutrient level. Her vision for the PNW is to increase clean energy resources, have less pollution runoff, and create a place that's healthy and safe for humans and other organisms to thrive in.

Jess Ludwig 
Eugene, OR 

Jess is currently a student at the University of Oregon studying Environmental Science, Native American and Indigenous Studies, and Outdoor Recreation. Growing up along the shores of Lake Superior, she developed a deep connection to nature, which inspired her to become deeply involved in environmental activism. In Oregon, Jess has spent the last couple years organizing to save our old growth forests from unethical logging practices. Collaborating with the student organization Climate Justice League and interning with local non-profits like Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild, she gained a deeper understanding of the importance of salmon to healthy-ecosystems. Jess hopes to continue her work advocating for ecological preservation, not only focusing on safeguarding old growth forests but also climate justice. Her passion for protecting wild salmon comes from a desire to see a future where these iconic species thrive alongside resilient ecosystems and communities. 

Keyen Singer
Nixyaawii, Mission, OR

Níix̣ łk̓ʷí! Inmí waníkt tanantímki iwá Wáašaša qmɨmsalí ptínit ku šuyaputɨ́mt Keyen Singer. Nixyáawiikni ku Ímatallam Tímani Tičámkni našwá. Wínaxaaš Nčí Ititamatpamá waníči University of Oregon. (Sahaptin Umatilla)

Good day! My Umatilla (Indian) name is Dancing Hummingbird Girl and English name is Keyen Singer. I’m from Nixyaawii, Mission, OR, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. I attend the University of Oregon. (English)

Letkwu Moore Stanger

Letkwu is a former Native Youth Grantmaker, NRCS intern, and Native Environmental Science student at Northwest Indian College. Letkwu is passionate about environmental stewardship, Indigenous leadership. Letkwu is eager to gain skills in conservation, grantmaking, and traditional ecological knowledge and grow and contribute to sustainable solutions for communities and the land. 

Marin Plut (she/her)
Seattle, WA

Marin is studying Environmental Analysis (Food Systems) at Scripps College. One of the things that brought Marin into this work was the Elwha River dam removal project. Lessons about the Elwha were important keystones in her middle school and high school education. Among other things, it taught her how resilient salmon are. In a time where everything feels impossible and there’s a lot of fear around looking into what lies ahead, salmon lead the way for us. No matter what the problem is, no matter what the future looks like, we have to keep swimming. Just like the salmon, we might never see the world we’re building, but our efforts today will allow future generations, one day, to make it to a world everyone thrives in. She hopes for a future where everyone has access to connect with our beautiful ecosystems and feel rooted in the landscapes. Where salmon and orca are abundant, demonstrating how interconnected our lives are from the coast to the inland mountains. The best chance we have to bring us into these sustainable and just relations with the earth is to follow the lead of the tribes, who have been stewards and caretakers of these lands for time immemorial.

Ryan Marrone (He/Him) 
Tacoma, WA

Ryan is currently in his senior year at the University of Puget Sound, studying Natural Science Biology and Environmental Policy/Decision Making. One of the things that brought Ryan to NextGen Salmon Collective was his passion for protecting the federally endangered Southern resident killer whales. Ryan is originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, where he developed a love for the various lentic (freshwater) ecosystems and habitats that make up the 10,000+ lakes as well as major rivers in Minnesota. That love for aquatic life grew when he saw orcas for the first while in Washington, which promoted his passion and drive to protect these animals even further. Over his four years in school, he has done countless different projects that have followed the different life stages of salmon, some projects include: Macroinvertebrate abundance/diversity effect on stream health, restoration plan and promotion along the Duwamish River, Geographic Information System (GIS) in the Columbia River Basin and the effects of urbanization and dams on salmon abundance, as well as riparian restoration through engineered log jams. He hopes to continue advocating for salmon and orcas and is excited to plan community events to promote the Lower Snake River dam removal as well as salmon restoration. 

Shyla Batha 
Seattle, WA

Shyla is a Freshman at the University of Washington studying Environmental Science. She is passionate about environmental conservation and protecting our waters with the understanding that they are all connected. With salmon being an integral part of the ecosystem, she advocates for salmon restoration to bring back balance to the waters in the PNW and their recovery causing the same to happen for other species like orcas. 

Taigen Soethe
Edmunds, WA

Learning about whales and dolphins at a young age inspired Taigen to study marine biology in college. The plight of our local Southern Resident killer whales led her to learn about salmon recovery efforts. Working with the NextGen Collective has made her passionate about salmon recovery in its own right. She envisions a future in which we are able to balance energy and economic needs with healthy and abundant salmon and steelhead populations in the Pacific Northwest.