Alejandro Mejia, Restorations Projects Manager
(541) 654-8965 ext 1004
Alejandro Mejia supports the Long Tom Watershed Council as the Restoration Projects Manager, assisting in the development and implementation of restoration projects throughout the Long Tom Watershed. Alejandro hails from the rolling limestone hills of Central Texas, where cool spring water from the Edwards aquifer dances with the Texas wild rice. He graduated from Texas State University with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and has assisted in the management of various restoration efforts in Texas and Oregon since 2018. Having had the privilege to work for nonprofits and the U.S. Forest Service, he has assisted in vegetation restoration efforts in remote areas of Oregon, like the subalpine meadows of the Cascades, the Umpqua National Forest, and in communities at risk of wildfire. Alejandro enjoys spending time in his canoe, exploring the emerald waters of Oregon, as well as shooting film, and botanizing.
Amanda Reinholtz, River Scientist & GIS Specialist
(541) 654-8965 ext 1004
Amanda joined the LTWC in August, 2016 to provide support to both the Working Lands and Habitat Program and the Urban Waters and Wildlife Program. Amanda contributes her experience in GIS, remote sensing, and geomorphology. She earned a B.S. in Geographic Science from James Madison University in Virginia, and an M.S. in Geography from the University of Oregon. Prior to joining the LTWC, Amanda worked first as a remote sensing field technician, then as a survey analyst and coordinator, for Quantum Spatial, a geospatial company specializing in the collection and processing of LiDAR and other remote sensing products. Originally from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Amanda’s hobbies include pretty much anything that will get her outdoors, from backpacking and climbing in the mountains to walking and biking around the city. Amanda has been a resident of Eugene since 2009, and feels lucky to be able to call this valley home.
Amber Lamet, Urban Waters & Wildlife Program Manager
(541) 654-8965 ext 1003
Amber brings a lifelong passion for the natural world to her role as the Urban Waters and Wildlife Program Manager. As a self-described nature nerd, she has spent much of her career developing skills in wildlife conservation, community and environmental planning, and spatial analysis. Amber holds a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation from Oregon State University and a master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning with a focus in Environmental Planning from the University of Oregon, along with a graduate certificate in GIS. This background gives her an understanding for the need to bridge urban ecology with community engagement to benefit both aquatic and terrestrial habitats and to the people who share these landscapes.
Chris Stillman, Urban Waters & Wildlife Program Specialist and Landscape Architect
(541) 654-8965 ext 1003
Chris joined LTWC as a Project Specialist and Landscape Architect for the Urban Waters & Wildlife Program. Her role helps connect scientific knowledge with ecosystem services that support local water quality efforts. Her collaborative work focuses on using observations and data to share, heal, and reveal local natural processes at work in our waterways, ecosystems, and communities. Prior to becoming a landscape architect, Chris worked as an educator and program director for nonprofits that guide youth through nature to help them discover the unique ecologies of coastal areas. After completing her degree in Landscape Architecture, she developed her professional skills at a firm in Eugene and later with the U.S. Forest Service in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area before joining LTWC. Chris grew up in Missouri near the Mark Twain National Forest in the Ozark Mountains. In her free time, she can be found in the garden or near the water. She’s always up for a dive or snorkel, spending time riverside with her two dogs, or paddle boarding on hot days.
Darian Lightfoot, Executive Director
(541) 654-8965 ext 1001
Having served on the LTWC board between 2017 and 2019, Darian returns to the organization with a deep understanding of its culture, history, and purpose. Her most recent position with the City of Olympia helped hone her skills on policy and community development, federal grant management, and relationship building across sectors. In her role as Director of Housing and Homeless Response, she solidified her ethos of public service—knowing better than doing better. She has a Master of Public Administration degree with a Nonprofit Management Graduate Certificate from the University of Oregon, and her passion for caring for the environment stemmed from her childhood in rural Iowa. In her spare time, she likes to read nonfiction, do karaoke, and spend time with her vast chosen family!
Jed Kaul, Director of Programs | Director of Programs – Fish Biologist
(541) 654-8965 ext 1004
Jed is LTWC’s Fish Biologist, working with private and public landowners to improve fish and wildlife habitat and water quality in the Long Tom and Willamette Rivers since 2008. He has 20+ years experience working on stream and floodplain habitat restoration and monitoring and managing projects with stops at the US Forest Service and in the private sector before joining LTWC. He was born and raised on the Oregon Coast, and enjoys exploring all parts of Oregon, from 50 miles out in the Pacific chasing albacore, to snowshoeing and backpacking in the Cascades.
“I am inspired by the landowners we work with, that are willing to have an open mind and consider different ways of managing their land to help improve habitat and water quality for the good of the watershed and all its residents, from fish to humans.“
Kyt Bergstrom, Finance Manager
(541) 654-8965 ext 1002
Kyt joined the Council in 2024 as Fiscal Manager, overseeing grants, accounting, payroll, and making sure the numbers don’t wander off. She holds three degrees—B.S. in Business Analytics & Finance, B.S. in Process Engineering, and an M.S. in Organizational Management—because apparently one wasn’t enough.
An Atlantic Coast beach kid turned Oregonian, Kyt is passionate about conservation, healthy watersheds, and making every dollar work harder for the environment. When she’s not interrogating spreadsheets or getting disproportionately excited when things reconcile, she’s kayaking, hiking, fishing, camping, or hanging out with her spouse and huskies. Her philosophy: healthy ecosystems, balanced budgets, and spreadsheets with unnecessary levels of conditional formatting.
Miranda Hawkes, Landscape Designer & Stormwater Specialist
(541) 654-8965 ext 1003
Miranda joined LTWC in October 2018 and currently serves as Landscape Designer and Stormwater Specialist. In this role she focuses on design and drafting support for voluntary stormwater retrofit projects, as well as graphic design for public outreach materials at the Council.
As the daughter of a career Forest Service employee, Miranda spent her childhood surrounded by nature, which inspired strong values related to recreation and environmental stewardship. She came to Oregon for college and holds degrees in architecture and landscape architecture from the University of Oregon (B. Arch 2011, MLA 2015). Academically, she pursued coursework on water systems and human impacts to our environment; she is excited to apply this focus in her work with the Council and brings several years of professional design experience to the role. When not working, Miranda enjoys spending time outdoors, especially camping, hiking, and gardening. She unwinds by cooking and bread making and dabbles in landscape photography and various fine art media.
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Rachel Cushman, TEIP Program Manager
541-654-8965 ext 1005
Rachel Cushman (an enrolled citizen of the Chinook Indian Nation) is the first Program Manager of the Traditional Ecological Inquiry Program (TEIP).
Cushman joins the Long Tom Watershed Council and the TEIP team with over two decades of fiscal management and land/water stewardship experience (governmental and non-profit). While much of Cushman’s professional career has been in community organizing and higher education, she has always maintained a foothold in conservation, a passion that she has had since her youth. Her conservation experiences include working to enhance, protect, and revitalize tribal relationships with land, waters, and other-than-human relations; establishing, transforming, and stewarding relationships amongst tribes, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations; and developing and implementing decolonial models for climate and Indigenous justice endeavors.
Cushman is excited to share these experiences and her expertise with LTWC and TEIP staff, as well as the interns and intern families that TEIP serves. TEIP approaches learning and leadership development through a multigenerational knowledge exchange model, and Cushman cannot wait to be both a learner and teacher of the program.
Cushman is dedicating her first year as manager to long-term strategic planning. As the inaugural TEIP manager, Cushman aims to build long-lasting structural stability for the program. While planning for TEIP’s future, Cushman will also spend this first year simultaneously completing her doctoral degree in Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies at the University of Oregon.
Sara Worl, Community Stewardship Manager
541-654-8965 ext 1004
Sara joined Long Tom Watershed Council as Restoration Projects Manager in September 2023, although she’s been involved with the Council since 2018 as a volunteer, intern, and contractor. She’ll continue working with the Traditional Ecological Inquiry Program, collaborative prescribed fire, oak and prairie restoration, as well other Working Lands and Habitats projects. She holds a BA in Planning, Public Policy and Management, a graduate certificate in nonprofit management, and a MS in Environmental Studies, all from the University of Oregon.
Growing up in the wetlands and oak prairies of Beaverton, and living in the Long Tom Watershed since 2002, Sara is constantly in awe of these precious habitats. She is honored to be a part of the great efforts of people working together to care for our interconnected social and ecological communities. Sara enjoys spending time with her family, baking, gardening, gathering, camping, and can often be found near a river.
Stasie Maxwell, Traditional Ecological Inquiry Program Associate
Stasie is Inupiaq (Native Village of Unalakleet), German, Czech, English, Irish, and Scotch. She joins Long Tom Watershed Council as the TEIP Program Associate and looks forward to weaving her skills and experiences together with joy, in service to the families and interns of the Traditional Ecological Inquiry Program. Stasie brings an array of experiences to her position, including administrative support and logistics, program and curriculum development, leadership, mindfulness and meditation, and Indigenous Health and Wellness workshops. Though born in Alaska, she has spent most of her life in the homelands of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Cow Creek Umpqua, The Klamath Tribes, Takelma, and Shasta (known as the Rogue Valley).
Stasie has a B.S. in Psychology and a certificate in Native Studies from Southern Oregon University. She has two teen boys, two dogs, is mischievous if you really get to know her, and has a creative streak as wide as the Willamette River.
Tiffany Perez, Restoration and Fire Project Manager
(541)654-8965 ext 1005
Tiffany joined the LTWC in February 2025 as the Restoration and Fire Project Manager. She grew up around the oak woodlands and coastal sage scrub of southern California in Orange County. There she enjoyed desertscapes, mountains, and the ocean when connecting outdoors and cycled through the thrills of all the local theme parks. In pursuit of higher education, she lived in Humboldt County while attending Humboldt State University where she earned a BS in Soil Science. She fell in love with the Redwoods, coastal marshes and the Humboldt community. Here began her commitment and love for an environmental non-profit, the Northcoast Environmental Center, working as an office assistant and now humbly serving as the Board President.
After graduating, Tiffany worked as a Soil Conservationist for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, serving Trinity County for 4 years. She explored backpacking the Trinity Alps, enjoying alpine lake plunges, conifer diversity, wildflowers, serpentine hills, and the intersection of granite and red, ultramafic igneous mountains. The Trinity County land management community taught her the importance of collaboration and synchronized stewardship across ownership boundaries. They also laid the framework and ignited her passion for prescribed fire. Tiffany is now carrying out that passion in the Southern Willamette Valley in Oregon, where she will be working on oak woodland and prairie restoration using prescribed fire. She strives to inspire people to connect with their local community and flora and fauna relatives to cultivate a culture centered on land stewardship, creativity, empathy and connection. Her free time is filled with hiking, botanizing, birding, trying new food joints, thrifting, traveling, cooking and mixing a good cocktail.