Board of Directors

KEVIN VAN BUEREN

I grew up in Portland, Oregon and have lived in the Methow Valley for more than 25 years. I have owned and operated North Cascades Fly Fishing since the end of the 1990s and have for the past few years been the owner/operator of Methow Valley Ski School & Rentals in Mazama, after working as a Nordic ski instructor for Don Portman, the former owner of the business.

My teenage son Jackson and I love to sit on the banks of the Methow River, eat watermelon, cast a fly or just enjoy the water flow by. We have just as much fun exploring the winter trails on skinny skis. The Methow Valley is a very special place because many people are great stewards of the land, the river, and the community. I am proud to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Methow Conservancy and Methow Trails, as well as being one of the founding members of the Methow Fly Fishers.

BENJAMIN DRUMMOND

Board President

Benj Drummond is a filmmaker and designer who collaborates with nonprofits, agencies and other organizations to create change through filmmaking, photography and interactive design. Together with his wife, Sara Steele, they run a small production company dedicated to amplifying the impact of purpose-driven work. He has been an active member of a number of nonprofit boards, organizations and campaigns here in the Methow and beyond. "The longer I live here,” says Benj, "the more I’ve come to appreciate the astounding biological, recreational and nonprofit ecosystems this valley grows and nurtures.” He has lived on Upper Beaver Creek since 2010 and can often be found coaching kids on bikes and skis.

DAVID CLEMENT

Board Secretary

I moved from Maine to the Methow in 2012 after retiring from a career in healthcare. Very quickly, opportunities for volunteering quickly matched recreation to fill my time. I have a long history with the land trust movement and am pleased to serve on the Methow Conservancy board. Like many other parts of the country, the Methow faces community pressures, but the Valley also has special strengths to meet those pressures, particularly a community minded spirit where people help one another. The Conservancy has a history of broad support for the Valley, and I am happy to be part of the Conservancy’s effort.

KRISTEN KIRKBY

Board Vice President

I've lived in the Methow since 2014 and find myself continuously grateful for so many qualities of this place. An amazing amount of public lands graced by mountains and free-flowing rivers. A small, interested, and engaged community that cares for its own. A considered approach to sustain these things into the future. And I guess I feel that the MC represents and supports all of these. The dedication to place and the diversity of thoughtful projects are what drew me, and I'm excited to get to help with those in any way. I'm also glad for the many opportunities I've had to partner with the MC in my work world, as well. I'm a fisheries biologist with over a decade of field experience working with salmonids in the Pacific Northwest.

I grew up in western WA and received a BA from Whitman College and an MS in Fisheries Science from Oregon State University. I've worked in waters from Alaska to Northern California, and represented state and federal agencies, universities, and tribes, and now I'm working with Cascade Fisheries, a nonprofit organization working in support of native fish recovery in North Central Washington. I live near the mighty Chewuch and have a deep appreciation for opportunities to explore this valley and our broader neighborhood by foot, boat, bike, and, of course, mask and snorkel.

ASHLEY AHEARN

Ashley is an award-winning journalist who has covered natural resources and science for NPR and member stations for more than a decade. She has produced several successful podcasts for NPR and member stations, including Terrestrial, a climate change podcast, Grouse, which explores the greater sage-grouse and the urban-rural divide in the modern American West, Women’s Work, which showcased women ranchers who are adopting more holistic land and livestock management practices, and Mustang, which explores the way we manage wild horses in the West. She is also the author of a children's book, The Little Black Mustang, and has trained two wild mustangs of her own. Ashley and her husband, Michael, moved to the Methow Valley in 2017 and they live up the Rendezvous outside of Winthrop. In her spare time she helps local ranchers herd their cows around. Give a wave if you see her on horseback on East County Road!

MARY JOHNSTON

A founding partner of Johnston Architects, Mary Johnston believes design has the power to change lives. She is a frequent juror for design competitions and award ceremonies across the country, and has led design studios and lectures at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environment for 20 years. Through these leadership opportunities, she shares her ideas about ethical, responsible architecture that has a story to tell about its place. Her idea of happiness one day might be a chicken pot pie, and another day might be snorkeling with manta rays, but her idea of perfect happiness is always the same: swimming in 80-degree salt water. She served two terms on the Methow Conservancy board from 2013-2019, and am a past board president.

JESSI KELLEY

Board Treasurer

Jessi Kelley is a fisheries biologist by training, with an MS in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences from the University of Washington. She worked as an environmental consultant for several years before shifting gears to start her own endurance coaching business. When she’s not working, you’ll find her exploring the mountains and rivers of the North Cascades under her own power or on horseback. Jessi is an avid photographer, reader, and writer. Her favorite time of day is right after her first sip of coffee.

TIFFANY SURFACE

Tiffany (Taylor) Surface is a fourth grade teacher at Methow Valley Elementary School. Born and raised in the Methow Valley, Tiffany is a former Liberty Bell cross country, track and basketball athlete; she was also a cheerleader and the 1998 49er Days Queen. Tiffany volunteers for the Booster Club and the Methow Valley Killer Whales swim team board. She and her husband, Ryan, have two children: Mac is sophomore at Liberty Bell and Katy is in seventh grade. The Surface family loves riding horses, playing basketball, and exploring the North Cascades together.

DAVID SCHOOLER

David Schooler was a city planner for the City of Bellevue before moving to Sterling Realty Organization in 1979, serving as its President for 21 years and, since 2015, as its Chairman of the Board.

David and his wife, Kristen, divide their time between Bellevue and the Methow Valley. David has served on many boards, including the Bellevue Schools Foundation (President), Bellevue Downtown Association (President), Bellevue Arts Museum (President), Harvest Against Hunger(President) and Leadership Tomorrow.

KATHY BUSSE

Kathy Busse is an extremely satisfied retiree in the Methow Valley after a 30-year career in Fire Management with the US Forest service, spanning many locations in the western United States.

She moved to the Methow Valley in 2001 for a job opportunity and ended up staying. Kathy grew up in Los Angeles, CA spending family summers camping and fishing in northern Mexico with Dad, siblings and grand parents.

Kathy volunteers with the local Kiwanis club and occasionally Methow Recycles. She enjoys traveling and scuba diving in warm tropical places. Kathy and her dog Roy love to walk, snowshoe and ski all around the Methow.

TERI BEATTY

Teri Beatty says her love for the Methow began about 25 years ago, when she first visited for a long weekend with her boyfriend. She ended up falling in love with the Methow Valley, and years later marrying that boyfriend. The roots of his family grow deep in this valley, as his grandfather John Titcomb purchased a ranch here in 1960. He wanted a place for his family and generations to come to fish & hunt and remain unspoiled. His vision has remained on course and Moccasin Lake Ranch is still the unspoiled land that he wanted it to be. Teri and her husband Ross built a home on the ranch and started getting involved with the community. Teri has been a real estate broker for 30+ years. She is also a farmer and says, “even though they won’t let me drive the big tractor yet, my day will come.” In the meantime, she is in charge of 21 hens and helps with the cattle. Teri says, “I think what draws me to the Methow Conservancy is the mission. There is a love for the land and a desire to protect it. John Titcomb would have been proud of that.”

CRAIG BOESEL

Craig Boesel, who is a descendant of Methow Valley homesteaders who arrived in the 1880s, raises cattle on the East County Road south of Winthrop: Boesel’s Bear Creek Beef. In 1999 he became the first agriculturalist to enter into a land preservation agreement with the Conservancy. He had been thinking about preserving his land even before the Conservancy came into existence, he says. He was troubled by the prospect of the valley’s most productive farmland being carved into five-acre parcels.

Craig worked as a smokejumper from 1966 until 1980, with two years off in 1975-1976 when he worked as the Assistant Fire Manager Officer of the Twisp Ranger District.

Craig still runs cows, is active in wildlife area management planning, and serves on the board of the Methow Valley Education Foundation, Shafer Historical Museum, Sullivan Cemetery, and the Barkley Irrigation Co.

JENNY BROWN

Jenny Brown moved to the Methow Valley in 2021, after coming here annually since she was a kid in western Washington. She brought her now-husband to the valley when they were in grad school and they began their 30-year search for property. They were able to make that dream a reality and moved into their house in 2023 after renting for a few years. Jenny says, “Those few years were so important as they helped me to understand that this is not only an amazing landscape with abundant nature, but it is an equally amazing community seeking to make the Valley thrive. I am so pleased that we are able to actively participate in this community in meaningful ways.”

The goals and approach of the Methow Conservancy align with Jenny’s deepest interests and much of the focus of her professional life for the past 20 years. Jenny is interested in the intersection of protecting wildlife habitat and ecosystems, ensuring a viable local economy, and ensuring that the core needs of residents are met. She says, “This intersection is where I think conservation needs to play a critical role in society.”

MIKE DEVANY

Mike Devany grew up climbing and backpacking in the Methow Valley as a young adult and fell in love with the area. In 2002, Mike and his wife, Tracy, found property in the valley and brought their three boys to the area often to enjoy the outdoors. In 2011 they purchased what is now Lightning River Ranch from Bill and Diana Hottell and have worked over the past decade to build it back into an operating cattle ranch. They currently finish grassfed cattle on pasture and raise bees for honey production. Their ranch is certified as SalmonSafe, and Home Grown by Heroes. They market their USDA processed beef in the Methow Valley and the Seattle markets. Mike is a former senior executive with NOAA, a veteran, and a former board member of Cascade Fisheries, which works to improve conditions for native fish, and Long Live the Kings, which works to restore salmon and steelhead in the Salish Sea.

BRYAN JAFFE

Bryan Jaffe and his wife and daughter have been land and property owners in the Methow Valley since 2011, when they bought a cabin in Pine Forest. In 2014, they had the chance to acquire the Tawlks-Foster Suspension Bridge property and easement, bringing them into a more formal and committed relationship with the Methow Conservancy as conservators. “We moved to the Valley for a simple reason,” Bryan says. “We were happier here than anywhere else.”

Bryan and his wife Jennifer have served on the Advisory Council of the Conservancy for many years. Bryan is COO of Cascadia Capital, an investment banking firm serving entrepreneurial businesses across a range of industries. He brings experience in structuring and negotiating financial transactions, as well as a working knowledge of production agriculture. “I am passionate about this Valley, its people, and its wellbeing,” Bryan says. “Time has given me a deeper understanding of its opportunities and challenges. I believe the Conservancy has a fulcrum role to play in making the Methow a better place to live and play.”