Jocelyn founded Cascades Carnivore Project as a shoestring effort to address the conservation issues facing rare carnivores in the Cascade Mountain Range. She earned her PhD in Conservation Genetics from the University of California Davis where she focused on the ecology and conservation of the Cascade red fox. Jocelyn loves mountain ecosystems and employing genetic and ecological tools to better understand how carnivores and their habitats are faring in our modern world.

Gretchen is a professional conservation photographer who spends endless days each year hiking and camping in the remote habitats of Cascade red foxes and wolverines to track and document their behavior while collecting scat samples for DNA analysis. She photographs wildlife both in-person and with DSLR camera trap technology. Her photos have resulted in impressive discoveries and help us raise much-needed awareness for threatened carnivores and their fragile ecosystems. Gretchen is happiest roaming around in the mountains with wildlife but when not in the field she also handles communications.

Patt Poinsett

FINANCE Manager

Patt has spent most of her career in finance, operations & administration of medium size businesses. After selling their very successful background check service, Patt moved to directing of nonprofits, primarily in wildlife and conservation. Analyzing and organization of financial systems to make for efficient and profitable business is where she excels. Fundraising and event management is the fun stuff and Patt and her team have put on some very successful events over the years. Patt lives in Olympia, WA with her husband and three dogs.

Nate Redon

PhD Student and Lead Cascade Red Fox TrapPer

Nate is a mountain adventurer and wildlife ecologist from Seattle who has spent most of his life exploring the Cascades. He is currently leading Cascade red fox trapping and collaring efforts as a graduate researcher with the University of Washington's Quantitative Conservation Lab. His research interests include carnivore population dynamics, conflicts at the human-wildlife interface, and intraguild interactions in changing montane landscapes.

Megan Morrison

Wolverine ID Project Manager

Megan is from Wisconsin and has worked in wildlife conservation for the past eight years. She came across the CCP several years ago and has loved being a small part of our work in carnivore conservation. Megan is currently based in Utah but remains involved with the CCP through remote volunteering and her position managing our wolverine identification database.

Brynn Flannery

Lynx Project Data management intern

Brynn graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Management from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Since moving to the PNW she has been working on increasing her skillset to better understand data management, its applications to wildlife, and the beautiful PNW ecosystems. She is eager to learn more about her future and passion for carnivores through the CCP internship program. 

Zachary Minthorn

Heritage University Wildlife Science Intern

Zachary is a Yakama enrolled member. He is currently in his junior year attending Heritage University located on the Yakama Reservation and majoring in environmental science. He loves being in the field working, whether it's for Geology, Fisheries, or a research experience for undergraduates (REU). His favorite moments have come from being in the field learning from experts. Outside of class he has many interests, but his favorite (right now) is building and driving 1/10 scale rock crawlers.

Cole Stephens

Photo Database Manager

Cole graduated with his B.S. in Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from Colorado State University. He has worked with a diverse range of species including loggerhead sea turtles in Cape Verde, northern spotted owls, marbled murrelets, and a variety of amphibian species inside the PNW. He is a backcountry enthusiast with a passion for native wildlife conservation. 

Mari MacLane

Data intern

Mari is an early career biologist who loves wild places and the creatures who call them home. With a B.S. in Biology and a variety of experiences in natural resources, she hopes to spend her career researching wildlife to better understand and protect them, and to improve conservation outcomes. Mari enjoys supporting Cascade Carnivore Project’s mission as a volunteer and intern.

Scott Shively

Field CREW LEAD

Scott led many of our field efforts and was the driver behind many research successes. He has worked as a wildlife biologist since 2011 primarily studying montane and forest carnivores, and raptors. He has led raptor migration monitoring sites for HawkWatch International, conducted wildlife surveys for the USFS, and studied American kestrels for Boise State University. He enjoys the challenge of studying mountain carnivores in their remote habitats and is passionate about conserving those wild places and protecting public lands.

Kayla collaborated on several of our carnivore projects. She completed a B.A. at the University of Iowa and a graduate certificate in Wildlife Management at the Oregon State University. She has studied golden eagles and other raptors, and spent 4 years as a Wilderness Ranger for the US Forest Service. Her favorite aspect of her current role is glimpsing the lives of rare carnivores by following their tracks through the snow. For her MSc, she is studying the fisher, a rare carnivore recently reintroduced to the Cascades, at the University of Washington.

Heather leads many of our field projects, collecting rare montane carnivore genetic samples and setting wildlife monitoring stations. She completed a BA in Organismal Biology and Ecology at Colorado College, and has worked on diverse wildlife projects from live-trapping snowshoe hares in northeast Washington to reintroducing native wildlife in the San Juan Islands and surveying the Mojave for desert tortoises. She enjoys working in remote areas of the Cascades and is especially passionate about studying carnivore poop. 

Brittany managed our organizational administration, our community science program, and our photographic and genetic collections for our long-term research studies the Cascades Range. She earned her B.Sc. in Wildlife Biology and Conservation at the University of Alaska Fairbanks where she spent most of her time looking at marmot hairs. Though marmots will always have a special place in her heart, her real passion is for carnivore conservation. She's excited to work towards that goal as part of our conservation work as she embarks on a M.Sc.