Meet our Board of Directors
From left to right in front row: Toby Thaler, John Woolley, Marcy Golde. Back row left to right: Shelley Spalding, Coleman Byrnes, Jim Scarborough, Nancy Woolley, Kevin Geraghty, Peggy Bruton, Jill Silver, and Connie Gallant.

President John Woolley (Sequim) is a thirty-seven year resident of the Sequim area and a retired teacher of politics, the environment, history, and the social sciences. John holds a B.A and M.A. in Transportation and International Business from the University of Washington and a Teaching Certificate in Geography from Western Washington State College, where he attended Huxley College. John is on the Board of the Washington Trails Association and the Olympic Park Associates. John is particularly interested in promoting wilderness ethics and is Chair of OFCO's Olympic Wild Committee. John and his wife Nancy have been hiking on the Olympic Peninsula since the 1960s. He is OFCOs expert on "knowing the local dirt."

Vice President Connie Gallant (Quilcene) is president of RV Consumer Group, a nonprofit consumer advocate organization dedicated to researching the safety of recreational vehicles. Based on the Olympic Peninsula, Connie's professional experience includes administration and management, writing, editing, web design, and photography. She has been active in local politics since moving to Quilcene in 1982, where she volunteered to teach martial arts to adults and children, and self-defense classes for women. Prior to moving to Washington State, she lived in San Diego, California, working in the Research/Development Department of a large corporation, and ultimately forming her own business as a fashion and nature photographer. With her husband JD Gallant, Connie managed a lodging resort in the Sierra Nevada where she learned the importance of balancing nature with human habitat. She is an active member of a number of wildlife organizations. As a member of the OFCO board, she serves as an activist on the Forest team, and as webmaster and photographer.

Secretary Jill Silver (Port Townsend) is a Washington State native who lives and works on the Olympic Peninsula, where she's watched the landscape change over her lifetime. An environmental scientist with experience in riparian and aquatic habitat restoration, watershed assessment, and development of watershed-scale conservation programs, she holds a B.A.S. in Environmental Studies and Sciences from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. As Executive Director of the non-profit 10,000 Years Institute, her focus is on the protection of rivers, wetlands, forests, and nearshore environments. She serves as a board member of the Olympic Coast Alliance, the Forests and Fish Wetland Scientific Advisory Group, and the Jefferson County Noxious Weed Board.

Treasurer Nancy Woolley (Sequim) is a retired high school librarian and English teacher. She and her husband John have lived in the Sequim area for more than 30 years. An avid reader and hiker, Nancy has traveled extensively in the western States, van camping, day hiking and backpacking.

Peggy Bruton Edwards (Olympia) spent the first 50 years of her life in Washington, D.C., where she worked as an editorial consultant and was a long-time environmental activist. She moved to Olympia, WA in 1991 with her husband, David Edwards, after living for several years in southern Italy. She has also lived in Asia (Thailand) as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She is currently Forest Issues portfolio chair for the Washington State League of Women Voters. Peggy is OFCOs Newsletter Editor. She is also one of the most connected persons in Olympia and we go to her for guidance in building a stronger program in Olympia.

Kevin Geraghty (Seattle) has a Masters' degree in public policy from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago. He works as a statistical and economic consultant in the field of energy conservation. He has been involved in public lands conservation advocacy in the Pacific Northwest for the last decade, and currently serves on the boards of several nonprofit conservation groups. Although an aficionado of natural landscapes in general, he is particularly passionate and knowledgeable about forests. Issues surrounding roads and timber sales on west-side federal lands have absorbed most of his efforts in the last few years.

Marcy Golde (Seattle) moved to Washington State in 1960 and started volunteering with the Washington Environmental Council (WEC) in 1979. She has focused on forestry, wildlife and water issues, especially as they relate to State and private forest lands, including several intensive forestry negotiations. She also directed a three year program to implement the Timber, Fish and Wildlife negotiated agreement, which she helped negotiate. The WEC program had part time staff in each of the seven DNR regions from 1988-1991, who monitored state and private timber sales and joined Inter-disciplinary field visits.

Marcy has continued to volunteer for WEC, trying to prevent the Board of Natural Resources from reducing fish and riparian protection and increasing the harvest level. That effort failed, but a successful lawsuit overturned that decision. Now WEC and the other plaintiffs, including OFCO, are working on a negotiated settlement. She has also worked with the Washington Forest Law Center consulting with the Conservation Caucus on the Forest and Fish Agreement. Marcy has also served on the boards of Earth Ministry and the Northwest Fund for the Environment. In 1999 she joined the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Committee and has just completed her second and last term. In 2004 Marcy joined OFCO's board and our budding state forest issues committee.

Jim Scarborough (Bellingham) currently serves as an advisor to the Board of Directors. Jim was born to a coal mining family in the Appalachians, forming an early bond to deep forests and rugged mountains. He arrived in the Northwest via Alaska in 1995, wherein he began exploring the Olympic and Cascade ranges at a near-frenetic pace. Jim holds M.A. and Educational Specialist degrees from James Madison University and works as a school psychologist to pay the bills. He spent several years as a volunteer with the Quilcene Ancient Forest Coalition and Wild Washington Campaign before joining OFCO's board as a founding member. Jim's current advisory roles include Forest Service projects, submitting official comments for the record, assisting with appeals when necessary, and consulting with a variety of organizations regarding future designation of new Wilderness Areas on Olympic National Forest.

Shelley Spalding (Olympia) lives next to a salmon stream on the southern flank of the Olympics. Her undergraduate degree is in economics, but she went to graduate school in the early 1990’s and became a fish biologist. She has worked for Wild Salmon and Trout Alliance, Skokomish Tribe, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympic National Forest and, most recently, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). While working for USFWS, she focused on bull trout research and recovery, water temperature standards for salmonids, and the Washington Forest Practice Rules. She recently retired and is the Olympic Peninsula/S. Puget Sound Broadband leader for the Great Old Broads for Wilderness, works on comprehensive immigration reform, and enjoys her gardens, animals – dogs, cats, and horses – and grandkids. She plans to hike the “Up and Over Trail” on the Dosewallips at least once every month of the year.

Toby Thaler (Seattle) received his law degree (J.D.) in 1978 at the University of Washington Law School. Since that time he has been a successful advocate for natural resource conservation. He has a wide range of experience in natural resources law, including work with three Native American Tribes on the East side of the Olympic Peninsula, Seattle City Light, Washington Environmental Council, and Washington Forest Law Center. In addition to his membership in the Washington State Bar Association, he is also admitted to practice in U.S. District Courts and U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Toby has also offered his pro bono legal services to various environmental organizations, including the Washington Environmental Council. Now OFCO will receive the benefits of his experience as he joins our state forest team.