Contact: Scott Ki, Communications Associate, (208) 345-6933 x 114.
BOISE – The Idaho Conservation League rings in the New Year by welcoming five new members to its team.
Joan Bevirt joined ICL in November and serves as the nonprofit’s membership and development associate. Her background includes many years of working in membership and development with such organizations as the Idaho State Historical Society, Girl Scouts, and the YMCA. Joan holds a degree in recreation administration from Southern Illinois University–Carbondale.
Over 25 years ago, she came to Idaho to backpack in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and raft the Payette River. Joan was hooked and kept the idea of living in Idaho in her back pocket for just the right time. When her son joined the Army, the opportunity arose and she moved to Idaho.
Ellie Hudson-Heck joined ICL in December as the North Idaho Conservation Assistant. She will focus on regional conservation issues, including legacy mining pollution in Lake Coeur d’Alene and clean energy opportunities, as well as analyze air and water permits statewide. Ellie is concurrently completing her Ph.D. in chemical oceanography.
She is no stranger to ICL. Ellie has been a recent member of ICL’s Emerging Leaders for Idaho’s Environment program and completed a summer 2020 internship in our North Idaho office. In addition to a B.A. in chemistry from the College of Wooster in Ohio, she earned a certificate in science communication and education from the McCall Outdoor Science School. Outside the office, you can usually find her rollerblading around Sandpoint or sailing the blue waters of Lake Pend Oreille.
Laura Pinover joined ICL’s external relations team in November as our communications and engagement assistant. Prior to joining ICL, she worked for the U.S. Geological Survey on a wildfire research team in eastern Idaho. Laura earned a B.S. in environmental studies at the University of Vermont while researching microecology under a National Science Foundation grant. She also worked as a U.S. Forest Service wilderness ranger in the Sierra National Forest, an advocate for wild salmon in the Susitna River of south-central Alaska, and participated in wildlife and habitat research in Patagonia, Chile.
She grew up in northeastern Ohio, where she spent her time exploring Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Today you can find her backpacking Idaho’s public lands or exploring the backcountry on her skis.
Jarod Serre has come on board as ICL’s University of Idaho – Moscow student liaison intern. Jarod is pursuing a B.S. in environmental science with an emphasis on climate change and minoring in natural resource conservation. He’ll help ICL’s North Idaho office connect with students, faculty, and the greater Moscow community. Jarod is also the president and captain of the UI Men’s Rugby Club. His internship runs through May 2021.
Eric Straubhar is the newest member of ICL’s external relations team. Born and raised in Boise, Eric spent much of his childhood documenting outdoor adventures across the Idaho wilderness with the family camcorder. As ICL’s marketing manager, he gets to continue sharing stories about the wonders of Idaho, but now with a focus on protecting the wild places that we all love.
He received a B.S. in journalism; advertising from the University of Oregon. Before ICL, he worked in the tech and advertising sectors in San Francisco and then spent two years in Brooklyn as the marketing manager for a rooftop farming and green design company, where he advocated for green space and food accessibility.
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