Staff
Kristi Foster Executive Director
Kristi Foster received her B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University. She spent 13 years working in the petrochemical industry in TX and NJ, during which time she earned a Masters in Engineering Management from Lamar University. She became an avid scuba diver and started her own scuba training and eco-travel side business, which changed her life. She decided to switch careers and returned to graduate school. Kristi received a joint MS in Marine Biology and Coastal Zone Managment, followed by a PhD in Oceanography from Nova Southeastern University (NSU). She worked as an adjunct professor at NSU and Broward Community College. She also started Coastal & Marine Environmental Consultants, Inc. which provided underwater reef and sea turtle nest monitoring services in Florida. From there, Kristi moved to the remote Caribbean island of Little Cayman to work as the Assistant Director of Research and Education at a marine field station. Ready to return to the US, Kristi joined Tillamook Estuaries Partnership in 2016 and became the Executive Director in 2018. Kristi loves traveling the world with her husband and has visited over 50 countries with more planned.
Claudine Rehn Deputy Director
Claudine Rehn is the Deputy Director for the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. Originally, from California, Claudine has been fortunate to work for several successful non-profit organizations both managing and writing grants. She has two grown children ( three if you include her husband) - two grandchildren, three cats and two dogs that provide her constant amusement and chagrin. In her free time, Claudine is on the beach volunteering for the Haystack Rock Awareness program as a tide pool interpreter (and in search of the ever elusive alabaster nudibranch).
York Johnson Water Quality Manager
York Johnson is the Water Quality Manager for the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University. Originally from Michigan, he moved to Oregon in 1996 and worked for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality completing Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) analysis for the Willamette River and other smaller watersheds throughout the State. Water quality is York's specialty and when not working on water quality issues he is out enjoying it whether surfing along the coast or kayaking the many estuaries.
Conrad Ely Habitat Restoration Project Manager
Conrad Ely is a Habitat Restoration Project Manager for Tillamook Estuaries Partnership. He received his B.A. in Environmental Studies with a specialization in Ecological Systems from Seattle University and his M.E.S. with a focus in Restoration Ecology from the Evergreen State College. He has worked for both the Sustainability in Prisons Project and the Integrated Training Area Management Program on Joint Base Lewis-McChord prior to joining TEP. He is dedicated to the ecological world in all aspects of his life. Outside of TEP his interests include outdoor recreation for all ecosystems, seasons, and climates. He loves to cook and see live music. He’s excited to explore the region with his rescue pup, Rosebud!
Colin Jones Habitat Assessment & Monitoring Program Manager
Colin Jones received his B.A. in Chemistry from Willamette University then combined his love of chemistry and the natural world and obtained his Ph.D. in Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. His Ph.D research involved marine biogeochemistry and assessing how past climate conditions were recorded in marine microfossils. After completing his Ph.D., Colin moved back to the mountains and coast of his native Pacific Northwest with his fiancée and joined the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership as part of the Habitat Assessment and Monitoring team in 2021. When he’s not working, you can find Colin drinking tea, hiking, brewing beer, or reading a book on the beach.
Maysa Miller Native Plant Nursery Coordinator
Maysa Miller is the Native Plant Nursery Coordinator with the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership. Her work entails managing a 100,000+ native plant nursery and distributing over 50,000 plants to restoration projects all over NW Oregon. Originally from Southern Maryland, she moved to Portland, Oregon in 2008 and graduated from Portland State University with a B.S. in environmental science and Honor’s organismal biology in 2014. She lived and worked as a science instructor at Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center until spring 2016. Her love of botany landed her a seasonal internship with the Tillamook BLM as a native seed collector. Little did she know she would find a home and purpose here with TEP. When not stewarding our NW Oregon home, she enjoys being immersed in it. You can find her in the undergrowth foraging for mushrooms, berries, hunting, fishing, or playing on a surf board in the waves.
Asa Skinner Native Plant Scientist
In 2016 Asa Skinner received a B.S. in Organismal Biology from Christopher Newport University, where he specialized in botany and entomology. After working with ornamental plants in the private sector he served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Northwestern Zambia. For over two years he taught agriculture and aquaculture in his community within the Lunda Tribe. He has since moved to Tillamook and is still passionate about connecting marginalized people groups with beneficial plants. When not perusing the forest for native seeds he spends time gardening, brewing mead, fishing, and is an enthusiastic, albeit clumsy, surfer.
Rachel Freeman Environmental Education Coordinator
The Environmental Education Coordinator position is shared between TEP and Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS and is focused on expanding environmetnal eduation programs to all students in Tillamook County.
Born and raised in Astoria, Oregon, Rachel grew up with an interest in fisheries and passion for teaching. She graduated from Oregon State University in 2019 with a BS in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences and a Minor in Spanish. Her favorite college experiences were studying Spanish in Queretaro, Mexico and later Conservation Biology and Coral Reef Ecology in Townsville, Australia. After graduating, Rachel spent seven seasons working as a Biological Science Assistant for multiple ODFW projects on the North Oregon Coast.
When she isn’t beach combing in Oceanside, Rachel is investing in her business, Saddle Mountain Beadwork. Using just a needle and thread, she weaves hundreds of tiny glass seed beads into earrings shaped like sea stars, patterned like cutthroat trout, and inspired by the ocean.
Liz Campbell Bookkeeper
Liz Campbell, a PNW native, recently moved to the coast with her partner to fulfill their dream of living closer to nature where they are looking forward to starting a small flock of chickens and a big garden in the spring. Before moving to Tillamook and coming onboard with Tillamook Estuaries Partnership, Liz taught middle school science and engineering, both on the Oregon coast and in Southern Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay. She returned home to Oregon in 2017 and began working with non-profit organizations in program management, Quality Assurance, and in training and compliance. Liz is most excited to be able to meld together her love of science and the natural world with her technical skills while supporting the health of our watersheds and communities.
Debra Grace Administrative Assistant
Debra Grace is the Administrative Assistant with the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership. Debra has spent time working with several non-profit organizations and looks forward to bringing her experience to TEP.
Debra and her husband moved to the Oregon Coast 15 years ago so they could be closer to the ocean and the land that they love. In her off-time Debra enjoys spending time hiking and traveling with her husband and dogs as well as expressing herself through her painting, drawing, and photography. Debra looks forward to being a valuable asset to not only TEP but also the environment they pledge to protect.
Who We Are
Our Mission
Tillamook Estuaries Partnership is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation and restoration of Tillamook County's watersheds through active stewardship, scientific inquiry, community engagement, and education.