We are proud to welcome four new trustees to the Washington chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
DeAnne Hamilton
DeAnne Hamilton
DeAnne Hamilton is the Executive Director & General Manager for KBTC Public Television in Tacoma. Her experience includes more than 30 years in both public and commercial media.
She most recently served as interim executive director of PublicSource, an investigative news organization in Pittsburgh, PA. Prior to that, she served as founding general manager of 90.5 WESA/Essential Public Media in Pittsburg, PA, general manager and director of broadcasting services at Michigan State University's WKAR Public Broadcasting, and vice president and television station manager at KQED Public Television in San Francisco, CA.
Deanne brings experience serving on several industry and community boards and associations, including the Association of Public Television Station. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications from University of Washington.
“I am drawn to the board for the opportunity to learn more about the great work of our local chapter and global organization to see what I can do to contribute to that work. My interest was piqued around the issue of climate change. As the general manager of a public media organization, I look for ways to share information that people can use to make a difference in their lives. TNC affords me the opportunity to share what I learn for the greater good.”
Maia Bellon
Maia Bellon
Maia Bellon joined Cascadia Law Group in February 2020 and in addition to practicing environmental and natural resource law, Maia will work on environmental policy development and problem solving with Cascadia's newly-formed consulting affiliate, Cascadia Policy Solutions.
Prior to joining Cascadia Law Group, Maia was the Director of the Washington State Department of Ecology. She began that role in 2013 and served as one of Governor Inslee's closest advisors on climate, water, toxics, and air quality issues. Prior to joining Ecology, Maia served as an assistant attorney general in the Ecology Division of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office for 15 years.
Maia is a 1991 graduate of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She received her law degree in 1994 from Arizona State University, College of Law (renamed the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law in 2006). Maia and Bill, her husband of 24 years, are raising their teenage daughter Talia in Tumwater, Washington. Maia enjoys exploring the coastline of the Pacific Northwest and traveling with her family.
“The Nature Conservancy has embraced the deep connection of environmental conservation with racial equity and social justice. These connections are vital to improving our quality of life and are especially significant to me as a Native American woman brought up in the seven generation culture.””
Dr. Marco Hatch
Marco Hatch
Dr. Marco Hatch is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Western Washington University and is a member of the Samish Indian Nation. As a marine ecologist, he helps Native American students gain greater access to STEM opportunities while respecting coast Salish tribal people, landscapes, and seascapes.
Dr. Hatch’s work includes helping Native American students make the transition to graduate school in the geosciences, specifically connecting Northwest Indian College students to Western’s Huxley College of the Environment. His work focuses on a partnership between NWIC and Western called Partnerships in Geoscience Education, funded by a five-year $1.65 million National Science Foundation grant. This partnership also provides funding for NWIC graduates to pursue a master’s degree in Environmental Science.
At WWU he has created a wonderfully diverse lab charged with preparing the next generation of environmental scientists and leaders through fostering respect for Indigenous knowledge and providing students with a solid background in scientific methods. His research focuses on the nexus of people and marine ecology, centered on Indigenous marine management.
Dr. Hatch is also involved in a developmental model called the Coastal Almanac that will put in place a structure for Pacific Northwest coastal communities and tribal nations to collect, analyze, and archive data to help answer scientific questions important to them. Dr. Hatch is also a mentor for the SACNAS club at Western as well as a mentor for NASU (Native American Student Union). Prior to his work at Western Washington University, Dr. Hatch served as the Director of the Salish Sea Research Center at Northwest Indian College.
“As a board member of The Nature Conservancy, I will work to protect ecologically and culturally important places while considering climate impacts. Also important to me is removing barriers to that have historically prevented Indigenous people from accessing their ancestral homelands.”
Rashad Morris
Rashad Morris
Since 2014, Rashad Morris has served as a Program Officer at the Bullitt Foundation, where he manages two of the foundation's grant-making programs: Energy, Climate, and Materials and Deep Green Buildings. Through those portfolios, Rashad supports over 50 organizations across an array of environmental policy issues, from utility regulation, expanding clean energy and reducing dependence on fossil fuels to addressing climate change, reducing exposure to toxic chemicals, and encouraging the highest levels of sustainability within the built environment.
Prior to joining Bullitt, Rashad developed a broad base of experience in politics, policy development, and advocacy. His career has spanned legislative and regulatory oversight of Washington State’s second largest electric utility, Seattle City Light and the Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment as a Legislative Assistant for City Councilmember Mike O’Brien; policy analysis across a suite of policy issues for the Washington State Senate; and policy development and advocacy on energy and climate for the Washington Environmental Council.
Deeply committed to integrating social, racial, and economic justice with environmental sustainability, Rashad has served as a founder and volunteer co-leader of Seattle's chapter of the national Environmental Professionals of Color (EPOC) network, where he is still a member. He also sits on the boards of the Environmental Grantmakers Association; Evergreen Business Capital CDC; and Evergreen Business Capital Foundation.
Rashad earned his law degree from U.C. Berkeley and his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University.
“I am excited to join an organization expanding its vision beyond historic silos such as wild lands versus working lands, and people versus nature. And I look forward to helping TNC Washington strengthen its role as a unifying force within and beyond the environmental community.””
