Staff
Executive Director
Adam Burnett serves as the executive director of the Beaver Institute after a career of building and running non-profits in the performing arts and environmental conservation. He received his BA from the University of Kansas in Theatre and spent a dozen years as the co-founder and artistic director of Buran Theatre. With Buran, Adam led a constellatory, intergenerational, interdisciplinary performance network, creating over 100 productions and events between 2007-2019, from Albuquerque to New Orleans to NYC to Vilnius, Lithuania, and beyond. As a development director and fundraising consultant, Adam has worked with a bevy of institutions including Exit Art, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Dixon Place, Queer|Art, and Health In Harmony, among others. He has nurtured and grown nonprofits from concept to scale, and sustained and imagineered abundant futures for legacy institutions, valuing relationships over transactions. Creating intentional communities, reaching consensus, and manifesting opportunities for plurality are traits he relies upon in leading Beaver Institute. Adam’s relationship with beavers developed in 2020 as he navigated co-managing a prairie pond with beavers and local farmers. Contact: adam@beaverinstitute.org
Grants Manager
Stepph Sharpe grew up running wild in the woods and swamps of western New York. As a young hiker, a spontaneous trip to the Five Ponds Wilderness of the Adirondacks sparked an interest in beavers that has grown into a life-long reverence for the mighty/humble Castor canadensis. Stepph’s past work in the environmental field includes a regional parks conservancy in Los Angeles, a marine conservation NGO in Northern California and a restoration-focused Friends Of in the Redwood Forests of Sonoma County. Most recently, Stepph served as the Director of Grants for a domestic violence shelter in upstate New York. With over a decade of experience in grants and project management, administration, relationship-building, creative writing and fundraising, Stepph absolutely loves working with people, numbers and ideas to put all the moving parts together. Stepph is a poet, field recordist and lover of the mountain dulcimer who can be found camping in wilderness when the weather’s just right.
BeaverCorps Program Director
Dr. Aaron Hall is an aquatic biologist who works to protect species in aquatic and riparian habitats, finding scientifically sound and pragmatic solutions for the threats these species face. He holds a BS and MS in Environmental Science from The Rochester Institute of Technology, and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from The University of Toronto. Aaron has a diverse background in field ecology and has worked with many species groups and in many ecosystems, and has lived in Central New York, Alaska, Maine, Colorado, and currently resides in Ontario, Canada. His primary focus for the past decade has been working with beaver by leveraging their ecosystem engineering skills to create and enhance habitat for many at-risk species including freshwater fishes, amphibians and reptiles, shorebirds, aquatic insects and others. He is passionate about protecting the delicate balance of the natural environment in an increasingly human-influenced world. Aaron is an avid outdoors person and enjoys hiking, canoeing, camping, birding, disc golf, woodworking, board games, and gardening. Contact: aaron@beaverinstitute.org
Science and Policy Director
Loren Taylor joined the Beaver Institute in 2023 as the BeaverCorps Program Director and now serves as Science and Policy Director. Loren is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and restoration ecologist dedicated to advancing wetland conservation and translating science into practical, policy-driven solutions. She received her B.S. in Wildlife Management from Eastern Kentucky University and her M.S. from Utah State University, where her research focused on integrating human dimensions and decision-making into wetland restoration design and implementation. Loren has led collaborative efforts across the U.S. to develop science-based strategies that benefit both ecosystems and the people who depend on them. She is particularly passionate about creating practical and mutually beneficial approaches to human-wildlife conflict by integrating human dimensions into ecological solutions. Her work emphasizes the importance of community engagement, diversified management tools, and adaptive policies to promote coexistence and build resilient landscapes. She is excited to lead efforts to strengthen the scientific foundation for beaver coexistence practices, inform policy at multiple levels, and support community-based efforts across North America. Loren brings a strong commitment to applied science, stakeholder engagement, and building bridges between research, land management, and environmental policy.
Contact: loren@beaverinstitute.org
Tribal Partnerships Liaison & Beaver Behaviorist
Dr. Jordan Kennedy is an interdisciplinary researcher and engineer specializing in non-human animal engineering, hydrodynamics, and Indigenous-led conservation initiatives. As the Tribal Partnerships Liaison and Beaver Behaviorist at the Beaver Institute, she advocates for integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in conservation, policy, and management. She works to ensure that Indigenous sovereignty, ethical research standards, and data governance remain central to conservation efforts.BeaverCON Producer & Communications Manager
With a diverse background spanning Los Angeles, New York, Kansas City, and now Denver, Lara Thomas has worn many hats — from documentary film producer and commercial AD to creative copywriter, Senate campaign field director, and Sunrise Movement communications lead. A pro at executing projects of all sizes, Lara is a master of lists, ensuring every detail is checked off with precision. Perhaps it’s her Midwest values or an inner motor that doesn’t know when to quit… but no matter what needs to get done, Lara is all over it, without question or wasting time.
For Communications questions contact: Lara@beaverinstitute.org
For BeaverCON questions contact: BeaverCON@beaverinstitute.org
Finance Associate
Laura Lee has spent the past 30 years as a management accountant working solely with small non-profits and small businesses in her hometown of Missoula, MT. Her clients reflect a wide interest in environmental and social justice issues, ranging from wilderness conservation to homelessness. Born a data nerd, she never tires of helping organizations grow and thrive through a deep understanding of their financial picture. Laura moved to Missoula from the wetlands of Minnesota, where beavers were everywhere, and often not welcomed. She’s thrilled to be a member of the Beaver Institute team, and learning more everyday about the importance of protecting these mighty builders.
Beaver Help Desk Manager
John Egan has been installing flow devices to resolve beaver flooding issues with Mike Callahan and Beaver Solutions since 2012. In addition to installing hundreds of flow devices throughout southern New England and New York, he has consulted with clients and has created management plans for homeowners, utility companies, and government entities. He currently manages the North American Beaver Help Desk, and enjoys helping people with any and all inquiries that are submitted.
BeaverCorps Program Coordinator
Carla Eissing
Volunteers
PR / Marketing
Amy Hunter is a publicity and marketing veteran whose clients range from Fortune 500 companies to fledgling start-ups, and from tech to travel. She is passionate about bringing compelling stories to light and has garnered national and local publicity in all forms of media. Based in Portland, Oregon, Amy joined the Beaver Institute team in 2021, and she’s excited to help spread the word about beavers, their vital importance to the planet, and how we can support them.
IT Consultant
Michael Kesten met Mike Callahan in the 90’s back when Mike was running the Pioneer Valley Wetlands Volunteers. Michael ran a business for 25 years, engineering and building video production facilities. He was a Beaver Institute board member when it launched. In his retirement he volunteers with various non-profits working to benefit the environment, animals, and democracy. Michael sees beavers as integral to rebuilding ecosystems that man has altered.
Board of Directors
Mike Callahan ( Beaver Institute Founder / Board President) received a B.A. from St. Michael’s College and worked for 20 years as a Physician Assistant providing medical care to under-served populations. He began saving beavers in 1998 after founding the Pioneer Valley Wetland Volunteers with his wife Ruth. In 2000 he started Beaver Solutions LLC and has personally resolved over 1,900 beaver-human conflicts. He teaches beaver workshops, started an online Beaver Management Forum on Facebook, and created an instructional DVD to teach others to do this work. In 2017 he founded the Beaver Institute, Inc. to promote coexistence with beavers for watershed restoration, biodiversity and climate resilience. His duties as President of the Beaver Institute include training BeaverCorps professionals across North America. In his spare time he loves being outdoors, reading, spiritual pursuits, and time spent with friends and family.
Sarah Bates came to appreciate the role of beavers in riparian and watershed health through her work on western water issues with the National Wildlife Federation. She has been involved in several nonprofit boards and collaborative partnerships, including the Montana Beaver Working Group and the Montana Beaver Conflict Resolution Project. Now retired, Sarah enjoys a variety of outdoor activities from her home base in Missoula, Montana.
Scott McGill is the Founder and CEO of Ecotone, a design-build ecological restoration company located in Forest Hill, MD. Scott has over 30 years of applied experience in both design and construction of ecological restoration projects throughout the United States. He is a thought leader in the field of ecological restoration and has brought many new ideas and methods into the mainstream, including the use of native materials and the North American beaver to drive ecological and water quality outcomes His “less is more”, using nature to restore nature, approach to environmental restoration that incorporates conservation biology and adaptive management provides an innovative model for sustainable cost-effective ecological restoration. In addition to driving positive change to the ecological restoration industry, Scott has methodically scaled Ecotone from a small 2- person consulting firm in 2000 to a vertically integrated design-build company with over 80 employees. His firm has restored over 40 miles of stream and 1,400 acres of wetlands in the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as preserving over 1,200 acres of land in perpetuity. He and his wife of 29 years currently reside in Fallston, MD, have three grown children, and two grandchildren. Outside of Ecotone, Scott is a certified Reiki Master Teacher and enjoys cycling, dog training, fly fishing, and adventure bikepacking.
Reese Mercer serves as the ‘Head Wrangler’ of the Western Beavers Cooperative, and founder of the Beaver Works Oregon program. Reese brings 20 years of nonprofit startup and board experience to Beaver Institute, complemented by 25 years of professional experience as a business and technology consultant.
Rachel Schick Siegel founded the Illinois Beaver Alliance in 2021 after working to resolve a beaver conflict nonlethally in her suburban Chicago neighborhood, becoming a beaver believer in the process. In 2022 she completed a certificate program in Environmental Law and Public Policy at Loyola University Chicago. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and History from the University of Michigan and a Master of Arts in English Literature from Northwestern University. Rachel serves on the Rivers of Illinois Coordinating Council, to which she was appointed by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. She has written numerous successful grant applications for several nonprofit organizations that provide human and social services. She lives in Illinois with her husband and dog and has two college-aged kids.
John Whipple (Treasurer) found his way to The Beaver Institute through a love of ecology and a background in corporate finance. With a degree in Theology, John joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps assisting adults with developmental disabilities at a farm and nursery through L’Arche Tahoma Hope. John then pursued a career in professional horticulture, resulting in a desire to serve the earth by promoting ecological restoration. Continuing to evolve, John changed careers to surety bonds, becoming an expert in financial analysis and business development.
Advisory Board
WI – Bob Boucher – Bob serves as founding President of the Superior Bio-Conservancy and is President and owner of Still Meadows, LLC. Bob lives in Wisconsin but spends time at a family cabin situated between old growth forests and Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. His interest include protecting and restoring keystone species in ecosystems and bioregional landscape linkages for protection on a global scale. He has an MS in Water Resource Management for the UW Madison with an emphasis in ecosystem management of watersheds. He became a “Beaver Believer” when he realized the role this keystone species plays in the health of our river’s hydrology and their significance to biodiversity. He serves as an advisor to the Beaver Institute. He founded Milwaukee Riverkeeper and served as Executive Director of Wisconsin’s oldest land trust (The Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation)
NY – Owen Brown PhD – Dr. Brown, has a PhD in Material Science, and is president of the educational nonprofit Beavers Wetlands and Wildlife (BWW). He was formerly a professor of chemistry and physics for 23 years, and co-founded BWW in 1985. BWW is based in New York State and provides beaver programs, practical advice about solving beaver/human problems and consulting nationwide and overseas.
CA – Brock Dolman – A wildlife biologist, Brock is currently the WATER Institute Director, and Director for the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center Wildlands and Permaculture Program, Since 2012 he has been co-leading the Bring Back the Beaver Campaign in California to integrate beaver stewardship into California policy and restoration in order to improve water quality and quantity, create critical wetland habitat for numerous endangered species and optimize aquatic resource conservation and climate change adaptation strategies. He is co-author of “Restoring Summer Base Flow under a Decentralized Water Management Regime: Constraints, Opportunities, and Outcomes in Mediterranean-Climate California” Water Journal (2017), co-author of Beaver In California: Creating A Culture of Stewardship (2016), co-author of “The Historical Range of Beaver in Coastal California: an updated review of the evidence” California Fish and Game Journal (2013) and co-author of “The historical range of beaver in the Sierra Nevada: a review of the evidence” California Fish and Game Journal (2012). He can be reached at brock@oaec.org at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, CA
OR – Suzanne Fouty – Dr. Fouty currently serves as a is a retired U.S. Forest Service Hydrologist/soils specialist.at Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, OR. She has a B.S. in Geology (University of Washington), a M.S. in Geosciences (University of Arizona) and a Ph.D. in Geography (University of Oregon) where she studied how cattle, elk, and beaver alter streams. She has worked as a Water Resource Specialist for the State of New Mexico on groundwater contamination issues, as an outdoor environmental educator, and done stream-related work for The Nature Conservancy, the Bureau of Land Management, Department of Justice, and environmental groups. In exploring the issue of water in the Intermountain West, she has learned about the social and political challenges and opportunities for stream restoration. Suzanne was included in the PBS Nature episode “Leave it to Beavers” in the Nevada segment.
CA – Sherry Guzzi – Co-founder of the nonprofit organization the Sierra Wildlife Coalition. The Sierra Wildlife Coalition promotes and provides humane and practical solutions for living with beavers, coyotes, and all local wildlife in the Lake Tahoe area. www.sierrawildlife.org/about-us
MA – Kara Holmquist – MSPCA Living with Wildlife Program, Nion Robert Thieriot Grant Program MA Soc. for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, MA
MA – Jeff Horan – US Fish and Wildlife Service
Jeff was a founding Director for the Beaver Institute, serving from 2017 to 2021. He was instrumental in guiding the organization in its early years. He continues to serve as a valuable resource to the Board. He is a wetlands and conservation leader with decades of experience working for federal, state and local governments. He has a B.S. degree in Forest and Wildlife Management from Virginia Tech and taught Forest Ecology and Conservation at Johns Hopkins Univ. Mr. Horan also helped develop award winning conservation programs that provide innovative federal, state and private, technical and financial assistance for private landowners to protect and restore forest, wildlife, wetland and stream resources.
OR – Leonard Houston
South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership, OR
OR – Lois Houston
South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership, OR
VT – Linda Huebner – Linda monitors properties for The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust in the northeast. Her beaver advocacy has included being an original member of the Pioneer Valley Wetland Volunteers that pioneered flow device installations in MA, as well as administrator of the Nion Robert Thieriot Grant Program, an innovative and very successful flow device grant program for the MA Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
CA – Kate Lundquist – Kate is the WATER Institute Director, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center since 2012 has been co-leading the Bring Back the Beaver Campaign in California to integrate beaver stewardship into California policy and restoration in order to improve water quality and quantity, create critical wetland habitat for numerous endangered species and optimize aquatic resource conservation and climate change adaptation strategies. Lead author of Beaver In California: Creating A Culture of Stewardship (2016), co-author of “The Historical Range of Beaver in Coastal California: An Updated Review of the Evidence” California Fish and Game Journal (2013). Contact Kate at kate@oaec.org at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, CA
UT – Mary O’Brien
Grand Canyon Trust, UT
OR- Stanley Petrowski – Founder and President of the South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership, a 501(c)3 supporting watershed restoration projects. He serves as Board liaison for the Beaver Advocacy Committee. Stan is President of Umpqua Watersheds, a Pacific northwest conservation organization. A zealous advocate of restoration ecology, his commitments include Lomakatsi Restoration Project, Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers and Native Fish Society South Umpqua River Steward.
WA – Michael Pollock
NOAA Fisheries – West Coast Region, WA
OR – Kathy Roberts
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Retired, OR
CA – Kevin Swift
Swift Water Design, CA
OR – Rob Walton – Senior Policy Advisor – Retired, Oregon-Washington Coastal Area Office, NOAA Fisheries – West Coast Region, OR
WA – Alexa Whipple – Program Director at Methow Beaver Project