The Coast Salmon Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established as the fiscal sponsor for the Coast Salmon Partnership. The Foundation secures diverse public and private funds to empower the Partnership’s durable salmon recovery outcomes in watersheds throughout the Washington Coast Region.

The Foundation Board of Directors share a commitment and passion for the protection and restoration of salmon, steelhead, and char across the Washington Coast Region. The Board is focused on three priorities identified in the Foundation’s 2024-27 Strategic Plan – (1) Fiscal Stability, (2) Board Development, and (3) Communication and Outreach.

Interested in joining the board? Please contact our Executive Director Mara Zimmerman for more information.

Coast Salmon Foundation Board of Directors

Bernard Afterbuffalo

Forks, Washington

Bernard is a citizen of the Hoh Tribe and was first elected to the Hoh Tribal Council at the age of 22; since then, he has served four two-year terms, most recently from 2022 to 2024. In addition to his responsibilities within the tribal government, Bernard has worked in the Hoh Tribe Natural Resources Department since September of 2007 where his primary focus is water quality monitoring and salmon habitat restoration and catch sampling to aid in fisheries management. Throughout his time in HTDNR Bernard has led snorkel surveys, smolt trap surveys, HAB monitoring, and is currently collaborating with the University of Washington on taxonomic work. Bernard has also helped with spawning and rearing of steelhead for the Hoh Tribe. In his free time, Bernard likes to hike, fish, swim, and teach his kids astronomy.

Maggie Bockart

Forks, Washington

Maggie is currently the Salmon Habitat Restoration Biologist for the Hoh Tribe and has been working in conservation for nearly a decade. With professional experience ranging from wildlife rehabilitation to grassroots nonprofit management, from environmental impact surveys and habitat delineation to community outreach, Maggie is eager to spotlight the long-held ecological knowledge of Washington’s indigenous communities and use this expertise to build resiliency and improve the health of the Olympic Peninsula’s riverscapes. Having spent the last three years coordinating conservation efforts between federal offices, state entities, NGOs, and local nonprofits, Maggie is excited to begin managing collaborative, large-scale restoration projects on the west end.

John Bryson, Jr

Tahola, Washington

John started his lifelong journey in the fisheries field as soon as he could walk. He accompanied his dad fishing commercially and sport guiding. John worked in the forestry program through high school for former Senator Hargrove. After high school, he started working part-time for the Quinault Indian Nation’s fisheries division in 1985 doing spawner surveys, clam population estimates, lake studies and other projects. In 1987, John became a full-time fisheries technician and worked there for 30+ years with a few years in the Timber, Fish and Wildlife program and a year as a Wildlife Technician. John is currently serving his third term on the tribal council. He was elected for his Fisheries and Wildlife experience to help enhance and protect the resources.

Chris Drivdahl

Shelton, Washington

Chris worked in habitat management and policy positions for more than 40 years before retiring in 2011. Her positions went from natural resource surveys for the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada to several assistant director positions in the WA Department of Wildlife and WA Department of Fish and Wildlife. She moved to the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office in 1998 to guide development of the state’s salmon recovery plan. She has a BS in Environmental Sciences from Sierra Nevada College in Nevada and a MS in Geology from University of California Santa Cruz. She lives in the Shelton area, with her husband and two rotten cats, where she practices bread-making, taking pictures of everything that moves, and beach walking.

David Finkel

Seattle, Washington

David has worked in conservation for nearly 25 years, primarily focused on the protection and restoration of watersheds, fisheries, and public lands. He has worked in various programmatic, fundraising, communications, and leadership roles at several nonprofit organizations including the Washington Water Trust, Henry’s Fork Foundation, California Trout, and since 2007, at the Wild Salmon Center (WSC) where he is the Vice President of Development & Communications. David is also the Executive Director of The Stronghold Fund, WSC’s impact fund, which he cofounded in 2015. In addition, David helped establish and works closely with partner organizations the Coastal Rivers Conservancy in British Columbia and the Bristol Bay Defense Fund in Alaska. Born in Seattle and raised in Olympia, David has always considered Washington and the Pacific Northwest home. He grew up fishing in Budd Inlet and backpacking in the Olympic Peninsula. Wild salmon and their ecosystems were fundamental to these and his other formative experiences. David currently lives in Seattle, Washington with his family.

Frank Geyer

Montesano, Washington

Frank is the Director of Natural Resources for the Quileute Tribe. He originally started working for the Tribe in Natural Resources immediately after graduating from the University of Washington in 1980 with a BS degree in Fisheries Management. He worked for the Tribe for three years and then went on to work for various Timber Companies in the Forks area for 19 years. In 2002 he returned to the Tribe to take a job as their Timber Fish Wildlife and Habitat Program Manager and eventually found himself leading the department in 2017. He retired in 2021 to focus his attention on his business and then returned at the start of 2025. He has lived, worked, and played in the West end of the Olympic Peninsula for 45 years and gained a tremendous amount of knowledge regarding salmon and steelhead, their habitats, and restoration needs.

Tyson Johnston

Tahola, Washington

Foundation Board member representing the Quinault Indian Nation. (Board member bio will be updated soon.)

Tom Kollasch

Astoria, Oregon

Tom is the Watershed Restoration Program Director for the Pacific Conservation District. His team manages multiple assessment, design and restoration projects funded through a diversity of state and federal grant programs. Tom previously worked at the Ellsworth Creek Nature Preserve for the Nature Conservancy where he managed a large-scale watershed restoration project and was awarded state and federal grants to acquire land, decommission roads, restore streams, and restore forest stands. Tom has been a member of the Willapa Bay Lead Entity continuously since 2003 and has served as their Lead Entity Coordinator since 2015. His current work includes assessing juvenile salmonid use of the Willapa Bay estuary and implementing the prioritized watershed restoration program in the Middle Nemah River. Tom currently serves as Chair of the Coast Salmon Partnership.

David Lewis

Raymond, Washington

David’s career was initially as an electrical engineer where he managed a group that developed instrumentation for agriculture and food research. When his family began to grow, they moved from Idaho to Raymond, WA to operate their own veterinary hospital. David has a lifetime of fishing experience, growing up fishing tuna in the pacific and fly-fishing trout in alpine lakes and streams. David has volunteered with the Willapa Bay Fisheries Enhancement Group (WBFEG) since 2000, helping with stream restoration projects and supporting remote site egg incubation sites. Since 2021, David has filled the Managing Director role within WBFEG. David is currently a member of the citizen’s committee for the Willapa Bay Lead Entity.

Rich Lincoln

Olympia, Washington

Rich was the founding Executive Director and now a Senior Advisor of Ocean Outcomes, an international nonprofit and consultancy that collaborates with communities, industry, government and civil society partners to improve the sustainability of aquatic resources, high-risk fisheries, the seafood supply chain and community well-being through a lens of environmental, social and economic dimensions. He has 40+ years of global experience in fisheries research, management, policy, and sustainability. His prior positions included International Policy Director for the Marine Stewardship Council, Program Director at Wild Salmon Center and various fisheries research, management and policy roles with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. These latter roles included: ocean salmon fisheries monitoring, development of ocean coho and chinook mixed stock fishery impact models, wild coho productivity research in the Chehalis and Puget Sound basins, hatchery supplementation evaluation in the Yakima basin, and statewide wild salmonid policy development. Rich also served as bilateral chair of the Pacific Salmon Commission’s Fraser River Panel and contributed to the development of co-management plans with Pacific Northwest treaty Indian tribes. Rich advised UN-FAO’s development of inland fisheries ecolabelling guidelines, served as a member of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council, and is a U.S. Commissioner designee to the North Pacific Fisheries Commission.

Bob Russell

Adna, Washington

Bob brings a lifetime of experience in industry, deep personal and professional connections in Lewis County, and strong interpersonal skills to the Foundation board. He retired from the pulp and paper industry in 2019, served on the organizing committee for the George Washington Bicentennial Committee for the City of Centralia, and currently serves on the Lewis County Planning Commission. Bob developed a profound interest in salmon and wetlands through interactions on his property in Adna, Washington, and has a passion for communicating the importance of both salmon and wetlands to residents in the upper Chehalis River basin.

Mark Swartout

Lacey, Washington

Education:

• S.Finance – Iowa State University
• Masters of Environmental Studies – The Evergreen State College

Related Experience:

• 3 years U.S Army Finance Officer
• 23 years Thurston County Natural Resources Program Manager. His duties included being the alternate for Chehalis Watershed Planning, Chehalis Flood Authority, and Chehalis Salmon Habitat Work Group

8 years Chair of the Coast Salmon Partnership

2025 Meeting Schedule

The Coast Salmon Foundation Board of Directors meets at the Coast Salmon Foundation office, 100 South I Street, Suite 103 in Aberdeen, WA, unless otherwise indicated. Members of the public are welcome.  Directions for virtual access are provided in the meeting agenda.

Financials

2023    2022    2021    2020    2019  

2018    2017    2016    2015     2014  

2013