Board of Directors

Lindsay Wood Davis (Emeritus) 
Lindsay is a management and sales consultant by occupation and a paddler by avocation. He and his wife (and co-conspirator) Amanda live in Monona, spending as much time as possible on the water because, "God does not subtract from your allotted time on Earth that which you spend with a paddle in your hand." Following multiple terms as Board member and Chair of the River Alliance Board of Directors, Lindsay now serves the organization as an Emeritus member of the Board.

Cassie Goodwin (Chair)
Cassie is a civil and environmental engineer at JJR in Madison. She wears many hats in her job: water resources designer, public access advocate, waterfront planner, and coastal engineer. Off the job she wears many hats as well: bicyclist, tennis player, outdoor enthusiast, artist, sailor, paddler and kayaker, skier, hiker, traveler, reader, knitter, crafter. She and her husband Nick live in Madison where they enjoy working on their house, gardening, cooking delicious food from the farmer's market, watching independent movies, and spending time with friends and family. Cassie is also actively involved in ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) as a local chapter board member, and is a "Big" through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County. She holds a Master's Degree from UW-Madison in Civil and Environmental Engineering with an specialty in Environmental Science, is a LEED Accredited Professional and a state-licensed Professional Engineer.

Nelson Ham
Nelson is a geology and environmental science professor at St. Norbert College, on the banks of the Fox River in De Pere, Wisconsin. He teaches glacial geology, hydrology, and environmental science, and co-leads trips to places such as Death Valley, the Florida Keys, Hawaii, and Costa Rica. Nelson’s research interest is the origin of landscapes. He has studied modern glaciers in Alaska and the origin of Wisconsin’s Ice Age history, especially of the Northwoods. For almost a decade he has been a guide for Tight Lines Fly Fishing Company in De Pere. He lives with his wife and two children in Green Bay.

Lynn Isherwood
Lynn, a native of Milwaukee, is a vegetable farmer in the glacial sands of Central Wisconsin. She lives at the edge of the Buena Vista Marsh which is home to numerous "streams" that are part of a drainage district, but most of them have a long history being fed by the glacial divide to the east and all flow into the mighty Wisconsin. Lynn met her husband on a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters; now they paddle on their Isherwood Lateral a quarter mile from the homestead.

Marcia Kraus(Treasurer)
Marcia is a native of Portage County, a Madison resident, and director of special projects for Artful Home, aka The Guild, a local on-line art merchandiser. She brings to the River Alliance a background in public broadcasting membership and passion for local action.

Bob Martini (Vice Chair)
Bob is retired from his statewide rivers coordinator position at the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, where he worked for over 30 years, including leading the massive clean-up of the Wisconsin River and guided many a controversial dam removal project. He's an avid trout angler and paddler, and is active in many other resource conservation organizations. He is a father of two adult children, a grandfather, and married to Kathy, a retired teacher.

Deb Ryun
Deb grow up along the banks of the Wisconsin River in Wisconsin Rapids, and spent her summers camping, swimming, canoeing, biking and playing outdoors. After spending nearly 30 years in Iowa, Deb moved back to Wisconsin in October 2009 to become the first executive director for the St. Croix River Association (SCRA). She has extensive experience in soil and water conservation, with a special interest in watershed protection. Since joining SCRA, Deb has taken up kayaking, and has paddled the entire length of both the St. Croix and Namekagon Rivers. Deb makes her home in Trade River with her husband Steve and dogs Lucy & Mick.

Mary Schlaefer
Mary is a lifelong resident of Wisconsin and an avid participant in the natural world. She is blessed to have work that feeds her soul, serving as executive director of the Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation, a non-profit company that designs and implements programs to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy. She is an avid hiker, biker and angler, as well as a novice paddler. Mary previously served as executive Assistant and deputy secretary of the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources.

Ken Schreiber 
Ken is retired from the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, where he worked for 35 years in a variety of water related positions, including water quality biologist, limnologist, planning analyst and regional watershed expert. He holds degrees from UW-Stevens Point in fisheries and biology and UW-Madison with a masters degree in water resources management. He is an avid enthusiast of water sports, including canoeing, kayaking, rafting, sailing and fishing. 
 

Bill Schultheis (Emeritus)
Bill, a lifelong paddler, has been helping protect Wisconsin's rivers for many years. He is a member of several organizations interested in unique land acquisition and protection initiatives. Bill, from Dousman, WI, is self-employed and semi-retired.

Bev Stelljes (Secretary)
Bev lives near Fall Creek, Wisconsin, on the Eau Claire River. She's a native of Nebraska, a stone's throw from the Missouri River, but her river obsession began during college on Nebraska's other river, the Platte. Bev and her husband Kevin have paddled many miles together, going for remote wilderness areas from Canada to Chile, Alaska to New Zealand.

A teacher by training, Bev runs a horseback riding training school whose goal is not only teach horseback riding but to develop an appreciation of nature and the natural world. Bev has served on a number of committees in her community involving conservation and river corridor protection.