River Alliance Staff

Denny joined the River Alliance in September 2003.  Prior to that, he was Upper Midwest Regional Director with the American Farmland Trust (AFT),  a national organization working to preserve farmland. While at AFT, Caneff helped establish the first-ever farmland preservation program in Illinois. Caneff also served as Executive Director of the Wisconsin Rural Development Center, a sustainable agricultural advocacy organization.

Caneff has been an avid paddler since childhood, and once canoed the entire length of the Mississippi River. He is the father of four children.

Caneff holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from St. Cloud State University and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Journalism from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, West Africa.

Chris Clayton, Citizen Based Stream Monitoring
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Chris joined River Alliance as a policy program assistant in June 2005, and since January 2007 he has coordinated the stream monitoring program.  Chris completed a Masters degree in Water Resource Management from UW-Madison.  Prior to landing in Wisconsin, Chris taught volunteers how to monitor streams and woodlands in Illinois, worked as an environmental consultant, and spent two years in Guatemala as a Peace Corps volunteer.  

Chris is excited to be working with groups throughout the state to get their feet wet and collect data on the water quality of their local streams.

Lori Grant, River Protection
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A Wisconsin native, Lori came home to Wisconsin in 2003 after a 20-year career in land use planning and land conservation with the King County (Washington) executive’s office and natural resources department.  Lori earned her bachelors degree in zoology at UW-Madison.

In addition to assisting the board and other staff with legislative issues, Lori is working to build a network of river advocates to mobilize for river protection.

Matt Krueger, River Restoration / Urban Rivers
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Matt began with the River Alliance in the summer of 2008 as a Program Assistant in support of a group of central Wisconsin citizens organizing around water quality issues.  Since then, he has received his M.S. from the Water Resources Management program at UW-Madison and has recently switched gears to work River Alliance Urban Rivers program.  Prior to graduate school he had served as an Americorps member doing environmental work in the Pacific Northwest, as well as working with local non-profit Sustain Dane on a rain barrel program.

Paddling, portaging, and fishing in Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park were formative childhood experiences for Matt.  In his free time he enjoys gardening, cooking, hiking, paddling, fly fishing, and spending time with his wife.

Laura MacFarland, Invasive Species
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Laura served as the Dams Program assistant with the River Alliance in 2003 while she attained her Master’s degree in Water Resource Management from UW- Madison. After a 4 year hiatus, she has returned to the River Alliance in October 2007.  While she was away, she resided in Markleeville, CA serving as the Watershed Coordinator for Alpine County, California in the beautiful Sierras. After establishing a nonprofit organization, a successful citizen monitoring program, and coordinating several streambank stabilization efforts, Laura has returned to assist the River Alliance River Restoration Program and the Wisconsin River Initiative.

Laura is originally from Cape Girardeau, Missouri where she grew up on the bluffs of the Mississippi River.  She holds a BS in Biology from William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri. 

David Pausch, Donor Relations
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A Wisconsin native, David came to the River Alliance in 2008, after spending several years hiking the urban valleys of Philadelphia. Prior to his arrival, he was the Director of Development for Temple University Press. He also is a self-described “theatre person,” having worked for and managed several professional theatre companies, as well as acting and producing plays for various Madison-area community theatres.

David is a proud two-time graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, holding a BA in English and an MA in Business-Arts Administration. He is thrilled to be the newest member of the River Alliance team, and can’t wait to get his backside back in a canoe.

Helen Sarakinos, River Restoration
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Helen joined the River Alliance in July 2001 and oversees the organizations river restoration programs, including the Urban Rivers and Dams campaigns. Helen completed a Master’s of Science degree in aquatic ecology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. She has worked on numerous river-related issues including the effects of point-source discharges on river ecosystems, impacts of sediment on spawning habitat of endangered Coho salmon and steelhead trout and she completed a scientific assessment of the state of water quality and aquatic ecosystems in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Helen's expertise with dams in the state of Wisconsin has taken her around the country and internationally to Canada, Japan and Iceland to share her experience with issues to consider in dam removal. Helen is also an Environmental Leadership Program National Fellow.

Allison Werner, Local Group Assistance
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A native of Racine, Allison joined the River Alliance in April 2006 with an extensive background in watershed advocacy and environmental education.  She was most recently executive director of Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network, which provides funding to local organizations to improve and restore the watersheds of Oak Creek and the Root and Pike Rivers in southeastern Wisconsin. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Aspects of Conservation and Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management, both from UW-Milwaukee. 

“I am thrilled to be able to take my knowledge about watersheds and my organizational skills to a new level and strengthen watershed groups all across Wisconsin,” Ms. Werner says.  “I’m eager to meet the good people who are organizing to improve and restore their rivers locally so we can strengthen advocacy for our rivers statewide.

Sharon White, Business Manager
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Sharon joined the River Alliance in June 2009 after moving back to her home state of Wisconsin from Chicago, where she worked in finance for a software company.  She and her husband decided to come back to get away from the concrete in the city and find more easily available options for outdoor activities.  She is an avid cyclist and loves the fact that most people at the River Alliance ride their bikes to work every day.

Sharon has a BA in Political Science from UW Madison and an MBA from DePaul University.  She has done a significant amount of international travel and living, including honeymooning on the Amazon River in Ecuador, a semester abroad in Spain and a summer in Zambia.