Board & Staff

Ed Gilbert, President

The son of a US Air Force officer, Ed was raised in London and Ankara, Turkey. He received a BA in English and masters in economics from Ohio State University, an MA in public policy and a law degree from the University of Chicago. Ed taught law in Singapore as a Henry Luce Scholar. He joined law firms in New York, and practiced there and in Hong Kong before becoming a partner with Perkins Coie in the Pacific Northwest for several years. Next came project finance work in Singapore, China, and Southeast Asia, followed by positions in private equity and banking from 2000-2014, with Lone Star Funds, Merrill Lynch, Shinsei Bank, and Bank of New York Mellon based in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Ed and his wife, Linda, moved to Bainbridge Island two years ago, where they enjoy hiking, cycling, kayaking, and sailing – when he takes time off from active involvement in Rotary, and of course, the Land Trust’s projects committee.

Sally Hewett, Vice President

Exploring and appreciating the forests, shores and wildlife of Bainbridge Island since 1983, Sally is grateful to be involved in this community that shares values of wellness for the land and people.  Having raised a daughter here and as a dentist on the island, she has been active in various organizations and activities that support island health and well-being.  Sally has also served with communications, international programs, and continuing education for the American Dental Association and has volunteered internationally in oral health education in developing countries through the FDI World Dental Federation.

Nicole Bavo, Secretary

Nicole grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California and made her way to the Pacific Northwest for college after spending summers on Whidbey Island.  After a few years in Washington, Nicole knew this would be her home state due to its natural beauty and the people. After earning a degree from University of Puget Sound, Nicole pursued a career in non-profit management and fundraising. Her education includes The Fundraising School through IUPUI and a certificate in Non-Profit Management from UW Tacoma. Nicole has her Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from UW Tacoma. When not working to make her community a better place, Nicole can be found traveling, crabbing in the summer, skiing in the winter and exploring the world with her husband and three energetic boys.

Asha Rehnberg, Treasurer

In 2002, Asha parlayed her experience as a senior real estate paralegal in Minneapolis into a personally much more meaningful second career in the NW land trust community. She has served as land protection project manager and later as conservation director for the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy (formerly Inland NW Land Trust) in Spokane, WA, as a board member for the Bowen Island Conservancy in British Columbia, and from 2008-2013 as the executive director of the Bainbridge Island Land Trust.  After stepping down from that role, she has continued to be a committed and active Land Trust volunteer, serving on its Finance, Fundraising and Projects Committees ever since, and recently also becoming a volunteer lead steward for the Land Trust’s Carlson conservation easement. Asha and her business partner husband Larry Pluimer live on Bainbridge and run two businesses out of their island home, ably assisted by two rascally cats and the best dog ever.

Andrea Adams

As a newly minted graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Andrea joined Cambridge Alternative Power Company, one of the first wave of alternative energy businesses spurred on by federal subsidies. She shifted to management of temporary personnel for firms in Boston, then moved across the country to become marketing director for the Seattle Club, and to help launch the Riverplace club in Portland. The environmental field called and she worked for five years as regional director of the Environmental Careers Organization, a nationwide program to develop professionals for green jobs through internships at government agencies, nonprofits and companies. She and husband John moved to Bainbridge in 1992, where she ran her own ecotourism company, Weathervane Tours, until 2000, when the couple  – already parents of two daughters – adopted a son from Russia. Since then, she has served in many capacities, including mental health case manager, special event coordinator, school program and placement organizer. A former board member of Friends of The Farms, and current manager of rental property in Winthrop, Andrea enjoys traveling in the U.S. and overseas, and is a non-fiction writer and editor.

Mark Frank

Mark and Patti landed on Bainbridge Island in 2015 after years of toiling away in corporate careers, Mark in finance and Patti in communications. They were drawn to the island as the antidote for city living. One of the very first events they attended was the Annual Land Trust Pot Luck and they felt immediately at home. The intersection of wild space preservation and community involvement just resonated. Since then their involvement with the Land Trust has deepened. Mark brought his background in planning, forecasting and capital management to the Finance Committee in 2018. He is honored to join the Board in 2020. The outdoors has always been an essential part of Mark’s life. You can usually find him walking the Island parks, hiking across the Olympics, paddling a kayak or holding a fly rod.

J. Grant Blackinton

Grant grew up outside Denver, Colorado and spent family vacations camping in the Rockies. He was active in the Boy Scouts and enjoyed several hiking & canoe trips. He got his Electrical Engineering Degree in 1966 and went on to work in both California and Sweden designing digital voltmeters. In 1971-72 he spent a year in Africa traveling by boat up the Congo River, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and meeting some of the most civilized people on the planet. Returning from Africa, he lived in Geneva, Switzerland for 6 months studying French and then moved to Hawaii to attend the University. After earning his PhD in Ocean Engineering in 1985, specializing in ocean acoustics, he co-founded an ocean survey company based on the sonar systems that he designed. When the company moved to Seattle in 1991, Grant and his family moved to Bainbridge. He retired in 2009 after amassing over 1800 days at sea and now greatly appreciates walking the usually solid ground of the forests on Bainbridge.

Gregory Geehan

Greg and his wife Kathy grew up in Tacoma and graduated from the University of Washington. Greg went on to earn a PhD in Marine Geology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He then worked in the oil industry for over 20 years, managing applied research efforts related to oil field development, in a career that took him to Houston, Alaska, London, Kuwait, and Columbia. Upon retirement, Greg and Kathy returned to the Puget Sound area and chose to live on Bainbridge Island partly because of its reputation for supporting education and environmental conservation. Greg is a docent at IslandWood, a member of the Bainbridge Island Kiwanis club, and spends some of his time exploring local geology, giving presentations, and working with Cameron Snow on a video covering our island’s geological history.

Steve Jenning

Steve was born and raised in western Oregon where his family was involved in farming, the forest products industry and politics. Moving to Bainbridge Island in 2017 with his wife, Linda, a writer and former Georgetown University professor, was a homecoming after 30 years working in Washington DC as a congressional staff person and a health care lobbyist. Prior to those years he was a newspaper, magazine and wire service reporter in New York, San Francisco and Portland. During college at Columbia University, Steve worked four summers as a US Forest Service firefighter in the Pacific Northwest. He has served on several non-profit agency boards, most recently the Washington DC Tennis and Education Foundation for 12 years, primarily on fundraising and capital projects.

Jenny Lange

Growing up on the East Coast, Jenny earned two degrees from Duke University – a B.S. in zoology in 1991 and a law degree in 1994. After working as a lawyer in Anchorage and in Washington, D.C., Jenny and her husband John, a Bainbridge Island native, moved here in 1997. She quickly fell in love with Washington State and its varied terrain and wildlife. For four years she worked in Government Relations at the Seattle office of The Nature Conservancy, pursuing public partnerships in conservation and helping to protect natural areas at the state and federal level. After having a family, she became an active volunteer on Bainbridge, including serving on the Vestry and leading annual campaigns at Grace Church, and becoming a founding member of Mom’s Morning Retreat, a support group for mothers. A proud parent of two teen boys, Jenny enjoys sea kayaking and walking on our local trails.

Suzanne Merriman

Zan Merriman was raised in the East Coast tradition that values the outdoors, a gene carried through both parents. She spent summers in a log house on five acres in Putnam County NY. There were salamanders under rocks and fireflies at night.  The woods, hills and valleys of  upstate NY and Vermont populate Zan’s memory to this day: the smells, the sounds, the wildlife. Bainbridge is a place like that, worth preserving, worth enjoying for generations. After graduating from Boston University with a BS in journalism she spent several years in Washington DC, working and pursuing a graduate degree in cultural anthropology. When reality hit–later in life than it did for many–Zan decided to get an MBA (UC Berkeley 1983). A career in real estate finance followed, running parallel with her interest in raising money for non-profits.

Merle Montani

Merle’s longstanding passion for nature and the environment as well as its soothing effects began in her early childhood meandering the forests and beaches in New Jersey. She relocated to Bainbridge Island 20 years ago because of the island’s natural splendor and efforts towards land preservation. Merle has spent her professional career as a school administrator, college psychology instructor, and a consultant emphasizing organizational structures and design. Her work within schools has emphasized the design and development of systems to effectively promote equity for all students, particularly those who have faced challenges and/or have been marginalized.  Both her Master’s Degree in Psychology from Rutgers University and her Doctoral work at Columbia University have supported her work. Merle enjoys hiking, bicycling, fly fishing, tennis (when her knees permit it!), the arts and simply enjoying the beautiful place we call home. She is passionate in her efforts to make a difference – for everyone!

Matt Otepka

Shortly after moving to the Island in 2006, Matt and his wife Sara welcomed their first child. It was during his first year of parenthood that Matt became familiar with the Land Trust as it seemed the only time his infant son would sleep was after he had been strapped to a parent and walked through the woods. Since then, Matt and Sara have crisscrossed the Island many times, often on Land Trust trails with a kid on their back. These first family walks on Land Trust properties made it clear to Matt that he was someplace special and convinced him to lend a hand. Soon, Matt was helping the Land Trust Communications Committee with quarterly newsletters and annual reports until a two-year work project for Sara took them to Europe. Upon their return to the Island in 2012, Matt remained at home with the kids and did not immediately return to his previous career in public relations and marketing for high-tech companies. Today, Matt is the owner and operator of Bainbridge Island Outfitters + Depot an adventure retail and gear rental store in Pleasant Beach Village. When he’s not with family or friends hiking the Island or digging in the garden, Matt prefers stalking trout with a fly rod in hand.

Phil Rockefeller

Phil is a former member of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and a former Washington State Senator. He has been one of the strongest advocates of renewable energy investment, fish and wildlife protection, and development of state and local adaptation strategies to address impacts of climate change. While serving in the Washington State Legislature, he chaired the Senate Environment, Water & Energy Committee. Phil served on the Land Trust board in the early 1990s and is currently serving on the Salmon Recovery Funding Board.

Ray Victurine

Ray is the Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Business and Conservation Initiative, which he launched in 2007. The program engages with industry, governments and other stakeholders to explore innovative approaches to balance conservation and development interests through design and implementation of best practices aimed at reducing and compensating for impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Ray also directs WCS’s Conservation Finance Program which focuses on the development of sustainable financing mechanisms that contribute to positive biodiversity conservation and sustainability outcomes. Ray serves on the Boards of the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network, the Conservation Finance Alliance, and has been active with organizations engaged with the carbon market. He is also a member of the Biodiversity and Livelihood Advisory Committee for Total Uganda. He is trained as a natural resource economist, and has worked on conservation and sustainable development issues in Africa, Asia, and Latin America for more than 30 years. Ray has lived on Bainbridge Island with his wife and two children since 2000. He served for several years on the City’s Community Forestry Commission and with other Commission members created a Community Forestry Strategy that was delivered to the City. He now lives downtown in the new Grow Community.