Surface Water Management Division
Marine Resources Committee Members
The Snohomish County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) is made up of twelve volunteer members representing: a) local governments; b) affected economic interests; c) recreational, conservation or environmental interests; and d) local tribal governments. Each term is three years in length. Our committee members are:
Jared Bond, Chair
Brandon Jensen, Vice-Chair
Keeley O'Connell, Vice-Chair
Mary Cunningham
Simon Geerlofs
Brent Hackney
Thomas Hoban
Dawn Lawrence
Lincoln Loehr
Jerry Masters
Mike McHugh
Chrys Bertolotto, Ex Officio
Local Governments: Mr. Bond is the City of Lynnwood's Environmental and Surface Water Manager and has worked in the City's Engineering Department since 1998. He authored and currently administers their Critical Areas Regulations, Tree Regulations, and Surface Water Management Program (including NPDES Phase II response, and Swamp Creek TMDL). Mr. Bond is a 3rd generation Washingtonian, descending from one of the original mining families of Monte Cristo in Snohomish County. He holds a Bachelors of Arts in Environmental Policy and Planning from Western Washington University, and a Masters of Public Administration from Seattle University. He has been a recreational SCUBA diver for over 10 years, is an avid kayaker, crabber and fisherman, and hopes to ensure beneficial uses of our marine resources for generations to come.
Recreational/Scientific Diving Interests: Mr. Jensen is a lifetime resident of the Pacific Northwest. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Biology at the University of Puget Sound and his master’s degree in marine and estuarine science at Western Washington University. Mr. Jensen is a volunteer scuba diver with the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) and is a scientific diver certified through the American Academy for Underwater Science (AAUS). Currently, Mr. Jensen works for Pentec Environmental where he manages a number of fisheries projects throughout Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. He has interests and experience in fish ecology, scuba diving, water resources, and aquaculture.
Conservation/Environmental Interests: Ms. O’Connell is a restoration ecologist with People For Puget Sound. She has over six years of professional experience developing and coordinating habitat restoration projects and education programs in the nearshore environment of Puget Sound. She currently manages the North Sound Invasive Spartina Program and the Snohomish County Sound Stewardship Program. Both programs engage citizens in restoration actions along Puget Sound shorelines. Ms. O’Connell has also worked on developing socio-economic modeling elements in Puget Sound nearshore-based conservation and restoration prioritization models. Ms. O’Connell received her M.S. in Marine and Estuarine Science from Western Washington University in 2002. Her thesis work researched the effects of expanding invasive Spartina meadows on native benthic macroinvertebrate populations in the mudflats of Willapa Bay, WA.
Mary Cunningham
Local Governments: Ms. Cunningham is a Senior Planner at the City of Everett. She has over twenty years experience working for the City's Planning Department in both Land Use and Long Range Planning, and was the primary author of the City of Everett's Shoreline Master Program Update (2003). Ms. Cunningham was a staff member for the Snohomish Estuary Wetland Integration Plan Salmon Overlay and for Everett's 2003 Shoreline Public Access Plan, in addition to being responsible for the City of Everett's Critical Area Ordinance Update for 2005/2006. Ms. Cunningham represents the City of Everett's interests in local marine issues, including protecting and restoring marine resources.
Conservation/Environmental Interests: Simon Geerlofs is a Marine Science and Policy Analyst for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and specializes in science and policy for management of marine resources. Mr. Geerlofs' work in Snohomish County includes research into the environmental effects of tidal energy as well as restoration and watershed planning and analysis. Prior to his employment with PNNL, Mr. Geerlofs worked as the Marine Program Coordinator for the Northwest Straits Commission. Before that, he served as a Legislative Assistant for ocean policy to Senator Maria Cantwell, working closely with Congress, constituents, agencies, and others to enact effective marine policy. In his free time, he enjoys scuba diving, photography, and videography and hopes to combine these skills to assist the MRC in website content development and outreach activities.
Economic Interests: Mr. Hackney is a licensed On-Site Wastewater Treatment System Designer. He has owned his own septic design business for 14 years and worked on projects throughout Western Washington. In addition to his position on the MRC, Mr. Hackney is the chairperson of the Snohomish County Health District’s Septic Issues Committee and serves as a member of the Snohomish County Public Health Advisory Council. Mr. Hackney has lived in Snohomish County his entire life and grew up on one of the first organic farms in the area. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys spending time crabbing, fishing, and working in his vegetable garden. Mr. Hackney has a strong interest in the health of Puget Sound and preserving fishing, crabbing, and other recreational opportunities the area provides.
Economic Interests: Mr. Hoban has been a commercial real estate broker since 1980 and is the designated broker and president of Coast Commercial Properties, Inc. licensed to do business in the State of Washington. He is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) as well as a graduate of the Realtors Institute (GRI). Mr. Hoban and his family have a generational history of living on the Puget Sound waterfront in Snohomish County. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Communications. Mr. Hoban has experience working for the Fish and Game Dept. in Alaska, was a Red Cross Lifesaving Instructor, and a rescue swimmer while on active duty in the US Coast Guard. He is also a WSU Beach Watcher.
Dawn Lawrence
Recreational Interests: Ms. Lawrence is a biology teacher at Archbishop Murphy High School. She has been an educator for over 37 years and has taught in the Shoreline and Everett School districts, as well as overseas. She earned a BS in Biology from the University of Oregon and has taken additional coursework from UW, SPU, WWU, OSU and CWU. At the secondary level she has taught science courses from Basic Science and Earth Science to Advanced Placement Biology. For more than 15 years, she participated on the "Salmon Team", working with students to raise coho salmon in the classroom and release them into local streams. She looks for opportunities for students to interact with the committee and its activities. Ms. Lawrence has a strong interest in marine biology and Puget Sound. She lives on the water and is a lifelong boater, recreational fisher and crabber.
Conservation/Environmental Interests: Mr. Loehr is an environmental compliance analyst with the law firm Stoel Rives, where he focuses on Clean Water Act related issues as they relate to industries and municipalities in Washington State and Alaska. He has previous research experience as an oceanographer within Puget Sound and has been involved with regulatory developments related to water quality and wastewater discharges for over 20 years. Mr. Loehr is an avid photographer and enjoys observing marine shorelines, nearshore processes, and wildlife. These observations are often facilitated by his daily commute by train between Mukilteo and Seattle.
Economic Interests: Mr. Masters is the general manager for Valley Supply Company in Woodinville and a resident of Mukilteo. He has worked as a subcontractor and materials supplier in the construction industry for 22 years. He has a wide variety of experience on residential and commercial jobsites on the West Coast (California, Oregon and Washington) and the Upper Midwest (Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana) while employed by organizations like The Home Depot and The Masco Corporation. Mr. Masters is a 4th generation descendant of a Washington State pioneer farming family in Skagit County and has a strong interest in watershed issues, population growth in Puget Sound and the preservation of our marine environment.
Tribal Interests: Mr. McHugh is the Tulalip Tribes’ Shellfish Program Manager and technical lead for all commercial and non-commercial shellfish management duties. He directs several fisheries, including Dungeness crab, spot prawn, geoduck, and inter-tidal clams and oysters. The majority of Mr. McHugh’s 19 years of work have been within Puget Sound and along the Washington Coast, and he is a member of both the National Shellfish Association (NSA) and the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association (PCSGA). Mr. McHugh’s non-commercial duties include inter-tidal habitat assessment and aquaculture within Snohomish and Island Counties. He enjoys SCUBA diving and fishing in his spare time.
Chrys Bertolotto
Ex Officio: Ms. Bertolotto is the WSU Snohomish County Extension Beach Watchers Coordinator. She launched the WSU Beach Watcher and Shore Steward programs in Snohomish and Skagit Counties in 2005 and represents the program volunteers on the Marine Resources Committee. Numbering over 1000 volunteers in the region, WSU Beach Watchers received a national award from the Universities Council on Water Resources in 2010. Ms. Bertolotto is currently the Coordinator for the Snohomish Camano ECO Net, a group of 70+ education and outreach professionals working to clean up Puget Sound. She has provided education to thousands of Puget Sound citizens and colleagues on environmental topics ranging from wetland vegetation to an overview on the health of Puget Sound as well as launching and sustaining many citizen education, research and restoration projects over the years.