Staff
Ira Shadis (he/him)
Executive Director
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Ira Shadis grew up in the arms of the Winooski River; home up in the headwaters, school on the main stem, and summer days swimming in the Mad. His professional life has focused on the cross section of environmental stewardship, education, and communication. These days he focuses on turning the Mad River Watershed into a sponge and building resilience into the landscape.
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Lisa Koitzsch (she/her)
Office Manager
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Lisa Koitzsch grew up in the mountains of Switzerland and moved to the Upper Valley in Vermont when she was 12 years old. She went to college in Baltimore, MD and worked for a non-profit in Washington DC for several years but the Mad River Valley has been her home since 2002. Every winter, she and her husband Ky travel to Yellowstone and Isle Royale National Parks for several months to work as wildlife biologists studying predators (wolves) and their prey (elk & moose). In the summer, Lisa loves to explore the upper reaches of the Mad River Watershed with her dog, Phoebe, looking for neotropical migratory birds and moose.
Lisa lives in the Mill Brook subwatershed. |
Marcelite (Marcy) Bucheit (she/her)
Watershed Engagement Coordinator
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Marcy Bucheit grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and made her way to Vermont in 2019 to pursue a degree at the University of Vermont. She graduated with coursework focusing on wildlife health and conservation, ecology, and human dimensions of conservation. She is serving with Friends of the Mad River as an AmeriCorps member through the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) AmeriCorps program. Marcy lives in Jericho and enjoys the wealth of outdoor opportunities outside her backdoor including hiking, running, fly fishing, and rock climbing.
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Luke Foley (he/him)
Climate and Engagement Manager
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Luke Foley grew up in the mountains of Colorado, but found a home in the Mad River Valley starting back in 2008. He has an extensive background as an educator, having previously worked as an Experiential Learning Coordinator at Northfield Middle High School. Prior to working in public schools, Luke was a wilderness instructor, an international travel guide, and program director for several schools and programs in Vermont, the western United States, and around the world. He was the 2014 Vermont Teacher of the Year, is National Park Service Climate Resiliency Fellow, and a Vermont Master Naturalist. He lives in Waitsfield with his family. In his free time, Luke likes to run and bike our local trails, swim and paddle in our rivers and lakes, and use all types of skis to navigate the winter landscape.
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Board of Directors
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Photos by Lawson's Finest Liquids, Clark Amadon, Julie Westervelt, and Corrie Miller