Meet the Team
OLT staff members handle the on-the-ground work of fulfilling OLT’s mission, both in the office and out in the field.
Kate Miller
Executive Director
(509) 557-6306
Kate joined OLT as Executive Director in March 2021. Trained as an anthropologist, she held a career in research and teaching, including…
Show MoreKate joined OLT as Executive Director in March 2021. Trained as an anthropologist, she held a career in research and teaching, including on the relationship among people, livelihoods, and ecosystems.
For years, she dreamed of leaving academia and practicing what she preached. Having visited the Okanogan Valley several times, she was thrilled at the chance to move here and help conserve its natural and working landscapes.
Kate was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, but spent much of her early life traveling the world, thanks to her father’s work in global public health, before returning to the US for a BA at Reed College. While working on her PhD in cultural anthropology from the University of California, San Diego, she lived for a year and a half in the Hunza Valley in Northern Pakistan, where she studied the relationship between local cultural and religious values and international development.
She brings her anthropological skills as a listener and observer and her appreciation for the inter-dependence of social and natural systems to her role at OLT. She is happy to talk with anyone who cares about the Okanogan and its people, and she is eager to learn from as many perspectives as possible.
Kate is an avid cook and enthusiastic novice gardener. She enjoys camping and hiking with her husband, Kevin, and aspires to improve her cross-country skiing form now that she lives in a place where she doesn’t have to drive to the snow.
Michelle Martin
Conservation Coordinator
(509) 557-6306
Michelle came on board in January 2023. She serves as OLT’s conservation associate, conducting conservation easement monitoring…
Show MoreMichelle came on board in January 2023. She serves as OLT’s conservation associate, conducting conservation easement monitoring, stewardship, and partnership building within the community.
Since graduating with her B.S. from Florida State University, Michelle has worked as a wildlife researcher and biologist on a variety of projects studying birds and small mammals.
In the last few years, Michelle discovered the niche of conservation work within wildlife biology, and after seeing the accomplishments that can be achieved through coordination and hard work. With her new position working for OLT, Michelle will be able to further her conservation career in the land trust framework and use her training as a wildlife biologist to enhance and assist with outreach and conservation easement projects.
Michelle hails from sunny St. Petersburg, Florida, but her career as a wildlife biologist has taken her far and wide. She began her career working as a technician for a non-profit organization in the Sierra Nevada of California, studying the imperiled willow flycatcher. In addition, Michelle has assisted with research projects in both avian behavioral studies for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and long-term monitoring projects on rangeland for Texas A&M University.
She has also conducted monitoring work for various avian species along with project management for state agencies such as Utah DNR and Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
In 2021, Michelle received her master’s in biological sciences from the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, studying the breeding biology of the largely managed but understudied ruffed grouse.
In her spare time, Michelle enjoys cooking, reading, watching sci-fi movies, birding (surprise), backpacking, and spending time with her budgie, Merlin.
sarah Woodson
Communications & Development Coordinator
(509) 557 6306
Sarah joined the team in August 2024, where she serves the North Central Washington community as the Communications…
Show MoreSarah joined the team in August 2024, where she serves the North Central Washington community as the Communications and Development Coordinator.
A great lover of life and the hearts of others, Sarah dedicates most of her energy to the understanding and practice of kindness. To Sarah, community is an important part of our human experience and survival, so having a role in reconnecting people with land stewardship is the icing on the cake!
Sarah is a long-time Okanogan County resident, claiming 80% local, as she was private schooled in Oregon and enjoyed short stays in other cities and states throughout her life.
Sarah is a classically trained Chef through the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon. Attending some college classes at the Omak campus of Wenatchee Valley College has broadened her modern world skills and academic perspective.
Her prior employment with Okanogan Trail Construction, Inc. gave her access to the great wilderness and national forests, land preserves and planned communities, and an insight into the systems in place that govern them.
Currently living in Loomis, on her half-acre hobby farm, with her most cherished daughter. Sarah chooses to raise her daughter in the country as an act of sanctity, ensuring she will not be disconnected from our food sources and natural world.
Sarah’s other passions include photography, writing poetry, energy sciences and healing modalities, studying psychology, gardening, and connecting resources for animal welfare. Camping and exploring are vital to her happiness, as well as watching concerts, plays, and some cheesy movies, too!