The Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute has an AmeriCorps program that currently serves communities all over the state of Idaho as well as the greater Portland region. Through partnerships with schools, community-based organizations and government agencies, PCEI addresses critical environmental and equity issues in the areas of healthy watersheds, energy and resource conservation, environmental education and outreach, as well as sustainable community development.
National and Community Service programs meet critical needs in areas such as education, public safety, health and the environment through partnerships with public agencies, non-profits, faith-based and other local organizations.
Meet Our Current Members!
Olivia Atlee, Volunteer Services Assistant, The Peregrine Fund
Olivia is a proud Pacific Northwest native with roots in Whitefish, Montana, where her childhood was filled with skiing in the snowy winters and exploring Glacier National Park in the summers through hiking, swimming, and river rafting. She developed a love of nature and deep respect for wildlife at an early age. At age 10, Olivia moved to the Seattle area, where she developed a love for the salty breezes of Puget Sound and embraced the vibrant culture and outdoor adventures of the Emerald City.
In 2021, Olivia embarked on the next chapter of her PNW journey, moving to Boise, Idaho, to attend Boise State University. She recently graduated with a B.S. in Political Science, specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics, and earned a Certificate in Conflict Management. Her first summer job out of college was conducting research for the Boise National Forest, where she bonded with the beautiful mountains of Idaho.
Outside of her professional pursuits, Olivia thrives on outdoor adventures, from skiing down snowy slopes to exploring Idaho’s breathtaking landscapes. She also enjoys reading, writing, watching movies, playing board games, and cherishing quality time with friends and family. Passionate about fostering connections and advocating for the natural world, Olivia is excited to contribute her knowledge, energy, and PNW spirit to her work.
Wes Essig
Habitat Restoration Technician, The Peregrine Fund
Wes was born in Missoula, Montana, and spent most of his childhood in Boise. His first ever backpacking trip was in the Sawtooths as a middle schooler. Wes attended the University of Washington in Seattle and earned a degree in mathematics. During his summers in college he worked on various field crews collecting water/biological samples all over Idaho. After graduation he lived in Seattle for almost twenty years until recently when he returned to Boise. A lifetime of hiking, backpacking, and camping made him aware of both the wonders the Pacific Northwest has to offer and the challenges it faces. Wes is particularly interested in sagebrush ecosystems and how invasive annual grasses are altering these environments and what we can do to preserve them. At home he enjoys gardening, video games, and taking his Weimaraner for long walks in the Boise foothills.
Erin Geslani, Water Conservation Project Coordinator, Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee
Erin has called the Palouse region her home for almost 10 years, coming to Moscow for college and staying for the fostered community and beautiful landscape. She has received both her Bachelors and Masters in Anthropology from the University of Idaho where her research specialties surrounded rural food insecurity and ethnography. She enjoys her time volunteering with various organizations in Moscow and Pullman and loves to read, hike, and explore. Erin is eager and excited to begin her journey into the conservation sphere and hopes to build a career on resource conservation and the protection of our region’s waterways and ecosystem.
Alexandra Koubek, Lead Restoration Technician, Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute
While growing up in rural Illinois, Alexandra developed passions for nature and serving her community as a lifelong 4-H Member. She explored these passions at Northern Illinois University, from which she graduated with honors in May 2023, obtaining a B.S. in Environmental Studies with a specialization in Biodiversity and Restoration and minors in Biological Sciences and Anthropology. Through her education, Alexandra gained a particular interest in the relationship between humans and the natural world. In the future she would like to work on projects that foster the connection between traditional ecological knowledge and modern science to achieve more meaningful and effective environmental management and restoration. She is excited to be serving a second term with PCEI AmeriCorps. In her previous term she served as a Restoration Technician and is now serving as Restoration Lead & Volunteer Coordinator. Alexandra enjoys hands-on restoration projects and aims to work with the local community to foster a more connected relationship between people and the environment.
Lily Linton, Assistant Wildlife Educator, MK Nature Center
Lily was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest surrounded by nature, a love for stewardship and environmental education developed. Combining her love for the environment and establishing community, Lily graduated from Portland State University with a BS in Environmental Studies. While attending Portland State, Lily volunteered in various programs spanning from the student sustainability club to farm education with the Sauvie Island Center. Working with these organizations solidified her drive to work within her community. During a road trip through the US, Lily passed through Idaho and decided to set down her roots in Boise. Lily hopes to refine her skills in environmental education and learn more about Idaho’s ecosystems while serving her AmeriCorps term at the MK Nature Center as the Assistant Wildlife Educator. In her future career, Lily would like to work within the environmental education field as an educator and within the community coordinating volunteers for various initiatives. In her free time, Lily loves to roller skate the Boise Greenbelt, take her pet rabbits on picnics, and gardening. Lily is excited to foster a love for environmental causes through education in her community.
Emily Nunes, Outdoor Educator, Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute, Palouse Roots
Emily is a lover of the outdoors, occasional poet and writer, and overall enjoyer of good times, wherever that is spent! Emily grew up in Meridian, ID but has resided in Moscow for the past five years. After receiving her degree from the University of Idaho in public relations, Emily felt a calling to the outdoors and decided to pursue careers that were available to her that supported that calling. She is excited now to be a Palouse Roots Outdoor Educator at PCEI and even more excited to see what opportunities await her as an AmeriCorps member. When not working, you can find her scribbling away in a journal at some cafe or trying out a new hiking trail on the Palouse.
Kathleen O’Dea, Environmental Education Instructor, Boise Urban Garden School
Kathleen O’Dea is a recent graduate from the University of Idaho with a background in Natural Resources and Environmental Education. In her free time, Kathleen enjoys playing violin, writing, reading long books, watching long movies, and playing with her cat, Mushroom.
Sydnee Reyes, Environmental Education Instructor, Foothills Learning Center
Sydnee Reyes (she/her) is a passionate environmental advocate currently serving as a PCEI AmeriCorps member with the Foothills Learning Center. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, emphasizing biology, and an Associate degree in Journalism, Mass Media, and Law from the University of Idaho. Born and raised in the small town of Weiser, Idaho, Sydnee is passionate about environmental justice and inspiring others to take action in their communities.
She has served in Alaska, working with Indigenous youth to elevate their voices and perspectives on environmental issues. Additionally, Sydnee has a background in teaching dance, bringing creativity and leadership to her work. In her free time, she enjoys journaling, reading, playing guitar, and spending time with her niece and nephew. Sydnee is committed to fostering a love for the environment and encouraging others to join her in pursuing a sustainable future.
Austin Schilling, Stewardship Coordinator, Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute
Austin took a long and winding path to AmeriCorps, where he now serves at the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute. Born in 1997 in Oregon’s Willamette Valley he began his lifelong passion for building and repairing. From humble beginnings building tree houses to pursuing a civil engineering degree at the University of Idaho, Austin has always been driven by the thirst for knowledge. However, it was when he became a permanent resident of the Palouse that he found where his talents could be used to their greatest potential. In 2019, Austin began working at a quail farm as a seasonal worker while finishing his degree. Through his dedication and tenacity, he became operations manager shepherding a flock of nearly 30,000 quail. During his tenure, he and his wife put roots down and started a family. Their daughter, Adelaide, had a thirst for knowledge that reminded Austin of himself at her age. So, he made it his mission: wherever kids can learn, and have fun doing it, he would be there to lend a helping hand. Austin began volunteering with the Palouse Science Discovery Center and then at the PCEI fixing and helping whenever he could. Not long after he found a position as AmeriCorps Stewardship Coordinator at PCEI and will continue to help kids have a space to learn and grow there over the next year.
Hailey Stubbers, Environmental Education Outreach Specialist, Boise State University/Bruneau Dunes State Park
Hailey is from Cottonwood, Idaho, and is passionate about sharing her love of physics and astronomy. In May 2024, Hailey graduated from Boise State with a bachelor’s in physics and an emphasis in astrophysics. Through her AmeriCorps position, Hailey currently collaborates with her former astronomy professor and Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park to conduct astronomy observations and educate the public about light pollution. In her free time, Hailey enjoys the Idaho outdoors via running on the Boise Green Belt, snowboarding at Bogus Basin, reading in her hammock, and of course stargazing. In the future, she hopes to attend graduate school and become a researcher in physics.
Meg Super, Environmental Education & Outreach Specialist, Salmon Valley Stewardship
Meg grew up living along a muddy prairie river in North Dakota. To most in her hometown, the Souris River is a polluted hazard of cofferdams and mosquito-breeding diversion channels, but to her it was a playground, safe haven, teacher, and friend. Born in Hamilton, MT, her childhood was spent between mountainous western Montana and the prairies and fields of North Dakota. She went to college in Colorado and stumbled into the world of molecular biology, leaving the river behind for the lab. After many years studying the genetic basis of neurodegenerative disease, Meg realized her inner river kid was aching. That realization has taken her on many conservation adventures since. From working with Howler monkeys in Costa Rica to following all five species of salmon along the west coast, living on organic farms, and most recently working on salmon recovery on the Lemhi River with Idaho Fish and Game in Salmon, ID. Outdoor education and community outreach will be a new adventure. Meg strongly believes that strengthening connections to the land should be at the forefront of all conservation efforts. She is honored to get to work in and with the community/ecosystem of Salmon and is continually in awe of this beautiful, tight knit, resilient landscape. When she is not working in conservation, Meg is strengthening her own connection to the land through trail running, backpacking, gardening, cooking, writing poetry, reading, art, rock collecting, listening, observing and just being.
Amber Tavener, Environmental Education Instructor, Foothills Learning Center
Amber discovered her love for science and the outdoors from a young age. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, she loved learning about the local ecosystems of the Puget Sound and the Mercer Slough. Amber moved to Idaho in 2015 to earn her bachelor’s degree in biology. She gained many notable experiences, from learning about Darwin’s finches during a trip to the Galapagos Islands of South America, to working with the USGS to replant Sagebrush in the Owyhees.
Amber’s love for science and education have inspired her to become a high school Biology teacher. She is starting her Masters program with BSU this summer and is excited to gain more experience working with kids and our local foothills ecosystem as an outdoor educator at the Foothills Learning Center. Amber loves being outdoors with her dog, Ripley, and has many hobbies that include hiking, skiing, sewing, and reading.
Sydney Tucker, Restoration Technician, Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute
Raised as an Air Force brat, Sydney has lived in and visited many different places, and now she and her family have finally returned home to the Palouse. Sydney has always been fascinated with the outdoors, wildlife, and art, so she wants to become a scientific illustrator. She received her BS in Biology with an Art minor from James Madison University in 2023, and plans to return to school for further education in environmental sciences and ecology. In undergrad, her favorite courses ranged from mammalogy and ornithology, to film photography and painting. As an avian field technician, she has searched for protected birds in the Blue Ridge Mountains in West Virginia and monitored eagles flying in the airspace around a wind farm in rural New York. These projects were perfect for her as she enjoys working outdoors, locating and identifying wildlife, exploring various native habitats, and learning everything she can about the natural world around her. In her free time, Sydney enjoys birding, hiking, drawing, amateur photography, knitting/crocheting, reading, and binging her favorite shows.
Visit the Confluence Environmental Center page to view members in Portland, OR.