Anna Halligan
North Coast Coho Project Director
I was raised in the foothills of North Carolina where as a child I frequently could be found tromping through the woods or wandering within the creek that extended behind our family’s home. I grew up catching lightening bugs in jars, camping, fishing, hiking, and horseback riding with family and friends. My passion for the outdoors and conservation led me to Asheville, NC where I attended Warren Wilson College earning my bachelors in Environmental Science. As a student I had the unique opportunity to travel to southeast Alaska, and there originated my admiration of salmon and salmon fishing. My career has led me into a lot of interesting watersheds where I’ve had the pleasure to work with lots of great people that all strive to make a difference. I’ve worked on projects that focus on restoring freshwater fisheries habitat, enhancing water quality and instream flow, addressing stormwater runoff, and managing invasive species. I have also worked closely with ranchers and farmers on projects that can improve grazing practices that minimize erosion and enahnce water quality. With all of my work I strive to find innovative ways to help communities live responsibly on the lands that sustain them.
Elise ferrarese
North Coast Project Manager
Elise grew up on a tidal estuary in Massachusetts, where she learned to appreciate rivers from a young age. She fell in love with the mountains and rivers of the Northwest while attending the University of Oregon. She then spent many years tromping around the West as a wildlife biologist and an outdoor enthusiast before returning to school for a master’s degree in Environmental Science with a focus in stream ecology and ecological restoration from Oregon State University. Elise has been working with landowners, agencies, and partners to plan, implement, and monitor ecological restoration projects since 2006. She lives with her husband and two children in the beautiful village of Elk, where they also own and operate the general store.
Daisy Schadlich
North Coast Project Manager
Daisy was raised in Northern California and spent her formative years exploring the mountains and rivers in the Sierra Nevada. She spent her winters ski racing and her summers swimming, hiking, and watching her dad cast flies for trout. While studying at UC Berkeley, she worked seasonally as a river guide. She followed her love of rivers to Sonoma County to work in fisheries, Sacramento as a river advocate, the Sierra Nevada to work in montane meadow restoration, and finally to the North Coast to join Trout Unlimited. If she were a fish, she'd be a steelhead.
Nicole Herrera
North Coast Project Manager
Nicole was born and raised in San Jose, CA. She grew up appreciating nature by taking summer trips to Yosemite or traveling across the county to different National Parks. She attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in Biology. In 2015, she moved to northern coastal California and started her love for salmonids while serving as an AmeriCorps member for the Watershed Stewards Program which aims to conserve, restore, and enhance anadromous watersheds for future generations. She worked as a fisheries technician conducting salmonid monitoring and habitat restoration for various agencies, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Bureau of Land Management. In addition to her knowledge of salmonids, she has experience planning and implementing botanical and wildlife surveys. Her wildlife experience includes northern spotted owl, Point Arena mountain beaver, Behren’s silverspot butterfly, Sonoma tree vole, and special status amphibian surveys.
Katie Robbins
North Coast & CA Water Project Manager
Katie grew up in Sonoma County exploring the coastlines, rivers, lakes, and streams of Northern California. She earned a degree in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary from Sonoma State University gaining experience with marine mammals, marine invertebrate ecology, and terrestrial wildlife. In the fisheries field, Katie was lured into a career in salmonid conservation through her work in salmonid field biology and hatchery work. Inspired to improve the survival of juvenile salmonids in their freshwater environments, she then began managing projects on the watershed process scale specializing in cooperative relationships to develop realistic solutions beneficial to both working landscapes and salmonid conservation through instream flow enhancement and habitat restoration efforts. She is a passionate angler locally and in her travels; in her remaining free time, you can find Katie exploring nature by camping and hiking with her dog and volunteering to rehabilitate sick and injured marine mammals for release back to the wild.