Staff/ Intern/ Board Members
Rachel Schneiderman (she/her)
Program Coordinator
Rachel Schneiderman is a recent Oregon resident, but a longtime lover of the outdoors. Growing up on the Central California coast, she spent her youth playing in the ocean, hiking in the redwoods, and kayaking through the Elkhorn Slough. Upon moving to Eugene, she fell in love with the ecosystems that the Willamette Valley has to offer and after 6 years as an elementary school teacher, she is excited to combine her passion for education with local outdoor stewardship and exploration! In her free time, you can find Rachel swimming, baking, reading, and hiking with her Golden Retriever puppy, Luna.
Nate Jensen (he/him)
Program Assistant
Nate was born and raised in Salt Lake City, UT. He grew up skiing, hiking, and running in the Wasatch and Uinta mountain ranges. This area allowed him to discover a deep love for endurance sports and the beautiful wild places that he had such great access to. In college he pursued his interests by studying exercise science and biology, graduating with a BS from Utah Valley University. After graduating he set off to hike the Pacific Crest Trail and fell in love with the Pacific Northwest, promising himself that he would move there one day. The last few years he had the chance to work for Patagonia in Salt Lake where he continued to grow his love for environmental activism and community engagement until the perfect opportunity came to move to Eugene. When he is not working you can find him running, hiking, camping, reading, or watching soccer!
Nina McClellan (she/her)
Social Media and Strategic Communications Intern
Nina McClellan graduated from the University of Oregon in 2022. She majored in Marine Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies. She grew up in Massachusetts before moving to Oregon in 2018. She is interested in utilizing social media to share information about Eugene’s wetlands and WREN’s mission. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outside hiking, biking, walking, and photographing wildlife, nature, and people.
Ryan Collay (he/him)
Board of Directors
Ryan Collay has over thirty years as a STEM educator, including three years as an Elementary Science Specialist in the North Bend School district and 21 years at Oregon State University’s Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE) Program. As the SMILE program director, his team developed an award-winning “STEM Ecosystem”; while fostering a professional educator’s “Community of Practice.” During his tenure, the program served over 7000 underserved youth, and more than 400 teachers in seventeen rural communities. He retired and is consulting in program design through his program frameworks and evaluation based on programs, practices, and outcomes. Ryan is the Board President for WREN, an executive team member of the Rivers to Ridges Partnership, part of the Environmental Education Network through the Lane STEM Hub, and the Owner of “Education by Design.”
John Garrett (he/him)
Board of Directors
John has been volunteering as an educator for WREN since the Spring of 2016 and also serves on WREN’s board of directors, but his passion for and commitment to educating youth began long before that. After graduating from Park College in Missouri with a double major in Chemistry and Math, he went on to Harvard University to earn his Master of Arts in Teaching and then to the University of Oregon for post-graduate work. After teaching kids for 46 years, it’s no surprise that John has a sharp eye for finding things in nature that kids enjoy, like raccoon bones and hummingbirds, and the insight to tie those things into the larger picture of why wetlands are important. In his free time, John enjoys sharing outdoor activities with his wife like flat-water kayaking, bird-watching, cooking, bicycling, photography, and music.
Bob Petit (he/him)
Board of Directors
Bob is a retired hospital administrator and native Oregonian. After spending close to 4-years in the Air Force, he attended school for Sociology and Hospital Administration. He then proceeded to work for 12 years in Hospital Administration in the states of Virginia and Maine before bringing his skills abroad to Brazil through Project Hope, a global health and humanitarian relief organization. After living and working abroad for five years, he moved to the northwestern United States to continue his administrative career. Bob now enjoys spending his time capturing wildlife through photography. He is actively involved with the Emerald Photographic Society in Eugene, where he has served in numerous roles and positions, including Club President.
Eric Nill (he/him)
Board of Directors
Eric Nill is native to Eugene, Oregon where he developed a lifelong passion for the natural environment of the Pacific Northwest. Starting with frequent family outings to the Oregon coast and the Cascades of Central Oregon, his interests were further cultivated in the South Eugene High Ecology Club. Also, while at Pomona College, he volunteered in environmental and refugee causes. While doing graduate studies he served in the U of O Survival Center arranging whale watching, forest walks, and other events. Eric has been serving on the WREN board for 10 years and works in the field of solar energy and sustainable industries where he claims to be the green sheep of his family.
Eric Royer (he/him)
Board of Directors
Eric Royer joined WREN’s board of directors in the summer of 2020. He was born and raised in Eugene, a graduate of Churchill High School, and has lived next door to the West Eugene Wetlands since the spring of 2016. He is married with two school-aged children who love to take walks, hunt for frogs, and view the variety of birds on the wetlands. He spends most of his free time with his family by going trail hiking, tent camping, lake swimming, and other outdoor activities every year. He has been an insurance agent with the same company since 2005 and has many years of experience teaching children as a volunteer.
Ray Balstad (they/them)
Board of Directors
Ray grew up in the sagebrush steppe of Boise, Idaho, but has inhabited a variety of ecosystems across Minnesota, France, and Peru over the years. As an undergraduate, Ray spent their summers as leadership staff coordinating programs for the Y Camp at Horsethief Reservoir, where they cultivated a passion for environmental education, land stewardship, and working with youth outdoors. Over the course of their teaching career, Ray has worked extensively with K-16 students and developed curriculum in mathematics, French, English Language Arts (ELA), and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). As a lover of interdisciplinary education, Ray enjoys combining their talent for illustration and embroidery with their interest in botany, entomology, and ecology. Ray began volunteering with WREN and joined the board after moving to Eugene for work in 2024.