Staff/ Intern/ Board Members


Isabel Justiniano

Programs Coordinator

Isabel has lived in Oregon since late 2018. She recently graduated from Oregon State University with her M.S. in Human Dimensions of Wildlife Science. Her thesis focused on assessing the cultural beliefs of Latin@/x identifying people of the Willamette Valley, and how these influence their outdoor recreation habits and use of outdoor spaces. She has been an environmental educator since 2017, working with Pre-k, K-12 kids, and adults, while also leading community outreach efforts and volunteer projects. She’s very excited to contribute to WREN’s mission of increasing awareness of our native habitats while inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, birding, and spending time with her friends and family.

Rachel Schneiderman

Program Assistant

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. 

Nina McClellan

Social Media and Strategic Communications Intern

Nina McClellan is a recent graduate from the University of Oregon. 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

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

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

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

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

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.

Eleana Chase

Board of Directors

Eleana is a dual master’s student in Nonprofit Management and Public Administration at the University of Oregon from Colorado. She has an immense amount of passion for and experience in public service after completing 3 consecutive years of AmeriCorps. Projects included emergency management, environmental conservation and restoration, and elementary education across the United States. She hopes to bring a new perspective and organizational management expertise to WREN. Eleana loves to spend her free time outside whether it’s hiking, kayaking, or backpacking through the Oregon forests.