Board of Directors

Pleschette Fontenet

A native of Houston, Texas, Pleschette moved to Oregon in 2015 and fell in love with the region, especially as she drove through the Columbia Gorge. A connector and lover of life, Pleschette jumped into the Portland civic scene immediately and was soon active with the Junior League of Portland where she serves as its Membership director. Pleschette then joined Friends’ Philanthropy Committee in 2019 and was brought on to our Board of Directors in 2020. She also serves on the Board of Friends of the Children.

Pleschette has over 20 years’ experience in the tech industry and currently is an account executive with Lenovo. She loves to travel, especially in Africa, and enjoys hiking, traveling, cooking and the company of her friends. She loves her board service and promoting our mission to let everyone know the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is ours to enjoy and protect.

Michele DeBuhr

Michele has been an Oregon outdoor enthusiast since moving to the state at the age of 3. Camping with her family was an integral part of her childhood, fostering a deep love for the outdoors. Every time family would visit from out of state, there would always be a trip to the Gorge to witness the stunning beauty and reconnect in nature. During her college summers, Michele spent her time backpacking and teaching others about the wonders of the natural world. She still believes that a night in a sleeping bag can’t be beat.

Michele began her career at OnPoint Community Credit Union in 1996 and over the years has held numerous leadership positions. In her current role, she leads 15 branches located across the Portland metro area.

In addition to her professional achievements, Michele serves on the finance committee for Friends of the Children PDX and the City of Lake Oswego Transportation Advisory Board. She is also a dedicated volunteer, lending her time and expertise to organizations such as Dougy Center, Store to Door, Pride LO, and the Oregon Food Bank.

Mike Ballinger*

Mike was born and raised in The Dalles, Oregon, and after earning a BA in social sciences, he and his wife, Colleen, a retired hospice nurse, settled back in The Dalles and raised their four now grown children. Retired from the family commercial refrigeration business, Mike is still hiking, biking, canoeing, and kayaking throughout the region. He discovered his passion for the Columbia Gorge on a hike through Herman Creek’s old growth as a 12-year-old in 1968. He has been hiking the Gorge ever since. Over the decades he has introduced countless individuals to Gorge trails, Cascade summits, and the waters of the Lower Columbia by sea kayak. He serves on the Riverfront Trail Board in The Dalles. Other interests include cycling, photography, reading, guitar, and watercolor.

John Baugher

John’s love of nature started in his childhood while roaming the rolling pastureland, ponds and woodlands of his family’s farms in northwest Missouri. He gained an appreciation for travel, mountain landscapes and hiking while stationed in Bavaria, Germany, and this inspired him to move to the Northwest after his military service.

John’s career in federal service with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and Bonneville Power Administration included positions that have provided a diverse background in large real estate acquisitions and management. As a Project Manager with BPA’s Fish and Wildlife Program, he oversaw many land acquisitions and salmon habitat restoration projects, some of which were in tributaries to the Columbia Gorge.

John is an active volunteer for the Columbia Land Trust and board member of the Clark Conservation District. He also serves on Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust’s Board of Trustees.

He hikes regularly in the Gorge with a hiking group.  He is especially excited about the Gorge Towns to Trails initiative to expand hiking opportunities in the Gorge.

D'na Chase*

D’na is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and grew up on a small farm in Hood River shared with her grandparents. She was raised to care for the land we live on and treat it as sacred.

D’na has over 15 years advertising sales and marketing experience working for the Hood River News, Willamette Week, KEX and KINK Radio. Branching out on her own, she became a marketing consultant to local nonprofits, including Camp Fire USA. Through that experience she was able to share the importance nature plays in young lives and remains passionate about bridging the gap of nature disconnect in our community.

For the past 15 years D’na has owned and operated two seasonal businesses, Tin Cantina, (a traveling vintage bar service for private events) and Rock On Native Design, (a jewelry and Native craft studio). Through her entrepreneurship she’s built relationships with numerous regional BIPOC culture and business support organizations including the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), Oregon Native American Business and Entrepreneurs Network, (ONABEN), Oregon Native American Chamber ONAC, Portland Prosper and Mercatus.

Shari Dunn

Shari Dunn is the CEO/ Principal of ITBOM, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in institutional and organizational coaching around equity, leadership, change management, women in leadership, and workforce development. ITBOM consults with companies as diverse as fortune 500’s, state agencies, and medium to small-sized businesses. Shari is a former nonprofit CEO, attorney, journalist, and foundation funder. Shari was the Co-VP of Power of Attorney Foundation, a sub-grantee of the former Atlantic Philanthropies. She has been quoted in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Non-Profit Quarterly, and more. She is also an adjunct at the University of Portland in the Pamplin School of Business and serves on the Oregon Talent and Workforce Development Board. Her approach is outside the traditional human resources paradigm and is meant to help institutions with a systemic redesign to bring workplace equity. Shari has been awarded Executive of the Year and one of the Women of Influence by the Portland Business Journal, amongst many other awards and honors.

Jim Grube

Jim and his family returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2019, in part to pursue their active enjoyment of the outdoors. One of his first outings was to the Columbia Gorge to visit Cape Horn and the Nancy Russell Overlook, which inspired a deeper dive into the surprising and rich history, stewardship, and preservation of a landscape that should never be taken for granted. Nancy Russell’s biography “A Force for Nature” and hiking outings with his neighbor and Friends Board Member encouraged him to take a more active role in the organization, first joining Friends of the Columbia Gorge’s Finance Committee.

Jim joined the Board in 2024, and lives in Portland with his wife Diane and two children, though can often be found exploring in and around the Gorge. With over 25 years in corporate finance, Jim was most recently CFO for late-stage startups, including pet e-commerce company Chewy, and currently serves on several company boards, including GameStop and Carewell.

Kevin Howard*

Kevin moved to Washougal, Washington, from Phoenix, Arizona, in June 2019. During the next 18 months, Kevin and his wife, Nikole, fell in love with the pristine beauty of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area. Kevin has built a successful career primarily in commercial banking but has found his calling in climate risk management. Kevin currently serves as an independent consultant for Climate Changes Everything, LLC, an Oregon-based climate risk management advisory services firm. Kevin is a passionate environmentalist with aspirations to offer climate risk resilience, adaptation, and mitigation expertise to the Board. Kevin & Nikole purchased their dream home in March 2021 on the Cascade Head Preserve located in Otis, Oregon.

David Michalek*

David’s dream of living in the Gorge began on a windsurfing trip in the 1980s. Growing up in Texas, where most land is privately owned with minimal land use controls, David has a strong appreciation for the value public land and zoning bring to communities. David’s first exposure to Friends was on a hike; his activism with the organization began when he collected coal dust and attempted to capture live action video of the coal trains polluting Gorge waterways.

Like many, David is concerned over the destruction and extinction caused by the dominant culture and recently joined the Board to help protect our local treasures. He graduated from the University of Texas with a BA and is a qualified CPA. He currently lives in Hood River with his wife Beth. Since retiring several years ago (his last commerical venture was leading one of the nation’s largest solar companies), David has been kiteboarding, mountain biking, snowboarding and hiking in and around the Gorge.

Barbara Nelson*

An outdoor adventure athlete with a passion for land conservation, Barbara Nelson joined the Friends of the Columbia Gorge board in 2023, adding to her ongoing decade-long service as a Friends’ land trust trustee. With a professional background in commercial real estate across the western United States, Barbara brings a wide breadth of real estate transaction expertise to Friends—a skillset that will be invaluable as Friends accelerates its efforts to secure key properties in the Gorge for long-term protection and habitat restoration. Barbara was instrumental in helping Friends secure the Catherine Creek property.

A resident of Hood River, Barbara and her husband Chris have been exploring the natural wonders of the Gorge since moving to Oregon in 1999. Her interests include trail running, mountain biking, gravel racing, skiing, paddleboarding, and kayaking.

Carrie Noble

Carrie grew up in the PNW, spending each summer camping across Oregon with her family which cemented an early passion for the wonder and beauty of the state. She has a decade of nonprofit, fundraising and sales experience including working for the OHSU Foundation, DoveLewis Veterinary Hospital, NAVEX, and is currently an Account Executive with FreeWill, working with nonprofits across the U.S. She is passionate about her service with Friends of the Columbia Gorge, and excited to bring together all who share a love of the Gorge in supporting and preserving its mission.

She loves to travel, hike, and build community, and is an active volunteer with the Junior League of Portland. She joined the Friends’ Philanthropy Committee in 2023 and later joined the Board of Directors in 2024.

Carrie Nobles

Carrie grew up in an American mining camp on the eastern slope of the Peruvian Andes, which instilled in her a lifelong devotion to wilderness, environmental issues and historical preservation. Carrie and her late husband Buddy have been Friends members for many years, active in stewardship and advocacy. Carrie enjoys delving into the history of the Northwest and the Gorge and the geological history that shaped this land and can often be found snowshoeing and hiking in the Gorge with her Bernese Mountain Dog Sammy.

Carrie’s career has been spent in the financial services sector, and for 25 years she has served as a professional trust officer. Carrie joined the board in 2015, lives in Portland and has two daughters and 10 grandchildren.

Kevin Price

Kevin joined Friends of the Columbia Land Trust as a trustee in spring 2021 and a board member in fall 2021. Born in the San Francisco Bay Area he moved to Oregon in 1976 to attend Eastern Oregon University. Kevin worked on a Hotshot fire crew, for four years, with the U.S. Forest Service, and started a 34-year career with Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), retiring in 2018.  During his tenure with OPRD, Kevin was directly associated with, and managed Columbia Gorge state parks for 28 years, living in Corbett for 22 of those years. He’s led efforts to increase community engagement across the state, and worked to increase education opportunities for students of color and underserved communities to experience the outdoors. A Salem resident, Kevin teaches Verbal Judo, nationwide, and currently serves as the board chair of SOLVE Oregon. Kevin also has continued to help expose students to the wonder of the Columbia Gorge and actively works with Martin Luther King Elementary School, the Oregon State Park Trust (Ticket2Ride program), and Friends’ Great Gorge Wahoo education program with St. Andrews Nativity School. Kevin enjoys golf, exercise, and the outdoors, but family is first and foremost.

L. Amani Wise

Amani Wise is a retired attorney who lives in Vancouver, Washington. During her work life, she has worked in the private industry and public sector. She volunteered for different causes, including brief stints as an international volunteer in Ghana, West Africa, and Costa Rica. Her love of the Columbia River Gorge led Amani and her spouse to volunteer with the Friends staff to plant trees and remove invasive plants from public trails. She occasionally volunteers for nature projects with the city of Vancouver. She also serves on the board of Easterseals Washington.

Amani enjoys the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, traveling with her spouse and friends, and dabbling in writing. In 2021, she entered and won the Spring Gorge Haiku Challenge.