Staff

Holly Purpura, Executive Director

Along with years of experience in fiscal administration, project management, watershed restoration, and environmental education, Holly brings with her a fierce passion for the Earth and a love of working with the community. Prior to joining MRWC, Holly served as the Executive Director of Friends of Deckers Creek, where she oversaw the construction of large acid mine drainage treatment facilities, worked closely with the community, and led environmental education programming. Holly is a graduate of the Geography and Political Science departments of West Virginia University, and she has also worked previously with National Geographic Education and The Hunger Project United Kingdom. In her free time, she is an avid hiker, biker and boater.

Kathleen Westly, Education & Restoration Project Manager

Kathleen earned degrees in History and Business Administration from Lewis and Clark College. She has volunteered in a number of capacities, including helping to found Muddy Creek Charter School in Corvallis where she served as the Board Secretary. She is enthusiastic about engaging students in their place and helping them to become active stewards of the watershed. She uses her experience and knowledge as a 23-year watershed landowner and a decades-long avid gardener in her planting work, both with students and in conjunction with MRWC stream restoration projects.

Niki Hobbs, AmeriCorps VISTA

Niki is serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America) with the MRWC. She is a proud Beaver, graduating from Oregon State University in 2018 with a major in Public Health and minors in Environmental Safety and Health, and German. She has a range of public health experience, previously working as an intern for the Marion County Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), for the surface water team of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, and as a researcher on classroom-based physical activity programs in Oregon schools. Prior to her VISTA year, Niki worked for a year as an English teaching assistant in Germany as part of the Fulbright U.S. Student program. She is excited to expand the capacity of the MRWC and explore more of the Marys River Watershed. In her free time, Niki likes to read, craft, and train for triathlons.