Kathryn Neal, Chair City of Port Angeles

Kathryn has been volunteering at our tree planting and education events, where her background in engineering has been a very valuable resource. Kathryn grew up in Port Angeles, and graduated from PA high school in 1971. Many years later, after obtaining a BA in Architecture, and earning her PE (Professional Engineers license), raising a son, and working, she returned to Port Angeles to work as civil engineering manager for the City. She truly enjoyed the chance to come back to her original hometown and contribute to providing water, wastewater, stormwater, streets, and other services. She was able to build some really wonderful projects! Kathryn’s son was born in Germany, where she lived for almost three years, while her husband was active duty with the US Army. She has lived in Discovery Bay for the past 17 years. She loves hiking and kayaking, and is kind of an omnivorous reader.


Jim Pearson Jefferson County

Jim came to the Olympic Peninsula in the early 1970s and fell in love with it's mountains, forests, and rivers. He’s lived here ever since. He’s been a long time NOSC volunteer, participating in beach seining, restoration planting, the Real Learning/Real Work education program, and coho salmon surveys. His favorite volunteer activity has been conducting chum salmon surveys on Chimacum Creek that allows him to share his love and knowledge of his home creek with other NOSC volunteers. Jim has a Masters in Public Administration and had a career in Jefferson County government. He administered the County’s Shoreline Management Program, authored the County’s Surface Water Management Plan, and was involved in wetlands protection, stormwater management, and non-motorized transportation. Jim was an avid white water kayaker who paddled most of the Olympic Peninsula’s rivers. In addition to the excitement and scenery, kayaking enabled him to observe over time the dynamic interplay of forests, hydrology, and geology that creates salmon habitat. He’s been deeply impressed by the skill and commitment of the NOSC staff and their capacity to plan, finance, and carry out landscape scale projects such as the Marrowstone Island bridge/Kilisut Harbor channel restoration.


Vern Bessey, Secretary Jefferson County

Vern was born and raised in Port Angeles, where he developed a love for the outdoors camping with the family and backpacking in the Olympics.  He left in his early 20’s and worked for the US Forest Service, BLM, and National Park Service before settling into a job with a city as environmental programs manager.  During those working years he completed a BS degree in Environmental Science and a Masters in Environmental Management.  Upon retirement, Vern and Vida returned to the Olympic Peninsula and settled in Port Townsend.  Vern has been a NOSC volunteer since 2016, participating in chum and coho salmon surveys and habitat restoration projects.  He enjoys gardening, live music, hiking, and exploring wild places.  Vern believes strongly in NOSC’s mission to restore salmon habitat and help educate the next generation and looks forward to helping support this important work.


Sarah Hadlock Jefferson County

Sarah joined the NOSC board at the end of 2021. She is a CPA and the owner of The Business Guides, an accounting firm focused on small businesses and their owners. Sarah studied studio art, economics, and accounting at Linfield College, and following graduation, moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico and traveled in India before returning to the Northwest. After several years in fundraising in Seattle, she and her husband Justin relocated to Port Townsend. When she’s not at the office, Sarah and Justin are likely out looking for birds to add to their life list (700+) or dreaming up travel plans to tropical environments. In fair weather she joins Justin on their Rustler 31 sailboat out on Port Townsend Bay or on trips to the San Juan Islands.


Hansi Hals, Vice Chair Director of Natural Resources, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

Hansi has always had a love of the outdoors and wild places. It was only natural to study plants and work toward conservation and ecological restoration. She spent years studying ozone pollution and its effects on timber along the eastern seaboard. Now, Hansi works on multiple natural resource management issues for Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe including improving water quality and salmon habitat. Hansi’s experience includes field work, grant writing, project management; and patience and persistence for getting through meetings and process. She holds a BS. from Colby College and MS. From the University of New Hampshire.


Don Dybeck Jefferson County

Don grew up in Southern California and graduated from UCLA in 1966. He then participated in the Vietnam conflict with a Navy helicopter combat rescue unit. He moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1970 and worked in the investment industry for 33 years. He and Celeste have lived in Port Townsend for 18 years where Don served on the Jefferson Land Trust Board for several years. He has been a Red Cross disaster volunteer at a number of major hurricanes. Don has been a serious sport fisherman for 50 years.


Andy Brastad Clallam County

Andy and his wife moved from Gainesville Florida to Port Angeles in August 1979. He had numerous jobs from 1979 to 1985 working for NOAA in the Foreign Observer program monitoring fish catchments on Korean and Japanese stern trawlers; helping with a halibut population study (i.e. documenting catch data on an antiquated long-liner) in the Kodiak/Seward area for the International Halibut Commission; tracking salmon with radio transmitters sewed into their gut for a study on the importance of log jams in the salmon life cycle (WDNR); and documenting the smolt migration patterns, physical damage, and motility rates through two dams on the Elwha river (ONP). From 1985 to 2020 he was employed by Clallam County working in natural resources programs, environmental health and human services.  His work included watershed management planning, ground and surface water programs, instream flow rule development, water quality protection strategies for shellfish growing areas and he also represented Clallam County in numerous natural resource planning committees.  He retired in August 2020 as the Director of the Health and Human Service Department. In his personal life he likes to fill his free time doing physical activities. He enjoys hiking, bicycling, riding and fixing his Harley which he has been doing for over 40 years.  For relaxation he practices Qi Gong, an ancient Chinese meditation practice to improve heath, and once a week he teaches Qi Gong at the Port Angeles Senior Center.