SKILLS

Entrepreneur, project manager, proposal writer, watershed restoration practitioner, community involvement coordinator, outreach and media specialist,  Geographic Information Systems (GIS) professional and manager, citizen science leader, resiliency and climate climate change planner, workshop/conference organizer.

 

EXPERIENCE

Senior Natural Resources Project manager, SWCA, Portland OR — 6/2017 - present

As part time business development staff, I laid the groundwork for a new Natural Resources Program for Portland, Oregon Office, developed strategy to capture national funding for water resources efforts with Pacific Northwest First Nations and restoration practitioners. Currently working with SWCA as contractor on projects initiated during first 6 months.

 

Owner, Sandra Coveny LLC, portland or — 1997-present

Incorporating Climate Change Data into Restoration Planning for Army Corps of Engineers project planning process

 

Resiliency Modeling for Climate change,  North Santiam Watershed Council in Oregon

GIS and program support for Forever Wild Seafood Club (ongoing)

Co-founder, first president, Board of Advisers, International Scholarship grant reviewer and program support, and developed a Strategic Plan for International Society for Conservation GIS (www.scgis.org)

 

Senior Natural Resource Planner, PC Trask and Associates, Portland OR — 2009-2014

Technical team leader developing a strategy for project selection and prioritization for Action Agencies to recover, and measure improvements in habitat and populations of endangered salmon. Developed and published a planning tool called:  Landscape Planning Framework for the Columbia River Estuary, together with University of Washington, Bonneville Power Authority, Columbia River Tribes, land trusts and advocacy groups, and Army Corps of Engineers.

 

Co-author of Vancouver Lake WA Technical Foundations for restoration and recovery projects

Managed the GIS team and technical experts, helped score salmon restoration projects on the Columbia River Estuary for Bonneville Power Authority funding.

 

Convened 25-30 Columbia River Estuary stakeholders (Including: PNNL, OHSU, USACE, BPA, NOAA, NMFS, CRest, tribes, Land Trusts, watershed groups,  UofW, OSU, DEQ, Ecology, County, City and State agencies)  for several highly technical workshops about salmon restoration planning tools, and planning for climate changes on Columbia River Estuary. 

 

Executive director, Marys River Watershed Council, Corvallis Oregon — 1997-2009

Raised over $4m for watershed restoration projects for small watershed council, developed, and managed all projects, contractors and staff. Won state-wide recognition as Model Watershed, Pilot for integration of Watershed Restoration and K-12 education, and StreamNet Pilot for (then) Oregon Trout. Won Governors award (and selected for Oregon Solutions) for our Landscape-scale community restoration project in Cardwell Hills Community.

 

EDUCATION

University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 

b.s. botany, 1985; 

m.s forest science and GIS, 1994