Meet the Team

Team Members

Sarah Altemus-Pope

Coordinator & Facilitator

Sarah convened the SWFC as a University of Oregon master’s degree project in 2014 and was hired as the SWFC coordinator in 2016.

Sarah grew up in Oakridge and attended the University of Oregon where she graduated with a JD/MA Conflict Resolution. Sarah was a smokejumper in Missoula, MT for ten years and spent the last three years of her forest service career in Washington D.C. working for International Programs. For the past five years, she has guided the SWFC’s growth with the assistance of a ten-person steering committee. Sarah has secured all SWFC funding through grants from the Oregon Department of Forestry, the National Forest Foundation and the Willamette National Forest. Sarah has also helped to secure funding for SWFC partners to implement work that the SWFC supports.

Email: director@swfcollaborative.org

Trisha Maxfield

Outreach Coordinator

Trisha started as an intern in 2016 and has since filled the Outreach Coordinator position in 2018. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 2017 with a bachelors degree in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Planning and Public Policy. She spent 8 years in the Oregon Army National Guard with a combat deployment to Afghanistan in 2014. She has also worked as a seasonal wildland firefighter on the Umpqua National Forest and as a fire lookout on the Willamette National Forest.

She grew up in Oakridge and comes back to her rural hometown with a fierce passion to create positive change. She is currently on Oakridge City Council. She works with air attainment partners in Oakridge, coordinates the Community Firewood Program and the Woodshed Project. In her downtime she enjoys wandering around our National Forests, running trails, and hiking with her pup.

Email: staff@swfcollaborative.org

Katie Fields

Intern

Katie is interning with SWFC this spring while she completes concurrent master’s degrees in conflict and dispute resolution and public administration at the University of Oregon. She looks forward to helping prepare for, facilitate, and write reports for meetings for SWFC and supporting Oakridge throughout spring term. Her academic, career, and personal interests center around collaborative governance and environmental policy that works for both rural and urban communities.

Katie is a Wyoming native and earned her bachelor’s degree in English and Environment and Natural Resource Studies from the University of Wyoming. She relocated to the Pacific Northwest in 2011 after spending a summer working as an AmeriCorps volunteer through the Wyoming Conservation Corps. Prior to returning to school, Katie spent several years working in communications related to the built environment.

Katie Kerekes

Intern

Katie is interning with SWFC during the spring months of 2019 to assist in the After Action Review process for the city of Oakridge as we analyze the response to the winter snow storm and determine community inclusive suggestions for improvement. She is looking forward to facilitating group discussions, conducting interviews, and writing the final After Action Review report.

Katie is working on concurrent Masters in Nonprofit Management and Conflict and Dispute Resolution at the University of Oregon. Her interests and experience lie in disaster relief and response, specifically from a logistic and program support perspective. She is attracted to the hands-on, yet behind the scenes work and is excited to get a glimpse into the collaborative governance aspect of the After Action Review process. Before moving to the Pacific Wonderland, Katie called home to the just as wonderful Wilmington, North Carolina and she enjoys making sure she (and her pup) get as much exercise and sunshine as possible.