WaterWatch Staff Bios
John DeVoe, Executive Director
503.295.4039 x1
e-mail: john at waterwatch.org
John joined the WaterWatch staff in 2003 after practicing law for 13 years in Portland, most recently as a partner in a larger Portland law firm. John’s practice focused on environmental and natural resource issues as well as condemnation and civil litigation. He earned his law degree with honors from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana in 1990, and a B.A. in Philosophy from Columbia College in New York in 1985. John is a member of numerous conservation organizations and enjoys birding and backcountry skiing. He is thrilled to work on behalf of Oregon’s rivers (and their inhabitants).
Lisa Brown, Staff Attorney
503.295-4039 x4
e-mail: lisa at waterwatch.org
Lisa joined WaterWatch as a Staff Attorney in 2004. She has worked with Northwest conservation groups on watershed and aquatic habitat protection projects for many years, as well as for an aquatic research group at the Pacific Northwest Research Station in Corvallis. Lisa earned her B.S. in Environmental Science from Oregon State University with honors, and graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School, cum laude, with a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law. She is a member of the Oregon Bar.
Kimberley Priestley, Senior Policy Analyst
503.295.4039 x3
e-mail: kjp at waterwatch.org
Kimberley Priestley is the Senior Policy Analyst with WaterWatch of Oregon. Kimberley advocates for legal and policy reforms to protect and restore Oregon rivers statewide, with a particular emphasis on ensuring protection of Oregon’s rivers in the state legislature and safeguarding the waters of the Deschutes Basin. Kimberley has been with WW since 1993. She earned her J.D. from the University of Washington, where she also earned an L.L.M. in International Environmental Law. She earned her B.S. from the University of California at Berkeley.
Michele Adams, Outreach and Development Coordinator
503.295.4039 x2
email: michele at waterwatch.org
Michele began working with WaterWatch in the spring of 2011 as a volunteer, and was hired as the Outreach and Development Coordinator in 2012. Prior to joining WaterWatch, Michele was project manager for a recreation data collection study for Region 6 of the U.S. Forest Service. Michele previously worked for the U.S. Geological Survey, Metro, and an executive recruiting firm. She brings experience in market research, environmental science, project/program coordination, and office administration. Michele earned a B.S., in Geography and Economics from the University of Oregon. In her free time, Michele is an avid whitewater kayaker and loves spending time outside, preferably near a river.
Part-time Staff
Brad Hill, Associate Staff Attorney
503.295.4039 x0
brad at waterwatch.org
University of Oregon, J.D., 2010
Cornell University, B.S., Applied Economics, Management and Communications, 2007
Nancy Drinnon, Comptroller
503.295.4039 x5
nancy at waterwatch.org
Seattle Pacific University, B.S., 1982
Contractors
Jim Myron, Lobbyist
Jim Myron is an independent contract lobbyist working on natural resource related issues. His specialties include native fish protection and restoration as well as water policy and river health issues. Myron’s career as a lobbyist began during the 1989 session of the Oregon Legislature. Since that time, in addition to being a lobbyist, Myron has also worked as the Conservation Director of Oregon Trout, a native fish conservation organization, from 1995 to 2003. He left Oregon Trout to work for newly elected Governor Ted Kulongoski as his Natural Resource Policy Advisor. After three years working for the governor, he continued his employment with the state as the Legislative Coordinator for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. In that position, he also advised the agency’s Director on policies relating to the management of state park lands. Myron left state government in 2008 and returned to his job as an independent lobbyist. Prior to becoming involved in natural resource policy issues, Myron spent twenty plus years as a life and health insurance agent in the Willamette Valley. Myron is married with three grown children and three grandchildren. He and his wife reside in the small town of Canby and spend part of the summer at property they own east of Prineville in the Upper Crooked River Valley.
Jim McCarthy, Communications
Jim McCarthy, as an independent consultant, has provided communication, lobbying, and organizing services to environmental non-profits in Oregon and California since 2002. His clients have included Earthjustice, Oregon Wild, WaterWatch of Oregon, Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, and The Larch Company. Jim has specialized in Endangered Species Act, water policy, hydropower relicensing, and agricultural subsidy issues. He has published numerous op-eds, articles, and reports, and has testified as an expert witness before the Oregon and California public utility commissions. Prior to joining the conservation movement full-time, Jim worked as a writer and editor. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University in 1996.
