Blake is an environmental scientist specializing in the development and application of advanced technologies for the conservation of biodiversity, habitats, and ecosystems. Blake has spent eight years developing a non-profit organization called Earthspan, Inc. (www.earthspan.org) , which is dedicated to wildlife research and education. Blake was formerly the Director of the Center for Conservation Research & Technology (CCRT) at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), which has since merged with Earthspan, Inc. to form one organization under the banner of Earthspan, Inc.. Blake's specialty is in wildlife biotelemetry technology (especially biotelemetry via satellite), a set of research tools that can provide natural history information about threatened and endangered species and other species of interest. Blake is also a partner with North Star Science and Technology, LLC, a manufacturer of satellite transmitters for birds. Blake has a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.S. in environmental science and Policy from Johns Hopkins University. Blake also consults with a company in Virginia called Angler Environmental, which provides wetland, stream, and aquatic resource expertise and services to the state, local counties, and to land developers.

Blake is an avid fly fisherman and boater, and shares a deep commitment to conserve rivers and river systems as essential components of healthy ecosystems.
 

Emily has a passion for rivers and wild places that developed when she was a little girl learning how to fly fish with her family. She guided rivers and taught kayaking for 10 years and was a naturalist guide for Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. Emily first became involved with Headwaters as a Seminar Coordinator in 1998 and was managing at the National level until 2001. Since then she has advised the organization and facilitated the Workshop for Watershed Educators. Currently she lives in Woody Creek, Colorado where she is raising a toddler, teaching yoga and helping advise Headwaters Institute as a Board Member with a focus on Education Programs.
 

Katherine Luscher, River Network's Partnership Program Director, annually provides hundreds of locally-led watershed conservation groups with organizational development and conservation-specific assistance. Additionally, she edits "River Voices," a quarterly journal for river conservationists and coordinates both the National River Rally and the National Heroes Award Banquet. Katherine joined River Network in 1995 after completing the Environmental Masters Program at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. In her free time, she enjoys guiding trips on the Rogue River (OR), dutch-oven cooking, flyfishing and trying to determine the subtle differences between whitewater kayaking and swimming.
 

Andy co-founded the Institute in 1996. He guided rivers in California, Oregon, and Idaho for ten years and instructed for the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School for seven. Andy directed Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom, an experiential learning field studies program for high school students, from 1996 to 1999, where he developed specialized curricula centered on the Colorado and Rio Grande watersheds.

He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Hydrological Sciences Program at the University of Nevada at Reno. His research focuses on the abiotic controls of aquatic communities in stream ecosystems. He lives in Truckee, CA with his wife, son, and twin daughters.