Staff and Board
Our Leadership Team
Meet our founders, board of directors, staff, and advisors — team players who spend every day working towards climate solutions. We empower, energize, and engage Ashland and work to protect future generations.
Board of Directors
Lorrie Kaplan
Co-Founder, President
Lorrie has 20+ years of nonprofit leadership experience in the Washington, D.C., area, including 10 years as CEO of the National Home Infusion Association and 8 years as CEO of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. Her expertise includes communications, organizational development, advocacy, and community organizing.
Since 2016, Lorrie has focused her energies and personal development on accelerating adoption of climate solutions at the local level. She’s delighted to be living in Ashland with her husband Bob Kaplan since 2019.
Chris Byrne
Treasurer
Chris is the Sustainability Manager at the Ashland Food Co-op. In 2005, Chris completed a GreenMBA and became a certified Permaculture Instructor in 2006. Since then, he has used these frameworks as a Green Business Development and Integrated Site and Systems Design Consultant. He is also on the Rogue to Go advisory team.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Chris left shortly after college and has lived in Vail, CO, San Francisco, Sonoma County, CA, and Tokyo Japan, among other places. He originally came to call Ashland home in 2005, developing a deep love for the Rogue Valley biome and its people.
Sharon Dohrmann
Secretary
Sharon is a dedicated volunteer for Streets4Everyone and a member of Ashland’s Climate and Environment Policy Advisory Committee (CEPAC). In the past, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa, and as an organizer for the Women’s March Southern Oregon.
Sharon’s professional background is in IT and web development. She was the co-owner of Cypress Technology, an IT consulting company in San Francisco, before she moved to Ashland with her husband and two children in 2014. She currently works as the IS Coordinator for American Promise.
Rick Barth
Co-Founder, Board Member
Rick is a 20+ year Ashland resident. Prior to moving to Ashland with his wife and young daughters, he spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley working in research, development, and leadership positions. While living in Ashland, Rick has served in leadership and advisory capacities with multiple local nonprofit and government organizations. He has served in a variety of advisory roles for the City of Ashland, including as chair of the Climate Policy Commission and member of the Climate and Environment Policy Advisory Committee (CEPAC).
Candace Turtle
Co-Founder, Board Member Emeritus
has a background in communications and development. She served as a reporter and an award-winning editor for The Miami Herald and San Jose Mercury News, as well as in management positions. She later managed communications and marketing for Trend Micro, Inc. in its start-up phase. Locally, Candace has served as executive director of Ballet Folklorico Ritmo Alegre and managed communications and development for the Ashland Independent Film Festival. She currently heads Rotary of Ashland’s Environment & Sustainability Committee and sits on the board of the J.F. Kapnek Trust.
Meet our Staff
Erin O’Kelley Muck
Executive Director
Erin spent 22+ years as the owner of Ruby Slipper Designs, an award-winning web and marketing firm specializing in nonprofits. In July 2024, good fortune opened the door at the Ashland Climate Collaborative, where she joined as their first Executive Director. Her optimistic outlook, creative brainpower, and belief in the power of community engagement are the perfect ingredients for this role. She’s thrilled to energize her beloved community of Ashland to work together on climate solutions. Since 2019, Erin has focused on climate work, amassing strategies for communicating the power of community action. Special thanks to SOCAN and their Master Climate Protector course. She loves living in beautiful Ashland with her husband Chris Muck.
Isobel Whitcomb
Communications Assistant
Isobel has 5+ years of professional experience as a magazine journalist and science communicator, with writing published in The New York Times, Sierra Magazine, High Country News, Scientific American, Canary Media, and more. Their award-winning work covering conservation, the climate crisis, and land-use has appeared in two editions of the Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology. Born and raised in Ashland, Isobel joined ACC in 2022. They’re passionate about the importance of change at a local level to advance global climate solutions and believe that by responding to climate change, we have the opportunity to build overall more resilient, equitable communities.
Jay Preskenis
Community Outreach Specialist
Jay Preskenis is an educator and leader with over 30 years of experience in environmental stewardship and education. He has designed and implemented programs like the Social Action Environmental Justice (SAEJ) program at Ashland High School and taught Wilderness Charter School. During his tenure, he integrated sustainability and social action into student learning. As Coordinator of Student Services in Ashland and Principal in Medford, Jay led efforts that prioritized environmental consciousness alongside academic achievement, shaping students into responsible, eco-aware citizens.
A passionate advocate for conservation, Jay has championed initiatives like the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and led backpacking clubs for middle and high school students. His personal commitment to the environment is reflected in his love for backpacking, fly-fishing, and trail running. His leadership combines environmental advocacy with education, making him a driving force for positive change in both the Ashland community and beyond.
Ross Winters
Intern
Ross Winters is a recent SOU Honors College graduate with a degree in business administration. He has experience as an intern for ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum, as a solar energy field marketer for Purelight Power, and as a ski instructor at Mount Ashland Ski Area. He brings a strong sense of social responsibility, a motivation to act locally, and a desire to learn as much as he can and garner experience as an intern assisting the Streets for Everyone team.
His childhood in Mt. Shasta, love for outdoor sports, and passion for protecting the natural world brought him to the Ashland Climate Collaborative, where he hopes to learn the skills necessary to start a career in climate solutions.
Meet our Advisors
Becs Walker
Advisor
Operations Director, Institute for Applied Sustainability
Southern Oregon University
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
– Dr. Jane Goodall, Scientist & Activist