Program Director
Program Director, Melissa Fleming, Ph.D., is joined by her daughter and Monitoring Assistant, Kit Ellsworth. who is observing the baiting and setting of traps used for Green Crab Monitoring.
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Melissa Fleming, Ph.D., Program Director, received the science reins from founding partner Joleen Palmer at the first of the year. Melissa earned her doctorate from UW in Animal Behavior, has taught several undergraduate research courses and did her post-doctoral fellowship at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She subsequently worked in conservation genetics studying endemic mammals of the North Pacific coast. She’s lived in Kitsap County since 1999 with her husband, John Ellsworth, and their daughter Katherine (Kit). She is a life-long learner who has thoroughly enjoyed her immersion into environmental science since joining Stillwaters in early 2018.
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Administrative Director

Jennifer Donaldson, Administrative Director, first joined Stillwaters in 2018 as the Administrative Assistant to founding partner Naomi Maasberg. After a couple years in this role her life took her in a new direction, albeit that was a temporary leave from the Stillwaters organization. Now she has found her way back to her home-away-from home. Jennifer holds a BA in geography from the UW, an MBA from WGU as well as a degree in marine carpentry from Seattle Central College. Jennifer split her time growing up between Kingston and West Seattle, spending many summers down at the ‘slough’ with her cousins. She lives in Eglon with her husband, Jaron, and their three daughters. When not in the Stillwaters office she helps run the family construction business, avidly gardens and works on restoring their 110+ year old home.
Program Coordinator

Hanna Brush, program coordinator, joined Stillwaters in August of 2021. Hanna graduated in 2021 from Tufts University, where she double majored in biology and environmental studies. During her time at Tufts, she studied the ecology and nectaring behavior of Puget blue butterflies in southwest Washington’s native short grass prairies. A recent transplant from Portland, Oregon, she is enjoying getting to know life on the water at her home on Miller Bay. Hanna enjoys learning about the plants and animals of this unique estuary environment.