Kristin Carpenter will be stepping down as the Copper River Watershed Project executive director this fall.
Carpenter has been the executive director since 1999.
“This is a good time for a new leader,” she said. “We have a strong board with representation from both the Copper Basin and Cordova, and after 20 years, it’s time for a new energy to take the lead. I’ll still be involved, I’m not leaving Cordova, I just want to see a thoughtful transition take place.”
Robin Mayo, CRWP board chair and executive director of Wrangell Institute for Science and Environment, said the position will be advertised as open by March.
CRWP promotes a salmon-rich, intact watershed and culturally diverse communities by forming partnerships for watershed-scale planning and projects.
“This organization started as an idea in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, when people were trying to figure out how to diversify our fishing economy,” Carpenter said. “Cherri Shaw, who was executive director of Cordova District Fishermen United at the time, spoke at a meeting on sustainable development and said that the effort wouldn’t be worthwhile without talking to folks upriver, where the majority of the Copper River system’s salmon spawning takes place.”
The organization has grown from its early days of one staff person to four.
“I’m most proud of the partnerships we’ve built,” Carpenter said. “We’ve proven that we can be problem solvers and accomplish important, on-the-ground work that benefits the salmon we all depend on and improves our infrastructure.”
Visit www.copperriver.org for updates on programs and how to get involved.
