Our Team and Partners
Organizational Principles
Our commitment to the following principles will build loyalty and trust with the Vashon community, consumers, employees, and key stakeholders.
Focused on the total impact of the organization – environmental, social, and financial
Committing to respecting and supporting the cultural, religious, and historical role that Puget Sound represents to the Tribes
Full operational transparency to catalyze replication by others
Best in class operator with primary focus of environment protection
The Vashon Kelp Forest project is committed to partnering with the key stakeholders in Puget Sound including local Tribes, environmental science and education centers (i.e., Puget Sound Restoration Fund, Vashon Nature Center, Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust), research organizations (i.e., Washington Seaweed Collaborative, Pacific Shellfish Institute, NOAA), and the Vashon community.
Mike Kollins and his family in front of the proposed site.
Mike Kollins
Mike spent most of 2023 as the interim Chief Operating Officer of myAgro, an international non-profit working with farmers to help them overcome poverty and food insecurity. Prior to that, Mike spent five years as the Chief Program Officer at Splash International, an international non-profit focused on improving water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions at schools, and healthcare facilities in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to that Mike served as Chief Operating Officer of PATH (a global health non-profit) and COO of World Bicycle Relief. Prior to those roles in the philanthropic sector, Mike spent 15 years in Asia, Australia, and Europe working in a variety of product marketing and distribution roles for Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Mike, his wife Allison, and their daughter are often found at Fern Cove near their home on Burma Road.
FOUNDER
EXTERNAL ADVISORS
Phil Bloch
Phil Bloch is a Managing Senior Ecologist at Confluence Environmental. Phil has worked as an ecologist since 2000, focused on marine nearshore ecology, GIS/spatial planning, habitat mitigation/restoration, and habitat assessment. Phil has contributed to state-wide conservation programs, habitat conservation plan development, biological assessments, environmental impact statements, and field studies. He has worked on environmental compliance strategy for large, complex projects in the Puget Sound region.
Maite Gato-Fuentes
Maite Gatos-Fuentes is a marine ecologist and environmental activist from Seattle, Washington. She is a scientific diver and received her bachelor’s degree in Marine Science from California State University, Monterey Bay. This fall she is attending the University of Miami to get a master’s degree in Marine Conservation. Her research focuses on benthic ecology, foundation species community dynamics, and marine invertebrate biology.
David Gillingham
David received his BS in Marine Resources from Huxley College at Western Washington University, where he studied kelp growth rates funded through a NOAA research grant. David first learned kelp cultivation lab techniques at Kelco Co. in San Diego before working with American Sea Vegetable Co. and then Applied Algal Research Co. on Vashon Island in their kelp cultivation program and in the production of the Bull Kelp Cultivation Handbook funded through the National Coastal Resources Research and Development Institute.
Tag Gornall
Dr. Tag Gornall, a long-time islander, is one of the world’s foremost marine mammal veterinarians. During his 55+ year career, he worked to help sea otters during and after the Exxon-Valdez oil spill, he has been a consulting veterinarian for the Seattle Aquarium, Pt. Defiance Aquarium, Woodland Park Zoo, and other national and international aquariums, and has consulted with government agencies about the marine ecosystem. He has a BS from UW and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from WSU.
Eric Laschever
Eric is a land use and environmental lawyer with extensive shoreline permitting experience. He is also affiliate faculty at the U.W. School of Marine and Environmental Affairs where he has worked on ocean acidification, aquaculture and ocean and climate change issues.
Lindsay Whitlow
Lindsay is Professor of Biology and Department Chair at Seattle University. His research interests focus on community, population, and behavioral ecology through four components: contamination, urbanization, restoration, and invasion. Professor Whitlow received his B.Sc. in Biology at Duke University and his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan. He has previously taught at Bowdoin College and the University of Washington