Staff
Our team of professional river champions are dedicated to protecting and restoring the Clark Fork watershed.
Sam Carlson
Staff Scientist
Joined 2024
Sam works to interpret, evaluate, and expand our scientific understanding of the Clark Fork River. He brings a determination to apply science to conservation challenges, a broad interest in ecology, and a background in water quality, hydrology, and data science. Before joining the CFC, Sam was an Assistant Research Professor at Montana State University, where he worked on investigations of landscape-scale patterns of stream temperature and stream metabolism, examinations of the relationship between streamflow and water quality, and efforts to develop accessible resources for sharing ecological insights and data. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Environmental Science from Montana State University. Outside of work, Sam can most likely be found in a canoe or on a bicycle.
Brian Chaffin
Executive Director
brian@clarkfork.org
(406) 550-5503
Joined 2024
Brian has dedicated his career to the health and wellbeing of rivers and river communities worldwide. Prior to joining CFC, Brian was a professor of water policy in the W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation at the University of Montana. His teaching and research projects focused heavily on the Clark Fork River watershed, guiding students through explorations of the challenges of managing water supplies in a changing climate and amid shifting social values. Prior to university service, Brian worked as a wilderness river guide, a river ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, and a research fellow at the U.S. EPA. He and his wife Jenni also founded a non-profit dedicated to supporting the health and strength of the professional outdoor guiding community. Brian holds a Ph.D. from Oregon State University where he studied water resources geography and gained skills in water conflict management and transformation. Since arriving in Montana, Brian has leveraged his training to support Clark Fork River communities in pursuit of win-win projects that both protect water quality and support basin livelihoods. Brian and Jenni live in Missoula with a pack of mischievous dogs and cats. When not advocating for the future of the Clark Fork watershed, they enjoy year-round outdoor activities from the desert southwest to the arctic tundra. It’s likely you’ll see Brian on a river or behind binoculars somewhere in the Five Valleys.
Andy Fischer
Project Manager
andy@clarkfork.org
(406) 550-5501
Joined 2011
Andy restores stream flows to creeks and rivers in western Montana. He partners with water rights holders and irrigation groups on projects that benefit both fish and farmers, including water conservation measures such as canal piping, water leasing, and diversion reduction agreements. Andy was born and raised in Missoula and has an intimate knowledge of the waterways of western Montana. He holds an M.S. in resource conservation with an emphasis in water resource management from the University of Montana and a B.A. in environmental studies from Whitman College. In his free time, Andy enjoys exploring Montana through hunting, fishing, biking, and skiing.
Chloe Gibson
Accounting & Human Resources Manager
chloe@clarkfork.org
(406) 550-5508
Joined 2020
Chloe brings with her a background in corporate accounting, mainly focusing on assurance services, and the aspiration to use her skills and knowledge in the conservation industry. At CFC she is responsible for our accounting systems, operations, policies, and procedures, along with assuring compliance on grants and contracts. A West Virginia native, Chloe holds a B.S. in Accounting and an MBA from West Virginia Wesleyan College. In her free time, she enjoys all things outside!
Andrew Gorder
Policy & Legal Director
andrew@clarkfork.org
(406) 550-5502
Joined 2017
As CFC’s Policy & Legal Director, Andrew develops and advances advocacy strategies for protecting and restoring the Clark Fork watershed, conducts water rights research, works to secure change authorizations for instream flow, and advocates for protective and progressive water laws and policies at the state and local levels. Before joining CFC in 2017, he practiced public interest environmental law in Montana state and federal courts and served as a Water Master for the Montana Water Court. He holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Wyoming (2006) and a J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law (2011).
Lily Haines
Community Programs Manager
lily@clarkfork.org
(406) 550-5516
Joined 2015
Lily organizes and manages CFC’s community-based programming, including watershed education for youth, field outings for adults, and volunteer opportunities that build a culture of river stewardship and connect people to their local creeks and streams. Before joining CFC, Lily worked for the Bureau of Land Management as a riparian health and restoration specialist and was an educator for spectrUM Discovery Area, the Montana Natural History Center, and Ecology Project International. Lily grew up in Montana and graduated from the University of Montana with a B.A. in botany/ecology, a Master Certificate in GIS, and ancillary master’s work focusing on aquatic ecosystems.
Eric Hull
Streamflow Project Manager
eric@clarkfork.org
406-550-5506
Eric manages a suite of flow restoration projects in the Clark Fork basin, helping fulfill the goals of CFC’s Restoration Strategy by developing projects with private landowners and other partners. He grew up exploring the woods and waters of western Pennsylvania before moving to Montana on a college Exchange Program and a whim. He quickly fell in love with his new home and has spent the last 15 years learning about Montana’s landscapes while working to conserve them.
Eric’s been lucky enough to work all across western Montana, ranging from land stewardship in the Centennial Valley to tour guiding as a boat captain in Glacier National Park. He brings additional experience with (Tribal) water rights, habitat conservation, computer mapping, and cooperation with multiple stakeholders. He and his delightful wife enjoy maintaining their small property in the Mission Valley. Off the property, Eric enjoys most outdoor pursuits as an avid backpacker, angler, and hunter-conservationist.
Emily McGuirt
Monitoring and Data Program Manager
emily@clarkfork.org
(406) 550-5512
Joined 2021
Emily provides monitoring and technical support for instream flow projects as well as manages projects designed to improve water quality, streamflow, fisheries, and watershed health. She has a background in GIS, and conducts geospatial analyses and visualizations to support project development. She holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from UNC-Chapel Hill and has extensive field and research experience with the Clearwater Resource Council, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, and NOAA.
Morgan McNeill
Communications Manager
morgan@clarkfork.org
406-550-5507
Joined 2024
As a sixth generation Montanan who grew up on the Clark Fork River in Sanders County, Morgan has developed an intimate connection with the natural world and the streams and rivers that make Western Montana so unique and cherished. After earning a B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Montana, she had the opportunity to explore her love of graphic design and marketing and never looked back. Morgan is a passionate, values-driven marketing professional with over 15 years of experience, who understands the importance of providing clear, effective, and compelling messaging to help drive meaningful change. She is also a self-proclaimed bug nerd with a love for the little things that run the world, with spiders specifically holding a special place in her heart. She can often be found on horseback with her friends and family competing or on the trails, paddleboarding with her husband Alec, or in her garden planting more plants (you can never have too many plants).
Liz Murphy
Development & Special Events Manager
liz@clarkfork.org
(406) 550-5513
Joined 2010
Liz plays a key role in supporting all fundraising initiatives at CFC, coordinating special events like the annual River Cleanup, and assisting with day-to-day operations. Originally from the Chicago area, Liz has valuable experience in communications, public relations, and nonprofit fundraising, having worked with renowned organizations like The Joffrey Ballet. She earned a B.A. in Government from St. Lawrence University. Outside of work, Liz enjoys exploring the natural beauty of Montana with her husband and two daughters, taking full advantage of all that living and recreating have to offer in Montana.
Adam Switalski
Project Manager
adam@clarkfork.org
(406) 550-5510
Joined 2021
Adam brings over 20 years of experience in restoration ecology in Montana, working both for nonprofits and in the private sector as an environmental consultant. Adam works collaboratively with state and federal agencies, private landowners, and conservation partners to develop and implement habitat restoration projects across the Bitterroot and Blackfoot watersheds. He specializes in restoring aquatic habitat and reducing erosion associated with roads, stream crossings, and streambanks. He holds an M.S. in fish and wildlife from Utah State University and spends his spare time biking, skiing, yurting, and paddling around Missoula with his family.
Jess Walter
Development Director
jess@clarkfork.org
(406) 550-5505
Joined 2023
Jess leads the Clark Fork Coalition’s wildly talented and dedicated team of fundraising, communications, and community programs staff. After a childhood well spent on glacier-carved lakes and trails of Wisconsin, she earned a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Northern Colorado with a minor in School Health Education and a post-baccalaureate secondary ELA teaching certificate. Her career includes nearly a decade of driving individual and corporate fundraising at NPR affiliate stations in Colorado and Montana and a seven-year stint overseas doing freelance copywriting, editing, transcribing, and portrait photography for a host of international clients. Committed to honoring and building upon CFC’s legacy with creative revenue generation, sustainable community engagement, collaborative external partnerships, and a genuine interest in how her colleagues’ days are going, she’s honored to work alongside the best of the best to better understand and protect the Clark Fork, Montana’s largest river by volume–and, arguably, its hardest working one.
Gretchen Watkins
Restoration Project Manager
gretchen@clarkfork.org
406-550-5514
Joined 2024
Gretchen joined CFC in 2024 after she brought in a speaker from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for her Big Sky High School Engineering students to learn about the Silver Bow Creek Restoration, They were amazed we could fix past industrial pollution and her students inspired her to get back into restoration. Before teaching Gretchen worked as a hydrologist, engineer, and water resource specialist for public and private institutions protecting human and environmental health by designing and regulating infrastructure. Right out of grad school she worked for USFS Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District setting up contracts for fish passage and stream restoration. Her longest job was managing the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Clean Water Act Section 106, 319, 303 and 404 programs where she wrote and implemented the first federally approved numeric tribal water quality standards in EPA Region 5. Gretchen has her MS in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University and BS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In her free time, she enjoys being outside with her family and friends in the mountains and waterways of the Northern Rockies.
Jed Whiteley
Stream Restoration Director
jed@clarkfork.org
(406) 550-5509
Joined 2013
Jed works to develop and implement restoration solutions for impaired tributary streams throughout the Clark Fork. Jed specializes in the development of flow and stream restoration projects in the Bitterroot Valley and the Middle Clark Fork. He guides our strategic management of project-area creeks and streams. Jed holds a B.S. in natural resource management and forestry with a concentration in environmental management from California Polytechnic State University. He also has 19 years of experience in river and ecological restoration, working in positions from field technician to company president. Most notably, he ran S&K Environmental from 2007 to 2012 and was instrumental in growing the company. Jed is an avid fisherman, boater, hunter, and backpacker.
River Ambassadors
Tami McDaniel
River Ambassador Coordinator
