Columbia River Restoration Fund

Elaine (Yakama citizen from the Kamiltpah and Wilawitis bands) is respected for both her professional and educational accomplishments as well as her dedication in the longhouse communities to the culture of the Columbia River Plateau people. Prior to taking on her role as Watershed Department Manager at the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), Elaine worked in a number of different capacities for the Yakama Nation Fisheries program, including project manager for the Rock Creek Fish and Habitat project, Hydrosystems Oversight Coordinator, and Environmental Coordinator.

Elaine’s work and experience makes her uniquely prepared to combine traditional wisdom and knowledge with Western science in the efforts to save salmon and the rivers where they live. 

She has also served as an Executive Board Member of Columbia Land Trust , board member of the Friends of the White Salmon, and partners with Columbia Riverkeeper, an organization that protects the Columbia River, the environment, and supports tribes to protect treaty-reserved resources.

Elaine holds a BSc in Aquatic and Fisheries Science from the University of Washington; a MSc in Resources Management from Central Washington University; a Certification in River Restoration from Portland State University; and is currently pursuing a PhD in Natural Resources and Conservation from the University of Idaho.   

Roy is a first generation Japanese American, born in Tokyo and raised in Southern California. His love for Oregon rivers has led to a 20-year career in water quality and watershed management in local government. He leads the Clean Rivers Coalition, a collaborative partnership of public and non-profit organizations, that launched Follow the Water, the first statewide clean water outreach campaign in Oregon. He has a Master’s degree in Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, and a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture. He is a co-author of The American Highway: Two Voices, a travelogue based on his motorcycle travels across the United States and Canada.

Roselyn Poton is a Filipina American, mother, and first-generation college graduate. The intersection of environmental justice, community focus, and health guides Poton’s work as Water Justice Coordinator at Verde and Coordinating Team Member at Oregon Water Future’s Collaborative (OWF). 

Nurtured over the years, Poton’s motivation to work with water grew through professional roles and academic studies. Her passion began as a healthcare professional where she learned to compassionately navigate complex relationships that required patience, creative problem solving, and collaborative skills to manage and care for diverse populations with different health needs to promote positive health outcomes. Continuing to fuel her passion, Poton earned a MS in General Social Science with a concentration in Environment, Globalization, and Policy and double minoring in Global Health and Global Studies from the University of Oregon (UofO). This experience showed her how important the environment is in influencing health and how policies shape the world around us. Poton’s interest in the environment deepened when she participated in the study abroad program, Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice and inspired her to co-found the student-led group at UofO, Students for Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice (SIREJ). Poton knew after completing the study abroad program that she needed to better understand how to navigate complex environmental issues to achieve her goals. Poton then obtained a MS in Conflict and Dispute Resolution specializing in Environmental Conflicts involving water from UofO.

Poton understands that a healthy environment is the foundation for health and that communities and relationships are key to furthering water and environmental justice. Without access to clean and safe water, land, and air – communities and the life that compose them cannot exist in healthy and balanced ways. To help further water and environmental justice, Poton serves on the Columbia Riverkeeper Restoration Fund as a Committee Member at Seeding Justice and Steering Committee Member at Water, Equity, and Climate Resilience Caucus, and a Board Member for Building Capacity for Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research on Water and Society at Portland State University. 

Mary Lou Soscia worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency in Washington DC and the Pacific Northwest for 38 years. Protecting human health and ecosystem restoration in Indian Country throughout the US and especially in the Pacific NW was a key foundation for her work: she provided leadership for the Oregon human health criteria to protect high tribal fish consumers, the most protective state criteria in the nation at that time. 

She also created and led the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program which became a Clean Water Act amendment and received $79 million from Congress in 2021 to reduce toxics to protect human health and increase ecosystem resilience. A leader for over 25 years on Columbia River water temperature issues and decisions—which have become more critical and complex with a warming climate—she’s also worked for the States of Maryland, Wyoming, and Oregon; and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. 

Mary Lou has a Bachelor’s in Geography from Virginia Tech and a Master’s in Geography from University of Maryland.