Our Board Members
Howard Garrett
Co-founder and President of the Board
Howard Garrett began working as field researcher with the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island in 1981. In 1995 he began campaigning to return Lolita/Tokitae, a So. Resident orca captured in 1970 to her home waters in Puget Sound. In 2001 he and his wife Susan Berta founded Orca Network, non-profit organization based on Whidbey Island, dedicated to raising awareness of the whales of the Pacific Northwest, and the importance of providing them healthy and safe habitats. Howard gives presentations on orca natural history, conservation and captivity issues in Washington and beyond for students and community organizations, and is often interviewed by media for stories about orcas, including in the film Blackfish in 2013.
With a degree in Sociology from Colorado College, his interest is in the social systems and natural history of orcas and the emerging picture of diverse orca populations worldwide, with a focus on the Southern Resident orcas of the Salish Sea and coastal waters. Their diet has been primarily Chinook salmon for millennia, but those salmon are scarce these days.
Dave Anderson
Dave is a former Washington State Representative, veterinarian, commercial fisherman, and an outspoken supporter of salmon restoration, the Free Lolita campaign, and efforts to protect the killer whales of Washington State.
After 20 years as a veterinarian, Dave sold his practice and converted their 20 acre farm into a par three golf course. It is designed to be environmentally friendly, using selective irrigation and minimal chemical inputs.
Dave has been a Parks and Recreation commissioner, a lay leader in the Langley United Methodist Church, and is active in the local community. He continues to spend time working with a community and school group to restore wild salmon runs to Maxwelton Creek. Dave seeks to broaden his, and his community's understanding of issues like long term viability, habitat preservation, and balance of natural systems. Dave is a founding member of the South Whidbey Schools Foundation. His wife Karen was a teacher, and later elected to the South Whidbey School Board for eight years. He also served on the Oil Spill Prevention Task Force and the Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team.
Sandy Dubpernell
Sandy Dubpernell co-coordinates the Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network and is an Island County/WSU Beach Watcher. She also volunteers for the COAST program, surveying beaches for dead shorebirds, and for the Coupeville Art Cooperative where she shows and sells her beautiful stained and fused glass art pieces.
Bob Gentz
Bob Gentz was named the 2016 Jan Holmes Island County Coastal Volunteer of the Year. Bob studies trends in seabird mortality as part of the COASST survey and is a member of the Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network. He is treasurer of Goosefoot, focusing on enhancing the environmental and economic vitality of Bayview Corner, and has been treasurer of three local organizations --Whidbey Audubon for two years, Whidbey Island Fly Fishing Club for more than five years, and Whidbey Watershed Stewards for four years, where he has contributed project management for outdoor classroom construction projects.
Jill Hein
Jill Hein was chosen to be the 2014 Jan Holmes Island County Coastal Volunteer of the Year. Jill moved to Whidbey Island in 2004 after retiring as an administrator at Microsoft. She became an Island County/WSU Beach Watcher in 2005, volunteers with the COASST program, the Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network, has participated in bird banding with WSFWS, eelgrass studies with MRC, and many other conservation activities. When her 2 boys took off for college, she volunteered at Sarvey Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, still feeling the need to clean-up after someone (something), and was a Board member at Sarvey prior to moving to Whidbey Island. Bringing Lolita home is a huge priority, even though she's on a quest to see as many different kinds whales as possible, learning their life cycles and habitat.
Christy Korrow
Christy Korrow has been a Langley resident since 2000 as a magazine editor and rights and permissions manager for a book publishing company. She has a history of civic engagement through her work on the city’s Planning Advisory Board and as a co-founder of Upper Langley, an affordable housing community. She has been chairwoman of the planning advisory board since 2013.
Fred Lundahl
Fred moved to Whidbey Island in 2003 after retiring from 30 years in the United States Foreign Service. During his government service, he worked at American Embassies in Africa, Middle East, South Asia and the former Soviet Union. After moving to Langley, he and his wife opened a carpet and textile store called "Music for the Eyes." In addition to serving on the Orcanetwork Board, Fred has served on the Board of the Island Arts Council and is currently in his second year as president of the Langley Chamber of Commerce. His leisure time is spent kayaking and flying his Cessna.
Debbie Stewart
Debbie moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2015 after sitting at her home in Texas listening to the hydrophones on the internet for a number of years and wanting to connect more closely with the orcas and marine life in the area. Promptly after arriving, she completed the Salish Sea Marine Naturalist program at the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor and began volunteering at Langley Whale Center. In 2016, Debbie became a resident of Whidbey Island. She works for a national engineering consulting firm as a Division Finance Officer where she has extensive experience in financial management, project accounting, budgeting and forecasting, and organizational leadership. When not working or volunteering as the ON database administrator for orca sightings, Debbie is an avid (wannabe) birder and travels extensively to add to the "lifer" list.