Board of Directors
Sharon Moen, Chair
Sharon Moen is a local artist and business owner, an outreach specialist for Wisconsin Sea Grant and a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps. Sharon earned a master’s degree in ecology, evolution and behavior from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Penn State. Her endeavors have given her a solid grasp of science concerning Lake Superior and the St. Louis River Estuary. When she is not helping FOLSR, Sharon might be found in her pottery studio, paddling a canoe or looking toward the branches of a tree, transfixed by birds. Sharon actively contributes to FOLSR’s communication, marketing, grant writing, and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Jim Gharrity, Treasurer
Jim Gharrity is the Financial Specialist for the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve and serves as the communication link between the grant support and accounting offices of the University of Wisconsin Division of Extension, Wisconsin Sea Grant (Superior) and UW-Superior. In addition to providing fiscal support for the Reserve and Sea Grant, Jim works closely with the development of operational budget and multi-year budget submissions to NOAA. Jim enjoys the outdoors and spends most weekends at his cottage which is an hour south of Superior. Jim has two grown children and two grandchildren.
Lisa DeGuire, Secretary
Lisa DeGuire is an experienced water resource professional and passionate advocate for clean water, healthy ecosystems, and strong communities. She has spent the past 13+ years working in the field of water resources, from the urban streams of Baltimore to the designated wilderness of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. She moved to the Twin Ports for a graduate degree in Water Resources Science from the University of Minnesota – Duluth and has fallen in love with the area. She currently works as the Water Resources Coordinator for the City of Superior and serves as the co-chair of the Regional Stormwater Protection Team, working to prevent stormwater pollution through coordinated educational programs and technical assistance. During her free time, she enjoys swimming, paddling, hiking, and camping along the shores of Lake Superior and other regional waterways.
Tom Hollenhorst
Tom Hollenhorst is a Landscape Ecologist who uses GIS and remote sensing technologies to study ecosystems and communities throughout the Great Lakes. Tom has been working in the St. Louis River estuary on various research efforts since 2008. He loves to get out on, or near the water, for any reason, especially fishing, canoeing and hiking. He also loves learning about Twin Ports history and interesting characters from our past.
Will Mowchan
Will has been coming to Lake Superior’s North Shore since he was a boy on family vacations. When he and his wife moved to Superior in 2011 he began discovering the St. Louis River Estuary. Now, retired after 38 years as a Lutheran minister, Will looks forward to working with the board in its work to restore and protect the Estuary, enhance access to it, and engage more people in experiencing and learning about its beauty, history and importance.
Judy Gibbs
Judy is a lifelong environmental educator and helped bring Duluth's Hartley Nature Center to life. She can often be found outdoors in all seasons and weather hiking, running, bicycling, canoeing or any other way possible. Judy illustrated Larry Weber's phenology book, Backyard Almanac, and is working on a third book about the Superior Hiking Trail and the history of Duluth along it. The St. Louis River has been a big part of Judy's adult life and she couldn't live away from it and is happy to be involved with FOLSR.
Greg Elonen
Greg Elonen is recently retired from 30+ years in environmental studies. Greg and his wife Colleen live in Superior, and he can often be found paddling or skiing the Estuary. Greg feels that being involved with FOLSR is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the Estuary, and to share that with others in the community.
Matt Starry
Matt and his family have been FOLSR members for almost three years. He first got involved with the Friends through a group project for the Leadership Superior Douglas County program. His group included Lake Superior Reserve staff (Karina Heim and Kirsten Rhude), and together, their group organized the spotted knapweed pull on Wisconsin Point as a service component to Lake Superior Day in 2023. He’s been participating in the event ever since, which is an excellent way to help support the mission of the Friends while spending time at one of his favorite places – Wisconsin Point!
Meghan Klasic
Meghan is an interdisciplinary scientist who examines social-ecological systems like the St. Louis River Estuary to understand how decisions are made, who is involved in decision-making, and what are the social and ecological outcomes of those decisions. She has worked in the Great Lakes region on various research efforts since 2018, and currently implements projects to understand things like fishing and consumption behaviors, community impacts and benefits of environmental restoration, and how people are connected to each other and the land and water they call home. In her spare time, Meghan is a self-proclaimed policy wonk and can often be found reading up on Congressional bills and court cases. Meghan lives in Duluth, MN with her husband, Andrew, and their rescue Great Dane, Tobias.
Katie Williams
Katie Williams is a Geographer who is curious about how the world works and inspired by the people who care for it. She is most interested in how people relate to and organize about the environment. Katie has been working in the St. Louis River estuary since 2010, when she started attending every event she could find as a graduate student. In her spare time, she loves to hike, paddle, learn about our plant relatives, and local radio programming. Katie looks forward to connecting more with people and places in the St. Louis River Estuary as part of the FOLSR Board.
Past Board Members
Abby Armstrong
Brian Frederickson, founding member
Jan Keogh, founding member
Keahna Margeson
Lucinda Johnson, founding member
Nancy Larson, founding member
Pat Collins, founding member
Tom Nicodemus, founding member
Ted Smith
Courtney Kowalczk
Kate McCall