Our Vision is:

"Connecting people and resources to promote a healthy, flowing Verde River and a stronger, greater Verde community."

Our Mission is:

"Provide research and data, funding, policy expertise, education and consulting on diverse Verde River issues."

Chip Norton is the President of the Verde Watershed Restoration Coalition and has been a Verde River kayaking enthusiast for many years. Chip is retired from the utilities construction industry.

Dan Campbell

Dan Campbell recently retired after 28 years with The Nature Conservancy. He was TNC's Verde Program Director, and prior to that, the Arizona State Director. While he was the State Director, Dan helped acquire property along the Verde River to create the Arizona State Parks Verde River Greenway. EDan sits on numerous boards and commissions, and has worked tirelessly for the health of the Verde River.

Linda Buchanan
Vice Chair

Linda Wolfe Buchanan, is the community education coordinator at Yavapai College, and a development officer for Yavapai College Foundation. Her education includes an AA degree from Yavapai College, a BS from Old Dominion University (major: Interdisciplinary Studies w/ focus in Strategic Communication & Human Services), and M.Ed. from Northern Arizona University in Educational Leadership. Linda is recognized for her work in public/private sector partnerships and community development. She is a board member for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Sustainable Economic Development Initiative of Northern Arizona, Verde Valley Archaeology Center, Verde Valley Leadership, and Verde Valley Sustainable Agriculture. Linda also serves the Yavapai County Court Appointed Special Advocate program as an education mentor for children in foster care, and a champion of juvenile justice. Linda brings to the Verde River Institute board a strong commitment to the “value chain” approach to building community capital. She lives near the confluence of the Verde River and West Clear Creek, and advocates building (figurative) bridges to ensure a healthy watershed.

Susan Culp

Until late 2014, Susan was with the Sonoran Institute, a Tucson-based organization working to improve Arizona’s and the West’s land use, environment and economies. Susan was responsible for coordinating a variety of research, project management, and outreach activities for the Western Lands and Communities joint venture between the Sonoran Institute and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, focusing on the state trust lands & public lands management program and the climate change and land use planning program. Susan now is an independent consultant and her firm, NextWest Consulting, works with various environmental and Verde River-oriented organizations to improve their outreach and efficacy.

Steve Estes

Steve Estes has served as Community Outreach Director for Verde Valley Land Preservation since October, 2010. He is responsible for the development and successes of projects that conserve open space and ensure the health of the Verde River watershed. Liaison work with river involved landowners, partnering with allied non-profit organizations, working with policy makers and municipalities, engaging the private business sector, and even leveraging the power of the arts are part and parcel of Steve’s work in the Verde Valley. Prior to this, Steve’s career had been focused in the human services. In 1997, Steve was conferred a master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in environmental policy. Water issues in the arid west became a particular focus. MPA in hand, resume inertia drew him back to human services, resulting in chief executive assignments in community mental health organizations in Oregon, Iowa, and Arizona. Remaining abreast of environmental matters, however, Steve served for 2 years on the Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee and has since served as Vice President of the Oak Creek Watershed Council.

Jocelyn Gibbon
Jocelyn is a Colorado River runner and an attorney whose consulting practice, Freshwater Policy Consulting, LLC, concentrates on water and natural resource policy issues. She was previously employed as an attorney at Squire Sanders, where she worked in environmental and water law, and with the Environmental Defense Fund, where she worked on Colorado River and Arizona water policy and conservation. Jocelyn and her husband, Sam, have produced professional videos on Arizona State Parks challenges and other themes. Previous endeavors have included running a freelance editing business and guiding whitewater trips in the Grand Canyon.

Doug Von Gausig
Executive Director

A third-generation native Arizonan, Doug is currently Mayor of the Town of Clarkdale. He serves or has served on the Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee, the Northern Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, the Verde River Basin Partnership, the Verde River Valley Nature Organization, and other water-oriented committees, and is the immediate past President of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. He also serves on the Arizona State Committee on Trails (ASCOT) and sits on the Board of Directors of Arizona Forward. Doug graduated as a fellow of the Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy in the fall of 2011. He spends much of his time on water resource issues and on conservation of the Verde River. Doug is a professional photographer and sound recordist, providing photography and natural sound recordings to museums, films, reference libraries, conservation organizations and state and national parks. His consulting company, Riparian Systems Consulting, concentrates on river, water resource and ecosystem services issues in Arizona. Doug was elected to his third 4-year term as Mayor of Clarkdale in March of 2012, and he is the Executive Director of the Verde River Institute.