Our all-volunteer board of directors will serve their two-year terms until June 21, 2026.
Melissa Crytzer Fry, chair, is a professional writer with 501c3 administrative experience who lives between Mammoth and San Manuel. For more than 20 years she has participated in citizen science projects within the San Pedro Valley, including nectar-eating bat studies with Arizona Game and Fish and the Sky Island Alliance’s FotoFauna program. She’s active with yellow-billed cuckoo and beaver surveys, and sits on the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition’s Steering Committee and is part of a group of collaborators focused on making statewide legislative changes to mining and water laws.
Emily Düwel, vice-chair & statutory agent, is a visual artist and educator, with master’s degrees in design/technology and anthropology. A longtime resident of Oracle, past involvements include museum planning and public programming/outreach for the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico, Carnegie Council for Ethics & International Affairs, ASU Museum of Anthropology, Tucson Pima Arts Council, Apache of Aravaipa Canyon, and more.
Steve Marlatt, secretary, is a wildlife biologist and retired educator based in Willcox, Arizona and has land ties to the St. David area. He has a particular passion for protecting the Galiuro Mountains.
Jennifer Walden, treasurer, lives near Mammoth, works in Oracle, and teaches at Pima Community College. Jennifer is a dedicated conservation advocate, with administrative experience.
Leif Abrell, director, is an academic environmental chemist with more than twenty years studying many types of environmental contamination. He is a past (and future) resident, and current property owner, in Oracle. Abrell stewards parts of the Arizona Trail between Mount Lemmon and Dudleyville.
David Omick, director, is based in Cascabel and promotes ecologically responsible lifestyles. He serves as the main link to LSPWA’s sister organization, the Cascabel Conservation Association.
Louann Rank, director, is a landowner and resident of Cascabel with a social science background and experience in political ecology and nonprofit administration. A retired university educator and researcher, she completed interdisciplinary doctoral studies that examined resilience and adaptation in natural resources. She has worked closely with Yup'ik communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of southwest Alaska.
A special debt of gratitude is owed to Peter Else, who from the founding of the Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance in 2013 until June 21, 2025 served as its chief guiding light, as well as its chair and statutory agent.
The Board wishes him the very best, as he focuses his efforts on addressing the need for an integrated and effective system of conservation lands along the San Pedro watershed.
To learn more about Peter's extraordinary contributions to the cause of conservation, read our first issue of Still Wild, a member newsletter about the endangered Lower San Pedro.