Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness (NMW)*
P.O. Box 625
Ely, MN 55731
218-365-7808
*NMW is the fiscal sponsor for Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters and Sustainable Ely
General inquiries: info@savetheboundarywaters.org
NORTHEASTERN MINNESOTANS FOR WILDERNESS BOARD
Dodd Cosgrove, Secretary
Adam Fetcher, Co-chair
Lawson Gerdes
Ellen Hawkins
Diane Hofstede
Heather Meier
David Miller, Treasurer
Jon Nelson, Co-chair
Steve Piragis
Becky Rom, Vice-chair
Dave Seaton
Paul Schurke
Jeff Soderstrom
Kris Wegerson
Jason Zabokrtsky
Read board bios
CAMPAIGN STAFF
Doug Niemela
National Campaign Manager
Executive Director, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness
Doug has been leading the Campaign since the summer of 2014. He has a degree in communications from the University of Minnesota. Prior to the Campaign, Doug worked on myriad issue campaigns ranging from the Minnesota Clean Energy and Jobs campaign to statewide ballot initiatives to national legislative efforts. Doug also has a strong background in candidate campaign work, having worked for congressional, gubernatorial and presidential candidates over the course of his career. A native Minnesotan, Doug has been adventuring in the Boundary Waters since 1991.
Samantha Chadwick
Deputy Campaign Manager
Sam inherited her love of the Boundary Waters from her family -- her grandpa took multiple canoe trips for many summers and passed on that tradition. Prior to joining the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters in 2014, Sam worked on grassroots efforts to advance environmental conservation and social justice in Minnesota for many years, including leading the nonprofit organization Environment Minnesota. She studied biology and botany at Gustavus Adolphus College. Sam loves spending time outdoors with her young kids!
Alex Falconer
Public Affairs and Legislative Director
A born and raised (and will never leave for any reason) Minnesotan, Alex has been in the outdoors, Northwoods, Northshore, Boundary Waters and beyond since before he could walk. He has the extreme pleasure of now introducing his children to the Boundary Waters and watching them dip their paddles, drink from a lake, and listen to the loons and wolves. Alex has worked on electoral, grassroots and issue advocacy campaigns for the past decade and looks forward to dedicating all his time and attention outside of his family to preserving the Boundary Waters for generations to come. Alex studied biology at St. Olaf College.
Matt Norton
Policy Director
Before joining the Campaign, Matt worked as campaign director with Minnesota Environmental Partnership, and as forestry and wildlife advocate and staff attorney for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. Matt is an avid wilderness hiker, paddler, hunter and angler, and enjoys few things more than introducing people to the BWCA.
Michelle Hesterberg
Development Director
Michelle fell in love with Minnesota’s Northwoods as a young child and has visited the Boundary Waters every summer since she was 15. She joined the Campaign after several years of grassroots organizing and advocacy on public interest and environmental issues. Michelle has worked to stop sulfide-ore copper mining in northern Minnesota in various capacities since 2009, including running multiple grassroots campaign offices with Environment Minnesota to build public support for protecting the Boundary Waters. A native Minnesotan, Michelle studied political science at Carleton College.
Sydney Jordan
Political Director
Sydney is experienced in political campaigns and is excited to do everything possible to save the Boundary Waters. She has worked with campaigns on every level from school board to the president but most recently helped lead the successful Jacob Frey for Mayor campaign. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she got her start as an organizer for MPIRG. She lives in Northeast Minneapolis and when not trying to save the world she likes to explore from the seat of a bike or in the chapters of a good book.
Megan Wind
Communications Specialist
Megan was born and raised in Minnesota and took many trips to the Northwoods in her youth with her family. This fueled her love for the outdoors and got her passionate about hiking, camping, canoeing, rock climbing and snowboarding. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2016 with a B.A. in Strategic Communications with a minor in Design. Megan is passionate about being storytelling, protecting the environment and planning adventures in the woods.
Levi Lexvold
Regional Organizer & Ely Office Manager
Levi was introduced to the Boundary Waters in 2009 when he moved to Ely, Minnesota to study Wilderness Management at Vermilion Community College. While attending Vermilion Levi lived on the shore of Fall Lake -- just a short paddle from the Wilderness boundary -- where he developed his passion for canoeing and the BWCAW. In the summer of 2013 Levi was part of a canoe expedition that began on Birch Lake (just downstream from proposed mining projects) and ended at Churchill, MB on Hudson Bay. The trip took 63 days and covered just over 1000 miles. Levi has also studied Natural Resource Conservation at the University of Idaho and worked as a wilderness ranger and wilderness guide. He runs the Campaign’s national headquarters at Sustainable Ely and outreach efforts in Northern Minnesota.
Piper Hawkins-Donlin
Northeastern Regional Organizer
A Minnesota native, Piper grew up camping, hiking and skiing in the Northwoods. She recently returned home from Oslo, Norway, where she received her master’s in sustainable international development. Piper graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2012 with a BS in environmental science, policy and management. Piper has worked as a research assistant for the University of Oslo Commission on Global Governance for Health. In the summer of 2015, she was the administrative coordinator for the International Summer School’s master course on environmental sustainability and international energy policy. She also worked on the editorial board of the University of Oslo’s journal on the environment, Tvergastein.
Courtney Otto
Regional Campaign & Sporting Organizer
A Minnesota transplant by way of Buffalo, New York, Courtney grew up camping and exploring the beautiful woods, lakes and mountains of the Northeast. Initially wary about moving to the Midwest, all worries disappeared on her honeymoon into the Boundary Waters. Prior to joining the Campaign, Courtney graduated from Harvard with a degree in psychology and a focus on Public Policy. She has since been a research assistant at the Harvard Kennedy School's Criminal Justice Policy & Management program, worked on various campaigns and canvassed for the labor unions. While Courtney has loved social policy advocacy, she couldn't be more excited to expand her horizons and join the realm of environmental advocacy!
