Our Team

The Boundary Waters has played an integral role in fostering Ingrid's love of wild places. Prior to becoming Executive Director, Ingrid led the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters' expanding fundraising program as Development Director from 2018 to 2021, and served on the Outreach team as Arrowhead Regional Organizer from 2015 to 2017. Between these positions, Ingrid attended the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, where she received her graduate certificate in Nonprofit Governance and Management. She is also a graduate of Carleton College, receiving her degree in Environmental Studies with a focus in Conservation and Development. Ingrid is an enthusiastic hiker, painter, and dog mom.

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.

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.

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!

Niki attributes her appreciation for wide open spaces to having grown up in Montana. She has been with the Campaign almost since its inception, first as a contractor and most recently as an employee. She brings over 20 years of nonprofit accounting experience and has worked with a wide variety of organizations.

Growing up swimming in Minneapolis and Northern Minnesota lakes, Libby learned to cherish the natural beauty of the Boundary Waters. With over a decade of experience, she worked at several environmental organizations before joining Save the Boundary Waters in 2019. She led fundraising and digital & communications strategy at a hunger relief advocacy nonprofit, was the head of communications at an organic farming education nonprofit, and started an emerging farmer incubator cooperative. She studied art history and environmental sustainability at the University of Minnesota for her undergraduate degree and received a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

As a lifelong Minnesotan, Kelsey believes in finding an outdoor activity you enjoy every season to get outside in nature. She brings over a decade of fundraising experience to her role and a passion for connecting people with causes that are meaningful to them. Kelsey graduated from the University of Minnesota with a double major in Psychology and Communications and graduated with a MBA from Hamline University in Nonprofit Management. Outside of work, Kelsey enjoys trail running, doing any outdoor activity involving her dogs, and planning her next adventure.

Sydney is our Organizing Director and supports our Outreach Team in connecting with Boundary Waters defenders from Ely to the rest of the world. She started organizing with MPIRG while a student at the University of Minnesota and loves to have a job working with organizers to make the world a better place. In her limited spare time, Sydney can be found hiking, paddling, and biking our public lands.

Originally hailing from the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado, Amanda developed a deep love and obsession for the outdoors early on. She holds a B.S and MA degree in Physical Geography, and fell in love with the Boundary Waters long before ever stepping foot in the Wilderness. During graduate school, she actively volunteered with the Minnesota Sierra Club, focusing on forest health and the sulfide-ore copper mining issue, and had her first experience in the Wilderness just before joining the Campaign. After canoeing in the beautifully still water, hearing the loons call at night, and catching her first 20-inch largemouth bass, she remains even more dedicated to protecting this special place. Outside of work, Amanda enjoys spending time with her cat, hiking, playing ice hockey, and occupying the front row of a concert.

Megan was born and raised in Minnesota and took many trips to the North throughout her life. This fueled her love for the outdoors and passion for paddling, hiking, camping, 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 storytelling, protecting the environment and planning adventures in the Wilderness.

Born and raised in Minnesota, Lisa holds a degree in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the Campaign, Lisa led canoe and dog sled expeditions in and around the Wilderness for nearly 10 years. In 2016, while canoeing the magnificent Missouri-Mississippi River system from its source in Montana to the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana, Lisa realized just how unique and valuable the Boundary Waters really is. On that 200-day expedition, drinking water had to be hauled along and resupplied - filtering or chemically treating it wouldn't remove the agricultural and industrial pollution so commonplace in the river. Returning home to the clean, drinkable waters of Superior National Forest and the BWCAW was both a gift and a motivation to defend this precious resource for the generations to come.

Originally from Colorado, Amy grew up appreciating wild terrain. She attended Mount Holyoke College where she studied English and Geology. She also attended Trinity College in Oxford and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Israel. After moving to Minnesota, she headed straight to the BWCAW and formed a deep love for this state and its open spaces. Amy brings a background in fundraising and communications, as well as a passion for the campaign. In her spare time, she rock climbs, does hot yoga, and scopes out restaurants across the Twin Cities. 

Preserving wilderness for its intrinsic value is crucial for the well-being of the planet and future generations and represents a commitment to preserve the natural world not just for its utility to humans but for its inherent right to exist and thrive. I am an enthusiastic professional with over 15 years of experience in land management and conservation policy, including over a decade with the Forest Service as a wilderness ranger. I am dedicated to advocating for the wilderness and wild places where humans visit but do not remain, and have a deep appreciation for forest ecology and expertise in wilderness travel and primitive survival skills. My life's avocation is to speak for and to honor a sense of place that exists both culturally and spiritually in the Quetico-Superior ecosystem. I believe that by helping to tell the story of this special place it will continue to inspire art, literature, and a sense of awe and wonder, connecting people to something greater.

As a wilderness ranger caring for the BWCA I developed an intimate knowledge of the landscape, an understanding of the pressures faced by the wilderness and a deep appreciation for Leave No Trace ethics. Recently I have worked as a wilderness guide helping people experience and understand this special place while educating them about how we can avoid “loving these places to death.” In joining the campaign, I am excited to be counted among the chorus of dedicated individuals who have advocated tirelessly for protecting the BWCAW and the entire Rainy River Watershed from copper/nickel mining pollution.

In my personal life I maintain a homestead in Ely, MN and live for snow days and skijoring with my pups!