About Us
The Cascade Head Biosphere Collaborative is the nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the work of the Cascade Head Biosphere Region. Formed in 2023, the Collaborative brings together partners, researchers, educators, and community members to help steward this remarkable landscape.
Our work is grounded in three core pillars: education, climate research, and community. Through these efforts, we connect people with place, support science that informs the future, and help strengthen the relationships that sustain both the land and the communities that call it home.
Meet the Board and Staff
Dan Twitchell, MBA
CHBC Co-Organizer / Board Secretary and Treasurer / Cascade Head Resident
Dan Twitchell is retired and has an MBA and background in corporate and real estate finance. Dan served in various executive roles during his business career and had responsibilities for managing large groups of people and overseeing many types of projects and operations. More recently, Dan served on the Executive Committee and was the Treasurer for The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, and was part of the Community Team that established the Cascade Head Marine Reserve in 2014.
Kathleen Chambliss, PhD
Education Coordinator
Kathy has dedicated her teaching career to sharing the beauty, wonder, and awe of nature with youth, educators, and families. A lifelong learner, degrees in science—BS in Plant Science; education—MEd in Secondary Education; and sustainability—PhD in Sustainability Education, inform her efforts. A traveler and a volunteer, she has participated in science and cultural exchanges across the globe. “Dr. Kathy” is happiest when she is working alongside others to achieve shared goals that are regenerative and giving, and when she is hanging out in, beholding, and photographing wild places. Her return to the wild Oregon coast to work with the Cascade Head Biosphere Collaborative team is a dream come true.
Paul Robertson, MSc
Staff Scientist / Project & Communications Manager / CHBC Board Member
Paul is an environmental scientist with more than 25 years of experience in environmental sampling, continuous monitoring systems, and analytical testing, and in 2017 he founded Robertson Environmental LLC to provide environmental science and project management services. A graduate of Taft High School and Oregon Coast Community College, he later completed undergraduate studies at University of Vermont and earned a Master of Science from Imperial College London—and like a salmon returning home, eventually made his way back to the Oregon Coast to live and work in the community where he grew up. Paul is a founding board member of the Cascade Head Biosphere Collaborative and the public-benefit law organization Law of the Wild, and recently launched a local podcast for the community with his family, The Double R Show.
Duncan Berry
CHBC Co-Organizer / Board President / Cascade Head Resident
Duncan Berry has spent the last thirty years leading values-based businesses and non-profit organizations. He has founded five successful companies and two non-profits located on three continents. He has specialized in product development and design for all his companies and has returned to his twin passions: Conservation / Climate work in the Cascade Head Biosphere Region and impressions from nature and gyotaku in his art studio.
Mary Guss, JD
CHBC Board Member / Lincoln City Resident
Mary Guss received her B.A. from Reed College and her law degree from Lewis & Clark. After graduation she traveled to Alaska to clerk for the Ketchikan Superior Court and followed that with 30 years of practicing law, much of it as a sole practitioner. Guss also served as the federal magistrate judge for Ketchikan, owned a bookstore, and volunteered on various nonprofit boards. Returning to school in 2008, Guss pursued a degree in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy at the University of Arizona. She then worked for the program as a staff attorney and clinic instructor. She coordinated and taught classes with the state bar and organized an annual tribal lands conference. Since leaving the university she has written a book on tribal will writing, continues to draft wills, serves as a tribal appellate judge and has moved full-time to Lincoln City.
Stephen Percy, PhD
CHBC Board Member / Lincoln City Resident
Steve Percy dedicated his career to higher education in roles in including faculty member, center director, dean and university president—at several universities: University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Baltimore, and Portland State University. After serving four years as President of PSU, Steve retired to the Oregon Coast and has made Lincoln City his home. Steve served on a variety of nonprofit boards of directors in multiple communities focused on education, literacy, social development, nonprofit management, and cultural appreciation. He loves living on the Oregon coast with its wonderful beaches, wildlife, and natural environments. He is very interested in expanding learning opportunities focused on appreciation of nature, the environment, and climate change for learners of all ages.
The Cascade Head Biosphere Collaborative complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity). The Cascade Head Biosphere Collaborative does not exclude people or treat them differently because of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity). For inquiries about our policy, its implementation, and/or to file a grievance, please contact: Mary Guss, 801 SW Highway 101, Suite A, Lincoln City, OR 97367 ~ 360.324.5644 ~ mary@cascadehead.org
Contact Us at Biosphere@CascadeHead.org