WORC Board of Directors

Dakota Resource Council

Lisa DeVille – An enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes on the Fort Berthold Reservation, Lisa holds a Master of Management, MBA, and BS in Management from the University of Mary. Active in her community, Lisa was awarded the North Dakota 2015 Human Rights Award.

Linda Weiss – Linda lives in Belfield, North Dakota, where she is a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician. A former Chair of DRC, she is active in DRC’s campaigns on agriculture and oil and gas issues. Linda is WORC’s Secretary/Treasurer.

Dakota Rural Action

Paul Seamans – Paul is a rancher/farmer and life-long resident of Draper, South Dakota, where he mainly puts up hay for sale. Paul joined DRA over five years ago because the Keystone XL tar sand oil pipeline is slated to cross his land. DRA has helped in his negotiations and dealings with TransCanada. Paul is the board Chair of DRA.

Nancy Hartenhoff-Crooks – Nancy has been a member of Dakota Rural Action for close to twenty years. She is co-chair of the DRA Small Farms committee. Nancy and her husband live on a small acreage on the edge of Toronto, South Dakota. Nancy is the coordinator of disability services at South Dakota State University. She is the immediate past Chair of WORC.

Idaho Organization of Resource Councils

Linda Leeuwrik, PH.D. – Linda is a cultural and intellectual historian, with bachelor, masters, and doctoral degrees from Virginia Tech, Georgia State University, and Bryn Mawr College. Concerned with clean water, air, and energy, Linda joined the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils, Portneuf Resource Council, and WORC in 2014, eager to be more involved in working on Idaho’s water protection, clean energy future, local foods initiatives, and responsible oil and gas development. Linda is a writer and editor and she is politically active, considering another run for elected office.

Christina Stucker-Gassi – Christina received her B.S. in Environmental Studies from the College of Idaho ,where she focused in Political Economy and Conservation Biology. Christina advocates science-based policy that sustains economic growth. Her policy interests are agriculture, food, and natural resources.

Northern Plains Resource Council

Deb Muth – Deb lives in Red Lodge, Montana, and is the Vice-Chair of the local affiliate, the Carbon County Resource Council. With several degrees in education, Deb is active on the Park Board. She serves as an advocate for Domestic and Sexual Violence Services

Charles Sangmeister – After 28 years in the labor movement, Charles, a Philadelphia native, and his wife, Lana, returned to Nye. He is president of the Stillwater Protective Association (SPA) and a member of the Northern Plains Board and their Organization and Finance Task Force. Charles represents SPA on the Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA) Task Force and the Stillwater Oversight Committee for the GNA, the only legally binding contract between a community-based organization and mine in the United States. Charles serves as WORC’s Vice-Chair.

Oregon Rural Action

Mitch Wolgamott – Mitch is a native Oregonian. He has degrees in Zoology (BS OSU) and Biology (MS PSU). He has worked in both the private and public sectors,retiring after serving as Eastern Region Administrator for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Mitch and his wife, artist Sue Orlaske, reside on a small woodlot on the eastern slope of the Blue Mountains near Summerville.

Norm Cimon – A resident of northeast Oregon since 1980, Norm has a degree in mathematics from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He’s worked for UNLV, the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service, and the private sector. A member of the board of directors for the Grande Ronde Model Watershed, he has a keen interest in water resources. Norm is a former Chair of WORC. He lives in La Grande with his wife, Shelley.

Powder River Basin Resource Council

Bob LeResche – Bob and his wife, Carol, own a ranch near Clearmont, Wyoming, and they produce organic heirloom produce for a Community Supported Agriculture group. Bob spent more than 40 years in Alaska as a wildlife biologist, State Government Policy and Planning Director, Director of Habitat Protection, Commissioner of Natural Resources, Executive Director of the Alaska Energy Authority, and Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Coordinator. Bob a former Chair of WORC.

Wilma Tope – Wilma was raised on a farm near Wanblee, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. After attending SD School of Mines and Technology and Rapid City Regional School of Nursing, she worked as a nurse for many years. Wilma and her husband, Jay, ranch and have raised cattle, bison and elk. She is a former Chair of Powder River.

Western Colorado Congress

Steve Allerton – Steve left the teaching profession in 2014 and has entered “refinement”, a term he coined to use in place of “retirement”. For Steve, refinement is about digging into those things he loves: family and grandsons (3), music, backpacking/hiking with his wife and friends, and helping to create healthy soils in which to grow vegetables for the community. He is Chair of WCC and active in Mesa County’s clean energy program.

Monica Wiitanen– Monica grew up thinking that working to leave the world a better place for “the youth in the distant tomorrows” was what adults did. With her husband, Wayne, Monica runs Small Potatoes Farm near Paonia. Monica is the Chair of WORC.

Western Native Voice

Gail Small – Gail is the founder and Executive Director of Native Action, whose work has led to national precedents in federal banking law, environmental policy, Indian voter discrimination, and youth law. She is a former Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council member and has taught law at the University of California, Humboldt, Chief Dull Knife Memorial College, and Little Big Horn College. She has a B.A. from the University of Montana and J.D. from the University of Oregon.

Kassie Runsabove – Kassie is the Program Coordinator and Cultural Liaison for the Child Ready MT Program. Kassie presents cultural sensitivity awareness training to organizations, providers, nurse and clinical staff across Montana. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Montana State University Billings in Health and Human Performance. Kassie is enrolled Whiteclay from Ft. Belknap, Montana.