Meet the Team

Gordon Price

Executive Director

Gordon joined the Discover Your Forest team in 2021. He brings decades of experience in higher education, Diversity Equity and Inclusion consulting, mental health and public policy in Oregon. Gordon provides fiscal development, strategic goal setting, community convening, and executive oversight of our growing nonprofit. From dreaming up new projects and finding additional partners, to meaningfully furthering our goals, Gordon brings deep passion and love for the Central Oregon landscape and communities. When he’s not working, Gordon spends his time with his kids, explores our Public Lands and roots for the Washington Wizards.

Karen Gentry

Education & Interpretation Director

Karen has been with Discover Your Forest since 2010. While she has served in nearly every role possible for us over the years, Karen serves as our interpretation guru. She oversees the creation and facilitation of all of our programming; spanning seasons, topics, audiences and forests. She also acts as the trainer for our volunteer interpreters, as well as leading community projects throughout Central Oregon. A botanist, award-winning interpreter and educator, Karen’s wealth of knowledge and skill are vital for the quality programs we provide to our community. For fun, Karen likes to SUP on the Cascade Lakes, ski, flyfish and weave.

Gail Whelan

Retail Operations Coordinator & Business Manager

Gail joined the Discover Your Forest team in 2012. She is responsible for managing 13 sites in Central Oregon, including 6 Ranger Stations, 2 Welcome Stations and 5 Visitors Centers across the region.  Gail coordinates and oversees recreation pass sales, chooses and stocks all our retail items, and oversees several seasonal staff members. Gail also does HR and bookkeeping for us. Extremely knowledgeable, organized and helpful, Gail ensures that we reach our goal of improving visitor experiences across the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and the Crooked River National Grassland. When Gail is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, son-in-law and 4 grandchildren.

Stacey Cochran

Community Engagement Director

Stacey started with Discover Your Forest in 2014 as our Event and Volunteer Coordinator. As Discover Your Forest grew, so too did Stacey’s role. Currently, Stacey serves as our Community Engagement Director. She cultivates relationships with community members to support their success as volunteers, making sure they have everything they need for an incredible and rewarding experience. She also manages our Career Pathways program, fostering mentored experiential learning for youth who are passionate about the health of our public lands. Stacey brings kindness, energy and a contagious laugh to our workplace. When she’s not working, she is likely exploring, taking care of her various critters and keeping up with her kids.

Amy Jensen

Marketing & Events Director

Amy has been part of the team since early 2019. Her role at Discover Your Forest includes the planning and execution of all our major annual fundraising events such as Stars Over Newberry, Campout for Public Lands and Backcountry Film Festival. As the Marketing Director, Amy oversees all our marketing efforts, works to develop new partnerships, runs our membership program and works strategically with our partners to create and disseminate information. A quick thinker and extreme extrovert, Amy will at least try to make friends with everyone she meets. After work hours, you can find Amy on her SUP, backpacking or snowboarding throughout the Cascades.

Becky Yaeger

Conservation Education Specialist

Since 2018, Becky has been coordinating conservation education programs at Public Lands sites across Central Oregon. Typically, Becky spends a lot of her time developing and leading our free fieldtrip programs. As in-person gatherings were paused, she led our efforts in developing high quality virtual programs. Becky creates virtual exploration programs like video lessons, online activities, live virtual tours, and other creative avenues for allowing many students to continue participating in our programs despite distance learning.  Becky is creative, adaptable and engaging – all important for educating the next generation of environmental stewards. On her days off, Becky and her husband are usually out adventuring and exploring the Pacific Northwest.