Bio
George Frazier is an author of books and software and lives in Lawrence. He’s paddled over two thousand miles on the Kansas River, some in recent years. 

Bio
Stephen Garlow is a retired attorney and a lifelong outdoorsman and amateur naturalist. He grew up in the Missouri Ozarks, fishing and paddling on spring-fed rock bottom streams and rivers. Stephen’s volunteer service with outdoor organizations includes serving on the board of Friends of the Kaw from 2001 through 2005, work with the Kansas Trails Council, the Lawrence Mountain Bike Club, 38North, Prairie Park Nature Center, and as a Boy Scout Adult Leader.

Bio
Courtney Masterson is the Executive Director and Ecologist of Native Lands Restoration Collaborative, based out of Lawrence, Kansas. Their work focuses on restoring publicly accessible native landscapes through community partnerships and education. Courtney believes an intimate connection to our native ecosystems will empower land stewards (that’s you!) to preserve and restore landscapes that protect water, soil, communities and cultures.

Bio
Sarah is an Associate General Counsel for FHLBank Topeka and has served on the Friends of the Kaw Board of Directors since 2016 and a number of years as Board President. Sarah Morse is a born-and-raised Kansan and is honored to protect, advocate for, and discover one of Kansas’ great natural resources through her work with Friends of the Kaw. Growing up, Sarah was encouraged to appreciate the outdoors. Early in her career, she learned about ways to use her legal training to advocate for the places she loved to explore. Now, she is thrilled to volunteer her time with organizations such as Friends of the Kaw that work to share the importance, diversity, and beauty of Kansas with others. Sarah lives in Topeka with her husband, daughters, and black lab.

Bio
Served on the Friends of the Kaw Board of Directors from 2003 to 2014. Jim is a sales executive with Commercial Capital Company, LLC.

Bio
Marcia Rozell discovered her passion for paddling while growing up in Missouri. An avid outdoor enthusiast and world traveler, she’s dedicated to making a positive impact in her community as Director of Visit Manhattan. She served on the Friends of the Kaw Board of Directors from 2016 through 2024.

Bio
Elizabeth (Beth) Schultz is a native of Flint, Michigan, is retired from the University of Kansas Department of English where she was a Herman Melville scholar and taught African American and American Women’s literature. She is an author, poet, and advocate for the arts and environment. She established the Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Foundation, through the Douglas County Community Foundation, which provides grants to support environmental education and preservation in Douglas County, Kansas.

Bio
Served on the Friends of the Kaw Board of Directors from 2005 to 2014 and assisted on countless paddle trips.

Bio
Michael is a longtime protector of Flint Hill’s culture and the tallgrass prairie. He is the founder of the Mount Mitchell Prairie Guards, who are responsible for the creation of the Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie Park in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. He was one of the original members of the Tallgrass Ranchers and Protect the Flint Hills, the two groups most responsible for protecting the Flint Hills from industrial development. He helped establish the Symphony in the Flint Hills Field Journal as its history editor. He’s known in Wabaunsee County as the person who assigned historic and culturally significant names to the county’s roads.

Bio
Craig grew up in Mission, Kansas, and graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School. He earned a B.G.S. degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Kansas. He worked for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) in the Division of Environment. Craig finished his career as a Life Scientist surveying streams, rivers, and lakes in the Midwest for the environmental Protection Agency, (EPA). Craig served on the Friends of the Kaw board of directors from 1998 through 2001 and is the author of Along the Kaw: A Journey Down the Kansas River.

Bio
Cynthia Annett has a Masters from Moss Landing Marine Labs and a PhD from U.C. Berkeley. The focus of her recent work is on developing techniques for environmental and cultural resource management, Indigenous Mapping and Environmental Justice. She is a Research Associate Professor at Kansas State University in the Center for Hazardous Substance Research. Dr. Annett has been a trainer for the Google Earth Outreach Network and the Indigenous Mapping Workshops for more than a decade, and has provided training on digital mapping techniques for communities around the world. As a co-chair of an ASTM task group on climate adaptation mapping tools, she is helping to coordinate the development of user and developer standards to make environmental and demographic geospatial data more easily accessible to non-technical users. She currently co-leads an international task group on Nature-based Solutions to Inland Flood Mitigation. You can see her workshops and research at http://CynthiaAnnett.org

Bio
Laura Calwell was raised in Wichita, KS with her five siblings and attended Wichita North High School. She graduated from Kansas State University in music education. She owned and operated Creative Choice Interiors in Mission, Kansas and was active in the Northeast Johnson County Chamber of Commerce. Laura was a founding board member of Friends of the Kaw and served as secretary and president before taking the job of Kansas Riverkeeper in 2003. Laura’s major accomplishments were reducing the number of sand dredging operations on the Kansas River from 22 to several and assisting her husband Mike to opening up the Kansas River to recreation by building over ten boat ramps. for Friends of the Kaw. Laura also served as the Education Director until she retired in 2020.  Laura is also the president of Friends of Kaw Point Park, Inc. Laura has two children and four grandchildren. Her hobbies are Masters Swimming and playing her cello.

Bio
Dawn Buehler is the Kansas Riverkeeper and Executive Director with Friends of the Kaw.  In her role as the Kansas Riverkeeper, Dawn is a non-governmental public advocate that works to protect and preserve the Kansas River. This is accomplished through holding the community accountable for the health of the river, working to resolve pollution concerns about the river, advocating for the Kansas River and its environs, educating the students and the public, and providing outreach activities to get people involved in the river.

Dawn holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife Conservation from Oregon State University and a Bachelor in Business Administration from Baker University.   Dawn is Governor Kelly’s Appointee as Chair of the Kansas Water Authority and the Governor’s Appointee for the Oil & Gas Advisory Committee. 

Bio
Michael is a longtime protector of Flint Hill’s culture and the tallgrass prairie. He is the founder of the Mount Mitchell Prairie Guards, who are responsible for the creation of the Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie Park in Wabaunsee County. He was one of the original members of the Tallgrass Ranchers and Protect the Flint Hills, the two groups most responsible for protecting the Flint Hills from industrial development. He helped establish the Symphony in the Flint Hills.

Bio
Joanne served on the Friends of the Kaw Board of Directors from 1998 through 2014.

Bio
Patty is a co-founder of Friends of the Kaw.

Bio
Laura Calwell was raised in Wichita, Kansas, with her five siblings and attended Wichita North High School. She graduated from Kansas State University in music education. She owned and operated Creative Choice Interiors in Mission, Kansas and was active in the Northeast Johnson County Chamber of Commerce. Laura was a founding board member of Friends of the Kaw and served as secretary and president before taking the job of Kansas Riverkeeper in 2003. Laura’s major accomplishments were reducing the number of sand dredging operations on the Kansas River from 22 to several and assisting her husband Mike to opening up the Kansas River to recreation by building over ten boat ramps. for Friends of the Kaw. Laura also served as the Education Director until she retired in 2020.  Laura is also the president of Friends of Kaw Point Park, Inc. Laura has two children and four grandchildren. Her hobbies are Masters Swimming and playing her cello.

Bio
Stephen Garlow is a retired attorney and a lifelong outdoorsman and amateur naturalist. He grew up in the Missouri Ozarks, fishing and paddling on spring-fed rock bottom streams and rivers. Stephen’s volunteer service with outdoor organizations includes serving on the Friends of the Kaw Board of Directors from 2001 through 2005, working with the Kansas Trails Council, the Lawrence Mountain Bike Club, 38North, Prairie Park Nature Center, and as a Boy Scout Adult Leader.