Wa-Ya Outdoor Institute Leadership

Rosalinda Turk, Board Chair & Founder

Rosalinda is a proud Cherokee Nation citizen belonging to the wolf clan. Wa-Ya means wolf in her native tongue, so to show the upmost respect and honor to her ancestors, she named Wa-Ya Outdoor Institute after her family clan. Rosalinda works part time to manage Wa-Ya’s business enterprise.  Her executive experience includes the Finance and Programs Committees for the South Sound YMCA, and PTA President for LP Brown Elementary School. In her professional career, Rosalinda is a Medical Disability Adjudicator and is Regional President for the National Association of Disability Examiners.

Rosalinda has degrees in chemistry and microbiology.  Her background and interests lead to research on salmonid pathology, and she worked on and off as a researcher and tribal fisheries biologist during her children’s younger years.

Rosalinda and her husband have five children, from elementary school through college. With both parents being scientists, the Turk children have grown up exploring the outdoors and learning the science behind our environment.  In late 2015, Rosalinda returned from a family vacation through Central America (first overseas trip with the kids), with a renewed sense of community and a vision for developing unique hands-on learning experiences.

“Jon and I have raised our kids with a simple goal – to have as much fun with them as possible.  We are adventurous spirits and have brought the kids along through it all. Their exposure to the world, the lessons in nature and culture, the challenges of adventure, provides the best education we could ask for."

Cynthia Wilkerson, Vice Chair

Cynthia is a passionate supporter of connecting people to the outdoors and is dedicated to empowering herself and others to apply their unique strengths to make the world a better place.  Cynthia holds a B.S. in Conservation Biology from the University of Washington and a graduate degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Florida. A native Californian, Cynthia spent her formative years running a non-profit biological research station in the Great Bear Rainforest at the invitation of the sovereign Nuxalk Nation.  This experience cemented a love of Northwest landscapes, the power of connection between culture and science, and the value of a community working together to actively protect nature.

An accomplished conservationist, Cynthia as spent over 15 years working in conservation advocacy and land management in California and Washington.  Her work in collaborative landscape conservation has led to conservation results that integrate the needs and voices of local communities and multiple societal values.  Currently Cynthia manages the Lands Division for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which manages over 1 million acres and 700 access sites throughout the state for their fish, wildlife, and related recreation for the people of the state of Washington.  

Cynthia and her husband Anthony live in Olympia with their two young boys.  The family enjoys many outdoor activities together from clam-digging, hiking, camping, and soccer.  Cynthia is also a dedicated yoga practitioner who integrates the practice of mind-body connection and personal power into her work, volunteer and parenting approaches.  

Shana Barehand, Secretary-Treasurer

Shana, originally from Los Angeles, is Mono from the Cold Springs Rancheria near Fresno California. Shana earned a law degree from Arizona State University, where she studied Indian law and Environmental Policy.  As an attorney, she has worked at the U.S Environmental Protection Agency as an Environmental Enforcement Attorney, at the Federal Communications Commission as the Senior Tribal Advisor, Tribal Liaison at the Department of Revenue, and currently, she works at the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services, leading the State’s efforts to increase its spending with small, diverse, and veteran owned businesses. 

She has co-founded and sat on numerous nonprofit boards and will lend her legal expertise, knowledge of environmental law and policy, and tribal culture to Camp Wa-Ya.  

Shana is married to Jeffrey Barehand and has five children. As a family, they volunteer for many important causes, participate in cultural activities and go on outdoor adventures in our natural playground.

Shannon Shula, Board Member

Shannon, a member of the Hopi Tribe, comes from the Sun and Eagle clan of Walpi Village. Born and raised on First Mesa in northeastern Arizona, she then attended high school in Colorado and received her B.A. in Geology from Occidental College in Los Angeles. After years of living and working in California, she returned home to Arizona for graduate school and received her M.S. in Planning from the University of Arizona. Shannon moved to Olympia with her family four years ago to continue her career in planning with Thurston County, where she continues to focus her work with underserved and tribal communities. 

Shannon grew up with a love for nature and the outdoors amidst the landscape of sandstone cliffs of her homeland on the mesas. The teachings of her grandmother, as well as participating in cultural ceremonies, has shaped her relationship with the land and the environment. This connection to the land influenced her formative education in the study of the earth’s history. Her interest in planning developed as she began to travel more and explore how cities, communities, and the built environment are formed and shaped over time by human activity.

Shannon is an active member of the National American Planning Association and served as Assistant Director of the Arizona Southern Section. She currently is an Executive Board member for AFSCME Local 618 and serves as Union Shop Steward.

In her spare time, she enjoys riding her motorcycle around the Puget Sound, hiking, and camping with her son, Isaac, and their new puppy, Taavi.

Maxine Alex, Board Member

I am a Social Justice Educator with classroom and district management experience that believes in the power of education to transform lives and communities. I enjoy educational research on college readiness as it relates to First Generation and Low Income students which played into an earlier role as the State GEAR UP director for Nevada Department of Education. Previous work includes Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for a large comprehensive urban school district, Federal grant management, culturally relevant curriculum development, data informed instruction, grading for equity, trauma informed teaching, ethnobotany, Indigenous Ways of Knowing and empowering Indigenous students for leadership roles. I am a certified History and Social Science teacher who is passionate about representation and disrupting colonial educational systems to improve learning for everyone. 

Nali Gabbert, board member

Nali has been a dedicated and passionate leader and educator in environmental and outdoor education for over 10 years - including 2 years as Wa-Ya’s Program Director. Her love of traveling and learning about other cultures led her to study Cultural Anthropology and Spanish at Seattle University. Through studying sustainable development in Thailand and participating in environmental leadership programs in Nicaragua and Ecuador she discovered her passion for environmental justice and became focused on studying Environmental Anthropology. She is now also a Behavioral Health Counselor and plans to study Social Work in order to work with Indigenous communities on centering cultural traditions and land-based learning in mental health programs.

Nali is passionate about working to facilitate learning and action among all people by connecting them to the transformative power of the outdoors! She has a very diverse background in the field, from coordinating horseback riding and climbing programs, to leading conservation and youth leadership programs in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, to educating for Environmental Science programs in Washington and Alaska, to sea-kayak guiding in the San Juan Islands! Through place-based and experiential learning she hopes to empower active leaders and inspire youth to build a passion for the natural world and environmental stewardship. In this field, she especially seeks to focus on addressing barriers to outdoor access for underserved communities. 

Nali feels inspired by Wa-Ya’s mission to weave together environmental science and indigenous ways of knowing. She is so excited to share her knowledge, experience, and passion to develop the most impactful and fun programs at Wa-Ya Outdoor Institute!

Outside of work you can find Nali exploring the outdoors through backpacking, hiking, camping, climbing, kayaking, and learning about plants and wildlife! She also loves to swing and salsa dance, beat her friends in board games, and get creative with art projects while listening to podcasts!