Board Member Handbook 2023

Board of Directors

Chair: John Reynolds - Member of Grizzly Ranch Firewise Community
John is originally from the Bay Area and moved to Grizzly Ranch in 2013.  Having helped build a family summer cabin in the Central Sierras, he gained a love of the mountains and forest by spending his summers there for over fifteen years.  Even as an adult, he has continued to enjoy many weekends and most vacations with his extended family either at the cabin or in Truckee enjoying the mountain lifestyle.  As Truckee continued to gain in popularity and population, John became familiar with Plumas County and decided to retire there.
 
John was introduced to the Fire Safe Council when a he joined a community group who were concerned with mitigating wildfire threat at Grizzly Ranch.  Assistance from the Council and Plumas County Office of Emergency Services was instrumental in Grizzly Ranch gaining Firewise Communities/USA status in 2015.  He has been an ongoing supporter and a member of the Grizzly Ranch FireWise Committee since 2015.          

Vice Chair: ​Sally McGowan - Old Highway Road Firewise, Plumas Underburn Cooperative
Sally McGowan has lived in Plumas County since 1984 when she moved from Camarillo in Southern California to the little town of Clio in the beautiful Mohawk Valley. In 2000, she relocated to Quincy where she currently lives in lovely Thompson Valley.  Her love of nature, adventure and the Sierra Nevada inspired this dramatic change in lifestyle. Sally holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of CA Santa Barbara and a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from CA State University Chico. She was a middle and high school teacher in both Portola and Quincy for twenty-four years and retired after serving for 8 years as principal at Chester Elementary School. Both of her adult children were raised in Plumas County and retain their attachment to and love for the area. Sally finds joy in the fact that both Mary and James return to the same trails, lakes, streams and friendships they enjoyed while growing up.
 
Out of concern for the threat of wildfire on the health of the watersheds and the safety of the citizens and communities of Plumas County, Sally began attending the Plumas County Firesafe Council meetings in 2018 and with the support of many Council members, including Sue McCourt, formed the Old Highway Road Firewise Community. As a participating member of the Plumas Underburn Cooperative, she helped organize its first official underburn within the Old Highway Firewise Community boundaries. Sally is grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from the very talented, passionate, and committed members of the Fire Safe Council.  

Secretary/Treasurer: ​Michael Flanigan – Flanigan-Leavitt Insurance Agency, Quincy
Mike was born and raised in Spokane, Washington, the youngest of eight children. He received a business degree from Eastern Washington University. After employment in a variety of insurance industry segments, Mike and his wife Valerie moved to Quincy in 1995, where they raised three sons, and in 2003 purchased a regional 100 year plus family operated independent insurance agency – the Murray and Edwards Insurance Agency. Flanigan-Leavitt Insurance Agency has offices in Quincy, Susanville and Reno, NV. He is fond of making woodworking projects with his sons, and loves living in Plumas County. Mike co-chairs the Quincy Firewise Committee. As a PCFSC board member, Mike hopes to share his knowledge of business, particularly his experience in risk management as it relates to the goals and objectives of the Council.

Ryan Bauer – USFS, Plumas National Forest
Ryan Bauer is a Fire Management Specialist with the U. S. Forest Service on the Plumas National Forest where he oversees the Fire Use and Fuels Management programs. He brings 22 years of wildland fire management experience to the Plumas County Fire Safe Council board. He has an interest in improving the ability of our mountain communities to live safely with wildland fire, as an important step in returning fire to our National Forests as a natural process that is critical to the health of our forests, watersheds, and economy.

Ryan Tompkins - Forestry & Natural Resources Advisor, University of California Cooperative Extension
Ryan was first drawn to the northern Sierra Nevada after spending a summer in Meadow Valley nearly 26 years ago. He completed a Bachelor in Science in Forestry (1996) and a Master of Forestry (2001) at the University of California at Berkeley and is a California Registered Professional Forester (No. 3108).   His 18 year federal career included working as a forester and certified silviculturist with the Plumas National Forest and working in the Fire Effects program at the National Park Service.  He is currently the UC Cooperative Extension Forester for Plumas, Sierra, and Lassen counties where his research focuses on forest restoration and post-fire restoration.  When he’s not thinking about trees, he might be helping his Firewise community cut some of them down, or just enjoying a quiet moment in the backcountry with his family.

Don Gasser - Registered Professional Forester
Don wants the Plumas Fire Safe Council to continue to bring wildfire awareness by striving to expand fire-adapted homes and communities within Plumas County. A forester for fifty years, and still licensed to practice in California, as well as an arborist for twenty years, Don's current focus is on fireproofing his land. With government help, his efforts are on protecting an area north of Quincy. He often has a chainsaw in hand so as to thin the forest while practicing shinrin-yoku at advanced levels. Don brings experience as an entrepreneur in forest thinning and defensible space, as well as from 20 years as Faculty of Forestry at UC Berkeley, 8 years as PG&E's chief forester for the vegetation management department, and 30 years, and continuing, in bonsai creation.

Kathy Kogge – Director Gold Mountain CSD Board, Chair Gold Mountain Firewise Committee
Kathy and her husband are from the East Coast. They moved to Gold Mountain in 2016 to be closer to family in Truckee.
 
She has BA’s in both Dance and Theatre Arts from the University of Maryland and a MA in Theatre History from the University of Illinois. She began her career in theatre and dance in New York City, juggling part-time positions with book publishers to make ends meet. She then went on to a long career in book publishing including over 38 years with The Bertelsmann Print Group in sales and production management, retiring in April of 2019.
 
She became a member of the Gold Mountain CSD Board in 2016 and joined the Gold Mountain Firewise Committee from her work with other Firewise members on the CSD board.
 
Her love for the spectacular natural beauty of the Sierras has motivated Kathy to find ways to protect it. Kathy hopes to use her background to further the goals of both the Fire Safe Council and Firewise USA.

Michael Hall - District Manager, Feather River Resource Conservation District
Michael is the current District Manager for the Feather River Resource Conservation District. He came to Plumas County in 2011 and was immediately captured by the wide open spaces, ample access to public lands and low population density. After working as a wildlife biologist and GIS technician, he began working for the Feather River RCD as a Forestry technician and eventually a Project Coordinator. His current work includes fire recovery, including vegetation management and reforestation, and fuels reduction projects. He is walking the fine line between cutting trees down and planting new ones. In his spare time he can be found sampling the wide range of outdoor activities in the region including fishing, hiking, skiing, and getting lost in the forest. Michael hopes to bring new project opportunities and partnerships to the Plumas County Firesafe Council.

Julie Hunter - Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District
Julie has been an Air Quality Specialist for 18 years, with experience in all fields of monitoring, planning, permitting and enforcement.  Currently, as the Air Pollution Control Specialist with Northern Sierra AQMD, she is the lead of the Prescribed Burn Program, Emissions Inventory, Stationary Source Permitting and Monitoring Data Manager.  Prior to working for NSAQMD, Julie worked for the Washoe County Air Quality Management Division for 16 years.  Julie received her Master’s degrees in Environmental Science and Health at the University of Nevada, Reno and has worked in the environmental science field since 1996. 

Trina Cunningham - Mountain Maidu

Joe Smailes - Seneca Firewise

Jake Blaufuss- American Forest Resource Council

Lori Pini- Office of Emergency Services

Bylaws of the Plumas County Fire Safe Council Board of Directors