Representing numerous sub-watersheds within the Applegate River watershed, the Board of Directors works to keep Applegate Siskiyou Alliance focused on our mission, vision and goals. The board is a collaboration of grassroots leaders in the Applegate Valley that help make decisions and provide direction for our projects, while keeping the spirit of the organization alive.
Rose Gerstner, Board President Rose was born and raised in extended Washington DC, area and spent 18 years living perched above the Potomac River. She has enjoyed exploring the outdoors in Southern Oregon since moving here in 2001. She has spent her career working in small clothing businesses, mostly home based, and developing her craft. She owns Sympatico Clothing.
Luke Ruediger, Executive Director
Luke grew up in Southwest Oregon and began exploring the region’s unique habitat and terrain at an early age. Living with his wife, Suzie, in a remote, off-grid homestead at the foot of the Siskiyou Crest, Luke has developed a deep relationship and intimate knowledge of local wild lands. Fascinated by the region’s beauty and diversity, Luke has long worked to preserve, restore, and protect the ecological integrity of the Siskiyou Mountains, through environmental activism and land stewardship. Luke has run forest restoration crews and businesses for 18 years, working in southern Oregon and northern California for private landowners and non-profit organizations. In 2013 he published a hiking and natural history guide, The Siskiyou Crest: Hikes, History and Ecology. Currently Luke writes a blog exploring ecological issues in the Siskiyou Mountains. Luke is also conservation director for the Klamath Forest Alliance’s Siskiyou Field Office working to defend wildlands throughout southern Oregon and northern California.
Since moving to the Applegate Valley in 2005, Marion has been working to protect our local watersheds. An avid hiker and birder, she has been a lifelong supporter of the environment through active participation in various groups. After graduating from the University of California at Davis, Marion spent 22 years training horses and equitation as owner of Marion Hadden Training Stables in Southern California.
Marty Paule Born in England and raised in South Africa, Marty is a lifelong hiker. Daily walks in the forests around his home on a flank of Woodrat Mountain has given him a deep appreciation for our regions’ beauty and diversity as well as its fragility. A proponent for home-based work and cottage industry since the 1970s, Marty is a writer and editor. As a board member he hopes to put those skills to use helping to protect our woodlands.
Gail Battaglia, Board Treasurer
Gail was born and raised in the suburbs of Northern California and moved to the Applegate Valley in 1989. She wanted to raise her two children in the country, closer to nature and in a small community. This valley was the perfect place and it felt like home immediately. She worked in the medical field for 25 years and as of more recently, is a bookkeeper for several businesses in the Applegate Valley. She and her husband (Roarke Ball) enjoy being home with their menagerie of animals…dogs, cats, chickens, horses and a crazy little parrot. She also enjoys exploring the forests with her dogs, boating, paddle boarding, hiking and pretty much anything outdoors. She has a deep love for this valley and community and feels so fortunate to have found it when she did. She believes that once you live in the Applegate Valley, it’s very hard to live anywhere else. She plans to be here for many more years.
Kirsten K. Shockey
Kirsten K. Shockey is a mother and grandmother who is passionate about trees, making biochar, building wetlands and beavers. Through this passion, she’s been active in local organizations—including the OSU Small Farms advisory committee, Applegate Partnership, State of the Beaver Conference, and Project Beaver. Her day job is helping people to make, enjoy and connect with their food she can be found writing about life and fermentation at fermentingchange.substack from her home in the mountains of southern Oregon. Kirsten is an award-winning author of 6 books and co-founder of The Fermentation School a women-owned and women-led benefits corporation supporting the voices of independent educators to empower learning and build culture.