Abbie Beane
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Abbie Beane is the executive director of the Carmel River Watershed Conservancy and has 15 years of experience in the environmental field. She has worked for several conservation nonprofits in Wyoming and Oregon, and directed zero-waste, organics recycling, environmental certification and extended producer responsibility programs in California at the local and state levels. She is currently a research consultant for the Mattress Recycling Council, managing programs to increase collections, recycled output and new markets for post-consumer mattress materials. She is also the grants program manager for the California Carpet Stewardship Program. Zero waste accolades include managing the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which won the California Resource Recovery Association “Outstanding Resource Recovery at an Event or Venue” award two consecutive years. Beane has also worked for the Product Stewardship Institute in Boston and as a journalist for print media. Beane currently serves on the Monterey Regional Compost Coalition and the California Green Initiatives for Venues and Events Technical Council. Beane is a Sustainable Event Alliance certified professional and holds a Masters degree in international environmental policy and sustainable business and development from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
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Marie Butcher
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Marie Butcher has been working at the Carmel River Watershed Conservancy as the Educational Outreach Coordinator since 2015. She has organized class visits and student field trips throughout the Carmel River Watershed, serving students from pre-school to college age. What she enjoys most is the sense of wonder in the children when they make a new discovery in nature for the first time, whether it’s noticing the chortle of an acorn woodpecker or realizing that the frogs, fish, and us all rely upon the same water source in our region-- the Carmel River. Currently, CRWC is offering virtual field tours of the watershed and online class visits.
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Ella McDougall
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Ella started with CRWC as an intern in 2018, until filling the role of Communications Coordinator in 2021. Originally from Pennsylvania, and with a background in environmental science and coastal geology, Ella decided to transition to policy and strategic planning after volunteering in the Peace Corps in Peru from 2015 to 2017. Since then, she has devoted her career to helping human and natural communities prepare for climate change, especially those along the coast of California faced with the challenges of sea-level rise. Ella graduated from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies with a masters degree in International Environmental Policy. Although dedicated to work in the coastal zone, you’ll most likely find Ella on snowy summits or riding her bike around Lake Tahoe.
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Tessa Varvares
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Tessa is an intern at the Carmel River Watershed Conservancy managing social media and assisting in the preparation of California Wildlife Day. She is pursuing her Masters Degree in International Environmental Policy at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies. Her interest in environmental policy was shaped during her time as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Venda region of South Africa. She is a strong advocate for the conservation of our planet’s remaining natural resources and the fight for environmental justice. Outside of work, Tessa can be found at the beach or on the trails with her dog, Mango.
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