Meet our Board Members.
Dr. Laurie Marker
Founder and director of Cheetah Conservation Fund located in Namibia (South West Africa)
http://www.cheetah.org/?key=81&showdescription=1&html=people&data=people
Words do not describe the courage of Dr. Marker when she sold all she had and went to Namibia to save Africa’s Cheetah. In her campaign to save the Cheetah, she has saved communities, teaching children and adults how to read, providing guard dogs for farmers and bridging the gap between Nations, beliefs, poverty, race and so much more. In saving the Cheetah, Dr. Marker is helping save a Nation. We could not be more blessed to have her as a board member. Smithsonian March 2008, “Cheetahs, A Plan for Their Survival.”
We are just now beginning to learn from science and studies concerning cougars and cheetah, that their DNA are closely linked! An astonishing discovery!
Harry MacCormack
Director of The Institute of Biowisdom located at
www.sunbowfarm.org
Harry MacCormack, author, world speaker, retired from OSU, founding pioneer in Organic farming and was co-founder of Oregon Tilth and served as their 1st Executive director. In fact, Oregon Tilth’s first offices were on his farm. Harry’s compassion for people and the environment are some of the deepest felt I have ever seen.
His endless energy helped Oregon Cougar Action Team promote “Come Fire and the Flood Moon” a play-dance based on an ancient centuries old Kalapulian Cougar story dance that has only been performed about twice in 100 years. With Harry’s guidance and staff support from Chemawa Native Indian school, Harry orchestrated a fantastic program focusing on Native children returning to their Elders and roots to learn the language of the Kalapuyan and their 1000's of years old Cougar dance. Harry secured masks made by the Portland Performing Arts and were on loan to us from the Benton County Museum, and spent endless hours with students rehearsing and learning the dance. It was a fantastic program that gave students a focus other than gangs and sent a positive message to Oregonians about saving Oregon's cougar. The students and Harry danced at the Capital and the public, Governor and State Legislature were invited. They danced for the City of Silverton and did a spectacular dance for the school districts of Linn Benton Counties at the Benton County Museum. Harry designs the kind of programs that Oregon Cougar Action Team wants to sponsor.
Chemawa Students dancing on the steps of the State Capital Building in "Come Fire and the Flood Moon " historic cougar dance. 
Jayne Miller
www.GrapeLanePoultryFarm.org
I am the founder of Oregon Cougar Acton Team. I am also a cattle ranchers daughter, I have served in the military, graduated from WOSC, and spent 17 years as an international purchasing agent in the oil cartel fields of Saudi Arabia and for Boise Cascade Pulp and Paper. Under the tutelage of Lynn Sadler, I spent 1800 hours with the Mountain Lion Foundation learning all I could about cougars and how to help save them. I want to thank the Mountain Lion Foundation for all they taught me and wish Lynn well working on saving Florida’s cougar.
I give presentations from kindergarten up through college about the nature of cougars, how to prepare to stay safe around them, what to do if you see a cougar, and tips on how to protect your livestock from natural predators. I talk about the features of cougars, how they cannot see like we do but see more like pixels on a bad computer day. How they raise their young, what to expect and how you can protect yourself and the cougar should you ever meet one! I have encountered several cougars in my life and am thrilled to have met them! I give people information I have learned from science and biologists that alleviate fear and negative reactions towards cougar. How I came about to want to protect the cougar goes back to my childhood. I grew up on my parents 7000 acre cattle ranch in Klamath Falls Oregon. We ran 1000 head of cattle per year. I had the great good fortune to live, play and work around cougar, bobcat and other large game all around our home. We had 145 acre lake fed year round by 90 degree warm springs. Geese and other fantastic birds would feed and raise their young around the lake all year long. My father never allowed hunting or trapping and as a result of this I witnessed a healthy, natural balance living with Nature as it was suppose to be. Coyotes would sleep under our front porch and I was taught to never fear them. The animals become part of our lives with nature and character all their own. I was blessed. I witnessed and lived what many today have no knowledge of in a land where I could drink from any spring without fear of contaminants and song birds of various kinds sang me to wake each morning. Of the thousands of cattle we raised, none were ever lost to any natural predator. Because we did not hunt, poison or trap, there was enough food to go around, leaving our livestock out of the picture. We did dedicate 200 acres of the 2000 acres of grain we grew to the deer. Dad said it was cheaper than hunting or poisons.
Over the years I have seen too many changes on Oregon’s landscape that are dismaying to witness. To all our children, I am sorry for that. I have done my best to stop this reckless march towards irreversable destruction and it is my hope that OreCat is one small way to help in a very big way.
And then there is Krystal! Where would we be without her letter writing!
Krystal is a licensed veterinary technician with a background in zoology and wildlife conservation. She has done volunteer work at Wildlife Images and is currently a member of the H.S.U.S, Defenders of Wildlife, The Mountain Lion Foundation, and of course The Oregon Cougar Action Team. She has written numerous published newspaper articles about cougars and has always been passionate about the protection and preservation of the Big Cats. She lives near the wilderness in a small town in Oregon with her dog and 4 fabulous cats.