About the Friends Board of Directors
The Friends are governed by a Board of Directors. These individuals bring a wide array of skills and experience to the organization's vision. Current board members have expertise in natural area management, business, biology, landscape architecture, non-profit management, public planning, youth mentorship, and economic development. Plus, the board enjoys the camaraderie and teamwork that includes outings to explore and better understand the greater Mt. Pisgah area.
We seek diverse people to serve on our Board and its Committees with a range of skills, such as law (land use, contracts, water law, estate planning), communications and marketing, outdoor recreation management, and fiscal management, and more.
Please email volunteer@bufordpark.org if you would like to learn more about serving on our Board of Directors or a board committee (which welcome non-board members).
Stephen Moore, Board President
Stephen Moore as an extensive background in leading and educating youth in field experiences in the county, state, and federal public lands. This includes work with Northwest Youthcorps to develop a Charter School based on conservation and land management principles that allow youth to gain the value and appreciation of our shared resources. As a fly fisherman, camping enthusiast, hiker, and horseman, he has a great personal appreciation for outdoor recreation and conservation. With a combination of 16 years working for non-profits and serving on advisory boards, he understands the vital importance non-profits offer the communities they serve and the unique challenges providing those services presents. Steve brings a unique skill set with his background of working with extremely diverse populations of people and is skilled at finding common ground and empathizing with various perspectives. First exploring Mt. Pisgah on horseback when he moved here in 2003, he also utilizes the area for educational purposes and personal recreation with his friends and family.
Philip Bayles, Board Vice President
Philip Bayles has a distinguished career background in both music and computer-related fields. His conducting has received regional and national acclaim. Mr. Bayles has a second career in computers and networking. He has served on the Board of Directors of Oregon Public Networking, bringing technology to the disadvantaged and taught numerous courses in computer literacy, word-processing, internet research. Philip supports the Friends because he believes that the greater Mt. Pisgah area is so beautiful and beloved and is a place well worth restoring, and preserving, for all.
Nate Zantzinger, Board Secretary
Nate was born and raised in temperate, deciduous forests of Southeastern Pennsylvania, where he developed a strong connection to the natural world. A native of Paoli, Nate started his westward journey to focus on conservation and outdoor recreation in Arizona. After extensive time in the backcountry, Nate worked in sustainable agriculture where he promoted plant-based nutrition and advocated for permaculture development. Nate has experience with the National Park Service where he collaborated with the National Park Service partners to enhance partnerships while overseeing the volunteer program. He also served as the Community Engagement Manager at Northwest Youth Corps. Nate is eager to steward a place as special as Buford Park, and looks forward to continued memories recreating with his loved ones
Natanya von Engel, Board Treasurer
Natanya assists taxpayers and small businesses with taxes in Eugene, OR at John R. Adkisson, PC and the surrounding communities as a CPA. She also has experience in tax prep and planning, bookkeeping, and payroll, to name a few. Natanya is an outdoors enthusiast and frequent visitor to the Park. She discovered Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah after moving to Eugene seventeen years ago and has been enjoying the trails and swimming holes with her family ever since. She is eager to share her expertise to serve the nonprofit community.
Jonathan Hood, Board Member
Jonathan comes to us from our friends Hutchinson Cox. Jonathan grew up in a small town outside of Flint, Michigan. He moved to Eugene in 2010 for law school after pursuing a theatre and DJ career in Chicago for eight years. Jonathan’s Midwestern family—including his parents and brothers—now call Oregon home. He enjoys spending time with them and exploring all that the Pacific Northwest outdoors has to offer. When not in the office or the courtroom, you can find Jonathan hiking, backpacking, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, or playing ice hockey.
Kate Stover, Board Member
Kate grew up in a small Colorado mountain town where she spent her formative years outdoors, finding ways to interact with the natural world. She has a B.S. in Geography and Environmental Science
as well as a B.A. in Education from the University of Colorado. She came to Oregon six years ago and has worked with youth in a variety of settings including teaching at Northwest Youth Corps, Looking Glass
Family Services and other youth mentor programs. Kate now works at Wellsprings Friends School where she teaches science, restores local wetlands and is creating an outdoor classroom. Kate looks forward to being involved with Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah and finding new ways to connect the youth of our community with nature.
Anice Thigpen, Board Member
Although Anice’s formal education focused on science, it is her fascination with music that has persisted throughout her life. Childhood piano lessons provided the foundation for her to study music composition and vocal performance. She currently works with her spouse Andrea Halliday to give voice to the unsung and light to the unseen through the works of A-Squared Productions. Both she and her spouse have a great love for conservation, land management, and fighting invasive weeds.
Dante Zuñiga-West, Board Member
Dante holds a Bachelor’s Degree in writing from The Evergreen State College and a Master’s Degree in writing from the Cal Arts MFA Writing Program. A former Language Arts teacher with a decade of classroom experience, Dante came to Wellsprings from Northwest Youth Corps where he served as Dean of Humanities for Twin Rivers Charter School (formerly known as The Outdoor High School). During his time with the Corps he also worked as a Youth Services Coordinator/Community Engagement Officer. He is passionate about environmental conservation, leadership, and exploring the natural world. A novelist, short story writer and journalist, Dante’s writing is frequently published in alternative newspapers, lifestyle magazines and adventure journals. He lives in the coastal mountain range of Oregon with his family and a large German Shepherd named Falcor.