About the Friends Staff
Jason has worked for the Friends since November 1999 and has a background in natural resource management, landscape design, and planning. He is particularly interested in understanding the ecological relationships between human activities and the landscapes in which they occur. He leads the implementation of the Friends Stewardship Program to care for habitat and recreational resources within greater Mt. Pisgah including Buford Park. Over his tenure, he has defined the Friends brand of stewardship and nurtured the relationship between the organization, its membership, the public, and this place we know as our urban wilderness. He is a principal author of the park’s Habitat Management Plan, as well as plans to guide management of the Sorenson Property (owned by BPA) and Turtle Flats (owned by the Friends).
Teresa brings fiscal experience overseeing and stewarding federal and state grants. She is committed to creating working relationships and strengthening the fiscal position of the Friends so we can continue to restore, steward, and protect Buford Park and the surrounding Mt. Pisgah area. She is passionate about enjoying the beauty of nature, spending time with family and friends, and solving puzzles.Sha Cabal, Intern and Volunteer Coordinator
Sha move
d to Eugene in the middle of the pandemic, seeking refuge from the concrete jungle of Los Angeles. She quickly fell in love with the landscape of Willamette Valley while tending the land at permaculture homesteads, small-scale farms, and public parks. The diverse ecosystem of the Valley represents something very meaningful to her, which is resilience. In her spare time she likes to bomb hills on her bike, craft with friends, and spend time with her tabby cat. While working with the Friends, Sha aims to practice inclusion and decolonization through her programming and projects.
Michaela Blackham, Stewardship Coordinator
Michaela is thrilled to join Friends in stewarding Buford Park and their commitment to fostering a deeper human connection to nature. Michaela was raised along the upper McKenzie River in the foothills of the Cascades, where her love for the outdoors began. She graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources. Her professional experience spans environmental stewardship and education across the private, public, and non-profit sectors. With a strong background in urban forestry, Michaela is passionate about helping people connect with the places they live. She is a Certified Arborist, Tree Risk Assessor, and a retired climbing arborist. Outside of work, Michaela enjoys whitewater rafting, biking, crocheting, and supporting women’s basketball. She loves spending time with her partner, making her daughter laugh, and exploring the outdoors with her dog.
Guston grew up in San Francisco and has been fascinated by the natural world for as long as he can remember. After studying in Flagstaff, Arizona, and living there for ten years, he recently moved to Eugene to experience life in the wet Pacific Northwest, in contrast to the arid Arizona mountains. His previous work with a city parks department and the Conservation Corps has equipped him with a diverse set of skills suited to his new role as Trails Steward. He enjoys cooking, basketball, and spending time with loved ones, but his true passion lies in plants, and he spends much of his free time learning about them.
After growing up in the Ozarks of Northwest Arkansas, the bulk of Mike's work experience includes over 20 years with the National Park Service and 10 years with the U.S. Forest Service in fuels management, fire behavior and strategic fire planning, though he has also served as a seasonal park naturalist and law enforcement ranger. He has a home in south Eugene and also still owns land in the Arkansas Ozarks. He also enjoys spending time in the field appreciating all the the upper Willamette Valley has to offer.
April Dawne Christen, Outreach and Communications Coordinator, Plant Sales Manager
April Dawne grew up in Eugene and has been hiking and exploring all over Oregon with her dad since she was a kid. Her love of plants, mushrooms, wild places, dancing, delicious food and being physically active has led to a varied work history. She has been a restaurant cook, worked for the Forest Service, coordinated natural history workshops and continues to run her own landscaping business. She joined the Friends Stewardship crew in June of 2016, became the Nursery Assistant in May of 2020, and administrative assistant in 2024. You can find April Dawne by listening for her infectious laugh.
Mieko Aoki, Nursery Manager
Mieko has a background in biology, ecology, landscape architecture, horticulture, habitat restoration and wildlife rehabilitation. She joined the Friends in 2017 as Trails and Volunteer Coordinator, and became the Nursery Manager in 2020. She has always enjoyed plants, animals and what can be learned by slowing down and observing them. When not at work she loves camping in the mountains, wading in streams, listening to birdsong, sharing good food with friends and spending time with her awesome husband.
Hailing from the rural south, Hannah grew up stomping through forests and wading rivers. She gradually moved west, working multiple seasonal jobs including tallgrass prairie restoration in Nebraska using bison grazing, wild donkey behavioral observation in Arizona, and passerine songbird densities within working Oregon forests. After falling in love with the various microhabitats of the Willamette Valley, she decided to call Eugene home in 2019. Hannah enjoys creating delicious meals from the food in her garden, foraging plants and mushrooms in the coastal mountain range, and cuddling her snuggle-bug of a cat.