Liz Doane

Education Specialist

Liz Doane joined the Preservation Trust in April 2022 as the organization’s first Education Specialist. Previously, she worked as Program Director at the Funhouse Commons on Orcas Island, overseeing core Funhouse programs, including its After School, Summer Camp, Teen, Education, Mentor, and Volunteer programs.

Liz grew up in central Minnesota, where she spent most of her free time outdoors biking, hiking, and enjoying the multitude of lakes with family and friends. It was not until during college, however, that she experienced the pristine beauty of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness by invitation of a childhood friend. This trip proved to be the catalyst for her career.

After graduating with a BS in Biology from Doane University in Crete, Nebraska, Liz was accepted into the Graduate Naturalist Program at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, Minnesota, receiving her Masters Certificate in Outdoor Environmental Education in 2011. She pursued various seasonal outdoor education jobs after Wolf Ridge and found herself on Orcas Island at YMCA Camp Orkila in 2013. She fell in love with the San Juan Islands and moved to Orcas full-time in 2016. Since then, Liz has been deeply involved with the Orcas Island community through Orcas Center and Actors Theater productions, the Orcas Dance Collective, and as an executive chair for the Coalition for Orcas Youth.

Liz is excited to expand her work with youth in the San Juan Islands as Education Specialist, fostering and strengthening connections to the land for the next generation of community scientists, conservationists, and land stewards.