About Us

The Madrona Institute is an independent 501(c)3 non-governmental organization based in the San Juan Islands of Washington.

At Madrona, we envision a community and a world in which human beings co-exist peacefully with each other and responsibly with nature.

Our Mission
To engage current and future generations in the conservation and stewardship of our local ecosystem, and to encourage community dialogue and leadership on climate-related issues.  This mission is accomplished through youth conservation & stewardship corps in the San Juan Islands, and through initiatives on climate change.

Our Vision is a positive, healthy, resilient San Juan Islands.

The Tree Behind our Name

The Madrona Institute takes its name from the Pacific Madrone tree, known in the Northwest as “Madrona”. In a Straits Salish story, told by Chief Phillip Paul of the Saanich people, the Madrona was the tree used by the survivors of the Great Flood (a tradition common to almost all of the Coast Salish peoples) to anchor their canoe to the top of Vancouver Island’s Mount Newton, known as Lau,Wenew or “place of refuge” to First Nations. To this day, the Saanich people do not burn the Madrona in their stoves, because of the important service this tree provided long ago. The metaphor of being an anchor in service to a community is an apt one for our work.

Board and Advisors

The Board of Directors of the Madrona Institute is responsible for the overall governance of the organization, providing special expertise in resource development that advances the organization’s work. Board members include: Linda Lyshall, President; Sarah Severn, Vice President; Elaine M. Kendall, Secretary-Treasurer; Janet Alderton Director; Gretchen Allison, Director; Lisa Nash Lawrence (Swinomish/Mitchell Bay) Director; and Nikyta Palmisani, Director.

Former Board members include: Sarah Crosby, Kathleen Foley Lewis, Richard Hobbs, Anne Marie Shanks, Jim Skoog, Matthew Wallrath, Brian Wiese, and Ron Zee. We thank them for their past service.

Advisors to the Madrona Institute, responsible for program advice and counsel, include: Phoebe Barnard, Stable Planet Alliance; Lincoln Bormann, San Juan County Land Bank; Katie Fleming, San Juan County Department of Environmental Stewardship; Kathleen Foley Lewis, San Juan Preservation Trust; The Honorable Debra Lekanoff (Tlingit), Washington State Representative; Kyle Loring, Loring Advising PLLC; Nora Ferm Nickum, Seattle Aquarium; The Honorable Alex Ramel, Washington State Representative; and Ron Zee, Founder, The Madrona Institute.

Advisor Emeritus: Marcia deChadenedes, Bureau of Land Management

The Madrona Institute acknowledges Shaun Hubbard for her outstanding design services to our organization.