Sascha Clark Danylchuk - Executive director

As a worshiper of sandy toes and mountain air, Sascha has spent most of her life seeking water in one form or another. Her obsession has led her to a career centered around the natural world. As a fisheries scientist, Sascha has focused most of her work on recreational angling, specifically the science of catch-and-release. She has also worked for a handful of conservation and education nonprofits.

It is the intersection between her work as a scientist and her passion as an angler that led Sascha to Keep Fish Wet. With a belief that recreational anglers have something to learn from fisheries scientists and that scientists need to make their work accessible to a wider audience, Sascha endeavors to develop a space in which everyone can communicate more directly and in a language that can be understood by all.

DR. Andy Danylchuk - Science advisor

From tagging Giant Trevally on the scorching sale flats of Christmas Island to taking blood samples from Golden Dorado in the dense jungle of Argentina, Dr. Andy Danylchuk is on a personal crusade to understand and conserve fish across the planet. Equal parts scientist and fish bum, Andy is driven by an unrelenting desire to mitigate society’s impact on fish and their essential habitat. 

As a professor of fish conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Andy focuses much of his research on the development and implementation of best practices for handling and releasing fish. A strong advocate for experiential education, Andy uses video media as a mechanism for sharing information and empowering stakeholders to make better decisions when it comes to fish and what he likes to call ‘responsible angling’. He has won prestigious awards for his teaching (Distinguished Teaching Award at UMass Amherst) and broader outreach, especially to the angling community (Excellence in Public Outreach from the American Fisheries Society) 

With one foot firmly planted in the research world and the other in wading boots, Andy works to bridge the information gap between the fishing industry, conservation organization, the scientific community and anglers. To help broader efforts related to recreational fisheries conservation, Andy is a Member of the Science and Policy Committee for the American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA), Member of the International Game Fish Association Scientific Advisory Panel, Research Fellow for Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, Board Member for Indifly (Foundation), and Fellow (National) for The Explorers Club.  He also serves as an Ambassador for Patagonia, Thomas & Thomas Fly Rods, and Sight Lines Provisions.  

Dr. Steven Cooke - Chair

Dr. Steven Cooke is the Canada Research Chair in Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.  He is an integrative biologist, conducting fundamental and applied research on the ecology, physiology, and behavior of wild fish.  Much of this work is focused on developing strategies to ensure the sustainability of recreational fisheries.  His research covers freshwater and marine systems and spans the globe with active collaborations in over 15 countries.  To date, Cooke has over 500 peer reviewed publications on topics such as environmental policy, human dimensions of fisheries, stress biology and natural resources management, among others.  He co-authored the UN FAO technical guidelines for sustainable recreational fisheries.  Cooke holds leadership positions such as Chair of the Sea Lamprey Research Board of the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission and Chair of the Science Advisory Committee of the Ocean Tracking Network.  He is Past President of the Canadian Aquatic Resources Section of the American Fisheries Society and President Elect of the International Section of the American Fisheries Society.  He is a Subject Editor for the Journal of Animal Biotelemetry, FACETS, Fisheries Research, Environmental Biology of Fishes, and Endangered Species Research, and is Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford University Press journal “Conservation Physiology”.  Cooke has received a number of awards including the Award of Excellence in Fisheries Management from the American Fisheries Society, the Medal from the Fisheries Society of the British Isles, an Early Research Award from the Ontario Government and the NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Fellowship.  Cooke was recently selected to be a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists.  Cooke is an avid angler who enjoys spending his money on fishing gear and his time chasing fish with his kiddos.

Erica Hickey - Board

Erica has spent her professional life as a registered nurse and now works as a palliative care nurse practitioner. In her “real life” she is an avid fly angler, outdoor writer, and an instructor with the Wisconsin Women’s Fly Fishing Clinics. These days she lives, works, and plays in Colorado in the Eagle River Valley. Erica became interested in catch-and-release science in 2016, after learning about the Bulkley River Steelhead Catch-and-Release Study, and she has been a Keep Fish Wet supporter ever since. Her passion is teaching catch and release best practices to beginning anglers, and she is interested in engaging anglers in discussions about their relationship to the fish they catch. She is excited to dedicate more of her time to conservation with Keep Fish Wet.

Dr. Sean Tracey - Board

Associate Professor Sean Tracey's life-long passion for the ocean and angling led him to a career in fisheries biology. Over the last 20 years, he has travelled across Australia and the world fishing for, and working on, a wide range of marine species - from satellite tagging bluefin tuna at extreme northern latitudes off Norway and off southern Tasmania in Australia, to engaging with the booming recreational swordfish fishery off the temperate waters of Australia. His work with the recreational swordfish fishing fleet was an opportunity to track these amazing fish further south than ever before, and to gain the first scientific insights on their migration and behavior in these southern reaches. A passionate advocate for education, knowledge sharing and citizen science, Sean founded the highly successful Tuna Champions program, which encourages recreational fishers to use the best evidence-based fishing and handling practices for the iconic Southern Bluefin Tuna, so no fish is wasted - and to become stewards of the SBT fishery. Sean is currently the Program Leader of the Wild Fisheries program at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (University of Tasmania) and an International Game Fishing Association representative for the Oceania region.

Mark Harbaugh - Board

After being hired as Patagonia's first fishing rep, Mark spent the next 25 years working with them, the last 10 of which he was the fishing global sales manager. Mark has been fortunate enough to get to fish in 18 different countries. In that time he was also able to do different catch and release studies with Andy Danylchuk. The first was a bonefish project, and the second was with steelhead and he’s been fascinated by the science and the results ever since. Mark was a guide for Silver Creek Outfitters (Terry Ring helped me get on with Patagonia) for 14 yrs., and have been with Three River Ranch for the last three years. He enjoy teaching new fishers how to fish and particularly how to handle fish.

Dr. Meaghan Guckian - Board

Dr. Meaghan Guckian is Core Faculty in the Department of Environmental Studies at Antioch University New England. She is a behavioral [social] scientist, with expertise in conservation psychology, communications and decision-making. Having always been fascinated by people and what drives them to do the things that they do, Meaghan’s work broadly focuses on how a range of social, contextual and individual factors interact to influence individual and collective environmental decision-making. She is particularly interested in the social nature of outdoor recreation and environmental issues, and how people socially navigate their experiences with the environment and responses to environmental issues. She applies this perspective to recreational angling, looking to effectively engage anglers in best handling and releasing practices. Apart from her work and after a lifetime playing ice hockey competitively, Meaghan has shifted gears to the outdoors. She is an avid hiker and kayaker, spending most days outside with her family and dog!

Kevin Parsons - board

Kevin is the proud father of two amazing boys with a general practice of law in Shelburne Falls, MA.  Fly fishing in remote places throughout the world is his passion.  Kevin was a founding member of the Deerfield River Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited, which has, despite its small size, become one of the most active TU Chapters in the country engaging in science based advocacy and conservation projects.  On behalf of DRWTU Kevin lead the fight in a FERC relicensing battle of a Deerfield River hydroelectric facility, resulting in a negotiated settlement that doubled winter flows to protect brown trout redds that were being de-watered by facility operations.   DRWTU was the first TU Chapter in the country to encourage all members to adopt Keep Fish Wet principles and become Advocates, and enact a policy of not posting any out of water fish pictures in social media posts.  After his DRWTU board position ended, the next chapter of Kevin’s fish conservation advocacy became readily apparent...joining the Keep Fish Wet movement and becoming a board member.

Rex Ishibashi

Rex Ishibashi is an entrepreneur at the convergence of media, entertainment, and technology.  Rex is currently the CEO of Originator, a developer of mobile apps for kids that combine education+entertainment, and which is now part of Spin Master Corp.  He previously held various roles at Electronic Arts, including the founding of the online games division and heading corporate and business development, and was also part of the founding team at WIRED.  He is a current board member of AbilityPath, a non-profit working with kids and adults with developmental disabilities in the Bay Area.

Rex's saltwater fly fishing journey started in the mid-90's and has taken him to many parts of Mexico, Belize, Christmas Island, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Honduras, Fiji, Tonga, Micronesia, and the Seychelles.  Seeing the effects of development and climate on these places and over time has led to his involvement in fish conservation and environmental sustainability.  He now ventures to distant corners of the world almost exclusively with his young son, Ryo, who is part of a new generation upholding the ethos of responsible fly fishing and conservation.

Dan Dow

From an early age, Dan has filled his days on the water and in the woods of eastern Pennsylvania, fostering a deep appreciation for the outdoors that would eventually shape his lifelong commitment to fishing conservation.

Dan’s college years at Kutztown University first introduced him to the art of fly fishing and, when he wasn’t busy studying towards his degree in digital media, he spent his time getting schooled by the fish of the Little Lehigh, Tulpehocken Creek, Spring Creek, and the Delaware River. Fast forward to today and Dan proudly stands nearly 20 years into a successful career in digital marketing, with a young family formed thanks to a shared love of fly fishing.

During his marketing career, he has worked in a number of industries including consumer goods, healthcare, environmental conservation and higher education. More notably, Dan served as the PR and Communications Manager for KFW Conservation Partner Bonefish and Tarpon Trust (Where he first met Dr. Andy Danylchuk and Dr. Steve Cooke!) and as a marketing consultant, developing projects for organizations such as Trout Unlimited and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (where he first met Sascha Clark Danylchuk!).

Currently, Dan works as the Director of Digital Strategy for a healthcare marketing agency based in Dallas, TX. After stints living in New Jersey and Miami, Florida, Dan and his family have settled back in eastern Pennsylvania where he actively serves as the president of the Little Lehigh chapter of Trout Unlimited and is a founding member of the Little Lehigh Watershed Stewards in Allentown, PA.