Deanna White
State Director

Deanna with George McGovern

Deanna White is a relocated South Dakota girl who joined Clean Water Action in January 2008 as Program Director. She brings with her an extensive background in political and community organizing. Most recently, she ran the Brandon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce. Prior to that, she spent eight years with the Sierra Club beginning as a community organizer in Las Vegas, serving as National Deputy Political Director in Washington DC and returning to South Dakota as a Senior Regional Representative. She began her career as a campaign organizer with the South Dakota Democratic Party in 1992.
Deanna loves reading, traveling, Cary Grant movies, sushi and her dog Rerun − not necessarily in that order.
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Program Staff

Dan Endreson
Program Coordinator

Dan joined Clean Water Action in December 2008 as a Program Coordinator, managing our legislative efforts. He was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, home to Captain Crunch cereal and in close proximity to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. He has been living in Minneapolis since 2003 after living in Michigan, Utah and Maryland working as a research analyst for numerous Federal agencies.
In 2008, he received a graduate degree in environmental policy from the Humphrey Institute, after previously studying forestry at Michigan Tech and biology at Creighton University. Dan enjoys traveling to National Parks, playing broomball and photography.
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Darrell Gerber
Program Coordinator

Darrell was raised among the high-desert sagebrush of a northwest Colorado cattle ranch.
He studied Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University, North Carolina State University and Georgia Institute of Technology. He attended the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota to study Energy Policy in 2005 and 2006.
He joined Clean Water Action in May of 2007 as Program Coordinator focusing on Energy and Water issues. His work primarily concentrates on Global Warming, the Great Lakes and the Clean Water Restoration Act.
He is a resident of the Kingfield Neighborhood in Minneapolis where he lives with his spouse Ashley. They play in a band together.
E-mail Darrell

Melissa Caldwell
Development Coordinator

Melissa Caldwell was born and raised in Minnesota. In February of 2009, she joined Clean Water Action as the Development Coordinator where she works with donors, organizes Clean Water Action events and represents Clean Water Fund on the Minnesota Environmental Fund (MEF) board of directors. She has 13 years of social, economic and environmental fundraising and campaign experience.

Melissa is excited to work with the Clean Water team, helping guarantee we have a safe and healthy environment for all future generations.
E-mail Melissa

Kim LaBo
Program Organizer

Kim grew up at the junction of the east and west branches of the Rum River in Princeton, Minnesota.
Since arriving at Clean Water Action in 2007, Kim has worked to rid the planet of all things toxic. As program organizer, Kim educates the public about toxins in consumer products, their safer alternatives, and actions people can take in their homes and communities to reduce their exposure. Prior to joining Clean Water Action, Kim worked in Chicago as a community and union organizer for fourteen years.
Kim's other interests include gardening with native plants, hiking, and attending the Book Bags book club.
E-mail Kim

Canvass Staff

Field Canvass

Shane Pavlick
Field Canvass Director

Shane Phillip Pavlick was born and raised in West Deer, Pennsylvania—a rural community north of Pittsburgh. Here he established a strong desire to be one with nature. At Slippery Rock University he studied Journalism and Creative Writing with a minor in Philosophy. Shane was an active member of the Men's Soccer Team and the Student Athlete Mentor program. While enlisted in the Army National Guard, he jumped at the opportunity to help Hurricane Katrina victims rebuild their lives.
One day, when Shane’s father handed him the Classifieds, Shane found a job posting that captured his immediate attention. It said, “Fight for environmental justice. Hold corrupt politicians accountable. Be the change you want to see in the world.” In March of 2008, Shane joined Clean Water Action; he has been influential to constituents, politicians, and the environmental movement across the country. He believes we should put our public health and environmental standards first.
In Shane's free time, he writes socially conscious poetry, perfects his singer/songwriter craft, practices billiards, and relaxes with his partner, Amy.
E-mail Shane

Becca Thieret
Administrator

Becca is from the small river town of Winona, Minnesota, which is nestled between limestone bluffs that rise 500 feet and the mighty Mississippi River.
She has worked at Clean Water Action off and on since April, 2007. Before working at Clean Water Action, she was an art student and worked in retail. She enjoys being on the front lines of the fight for clean water, stopping and reducing global warming and creating a healthier American lifestyle. She is one of our bright young rising stars.
She enjoys reading, music, traveling (generally with a tent) and is a huge fan of documentaries.
E-mail Becca

Grassroots Phone Canvass

Sara McLoone
Grassroots Project Director

Sara grew up in Maryland where she devoured the Washington Post and developed an interest in politics. Prior to joining us she has traveled, studied and resided in California, Wyoming and Utah.
Sara began at Clean Water Action as a field canvasser in June 2003.
She has been a Manager and Coordinator supervising dozens of staff on several projects using the latest technology. She is now the Grassroots Project Director overseeing field and phone outreach on a variety of policy and electoral projects.
Sara lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Ian, where she enjoys plotting trips to Central America, reading cheap mystery novels and learning Spanish.
E-mail Sara

Emily Tate
Phone Canvass Director

Emily grew up in Atlanta, Georgia − a city closely linked to the civil rights movement.
She moved to Minnesota to attend the Aveda Institute. While she remains a licensed cosmetologist, she gets more satisfaction by building Clean Water Action membership and political clout than by making others look beautiful. She sees beauty in political action and she has been doing exactly that since joining us in 2004!
Emily is an important member of our base building team. She helps retain and recruit members, as well as empowering them to take action and influence positive policy outcomes; from reducing pollution to protecting our waters.
Emily has been trained to work on the trapeze and she dreams of running away with the circus.
E-mail Emily

Deanna Steege
Grassroots Phone Manager

After graduating from St. Olaf College with a degree in Human Rights and Environmental Justice, Deanna moved to Minneapolis in 2006. After a year working at a refugee resettlement she found herself canvassing, which she swore she'd never do again, but was excited and motivated by the energy of her co-workers at Clean Water Action while working to protect waters across the country. She was promoted to trainer and then manager in 2010. In her spare time she's a musician, painter, and enjoys biking around the Twin Cities year round. She someday hopes to travel and play music full time.
E-mail Deanna

Jo Gordon
Lead Administrator

Jo might be called a "Jo of all trades." She's managed fast paced restaurants and bars, been employed in the medical outcomes industry and worked as a computer programmer and software developer.
Jo was drawn to Clean Water Action in 2004 because of her desire to do some good in this world. She provides assistance to staff and members, and is critical in keeping our organization running every day.
When she is not at Clean Water Action, she continues to help others. During her free time she tutors fourth through twelfth graders in English, and works with the International Diabetes Center on a project using graphical reporting tools in diabetes management.
E-mail Jo

Administrative Staff

Mike Kirros
Information Systems Coordinator

Mike prefers to let his equipment get the glory

Mike has worked for Clean Water Action since 1997, beginning as a Field Canvasser. He has also done political campaign and finance work for Clean Water Action in addition to his information system duties.
He is in charge of all things computer in the Minneapolis office, including network administration, database administration and help desk. Sometimes staffers ask him to stand next to computers that are acting up, which seems to fix them, almost miraculously.
E-mail Mike