2006 President Bonnie Prange
/My two years first as VP and then President of GSOC was certainly not something I would have foreseen since I have no formal geology education beyond a few general ed college courses. What I do have is a BS in Biology/Botany from Humboldt State University in northern California and a Masters in Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College. I became interested in the revegetation aspects of mine reclamation while preparing for graduate school and decided to focus on rehabilitation of degraded landscapes. This interest led me to post graduate contract work with the state of Washington and Thurston County where I assisted in the development, implementation and enforcement of mining regulations. Private sector·employment as a consultant to the mining industry followed.
2006 - Bonnie Prange
My work in the reclamation field has provided me with some practical applied science knowledge of slope stability, stratigraphy, and mineralogy. Fossils too - I've had an interest in paleontology since I first knew what the word meant.
Growing up in western NY State I amassed a carefully labeled collection of fossils from the creek beds and escarpments that provided hours of blissfully unsupervised entertainment for a curious child. With better guidance and more self-knowledge at the college level I probably would have found my niche in the sciences as a plant paleontologist.
As I gradually retire from the consulting business, I find myself happily indulging in many interests that were put on hold over the years: studying lichen and mushroom taxonomy, monitoring migratory dragonflies (with the Xerces Society), maintaining an aviary of canaries and finches, and spending lots of quality time with my beloved horse Mateo and donkey Oliver.
