Instructor Biographical Information

Andy Barsotti

Andy Barsotti earned his Master’s degree in geology from Washington State University with an emphasis on igneous petrology (igneous rocks) and Columbia River basalt. He is an adjunct professor of geology at Clark College in Vancouver, WA. When not picking up rocks he is busy hiking, backpacking and cross-country skiing in the Pacific Northwest. He is also a self-taught mountaineer.

Alan Bauer
Alan Bauer is a freelance photographer specializing in the natural history of the Pacific Northwest as well as its cultural history.  He is a lifelong resident of the Northwest, having grown up on a large family farm in Oregon's Willamette Valley. For the past 22 years he has called Washington his home. His work has been published in Backpacker, Odyssey, MotorHome, Northwest Runner, CityDog, Northwest Outdoors, Oregon Coast, and Northwest Travel magazines. He has done photography for a myriad of books as part of the "Day Hiking" series including "Day Hiking-Mount Rainier National Park,” "Day Hiking-South Cascades,” "Day Hiking-Snoqualmie Region,” "Best Desert Hikes: Washington,” "Best Hikes with Dogs: Inland Northwest" and "Day Hiking-Central Cascades.”

John Bishop

John Bishop is an associate professor of biology at Washington State University –Vancouver. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Mount St. Helens Institute for many years. His research, funded by the National Science Foundation, focuses on mechanisms that control the development of new plant communities. He is especially interested in how herbivores and a lack of nutrients shape the colonization of barren areas. Bishop earned his PhD in botany from the University of Washington in 1996. He has authored more than 20 scientific papers; available at www.vancouver.wsu.edu/programs/sci/.

Reinhardt Böhme

Brittany Brand

Brittany Brand is a volcanologist at the University of Washington in Seattle.  Her research focuses on the processes and products of explosive volcanism, such as ash fall and pyroclastic flows.  Brittany has studied magma-water interaction, which often results in one of the most explosive styles of volcanism, as well as explosive eruptions from large stratovolcanoes like Mount St Helens.  She has just begun a detailed study of the pyroclastic flow deposits from the May 18, 1980 eruption and will be actively conducting research on the Pumice Plain for the next three years.  Brand graduated with a PhD from Arizona State University in 2008.

Christine Colasurdo

Writer Christine Colasurdo is the author of two books on the outdoors, including "Return to Spirit Lake.” She first camped at Spirit Lake in 1970 as a child with her family and was profoundly affected by the 1980 eruption. Her family owned a cabin that was destroyed by the debris avalanche and lateral blast. A native of Portland, Colasurdo earned her Master’s degree in English from UC Berkeley in 1992. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications and on public radio, and she has created two museum exhibits about Mount St. Helens. She is at work on a second book about Mount St. Helens. http://www.christinecolasurdo.com/

Paul Gerald

Paul’s hiking life started at age 12 when he went to a summer camp in the Absoraka Mountains of Wyoming. He’s hiked in the Rocky Mountains from New Mexico to Montana, as well as in Appalachia, Alaska, Nepal, and Argentina. In 1996 he moved to Portland to be close to the ocean, mountains, big trees and coffee shops. Gerald’s writing career began in the sports department of the much-missed Dallas Times Herald. He later worked for the Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Memphis Flyer before setting out as a freelancer. Since then, he has written some 300 travel articles. “60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Portland” was his first book; the fourth edition is due out in spring 2010. His second was “Day and Overnight Hikes: Oregon’s Pacific Crest Trail” also published by Menasha Ridge Press in 2007. And in 2009 he revised “Best Tent Camping: Oregon” for Menasha Ridge.

Kate Hobbie

Laura Kerr

Laura Kerr is the Director of Science Education for the Mount St. Helens Institute. She joined the Institute in 2009 with more than eight years of experience in science and environmental education. As a field instructor for the Multnomah Education Service District, she worked to bring science alive for Portland sixth-graders in Outdoor School. A seasoned traveler, Laura has lived in many places. She attended the National Outdoor Leadership School in Kenya, and has worked at the Virgin Island Sustainability Institute, led Turtlewatch educational programs on the island of St. Croix, and created organic gardens in Ecuador. She has also taught environmental education in Great Smoky Mountain National Park and has guided river-rafting trips. Kerr received her Bachelor’s degree in geography and environmental studies from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN.

Larry Mastin

Since 1990 Larry Mastin has worked as a researcher at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory.  His focus has been on understanding the physics of volcanic eruptions and magma systems as well as processes that make some eruptions more explosive than other eruptions.  This work has included modeling and interpreting data from earthquakes and ground movement at Mount St. Helens.  He has also done experiments that simulate volcanic jets and plumes, and explosive mixing of magma and water during some kinds of eruptions in lakes. Mastin received his Master’s degree and his PhD from Stanford University in applied earth sciences. His post-doctoral research in tectonic-plate movement in Europe was completed in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Henry Panter

Henry is a self-taught mountaineer with many years of experience and multiple climbing adventures under his belt. Raised in La Grande, Oregon, Panter has been around snow and cold weather all his life. He has climbed Mount Hood, Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens multiple times and been to the 17,000-foot elevation on Denali. He gained advance outdoor survival skills at the Black Rapids Warfare Training Center in Fort Greeley, Alaska. After many years of cold-weather adventures, he still has all of his fingers and toes.

Tom Pierson

Tom Pierson started his geologic education collecting rocks from neighbors' driveways in New Jersey in the late 50's and completed it in 1977 with a PhD in geology from the University of Washington.  After three years of post-doctoral research with the New Zealand Forest Service, he returned to the U.S. He has been a research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Cascades Volcano Observatory and an adjunct professor of geology at Portland State University.  Pierson focuses on hazards involving the mobilization and rapid movement of rock debris and water down the flanks of volcanoes.  His current projects include the assessment of lahar, debris-avalanche and flood hazards at Mount Hood.  Pierson is currently a fellow of the Geological Society of America and a member of the American Geophysical Union and the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior.  His bibliography includes over 60 scientific publications.  

Pat Pringle

Pat Pringle is an associate professor of earth science at Centralia College. He is the author of “Roadside Geology of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and Vicinity.” He has worked with the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Earth Resources as well as at the US Geological Survey’s Cascade Volcano Observatory. His interests include the volcanic processes and history of the Cascade Range and promoting earth science education and awareness.

Vancouver Sidewalk Astronomers

The Vancouver Sidewalk Astronomers is a loosely knit group of amateur astronomers from the Vancouver/Portland area dedicated to sharing a view of the heavens with all who are interested. Star parties provide an excellent way to be introduced to astronomy. Unlike most sciences, the amateur can play a major role in astronomy, and Vancouver Sidewalk Astronomers have years of experience sharing their love of the stars.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Biologists

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists have been directly involved with the management and study of the Mt. St. Helens elk herd.  These biologists have an extensive knowledge of elk biology and factors effecting elk around Mt. St. Helens. They have participated in many survey flights over the Mt. St. Helens elk herd’s range and the capture of elk currently involved in the new study.