Terri Muse - Secretary

Terri joined the Friends board in 2019 after volunteering regularly with the MK Nature Center Education Program.  She completed the Idaho Master Naturalist program in 2018.  Her volunteer time is spent mainly with the Nature Center and the Idaho Botanical Garden where she is a horticultural volunteer.  Terri enjoys many outdoor activities including hiking, kayaking, camping, and snow shoeing.  She and her husband Mike have made traveling a retirement priority and recently went to Greece and the island of Crete where they hiked and kayaked around the island.  Terri retired from the legal profession in 2017 after a 25 year career as a practicing lawyer, administrator and associate dean.  

Carolyn King - Treasurer

Carolyn and her husband moved to Idaho in 1992.  She was an elementary teacher in the West Ada School District for 30 years.  After retiring, she became an Idaho Master Naturalist, as well as a Docent at the Boise Art Museum.  Her volunteer time is spent at the MK Nature Center and the Idaho Botanical Garden.  In her spare time, she loves working in her yard, where she is currently expanding her pollinator garden. She also enjoys walking along Boise’s greenbelt with her dogs, reading, camping, and traveling with her husband Tom. These travels have taken her to Europe, Africa, and throughout North America.

Tom Allen - Member

Tom is a native of Idaho and has lived in southeast Boise for over 41 years. He earned degrees from the University of Idaho (business marketing) and Washington State University (MBA). Tom retired in 2015 after a 36-year career in marketing, proposal management, and business development with Morrison Knudsen Corporation and its legacy companies. Tom’s wife taught elementary school in the Boise School District for over 30 years, which included many annual class field trips to the MK Nature Center. They enjoy time with their 3 children and 7 grandchildren (they love the MKNC!) who all reside nearby in Boise. When not attending their many youth soccer, basketball, and baseball games, Tom walks or bikes Boise’s greenbelt nearly every day and enjoys an occasional round of golf. He also supports and works part- time for a local small business co-owned by his son – The STIL (Sweetest Things in Life) retail and wholesale custom ice cream business.

Howard Sheppa - Member

Howard joined the Friends board in 2020. He is a retired engineering manager and U.S. Navy veteran. Howard completed the Idaho Master Naturalist program in 2018 and his wife Katie completed the program in 2019. Their volunteer time is spent supporting a number of organizations, the Nature Center, Boise River Enhancement Network, City of Boise, Intermountain Bird Observatory and Bureau of Land Management. He and his wife enjoy biking, hiking, camping, observing wildlife and exploring the endless beautiful and diverse places in Idaho and surrounding states.

Kim Chmura - Member

Kim and her husband moved to Idaho in 2010 after Kim took an early retirement from the Procter & Gamble Company, where she spent about half of her career in environmental engineering roles and the other half in various manufacturing/engineering/project and management roles. Kim has been a lifelong volunteer, starting with the Girl Scouts and Habitat for Humanity. After moving to Idaho, she was elected to a local school board and helped organize the purchase and development of property in Idaho City for the school’s outdoor education program. Kim participated in the 2019 Idaho Master Naturalist program, helping with dozens of projects led by the Boise Parks & Rec, the IBG, BREN and the MKNC. She is committed to protecting and preserving the natural areas around Boise and educating others on how people impact the environment and how the environment impacts people.

Joe Gandolfi - Member

Joe was born and raised in the Chicago area and moved to Boise in 2017. He has his Master's degree in Paleontology and spent many years exploring the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota hunting for fossils. The MK Nature Center was the first place Joe and his family visited when deciding if they should move to Boise. His wife was an AmeriCorps member at the MK Nature Center for two years and Joe volunteered at many events during that time. He enjoys reading, camping, hiking in the foothills, and spending time with his wife and daughter.

Elizabeth Grosse - Member

Elizabeth was delighted to join the Friends board in 2022 and views the MK Nature Center as a Boise gem that everyone should visit regularly. She moved to Idaho in 2016 and immersed herself in the Idaho Master Naturalist program in 2020 to learn more about Idaho's flora and fauna. After growing up in the east, the differences of climate, plants, and animals of the west are interesting to learn. Elizabeth's volunteer time is spent mainly with the Nature Center and the Idaho Botanical Garden. She especially enjoys giving tours to grade school children, sharing her enthusiasm for the natural world.

Austin Reich - Member

Austin was born and raised in the Treasure Valley and grew up with an appreciation for all of the local fauna and flora. He has been an environmental educator since he was 16, starting off volunteering at Zoo Boise. While getting his Bachelor's degree in Ecology and Biodiversity at Northwest Nazarene University, he conducted amphibian research in Costa Rica, managed the care and health of over 100 reptiles and amphibians, and led community outreach programs to grow appreciation for the slithery and slimy. Since graduating, Austin has continued to work in environmental education, earning his Idaho Master Naturalist certification as an AmeriCorps member at the MK Nature Center as well as becoming a Certified Interpretive Guide. Austin's favorite thing to do in his off time is to spend time with his wife in the yard, or taking care of their plants and animals.

Doug Zamzow - Member

Doug was born in Boise, and attended St. Mary’s grade school, Bishop Kelly High School, and the University of Idaho, achieving a BS in Civil Engineering. He was previously licensed as a professional civil engineer in multiple states and Canada. Doug was previously employed at Trus-Joint Corp in Idaho and Canada, Morrison-Knudsen in Saudi Arabia and throughout the US, Sundance Construction in Idaho, and Hansen-Rice Construction throughout the US and Mexico. He’s currently a volunteer with Idaho Mountain Search & Rescue, Idaho2Fly, and the Bishop Kelly High School Building Committee. Doug enjoys biking, fly fishing, white water rafting, camping, and snow skiing, and is married with two adult children and two grandchildren.