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Staff and Interns

Laura Calwell, Kansas Riverkeeper
Laura Calwell is the current Kansas Riverkeeper and Executive Director for Friends of the Kaw.  She also is a founding board member and served 3 years as secretary and 4 years as president of the organization.  In August of 2003 she was hired as the Kansas Riverkeeper, a non-governmental advocate for the Kansas (Kaw) River.  Laura supervises the day to day activities of Friends of the Kaw and responds to reports from the public via either our web site or 1-866-RIV KEEP on possible pollution events.  Laura schedules and guides educational float trips and oversees fundraising events.
She also helps to write and manages grants awarded to Friends of the Kaw.  Laura has her degree in Education from Kansas State University and grew up in Wichita, KS.  She has recreated on or near water all her life and currently enjoys kayaking and back country camping on the Kaw and other rivers.




Lynate Pettengill, Fund Raiser
In November of 2011, Friends of the Kaw hired Lynate Pettengill to help us with various fundraising activities on a part-time basis. Lynate is a life-long, passionate environmentalist and has worked with not-for-profits in development for over fifteen years. She has also been tied to Lawrence and the Kaw River all her life as her grandparents were born and raised here. Lynate shared, “I have fond memories of walking along the banks of the Kaw after family dinners as a child. I am thrilled to now have the opportunity to work with Friends of the Kaw to protect this important riverway and all the creatures who rely upon these waters for food and shelter.”






Staff for EPA Education Grant:

Dr. Cynthia Annett, Science Advisor

 Dr. Annett received her PhD in zoology from U.C. Berkeley. She has been the Science Advisor for the Kansas Riverkeeper since 2003, and has worked with Friends of the Kaw for more than 15 years. Her responsibilities include researching, writing, and developing online resources for the Kansas River Atlas, Critter Corner, and numerous other sections of the voluminous KansasRiver.org website. She is also the chief scientist on the Kansas River Inventory, the first comprehensive survey of the 171-mile Kansas River. Funding for her work has been provided by two EPA grants, the Kansas Health Foundation, Kingsbury Family Foundation, and other nationally competitive granting agencies and foundations. In addition to her scientific work, she writes and implements educational initiatives for Friends of the Kaw. Dr. Annett has experience as a federal fisheries research biologist, university professor, and environmental educator in both the U.S. and Russia, and has over 25 peer reviewed publications.





Virginia Annett MSEd, Education Advisor
Ms. Annett has been the Educational Consultant for the Kansas Riverkeeper since 2007 and has worked with Friends of the Kaw on several grants. She is responsible for evaluating and developing online resources for the Kids 4 the Kaw, Teens 4 the Kaw, and the Teachers Corner, and assessing the effectiveness of the Riverkeeper's school presentations. She is an educator with experience in administration, curriculum and assessment. Funding for her work has been provided by an EPA Environmental Education grant and a grant from the Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Fund. She works closely with the Kansas Riverkeeper, Laura Calwell, to write and implement educational initiatives for Friends of the Kaw and is in charge of aligning FOK lesson plans with the Kansas State Educational Standards. Ms. Annett has been a public school administrator and teacher in California, Missouri and Arkansas.







Nasbah Ben and Temashio Anderson, Web Designers
Nasbah Ben is Dine and a certified website designer, who specializes in the use of Adobe Dreamweaver CS4, and Flash CS4. She is currently a graduate student at the University of Kansas, who works to promote the use of freeware and technology to increase the use of online educational material. She assisted in the development of the Kids 4 the Kaw, and continues to manage the Friends of the Kaw website. Ms. Ben received a BS in Environmental Sciences from Northern Arizona University (NAU) where she worked as a student worker with the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) in the American Indian Air Quality Training Program. While working with ITEP, she completed research on the effects of ambient air pollution on Tribal Nations. She has continued her research into her graduate studies and is currently looking for cost-alternative ways for Tribes to monitor air quality using remote sensing.

Temashio Anderson is Dine and Pomo and is a certified web designer, who specializes in the use of Adobe Illustrator CS4, Photoshop CS4, InDesign CS4, and Corel Painter Sketchpad. He assisted in the design of the Kids 4 the Kaw website and is currently designing many new materials for the Riverkeeper. He is a current graduate student at the University of Kansas. Mr. Anderson has a Bachelors in Environmental Sciences and Applied Indigenous Studies from Northern Arizona University. He has been very active in community development work, focusing on community building in Tribal Nations.

Diana Restrepo, Science Intern


Diana L. Restrepo is originally from Colombia, South America. She is a McNair Scholar finishing her bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biosciences with a minor in Sociology at the University of Kansas. She has received an Associate of Arts/Liberal Arts degree and a Biotechnology Associate of Science from Johnson County Community College (JCCC), allowing her to gain extensive training in laboratory science using state of the art equipment.

Ms. Restrepo acquired skills as a field biologist while working with Friends of the Kaw scientists during a study looking at the relationship between nutrient cycling and land usage around Clinton Reservoir, which serves as a water source for residents of Douglas County. She used this study to create a lesson plan for FOK’s River Science curriculum. Diana is interested in looking at how agricultural and/or horticultural practices affect the water sources of disadvantaged populations, i.e. Native Americans and Hispanics, and plans to compare these practices and its effects to those in her native country as part of her Master’s thesis.

Diana has been involved in the community using her bilingual skills and building the character of a true servant to the Hispanic community anywhere she goes. She has been a translator at the Johnson County Community College dental fair serving the Hispanic community of Kansas City. She has also been the translator for the JCCC international service learning project based in Santa Rosa, a village inside Las Pintas in Guadalajara, Mexico. Diana has been actively involved with the Traveling General Colombian Consulate and has participated in several films that attempt to increase awareness among the community in regards to issues faced by immigrants in different settings. She hopes to be able to use her cultural and language skills in future projects involving environmental education for the Spanish speaking population of the Kansas City Metro Area.