RISWCD Board of Directors and the
Conservation Team – the folks that really do all the work!

Nathan Oak with two huge fish he caught
Nathan Oak – Chairman
Nathan serves as the District’s chairman.
He and his young family farm and raise hogs.
Chris holding peonies in garden
Chris Nordick – Vice Chairman
Chris serves as the Vice chairman and is a beekeeper, blueberry, specialty cut flower
& pumpkin farmer located south of Milan.
Bill with a ball cap and sunglasses on top.
Bill Parchert III – Treasurer/Secretary
Bill faithfully serves as the District’s
Treasurer and Secretary.
Dayna and her dog hiking between two massive boulders
Dayna Gillespie- Administrator
Dayna resides in Davenport where she spends
her time gardening, riding her bike, and hanging out with her pets. Please reach out to Dayna by calling her at 309-764-1486 Ex: 3001 or emailing at dgillespie@rockislandswcd.org
Rich teaching in a classroom pointing his finger
Rich Stewart – Resource Conservationist
Rich has served the District for over 13 years and loves to see the result of helping land users put conservation on the land. You can reach Rich at 309-764-1486 x3 or email
him at rstewart@rockislandswcd.org
Joey holding freshly picked apples
Joey Deloian – Resource Conservationist II
Joey grew up in Manhattan, IL and graduated from SIU with a bachelor’s degree in forestry in 2020. He currently lives in Edgington. You can reach Joey at
309-581-3002 (direct) or email him at joeyd@rockislandswcd.org
Joe Gates standing in front of wildflowers
Joe Gates – Conservation Specialist
Conservation Specialist, Joe Gates, retired from the NRCS as District Conservationist in 2018 and joined
the SWCD team in 2019. He is available to provide assistance with conservation planning, conservation programs, and native wildflower plantings.  You can reach Joe at (309) 764-1486 x 3.
Lou in a red hat leaning next a tree with thousand of mushrooms
Louis Liva – PCM Specialist – Lou works to help farmers understand the financial impacts of adopting in-field conservation practices, and assists farmers in maximizing cost share opportunities through public and private revenue streams. You can reach Lou at 309-391-2346 or email him at lliva@precisionconservation.org
Jason Hessman at the office
Jason Hessman – District Conservationist, NRCS
Jason oversees NRCS program administration and technical assistance for producers in Henry, Mercer, and
Rock Island counties.  You can reach Jason at
(309) 582-5153, ext. 110 or
via email at jason.hessman@usda.gov
rows of young corn rows in a Midwest farm
Gary Blanchard – Director – Gary has served on the Board “forever” and is passionate about conservation and helping growers. (Sorry, photo not available).
John Deere combine pulling a trailer fill of grain
Jason Flickinger – Director – (Sorry, photo not available).

Bob Westfahl – County Board Representative – (Sorry, photo not available)

Wyatt Junis – Soil Conservationist, NRCS – (Sorry, photo not available).

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