CCTI Staff

Shaun Cain

Shaun Cain is a Professor of Biology at the College of STM & Health Science.

Course: Neuroscience

Nature’s Navigation

Students will learn how the invertebrate nervous system combines multiple sensory cues, including Earth’s magnetic fields, into a complex hierarchy of signals that can direct and guide navigational tasks. Fieldwork will include collecting samples and examining invertebrate behavior under a microscope.

James Stolen

James Stolen

James is currently a Senior Instructor II of English and Writing at Eastern Oregon University. He received a BA from Carleton College and MFA at Virginia Tech. He is an avid explorer and hiker, and centers much of his fiction, essays and poetry on the landscape of the American West.

Course: Visual Storytelling

Photography and Writing in the Wilderness

The visual storytelling project will introduce students to the landscape, ecosystems, history, culture and region of the John Day River through practical learning of photography and video instruction, the use of modern camera equipment, and learning how to generate multi-modal narratives. Students will have the opportunity to conduct fieldwork through story drafting, visual observation and collection as they embark on a variety of activities in the classroom and the outdoors.

Christine Longjohn

Christine Longjohn

I am Christine Longjohn and I am a Navajo Riparian Ecologist, who is working for The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs as a Fisheries Biologist. I am from Utah and have had the opportunity to work in the Pacific Northwest with the Tribes and The Forest Service. I have been a part of restoration projects in the John Day Basin and currently working on Salmon monitoring programs in the Hood River Basin. I am an avid Fly Fisher with a passion for our watershed health.

Course: River Dynamics and Macroinvertebrate Identification

A Study of Macroinvertebrates and Microbes

Students will learn the changing dynamics along the John Day River with some historical, cultural, and present-day challenges. Which some of the impacts are from climate change, development, agriculture, and invasive species. The field project will include the sampling of macroinvertebrates along a reach on the John Day River and how to identify them to order or families. Students will learn to process a small study of biodiversity integrity and how they are impacted with changing watershed dynamics. This will also be integrated into identification for fishing techniques as a fly fisher.

Ashley Innis

REV Project Coordinator

Ashley has been a resident of Eastern Oregon for almost two years. Most of her life was spent residing on the west side of the state between Portland and Eugene. She holds a BFA in Photography from PNCA in Portland, OR and believes that engaging in any creative practice builds intelligence, understanding and fosters curiosity.

Previously, Ashley managed the photography studios at Pacific Northwest College of Art where she interacted with artists of all ages centering around photography. Ashley performed tasks from camera repair to art direction and set design, workshop teaching, curriculum development and process research.

An artist, creative thinker and an outdoor enthusiast Ashley is very excited to bring her passions to REV as the Project Coordinator. She believes spending time in nature bestows encouragement and inspiration, it can center your focus and provide endless health benefits. In her spare time Ashley is usually hiking around Eastern Oregon, attempting to keep up with her dog, camera in hand. She then returns to her studio to bring nature and art together. Ashley holds extreme value in the rural parts of our state recognizing the possibility, diverse resources and amazing people.