Bonnie Prange (that’s me) joined GSOC in 2004 and just a year later was the only candidate for GSOC Vice-President, an office that at the time involved scheduling speakers for the Friday night lectures. This was a challenge for me since I had just recently joined the Portland geological community and had no prior affiliation with PSU faculty.
I networked with contacts and became acquainted with professionals at PSU and DOGAMI and managed to fill the events calendar that year but felt I was inadequate to the task. By the time I became GSOC President, in 2006, I was able to coordinate the multi-day President’s Field Trip (Klamath Basin) because I had the prior year’s experience and guidance from former president Bart Bartels (who scheduled his own camp-out field trip extension from Klamath Falls to Lava Beds National Monument that year). I found that both the VP and the office of President required a great deal of time and attention, especially for someone with no professional background or academic credentials in geology.
My education was actually focused on biology and botany. I have a BA in Biology and Master’s degree with emphasis on fungal genetics (which at the time was considered botany) from Humboldt State University in California.
Fifteen years later I returned for a Masters in Environmental Studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. After earning that degree, I worked for Thurston County helping to develop and implement a county gravel mining ordinance. I then worked in a temporary position with the Washington DNR doing field inspections for mine reclamation permits.
My last employment in the mining field was several years at a Longview consulting firm where I wrote mine reclamation plans for clients who needed to meet the DNR permit requirements.
My interest in geology grew from an interest in mining economics and the history of mining which I didn’t start exploring until my first year at Evergreen and from my associated exposure to Ecological Restoration via coursework and a decade of national and international conferences. I see myself as a “backdoor” geology enthusiast…. living proof that a lack of formal academic training need not be an impediment to lifelong learning and pursuing new interests.
I’m grateful to GSOC for encouraging me to jump in all those years ago when I attended my first meeting at PSU and experienced a lecture that fascinated me even though technically over my head. I could probably follow it now!
