Elizabeth Holmes Gaar brings over 42 years of public service dedicated to natural resources management and collaborative leadership to her role leading Portland State University’s Executive Seminar in Natural Resources Leadership Program, based in the Hatfield School of Government.
Her career began with the U.S. Forest Service as a trainee while earning her degree in Fisheries Science at Oregon State University, followed by positions as a District Fisheries Biologist on the Waldport Ranger District of the Siuslaw National Forest and District Biologist on the Clackamas District of the Mt. Hood National Forest. Her field work with the Forest Service inspired her to earn her Juris Doctorate from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark Law School. While attending law school, she joined NOAA Fisheries, where she first specialized in Clean Water Act permitting and Federal Power Act licensing before beginning the West Coast Endangered Species Act (ESA) program for salmon and steelhead.
Over 35 years with NOAA Fisheries, Elizabeth held leadership roles in habitat conservation and ESA programs, including serving as the first Chief of Endangered Species in the Pacific Northwest, and later as Assistant Regional Administrator for Habitat Conservation, Senior Policy Advisor for Protected Species, and a member of the National Habitat Leadership Team. She led regional and national teams that developed listing decisions and collaborative approaches to ESA and Magnuson Act consultations and permits for land and water management, hydropower, hatcheries, and harvest. She also led the collaborative development and establishment of recovery plans across the Columbia Basin and Puget Sound. Throughout these programs, Elizabeth prioritized her teams' efforts to forge lasting partnerships with Tribes and to uphold our nation’s Treaty and Trust responsibilities.
Elizabeth also had special assignments, to serve on the interagency teams that developed and implemented the Northwest Forest Plan, and as the leader of NOAA Fisheries' ESA consultation on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan. A highlight of her career was facilitating NOAA’s Emerging Leaders Development Program (ELDP), a year-long leadership development program in collaboration with PSU’s Center for Public Service.
Elizabeth also serves on the board of the Mt. Adams Institute, a nonprofit connecting people with nature through education and service. She lives in the Upper Hood River Valley and enjoys skiing, biking, and time with her children, grandchildren, and community.