Nick Thayer

Nick Thayer (he/they) believes in providing free-access outdoor spaces, climate resilience, and educational opportunities to all people as fundamental human rights.

 Nick was born and raised in San Francisco, having the privilege from a young age of spending many weekends at the family cabin in Monte Rio. It was at this cabin, and other spots in the unceded territory of the Kashaya Pomo and Coast Miwok people like Armstrong Woods and Goat Rock Beach, that Nick first developed a sense of connection to the land and a love for the hard work of stewarding it. At school, Nick benefited from a truly international education at the French American School, becoming bilingual in French, traveling extensively, and studying the arts and sciences. During these years, Nick developed a critical understanding of the fleeting nature of the boundaries that often seem so entrenched in our world—whether between disciplines, between peoples, or between living species.

 Nick then headed for Reed College in Portland, OR, where they earned a BA in Biology. By blending knowledge from chemistry, molecular biology, physiology, and ecology, Nick began to develop a transdisciplinary understanding of the importance of native plants and whole-ecosystem health in mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis. Separately, Nick was lucky to receive training from the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) program—a timely endeavor at a moment when at least 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men were reporting experiences with sexual or gender-based violence at colleges across the nation—and was SAPR's volunteer coordinator for 18 months.

 After Reed, Nick lived and taught for two years at the prestigious Phillips Academy Andover in Andover, MA. Apart from teaching 9th grade biology, they also advised student programs within the Brace Center for Gender Studies, furthering the work they'd begun with SAPR for the next generation of college students.

 Finally, in June 2022, Nick returned to Sonoma County, wholly unsure of what direction to take in life. Nick competed the UC CalNat program and then YWCA Sonoma's Domestic Violence Counselor certification. After a first foray into public service with the US Postal Service in Guerneville, Nick finally landed at the Monte Rio Recreation & Parks District in July 2024, where they are working to modernize the District's land and water restoration toolkit to include community volunteer opportunities, targeted grazing, and prescribed fire.