Representatives with the Dungeness River Nature Center have announced Michael Glore as its new executive director. He was set to start in the role on Monday, Oct. 20.

According to a release, Glore has more than 20 years of experience leading interpretation, education, volunteer, and visitor programs for public lands in Alaska, California, Pennsylvania, and Washington, including most recently at Olympic National Park.

“Michael brings to the center strong skills in leadership, team building, grant writing, program planning and management, and navigating organizational change,” said Dungeness River Nature Center Board President Kathy Steichen.

“He has experience building relationships with internal and external partners to develop and fund new projects that enhance resource understanding, accessibility, and inclusivity.”

Glore holds degrees in Anthropology — a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a master’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis, where his studies focused on the relationships between people, culture, and the environment, according to River Center staff.

Glore said he enjoys playing and listening to music, designing and maintaining aquariums, watching baseball, brewing beer, seeking out new food, and spending time outdoors with friends and family.

Center staff said Glore and his family have been frequent visitors to the River Center since moving to Clallam County in 2021.

He said one of his most meaningful experiences at the center was in 2023 when he and his daughter, Darcy, released a young salmon fry into the Dungeness River during a community program.

Center staff write that connections like those are at the heart of the center’s Strategic Plan 2030, focused on expanding education programs, advancing environmental stewardship, strengthening partnerships, supporting volunteers, enhancing outreach, and ensuring the River Center’s longterm sustainability.

Glore’s hiring follows the dismissal of former executive director Frank Lowenstein on June 2 for unspecified reasons. Board member Annette Hanson said then that the agency does not disclose personnel matters and that they wanted to respect Lowenstein’s privacy.

Lowenstein was hired in September 2024 to replace longtime director Powell Jones, who left to take a job with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, which owns the Dungeness River Nature Center’s property.

According to the job listing, the position’s main focus is to direct staff, the board, volunteers, and fundraising.

For more information about the Dungeness River Nature Center, 1943 W. Hendrickson Road, visit dungenessrivercenter.org or call 360-681-4076. The River Center is open Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., and Sundays from noon-5 p.m.

Photo courtesy Dungeness River Nature Center Michael Glore and his daughter Darcy get ready to release salmon fry into the Dungeness River during a community program in 2023. Glore, the new executive director of the Dungeness River Nature Center, said this moment reminded him of the power of nature to open hearts, change perspectives, and bring people closer together, and was a driving inspiration for him to apply at the center.