Program Coordinator
Forest Stewardship
C: 425-529-4814 – jason.saura@kingcd.org
Jason recently joined KCD staff after completing a service term with KCD via the Mt. Adams Institute VetsWork AmeriCorps progam.
He grew up in Missouri and immediately left for Navy boot camp upon graduating high school. After being a nuclear machinist’s mate for about two years, he was accepted for ROTC at the University of Kansas, where he completed his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. Following graduation, he was commissioned as a Naval Officer and went to flight school in Florida to become a Naval Flight Officer. When his training was complete, he was stationed at Whidbey Island, where he flew in EA-6B Prowlers and was deployed to the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Japan.
After his time in the Navy, he decided to go back to school for another degree more in line with what he wanted to do. He got his B.S. in Environmental Science and Resource Management from the University of Washington in 2010 and a Geographic Information Systems certificate in 2021. Since then, he has worked as a bartender, distiller, biology field assistant, and forest restoration technician and volunteered with Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and Green Kirkland Partnership.
He and his wife Whitney, a teacher in Sammamish, have been married for 12 years and they have two kids, Lincoln (8) and Stella (7). He enjoys hiking, jogging, rock climbing, photography, and foraging in the outdoors. He applied to the VetsWork AmeriCorps program to get more practical experience in the natural resources field, where he wants to shift his career focus. He says he has plenty of knowledge in that area with his degree, certificates, and activities, but he hasn’t had the opportunity to use it in his career very much yet.