Welcome to the Northwest Geological Society
The Northwest Geological Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to geoscience education and providing forums for news and insights on Northwest geology and related topics. The Society is composed of professionals, teachers, students, and enthusiasts. Membership is open to everyone .
Meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, October through May, and feature a social hour, dinner, and a sponsored talk. The talks are streamed via Zoom and are recorded for members on our website. Past presentations have featured leading geoscience research, geologic studies, and socio-economic discussions within regional geologic context. These talks are given by academic and government researchers, field professionals, and industry practitioners. Everyone is welcome to attend.
By becoming a NWGS member, you gain access to sponsored field trips, NWGS publications, meeting recordings, and discounted rates on meeting dining reservations. Annual dues are posted on our membership page. We offer a discounted rate for student members.
We sponsor a Fall and Spring field trip each year to locales with regional geologic interest. These trips are guided by researchers or professional geologists and are an outstanding opportunity to experience the geology of the Northwest. These trips are provided at reasonable costs to existing members and spaces are limited to a small group on a first-come basis.
NWGS maintains an extensive in-house library of geologic field guidebooks and meeting documents. Our local guidebooks include publications on the geology of the Olympics, Puget Sound region, Cascades, Columbia River, and beyond. We also have guidebooks featuring travel-destinations including Iceland, Scotland, and Hawaii!
The Northwest Geological Society was founded in 1987. We are chartered as a private non-profit organization under applicable state and federal statutes and governed by an elected Board of Directors. Monthly board meetings are open to all members and are a matter of public record.
If you have more questions – see our FAQ or use the contact form.
CURRENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David Boyer
Bio coming.
Maria Parente
Mariacivita (Maria) Anna Parente works at Pierce County Library as a Library Technician. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Geosciences at Pacific Lutheran University.
Pamela Osterhout
Pamela is a Pacific Northwest native and holds a masters degree in applied geosciences from the University of Washington. She is an environmental consultant with Floyd|Snider.
Amy Knudson
Amy Knudson is a Mars geologist and educator. She went to school at Brown University and Arizona State University, earning her Ph.D. in Geological Sciences in 2006. She worked on the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, along with several Mars orbiters. She taught Geology and Astronomy at Bellevue College and the Seattle Colleges before taking time off to raise her children.
Tom Bush
Tom is a professor and the Department Coordinator of the Earth and Space Sciences Department at Pierce College Puyallup in Puyallup, WA. He has been teaching there for thirty years, where he teaches mostly introductory courses in geology. As part of his teaching, Tom started leading out-of-state field excursions to destinations in Montana, Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, southern Utah, Death Valley, The Big Island of Hawaii, and the Galapagos Islands. Tom received his M.S. in geology from WSU in 1983 and his B.S. in geology form UW in 1980.
Tom Colligan
Tom Colligan is a retired geologist who worked as an environmental consultant in the Seattle area for 35 years. He graduated from StonyBrook University in 1978 with a BS degree in Earth Science and a MS in Geological Sciences in 1985 from the University of Washington. He is a past president of the NWGS. He is married with three adult children and a wife - all of which enjoy NW road trips and hikes with geologic commentary and outcrop stops.
Seeking
The president-elect (1) finds speakers for the monthly meetings, (2) manages the A/V equipment used for the meetings, and (3) performs president duties from time to time. Contact us if you are interested.