Meet Our Board Members
Anthony J Sandor - President Emeritus
After serving on the Board since its inception in 2015, Tony retired in 2024 and accepted the Emeritus position. He remains active at the MKNC and continues to work with the FOMKNC in an advisory role. Tony is currently working with other volunteer organizations and Foundations in the Treasure Valley. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Morrison Knudsen Foundation, and the board of the Friends of the Boise White Water Park in Boise. He keeps busy jamming with Bluegrass groups in Boise and stays involved with the Retired Morrison Knudsen Employees association. Tony enjoys spending time with 3 grandchildren, now all in the 13-year-old range, who accompany grandpa over to the MKNC whenever they get the chance to visit.
Tom Allen - President
Tom is a native of Idaho and has lived in southeast Boise for over 41 years. He earned degrees from the University of Idaho (business marketing) and Washington State University (MBA). Tom retired in 2015 after a 36-year career in marketing, proposal management, and business development with Morrison Knudsen Corporation and its legacy companies. Tom’s wife taught elementary school in the Boise School District for over 30 years, which included many annual class field trips to the MK Nature Center. They enjoy time with their 3 children and 7 grandchildren (they love the MKNC!) who all reside nearby in Boise. When not attending their many youth soccer, basketball, and baseball games, Tom walks or bikes Boise’s greenbelt nearly every day and enjoys an occasional round of golf. He also supports and works part- time for a local small business co-owned by his son – The STIL (Sweetest Things in Life) retail and wholesale custom ice cream business.
Terri Muse - Secretary
Terri joined the Friends board in 2019 after volunteering regularly with the MK Nature Center Education Program. She completed the Idaho Master Naturalist program in 2018. Her volunteer time is spent mainly with the Nature Center and the Idaho Botanical Garden where she is a horticultural volunteer. Terri enjoys many outdoor activities including hiking, kayaking, camping, and snow shoeing. She and her husband Mike have made traveling a retirement priority and recently went to Greece and the island of Crete where they hiked and kayaked around the island. Terri retired from the legal profession in 2017 after a 25 year career as a practicing lawyer, administrator and associate dean.
Carolyn King - Treasurer
Carolyn and her husband moved to Idaho in 1992. She was an elementary teacher in the West Ada School District for 30 years. After retiring, she became an Idaho Master Naturalist, as well as a Docent at the Boise Art Museum. Her volunteer time is spent at the MK Nature Center and the Idaho Botanical Garden. In her spare time, she loves working in her yard, where she is currently expanding her pollinator garden. She also enjoys walking along Boise’s greenbelt with her dogs, reading, camping, and traveling with her husband Tom. These travels have taken her to Europe, Africa, and throughout North America.
Elizabeth Grosse - Member
Elizabeth was delighted to join the Friends board in 2022 and views the MK Nature Center as a Boise gem that everyone should visit regularly. She moved to Idaho in 2016 and immersed herself in the Idaho Master Naturalist program in 2020 to learn more about Idaho's flora and fauna. After growing up in the east, the differences of climate, plants, and animals of the west are interesting to learn. Elizabeth's volunteer time is spent mainly with the Nature Center and the Idaho Botanical Garden. She especially enjoys giving tours to grade school children, sharing her enthusiasm for the natural world.
Austin Reich - Member
Austin was born and raised in the Treasure Valley and grew up with an appreciation for all of the local fauna and flora. He has been an environmental educator since he was 16, starting off volunteering at Zoo Boise. While getting his Bachelor's degree in Ecology and Biodiversity at Northwest Nazarene University, he conducted amphibian research in Costa Rica, managed the care and health of over 100 reptiles and amphibians, and led community outreach programs to grow appreciation for the slithery and slimy. Since graduating, Austin has continued to work in environmental education, earning his Idaho Master Naturalist certification as an AmeriCorps member at the MK Nature Center as well as becoming a Certified Interpretive Guide. Austin's favorite thing to do in his off time is to spend time with his wife in the yard, or taking care of their plants and animals.
Doug Zamzow - Member
Doug was born in Boise, and attended St. Mary’s grade school, Bishop Kelly High School, and the University of Idaho, achieving a BS in Civil Engineering. He was previously licensed as a professional civil engineer in multiple states and Canada. Doug was employed at Trus-Joist Corp in Idaho and Canada, Morrison Knudsen in Saudi Arabia and throughout the US, Sundance Construction in Idaho, and Hansen-Rice Construction throughout the US and Mexico. He’s currently a volunteer with Idaho Mountain Search & Rescue, Idaho2Fly, and the Bishop Kelly High School Building Committee. Doug enjoys biking, fly fishing, white water rafting, camping, snow skiing, and is married with two adult children and two grandchildren.
Mary Arnold - Member
Mary is a conservation artist, focused on connecting humanity with nature and on painting wildlife, public lands and open spaces. She joined the board in 2024. Mary has her BBA from UT Austin, her International MBA from ASU/Thunderbird, and is an Idaho Master Naturalist. She and her husband Brent, both native Idahoans, enjoy traveling the world and experiencing new cultures, languages and environments. Mary became a fulltime artist after a lengthy career in analytics, retiring from UHG and her position as a regional director to work in fine art full time. When not in the studio she spends most of her time in the field taking photographs of wildlife for her next artwork or supporting national parks and conservation organizations. Her current project “Migration Connections” is an art+science endeavor where she is learning about the challenges of ungulate migrations in the west and creating art to convey the challenges of species success based on migration connectivity.